Glass
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(1 Cor. 13:12)—a material known in the ancient Near East from a very early period and used for vessels, ornaments, and in time windows. The “glass” through which Paul says we now see darkly is a mirror, normally made in antiquity from polished metal; his point is the indirect and imperfect character of present knowledge compared with seeing “face to face.” Job 37:18 likewise compares the firmament to a cast metal mirror. The encyclopedia’s archaeological and industrial survey reflects nineteenth-century knowledge.