SULPHUR (siir f fir), ( H eb. goireeth', from ';;',gaw-far', to cover; whence gofer, Gen. vi:14, which Gesenius renders "pitch," such as the fitly, etc.) is understood to mean not only pitch, but some other inflammable substances, specially sulphur. Gof-reeth' is generally and properly rendered sulphur (brimstone); while pitch is denoted by two Hebrew words, 7.;:, ko'- fer (Gen. vi:t4) and zehfeth), Exod. ii:3; Is.
xxxiv:9). Of these the former probably refers to vegetable pitch and resin, as above, and the latter to mineral pitch and asphalt, though this distinction is not assured.
The passage last cited shows clearly the use of zehleth for mineral pitch (asphalt), to depict a barren region, like the shores of the Dead Sea, associated also, as there, with gof-reeth', sulphur.
Sulphur (brimstone) in the Old Testament is repeatedly used to convey this idea of barrenness and desolation, evidently from its association with the Dead Sea ; so, definitely, Deut. xxix :23, also
Is. xxxiv :9, and probably Job xviii :15. Tristram, Lynch, and others describe its occurrence around the lake and in the valleys leading into it. In some places it occurs with bitumen, for which the Dead Sea region is noted from very early times (Gen. xiv:to)—an unusual association, but known also near Bologna, Italy. Sulphur is also referred to in the Old Testament in the combination "fire and brimstone," in connection with the violent storms (Gen. xix :24 ' . Ps. xi:6; Ezek. xxxviii: 22). The idea there has, no doubt, been justly interpreted as referring to lightning (Is. xxx : 33). The same combination of (r6p sat Be(ow) recurs in the New Testament (Luke xvii :29 ; Rev. ix: 17; xiv :to ; xix :2o ; xx :to ; xxi :8), the translation of a familiar Hebrew phrase. (Barnes' Bib. Diet.) (See CITIES OF THE PLAIN.)