"Gopher trees"
can be seen in Gavi, Kerala, India and believed to be the only such trees in India. The tree,
which is identified as gopher, is known as nirampalli . Gopher wood or gopher
wood is a term used once in the Bible for the substance from which Noah's
Gopher is the Hebrew word
translated “cypress wood”. This is an unknown type of material, although it
undoubtedly refers to some sort of coniferous tree thought to possess great
strength and durability. Cypress was often used by shipbuilders in the ancient
Near East. Similarly, the cedars of Lebanon were prized by the Egyptians for
the construction of their barques for transport on the Nile, for instance in
the eleventh century B.C
Many modern scholars consider
“gopher wood” to be cypress because cypress wood is extremely durable. Modern
English versions of the Bible, such as the New International Version, the New
Living Translation, and the New English Translation translate it as “cypress
wood.” The Smith Bible Dictionary defines gopher as “any trees of the
resinous kind, such as pine, fir, or cypress.”
Gopher wood", far stronger than anything
we have today. The strength of seasoned timber is related to density. A dense
timber simply has more stuff in it, cellulose, lignin etc , built into heavier-walled
cells.
There is a Gopher tree near to my workplace in
Gavi, Pathanamthitta, Kerala
