103. Ark Use of Bitumen

From: Manners and Customs of the Bible By: James M. Freeman

Exodus 2:3 • 1 min. read • grade level: 8

Exodus 2:3³And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. (Exodus 2:3). She took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch.

1. The precise form of this little “ark” is unknown. It may have been a basket, a boat, or a box. It was made of the leaf of the papyrus, a reedy plant which grew plentifully on the banks of the Nile, and which was used by the Egyptians for cordage, baskets, boats, sails, writing material, and a variety of other purposes; even sometimes for food.

2. The “slime” or bitumen is described in the note on Genesis 11:3³And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. (Genesis 11:3) (#2). We have here an illustration of the manner of its use. Though melting easily and running freely, when cold it is very brittle; but if mixed with tar it becomes tenacious when set, and makes a firm cement. In preparing the little vessel for the reception of the infant Moses, it is probable that the papyrus leaves were first plaited together, and then coated with a mixture of hot bitumen and tar, which when cold became firm and waterproof.

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