1. lead (metal) — Feminine noun עֹפֶרֶת designating the heavy metal lead, used in descriptions of metallurgical processes (Num 31:22; Ezek 22:18, 20; 27:12), in Job's famous wish for permanent inscription (Job 19:24), in Zechariah's prophetic vision of the lead cover on the ephah (Zech 5:7-8), and in the Song of the Sea simile (Exod 15:10). All three clusters represent the same metal in different syntactic positions: conjunction-prefixed 'and lead' (S123002), standalone or with article 'the lead / lead' (S123003), and comparative 'like the lead' (S123006). Multilingual evidence uniformly identifies one substance: Spanish 'plomo,' Hindi 'सीसा / सीसे,' Arabic 'رَصَاص,' Korean '납,' Swahili 'risasi.' The simile usage in Exodus 15:10 is figurative but the referent remains the literal metal. 9×
AR["الرَّصَاصَ","الرَّصَاصِ","رَصَاصٌ","رَصَاصٍ","كَ-الرَّصَاصِ","وَ-رَصَاصٍ","وَرَصَاصٌ","وَرَصَاصٍ"]·ben["আর-সীসায়","এবং-সীসা","এবং-সীসায়","এবং-সীসার","সীসা","সীসাকে","সীসার","সীসার-মতো"]·DE["[העפרת]","[ועופרת]","[ועפרת]","[עפרת]","der-fuehren","wie-der-fuehren"]·EN["and-lead","lead","like-the-lead","the-lead"]·FR["[עפרת]","comme-le-conduire","et-plomb","et-ועפרת","le-lead","plomb"]·heb["ה-עופרת","ה-עפרת","ו-עופרת","כ-עופרת","עופרת"]·HI["और-सीसा","और-सीसे","और-सीसे-से","सीसा","सीसे-का","सीसे-की-तरह"]·ID["dan-timah","dan-timah-hitam","dan-timbal","seperti-timah","timah","timbal"]·IT["[העפרת]","[ועופרת]","[עפרת]","come-il-lead","e-e-lead","il-guidare"]·jav["kados-timbal","lan-timah","lan-timbèl","timah","timah-ireng"]·KO["그-납을","그-납의","그리고-납","그리고-납과","그리고-납으로","납-같이","납의","납이"]·PT["chumbo","como-o-chumbo","e-chumbo","o-chumbo"]·RU["-свинцовый","и-свинец","и-свинца","и-свинцом","как-свинец","свинец","свинца","свинцу"]·ES["como-plomo","plomo","y-plomo","y-plomo,"]·SW["kama-risasi","la-risasi","na-risasi","risasi","risasi-hiyo"]·TR["-kurşunu","kurşun","kurşun-gibi","kurşunun-","ve-kurşun","ve-kurşunla","ve-kurşunun"]·urd["اور-سیسا","اور-سیسے","سیسہ","سیسے-کا","سیسے-کی-طرح"]
Senses
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† עֹפֶרֶת n.m. Je 6:29(si vera l. Qr) lead (√ dub.; prob. foreign word; cf. 𝔗 אֲבָרָא lead, Syriac ܐܰܒܳܪܳܐ, and (as Aramaic loan-word) Arabic أَبَار [v. Dozy], Frä152; perhaps also Assyrian abaru, a metal, magnesite according to HilprAssyriaca i (1894), 80 ff. Hpt1b. 83);—כִּכַּר ע׳ Zc 5:7 a round weight (disc) of lead, אֶבֶן־הָעו׳ v 5; with other metals (v. בְּדִיל): עוֹ׳ Ez 22:18, 20; 27:12,…