Ark of the Covenant - Bible History Online
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mortar (2) Summary and Overview

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mortar (2) in Smith's Bible Dictionary

#Ge 11:3; Ex 1:14; Le 14:42,45; Isa 41:25; Eze 13:10,11,14,15; 22:28; Ne 3:14| The various compacting substances used in Oriental buildings appear to be -- 1. Bitumen, as in the Babylonian structures; 2. Common mud or moistened clay; 3. A very firm cement compounded of sand, ashes and lime, in the proportions respectively of 1,2,3, well pounded, sometimes mixed and sometimes coated with oil, so as to form a surface almost impenetrable to wet or the weather. In Assyrian and also Egyptian brick buildings, stubble or straw, as hair or wool among ourselves, was added to increase the tenacity.