Bible Dictionary
PLANK
A plank is a thick board or wooden beam used in buildings, altars, temple furnishings, or ships.
Definition
A plank is a thick beam or piece of wood. Biblical usage includes wooden boards or beams used in structures, altars, temple furnishings, and ships.
Biblical Usage
Planks or boards are mentioned in descriptions of the altar and tabernacle construction, temple work, and the shipwreck involving Paul. Some translations use “boards” where others use “planks.”
Historical Background
Several Hebrew words are represented by the English terms boards and planks. Translation differences occur in passages concerning fir wood, the altar, temple furnishings, and ship construction.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>plank: Thick beams or pieces of wood, for which several Hebrew words are used. The Revised Version (British and American) changes "planks" (of fir) into "boards" in 1Ki 6:15, and in a few instances substitutes "planks" where the King James Version has "boards" (Ex 27:8; 38:7, the altar; Eze 27:5). So in the New Testament in Ac 27:44, for sanis.</p><p>See SHIPS AND BOATS, II, 2, (3).</p>