science

Gopher wood

Gopher wood is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gopher wood rather than just read about it. In short: Gopher wood or gopherwood is a term used once in the Bible, to describe the material used to construct Noah's Ark. Genesis 6:14 states that Noah was instructed to build the Ark of gofer (גֹפֶר), commonly transliterated as gopher wood, a word not otherwise used in the Bible or the Hebrew language in general (a hapax legomenon).

Key takeaways

Gopher wood belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gopher wood to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gopher wood from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gopher wood or gopherwood is a term used once in the Bible, to describe the material used to construct Noah's Ark. Genesis 6:14 states that Noah was instructed to build the Ark of gofer (גֹפֶר), commonly transliterated as gopher wood, a word not otherwise used in the Bible or the Hebrew language in general (a hapax legomenon). Although some English Bibles attempt a translation, older English translations such as the King James Version (17th century) leave it untranslated. The word is unrelated to the name of the North American animal known as the gopher.

Identity The Greek Septuagint (3rd–1st centuries BC) translates the phrase as ἐκ ξύλων τετραγώνων (ek xúlōn tetragṓnōn), 'out of squared timber', translating gofer as 'squared'. Similarly, the Latin Vulgate (5th century AD) rendered it as de lignis levigatis (lævigatis, in the spelling of the Clementine Vulgate), 'of timber planks'. The Jewish Encyclopedia states that it was most likely a translation of the Akkadian term gushure iṣ erini, 'cedar beams', or the Assyrian giparu, 'reeds'. Ancient and modern kuphar boats on the Tigris and Euphrates are also built of reeds, waterproofed with pitch. The Aramaic Targum Onkelos renders this word as qadros, 'cedar'. The Syriac Peshitta translates this word as arqa, 'box' (boxwood). Many modern English translations favor an identification with cypress. This was espoused (among others) by Adam Clarke, a Methodist theologian famous for his commentary on the Bible: Clarke cited a resemblance between the Greek word for cypress, κυπάρισσος kyparissos, and the Hebrew word gopher. Likewise, the Nova Vulgata (20th century) has it as de lignis cupressinis 'out of cypress wood'. Others, noting the visual similarity between the Hebrew letters gimel (ג) and kaf (כ), suggest that the word may actually be kopher, the Hebrew word meaning 'pitch': thus kopher wood would be 'pitched wood'. Later suggestions for a dynamic equivalent of the word have included 'laminated wood' (to strengthen the Ark), or a now-lost type of tree, but there is no consensus.

References

External links Gopherwood and Construction of the Ark Archived 2015-05-29 at the Wayback Machine The Free Dictionary - "Gopherwood" (giving a definition of Cladrastis kentukea)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gopher wood

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gopher wood claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gopher wood before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gopher wood ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gopher wood

In research: Gopher wood appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gopher wood in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gopher wood is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Biblical studies, Cedrus, Cupressus, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gopher wood outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gopher wood in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gopher wood means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gopher wood out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gopher wood in simple terms?

Why does Gopher wood matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gopher wood?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gopher wood.