translation is uncertain, as is the spelling of the word in Hebrew: it could be the familiar evergreen cypress or possibly the coastal pine (Pinus pinea) which is common in Cyprus. These two verses are not a shipwright’s manual, but do offer insight into sea-faring vessels and that skill in caulking was obtained from neighbouring Byblos farther up the coast. In this book’s next chapter, Chapter 9, we learn plank by plank and gunwale by gunwale what a first century Galilean fishing boat was made from.