LEAD (Heb. עֹפֶ֫רֶת, H6769; LXX μόλυβρον), a metal which is very soft, more than eleven times as dense as water (cf. Exod 15:10), fusible with a melting point of 327^oC and forms alloys with silver (cf. Ezek 22:18, 20) and tin (solder). It can be inlaid to form letters (cf. Job 19:24), or patterns, particularly when heated, as above 300^oC it is plastic. If perfectly pure, lead is silvery white in color. However, the metal is usually gray to bluish gray. Native lead is of rare occurrence. The main ore is galena (lead sulphide) which usually is found associated with minerals of zinc and generally contains up to 0.1 percent silver. Most workable lead deposits occur as veins or lodes cutting across or replacing sedimentary rocks, particularly limestone and dolomite.

The discovery of lead antedates recorded history. It is produced from lead ore simply by roasting in an oxidizing atmosphere and it is possible that this was the first metallurgical process practiced by man. Lead coins were used in ancient Egyp. times as was lead in the glazing of pottery and the making of solder. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were floored by lead sheets soldered together to retain moisture.

The Phoenicians worked the lead deposits of Rio Tinto, Spain and traded in the metal (Ezek 27:12), possibly from Cornwall (q.v. tin) as well as from Spain. In Gr. times lead was mined and smelted at Laurion, Greece, and by the time of the Rom. civilization, the use of lead was widespread.

Bibliography J. R. Partington, A Textbook of Inorganic Chemistry, 6th ed. (1950), 833, 834; R. L. Dodd, “Lead Industry,” Collier’s Encyclopedia, 14 (1964), 401-404.