Biblical pi (Score 2, Interesting)

Such as the value of pi?

Sure. 1 Kings 7 (usually described as the "pi is exactly 3" text) describes a ring (the rim of a tub) with:

• a thickness of a handbreadth (v. 26)
• diameter from edge to edge of ten cubits (v. 23)
• inner circumference of 30 cubits (v. 23)

Got that? Ok.

The inner-edge diameter is circumference/pi = 30/3.14... = 9.55... cubits

The difference between the ring's inner edge diameter and its outer edge diameter is thus about .45 cubits; to get the thickness of the ring we divide by two (because the ring crosses the diameter twice), so .225 cubits, or about 4.05 inches, given an eighteen-inch cubit.

Note that a handbreadth is usually defined as about four inches, so we know the numbers add up; you can take it apart and get pi from it by working backwards:

The inner-edge diameter is equal to the outer-edge diameter minus (thickness * 2), thus 10cubits - .45 cubits(i.e., 2 handbreadths) = 9.55 cubits.

Their value of pi would be the inner-edge circumference (30 cubits) divided by the inner-edge diameter (9.55 cubits), thus about 3.14....

[The reading "pi is exactly three" is based on the weird idea of measuring the tub as a circle rather than a ring.] [and of course your mileage will vary based on the proportion of the cubit you use to your handbreadth, but let's gloss over that for now...]