stones in the bible and their meaning

But the identity of names is accounted for by the identity of colour. The word is similar to an Arabic word meaning "branches" and may signify red coral, which has been highly esteemed since very ancient times; a description of korallion is given by Theophrastus. The finest carnelians are found in the East Indies. This topaz is generally believed to have been chrysolite rather than the more generally known topaz. Within mythology, the eagle placed an agate in its nest to guard its young against the bite of venomous animals, and the red agate was credited with the power of sharpening vision. Professor Maskelyne suggests that the nophekh of the breastplate may have been the mophak or mafka of the Egyptian hieroglyphics, the turquoise of the present day. The chrysoprasus was regarded by some naturalists of the time of Pliny as a variety of beryllus. There are about twenty different names of such stones in the Bible. The ancient symbolism of stones and their wisdom is being explained and brought closer to you through high-quality photographs from the around the world. Professor Maskelyne, rejecting the Septuagint translated, suggests that the leshem was identical with the neshem of the Egyptians, namely the green feldspar now called amazon stone; as an alternative rendering to this he suggests yellow jasper. Symbols are often referred to as "types," because the words "ensample" and "figure" are translated from the original Greek word "tupos" (the New Testament was first written in Greek).The meaning of the symbol, or type, is often referred to as the "Antitype." The number of the middle stone of any row is the same whichever direction of reading is adopted. In another place he refers to a stone from Chalcedon or Calchedon (another reading) as being an iaspis of turbid hue. Ezekeil 28:13 - Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. in Ezekiel 1:4,27; 8:2: The Septuagint translates elektron; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) and the Revised Version margin translate electrum; the King James Version, the English Revised Version and the American Revised Version margin translate "amber"; the American Standard Revised Version translates "glowing metal." Chrysolite, Heb. sardius; the first stone of the breastplate (Ex., xxviii, 17; xxxix, 10) representing Ruben; also the first among the stones of the King of Tyre (Ezech., xxviii, 13); the sixth foundation stone of the celestial city (Apoc., xxi, 19). Those stones are a warning!!! That the Septuagint translators were uncertain as to the correct translation of the Hebrew names used for the precious stones into the Greek names used in their time, and that they translated the Hebrew name of a stone in more than one way may be shown as follows. For the interpretation of the Bible it is thus necessary to ascertain, if possible, the kind of stone to which a Greek or Hebrew name was applied at the time when the word was written. ghbsh (Job, xxviii, 18), qrh (Ezech, i, 22): both words signify a glassy substance; Sept. gabis; Vulg. The word zkwkyh, Job, xxviii, 17, which can be translated as crystal, means glass. They are figuratively introduced to denote value, beauty, durability (Cant 5:14 ; Isaiah 54:11 Isaiah 54:12 ; Lamentations 4:7 ). smaragdos in Ex., xxviii, 9; xxxv, 27; xxxix, 6; soam, a mere transcription of the Hebrew word in I Par., xxix, 2; and onyx in Job, xxviii, 16. in Exodus 28:17; 39:10; Ezekiel 28:13:rd stone, 1st row, of breastplate. In the New Testament we find pearl mentioned in Matt., xiii, 45, 46; I Tim., ii, 9; etc. In ancient times it was mined in Upper Egypt and is still found in the mica slate of Mt. The translations are suggested by the similarity to the Hebrew qerach, "ice. This is perhaps the agate of Ex., xxviii, 20, and xxxix, 13, since the chrysoprasus was not very well known among the ancients. trshysh (Ex., xxviii, 20; xxxix, 13; Ezech., i, 16; x, 9; xxviii, 13; Cant., v, 14; Dan., x, 6); Sept., chrysolithos (Ex., xxviii, 20; xxxix, 13; Ezech., xxviii, 13); tharsis (Cant., v, 14; Dan., x, 6); tharseis (Ezech., 1, 16; x, 9); Vulg. Yashepheh, in Exodus 28:20; 39:13; Ezekiel 28:13: the 3rd stone, 4th row, of the breastplate. ( Ezekiel 27:16 ) The merchants of Sheba and Raamah in south Arabia, and doubtless India and Ceylon supplied the markets of Tyre with various precious stones. simply transliterate the Hebrew word. Pliny (Hist. The same may have happened regarding the translation of the Hebrew into Greek, especially because the old manner of writing the two words yshlm and shlm might be easily confused. According to John Aubrey in "Miscellanies" beryl has also been employed for mystical