Bible Dictionaries
Bitumen

Holman Bible Dictionary

A mineral pitch or asphalt (KJV has “slime”; NAS, NIV, “tar pits”) found in solid black lumps in the cretaceous limestone on the west bank of the Dead Sea (see Genesis 14:10 ). Other forms are found in Asia Minor. Bitumen was used as a mortar in setting bricks in the buildings and ziggurats in Mesopotamia (see Genesis 11:3 ) and as a caulking for rafts and basket boats on the Euphrates (see Exodus 2:3; compare Genesis 6:14 ). See Pitch .