In the context of the Bible, "slime" refers to a type of bituminous substance, often identified as natural asphalt or pitch. This material is mentioned in several passages and was used in ancient construction and waterproofing techniques. The Hebrew word often translated as "slime" is "chemar," which can also mean "bitumen" or "tar."

Biblical References:

1. Genesis 11:3 · The Tower of Babel: "And they said to one another, 'Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.' They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar." In this passage, the people of Babel used slime, or bitumen, as a binding agent for bricks in their construction of the tower. This indicates the advanced knowledge of materials and construction techniques in the ancient world.

2. Genesis 14:10 · The Battle of the Kings: "Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, but the rest fled to the hills." The Valley of Siddim, identified with the region around the Dead Sea, was rich in bituminous deposits. The presence of tar pits played a role in the narrative of the battle, illustrating the treacherous terrain and the natural resources of the area.

3. Exodus 2:3 · The Birth of Moses: "But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and set it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile." Moses' mother used slime, or pitch, to waterproof the basket in which she placed the infant Moses. This use of bitumen for waterproofing is consistent with ancient practices and highlights the resourcefulness of Moses' family in protecting him.

Historical and Cultural Context:

In the ancient Near East, bitumen was a valuable resource due to its adhesive and waterproofing properties. It was commonly used in construction, as seen in the building of the Tower of Babel, and in everyday applications such as waterproofing baskets and vessels. The availability of bitumen in regions like the Dead Sea area made it a significant material for various practical uses.

The use of slime in biblical narratives underscores the ingenuity and adaptability of ancient peoples in utilizing natural resources. It also provides insight into the technological capabilities of the time, reflecting a sophisticated understanding of materials and their applications.

Theological Implications:

The mention of slime in the Bible, while primarily descriptive, can also be seen as a metaphor for human ingenuity and the potential for both constructive and destructive endeavors. In the account of the Tower of Babel, the use of slime for construction symbolizes human ambition and the desire to reach the heavens, ultimately leading to divine intervention and the scattering of peoples. This narrative serves as a reminder of the limits of human achievement without divine guidance.

In the account of Moses, the use of slime for waterproofing the basket represents the providential care and protection of God over His chosen servant, even from infancy. It highlights the theme of divine intervention and preservation in the midst of human vulnerability and danger.Slime

translated bitumen in the Vulgate. The three instances in which it is mentioned in the Old Testament are illustrated by travellers and historians. It is first spoken of as used for cement by the builders in the plain of Shinar or Babylonia. (Genesis 11:3) The bitumen pits in the vale of Siddim are mentioned in the ancient fragment of Canaanitish history, (Genesis 14:10) and the ark of papyrus in which Moses was placed was made impervious to water by a coating of bitumen and pitch. (Exodus 2:3) Herodotus, i. 179, tells us of the bitumen found at Is, the modern Heet , a town of Babylonia, eight days journey from Babylon. (Bitumen, or asphalt, is "the product of the decomposition of vegetable and animal substances. It is usually found of a black or brownish-black color, externally not unlike coal, but it varies in a consistency from a bright, pitchy condition, with a conchoidal fracture, to thick, viscid masses of mineral tar." --Encyc. Brit. In this last state it is called in the Bible slime, and is of the same nature as our petroleum, but thicker, and hardens into asphalt. It is obtained in various places in Europe, and even now occasionally from the Dead Sea. --ED.)

Slime

See PITCH, and SEA3

(Genesis 11:3; LXX., "asphalt;" R.V. marg., "bitumen"). The vale of Siddim was full of slime pits (14:10). Jochebed daubed the "ark of bulrushes" with slime (Exodus 2:3). (see PITCH.) 1. (n.) Soft, moist earth or clay, having an adhesive quality; viscous mud.

2. (n.) Any mucilaginous substance; any substance of a dirty nature, that is moist, soft, and adhesive.

3. (n.) Bitumen.

