The Greek word for metal or mine. Related to metallurgy and the refining process. Scripture uses metal refining as a powerful metaphor for God's purification of His people.
Gold refined by fire is one of Scripture's most enduring metaphors for tested faith. Peter writes that trials come 'so that the proven genuineness of your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed' (1 Peter 1:7). God uses the fires of adversity to purify, not to destroy.