Rabbi Nehemiah

Rabbi Nehemiah

Rabbi Nehemiah was a Hebrew priest, circa AD 150 (during the Tannaim era).

He wrote the "Mishnat ha-Middot" (ca. AD 150), the earliest known Hebrew text on geometry. In it, he explained away the common belief that the Bible defines π as being exactly equal to 3, based on the description in 1 Kings 7:23 (and 2 Chronicles 4:2) of the great bowl situated outside the Temple of Jerusalem as having a diameter of 10 cubits and a circumference of 30 cubits. He maintained that the diameter of the bowl was measured from the "outside" brim, while the circumference was measured along the "inner" brim, which with a brim that is one handbreadth wide (as described in 1 Kings 7:24 and 2 Chronicles 4:3) yields a ratio from the circular rim closer to the actual value of π. [Petr Beckmann, "A History of Pi", St. Martin's (1971). ]

See also

* History of numerical approximations of π

Notes


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