Bible Dictionary
FOUNDER
A founder is a worker who casts or refines metal. Biblical references describe craftsmen making molten images or working precious metals; some translations use “goldsmith” or “refiner.”
Definition
A founder is a worker in molten metal who casts, shapes, or refines metal. The term may refer to a craftsman making metal images or working with precious metals. Later translations sometimes render it “goldsmith” or describe the work as refining.
Biblical Usage
The biblical references associate the founder with the making of molten images and with metalworking. In passages concerning the production or refinement of metal, later translations may use “goldsmith” or “refining” instead of founder.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>foun'-der (from tsaraph): A worker in molten metal (Jud 17:4, etc.).</p><p>The word in the King James Version in Jer 10:9,14; 51:17 is rendered in the Revised Version (British and American) "goldsmith," and in 6:29 by a paraphrase, "They go on refining."</p><p>See REFINER; GOLDSMITH.</p>