bitumen

A type of asphalt or mineral pitch either occurring naturally or found as a by-product of burning coal or wood. This black sticky substance was used as an adhesive or a caulk. It could also be used for waterproofing, as in the construction of Noah’s ark (Gen 6:14) and the bulrush basket of Moses (Exod 2:3). References are made to pitch oozing from the earth (Gen 14:10) near the Dead Sea, where it occurs naturally. Metaphorically, Isaiah uses the image of these slime pits to evoke the Day of the Lord when the land and streams shall be turned into burning pitch (Isa 34:9).