4. (n.) Mud containing metallic ore, obtained in the preparatory dressing.

5. (n.) A mucus like substance which exudes from the bodies of certain animals.

6. (v. t.) To smear with slime.

SLIME; SLIME PITS

slim, slim'-pits (chemar; Septuagint asphaltos; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) bitumen; the Revised Version margin "bitumen"; compare Arabic chummar, "bitumen"; and compare chomer, "clay," "mortar"): In the account of the ark in Genesis 6:14, kopher Septuagint asphaltos; Vulgate: bitumen; compare Arabic kufr, "pitch") does not necessarily denote vegetable pitch, but may well mean bitumen. The same may be said of zepheth, "pitch" (compare Arabic zift, "pitch"), in Exodus 2:3 and Isaiah 34:9. The word "slime" occurs in the following passages: "And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar" (Genesis 11:3); "Now the vale of Siddim was full of slime pits" (Genesis 14:10, margin "bitumen pits"); "She took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch" (Exodus 2:3).

Bitumen is a hydrocarbon allied to petroleum and natural gas. It is a lustrous black solid, breaking with a conchoidal fracture, burning with a yellow flame, and melting when ignited. It is probably derived from natural gas and petroleum by a process of oxidation and evaporation, and its occurrence may be taken as a sign that other hydrocarbons are or have been present in the strata. It is found in small lumps and larger masses in the cretaceous limestone on the west side of the Dead Sea, and there is reason to believe that considerable quantities of it rise to the surface of the Dead Sea during earthquakes. In ancient times it was exported to Egypt to be used in embalming mummies. Important mines of it exist at Chasbeiya near Mt. Hermon and in North Syria. Springs of liquid bituminous matter exist in Mesopotamia, where according to Herodotus and other classical writers it was used as mortar with sun-dried bricks. Various conjectures have been made as to the part played by bitumen in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Diodorus Siculus calls the Dead Sea limne asphalstitis, "lake of asphalt."

See SIDDIM; CITIES OF THE PLAIN.

Alfred Ely Day

7388a. rir -- to flow (like slime)
... rir. 7388b . to flow (like slime). Transliteration: rir Short Definition: flow. ...
root Definition to flow (like slime) NASB Word Usage flow (1). 7388, 7388a. ...
/hebrew/7388a.htm - 5k

7388. riyr -- to flow (like slime)
... 7387, 7388. riyr. 7388a . to flow (like slime). Transliteration: riyr Phonetic
Spelling: (reer) Short Definition: spittle. spittle, white of an egg ...
/hebrew/7388.htm - 5k

8602. taphel -- tasteless, unseasoned
... From an unused root meaning to smear; plaster (as gummy) or slime; (figuratively)
frivolity -- foolish things, unsavoury, untempered. 8601, 8602. ...
/hebrew/8602.htm - 5k

2564. chemar -- bitumen, asphalt
... slimepit. From chamar; bitumen (as rising to the surface) -- slime(-pit). see HEBREW
chamar. 2563c, 2564. chemar. 2565 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/2564.htm - 6k

7642. shabluwl -- a snail
... snail From the same as shebel; a snail (as if floating in its own slime) -- snail.
see HEBREW shebel. 7641, 7642. shabluwl. 7642a . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/7642.htm - 5k

Whether the Body of the First Man was Made of the Slime of the ...
... THE PRODUCTION OF THE FIRST MAN'S BODY (FOUR ARTICLES) Whether the body of
the first man was made of the slime of the earth? Objection ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether the body of the.htm

Grace and Truth Coupled.
... The slime of sin and low passion, of selfishness and indulgence and self-ambition,
oozes over everything in full sight. The man's in the gutter. ...
/.../gordon/quiet talks on johns gospel/grace and truth coupled.htm

The Motive that Led Men to Adopt Darwinism.
... that the original man, as such, no matter how rough and unformed, but still a man,
sprang immediately out of the inorganic, out of the sea or the slime of the ...
/.../the motive that led men.htm

