Solomon's Sea and the Importance of Hermeneutics

As a professional mathematician, I have often heard one of two stories about Solomon's Sea (1 Kings 7:23-26.) 

One claim is that the text, describing the Sea as 10 cubits across and 30 cubits in perimeter, gives the value of π (the ratio of a circumference of a circle to its diameter) as precisely 3.  Since π is known to be greater than 3, this proves that the Bible is in error. 

An equally ridiculous argument uses values for the "cubit" and the "handbreadth" and claims that the diameter measurement is from outer rim to outer rim while the circumference measures inside the inner rim. If one appropriately cooks the values of cubit and handbreadth (and argues that 10 and 30 are precise numbers, not approximations) one can get a value for π correct to 4 decimal places! Thus (goes the claim) we prove the supernatural correctness of the Bible!

Both claims are equally flawed. Both claims ignore some basic principles about the Scripture's divine inspiration. Scripture is "God breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16-17), through human beings using their thoughts, language and culture. One who treats the Scriptures as a magical Kabbalic manuscript with secret insight into scientific secrets, is missing the larger, greater value of Scripture. That viewpoint on secret texts (common among Islamic claims about the Quran) turns Scripture into a divine enigma instead of a divine romance.  With the "magical secrets" approach, one might argue that either the Bible gets π correctly to many decimal places OR that the (magical) claims of the Bible are wrong. But the truth of the passage in 1 Kings is simply that Solomon's Sea, as part of the majestic temple, was enormous! This is the obvious and natural conclusion to the passage. It is wrong to read secret information into it.

I mention this example because I routinely hear disputes on what the Old Testament says. Many of these disputes are not resolved by a careful understanding of Hebrew but instead reflect one's approach to the Old Testament. I don't believe careful Hebrew translation will fix a poor approach. We need wisdom in both our approach and in our knowledge of Hebrew!

As a side note: any child playing with a string and a round mug can see that  π  is clearly greater than 3. Ancient Babylonians and Greeks (and probably Chinese?) had estimates for π (eg. 22/7) accurate to at least two decimal places. Any attempt to use the passage in 1 Kings to prove or disprove a Scriptural computation of π displays a lack of awareness of ancient knowledge of this mathematical constant.