ROPE
rop:
Used in the Old Testament for chebhel, "that which binds" (2 Samuel 17:13, etc.), and for `abhoth, "that which is woven" (Judges 15:13, etc.). In neither word is any specified thickness or strength connoted, and chebhel is translated equally well by "line" (2 Samuel 8:2, etc.) or "cord" (Joshua 2:15, etc.), and `abhoth by "cord" (Psalms 118:27, etc.), as best suits the context. Similarly in the New Testament the word schoinion, literally, "made of rushes" can mean the rope by which a boat is fastened (Acts 27:32) or small cords suitable for a whip (John 2:15). The usual material for ropes was certainly flax (hemp), but the Egyptians, and so possibly the Hebrews, at times made ropes of leathern thongs.
See CORD; LINE; SHIPS AND BOATS, III, 2.
Burton Scott Easton
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