Andromeda
... Up to the hillside vines, and the pastures skirting the woodland, Inland the floods
came yearly; and after the waters a monster, Bred of the slime, like the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/andromeda and other poems/andromeda.htm

Two Ways of Rising
... When it rises from the muddy pool, the stagnant pond, or the filthy gutter, it rises
pure and clean, leaving behind the mud, the slime, the offensive odors ...
//christianbookshelf.org/naylor/heart talks/talk fifty-four two ways of.htm

Whether Woman Should have Been Made from Man?
... species. Therefore, as man was made of the slime of the earth, so woman should
have been made of the same, and not from man. Objection ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether woman should have been.htm

Whether the Woman was Formed Immediately by God?
... of nature. Therefore God alone could produce either a man from the slime
of the earth, or a woman from the rib of man. Reply to ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether the woman was formed.htm

Whether the Human Body was Immediately Produced by God?
... angels' power, as, for instance, raising the dead, or giving sight to the blind:
and by this power He formed the body of the first man from the slime of the ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether the human body was.htm

Species, or Units of Nature.
... The pulpy mass of flesh, or moneron, from which so much has been "evolved" was the
result of "the sun's rays falling upon the sea slime," and was and is a ...
/.../species or units of nature.htm

Whether the Mother of God was a virgin in Conceiving Christ?
... Consequently, just as it was possible for the first man to be produced, by the Divine
power, "from the slime of the earth," so too was it possible for Christ's ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether the mother of god 2.htm

Slime (6 Occurrences)
... The vale of Siddim was full of slime pits (14:10). Jochebed daubed the "ark of
bulrushes" with slime (Exodus 2:3). (see PITCH.). ... 6. (vt) To smear with slime. ...
/s/slime.htm - 11k

Slime-pits (1 Occurrence)
Slime-pits. Slime, Slime-pits. Slimy . Multi-Version Concordance
Slime-pits (1 Occurrence). Genesis 14:10 And the vale ...
/s/slime-pits.htm - 6k

Pits (13 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia SLIME; SLIME PITS. slim, slim'-pits (chemar;
Septuagint asphaltos; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible ...
/p/pits.htm - 13k

Slimy (1 Occurrence)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (superl.) of or pertaining to slime; resembling slime;
of the nature of slime; viscous; glutinous; also, covered or daubed with slime...
/s/slimy.htm - 6k

Siddim (3 Occurrences)
... It was "full of slime-pits" (RV, "bitumen pits"). Here Chedorlaomer and the confederate
kings overthrew the kings of Sodom and the cities of the plain. ...
/s/siddim.htm - 14k

Pitch (25 Occurrences)
... (Genesis 6:14), asphalt or bitumen in its soft state, called "slime" (Genesis
11:3; 14:10; Exodus 2:3), found in pits near the Dead Sea (qv). ... (see SLIME.). ...
/p/pitch.htm - 18k

Daub (3 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (vt) To smear with soft, adhesive matter, as
pitch, slime, mud, etc.; to plaster; to bedaub; to besmear. ...
/d/daub.htm - 8k

Bitumen (3 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Genesis 11:3, RV, margin, rendered in the AV "slime"),
a mineral pitch. ... See also Exodus 2:3.) (see SLIME.). Noah Webster's Dictionary. ...
/b/bitumen.htm - 8k

Bulrushes (3 Occurrences)
...Slime (chemar, "bitumen"), pitch (zepheth, "pitch") was probably the sticky mud
of the Nile with which to this day so many things in Egypt are plastered. ...
/b/bulrushes.htm - 10k

Chalkstone
... more commonly used in building. Even bitumen ("slime") appears to have been
used for mortar. See CLAY; LIME; SLIME. Alfred Ely Day. ...
/c/chalkstone.htm - 8k

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