and cabalistic practices. Precious stones are frequently alluded to in Scriptures; they were known and very highly valued in the earliest times. cxlvii, 17, and Ecclus., xliii, 22, there can be no question that ice is indicated. At present, agate and onyx differ only in the manner in which the stone is cut: if it is cut to show the layers of colour, it is called agate; if cut parallel to the lines, onyx. All power belongs to God. In Is. In the time of Pliny 8 varieties were recognized; he says that beryllus was already thought by some to be "of the same nature as the smaragdus, or at least closely analogous. List of Names with Biblical References. The Phoenicians mounted beads of coral on collars and garments. The carnelian is a siliceous stone and a species of chalcedony. Various medicinal powers were attributed to this stone until far into the Middle Ages. On the other hand, in Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) and English Versions of the Bible descriptions of the ornaments, only 9 of the 12 stones of the breastplate are mentioned; they are not in the same order as the corresponding stones in the breastplate as described in those VSS, silver is not mentioned at all, while gold is placed, not in the middle, but at the end of the list. Hyacinth, Greek hyakinthos; Vulg. nat. This is the twelfth and last stone of the foundation of the New Jerusalem. The largest beryls known have been found in Acworth and Grafton, New Hampshire, and in Royalston, Massachusetts, United States of America; one weighs 2900 lb. lapis onychinus; the eleventh stone of the breastplate in the Hebrew and the Vulgate (Ex., xxviii, 20; xxxix, 13), representing the tribe of Joseph. Pliny describes iaspis as being generally green and often transparent; he recognizes as many as 14 varieties. With regard to the tribes and their respective stones, we find in the Midrash. Septuagint probably translates sardion, Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) probably translates sardius; English Versions of the Bible translates "sardius"; EVm translates "ruby." It is a completely opaque stone of a conchoidal cleavage. By the time I arrived on the beach at Vernazza, the stack of large, smooth stones had clearly become a bit of holy ground for many. The word sardion has sometimes been called sardonyx. hyacinthus (Apoc., xxi, 20); the eleventh stone of the foundation of the heavenly city. of 21:19-20 may be identified by their Greek names in the Greek Bible but many Greek jewel names are as hard to identify as the Hebrew names in the Old Testament. Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) translates hyacinthus; the King James Version translates "jacinth"; the Revised Version (British and American) translates "jacinth" (Revelation 21:20) and "hyacinth" (Revelation 9:17); the Revised Version margin translates "sapphire" (Revelation 21:20). Theophrastus describes it as: "Its colour is red and of such a kind that when it is held against the sun it resembles a burning coal." in Revelation 21:19, the Revised Version margin translation of Greek sappheiros. Another possibility is that the name originates from a strange country, as did the coral itself. Hence, in translating a Hebrew statement of arrangement into a western language, one may either translate literally word by word, thus adopting the Hebrew direction of reading, or, more completely, may adopt the western direction for the order in the row. The topazion of the ancient Greeks was a green stone yielding to the action of a file and said to be brought from an island in the Red Sea, whereas the topaz of the present day is not a green stone, does not yield to the action of a file, and has not been brought from an island in the Red Sea. Gemmæ; LESÉTRE in VIGOUROUX, Dict. Josephus claimed he had seen the actual stones. When they were settled in the Land of Israel, they obtained gemstones from the merchant caravans travelling from Babylonia or Persia to Egypt, and those from Saba and Raamah to Tyre (Book of Ezekiel, xxvii, 22). However, the other eleven stones correspond to a stone in the rational and this is the only exception. Another problem is nomenclature; names having changed in the course of time: thus the ancient chrysolite is topaz, sapphire is lazuli, etc. the remark that the twelve foundation stones of the celestial city in Apoc., xxi, 19-20, correspond to the twelve stones of the rational. The 1st variety of beryllus and the most esteemed was, as stated above, of a pure sea-green color; the 2nd was paler, and approached a golden tint; the 3rd, allied to the 2nd in brilliancy but more pallid, was the chrysoprasus. Interpretation of Greek Names Used by John, 6. in Isaiah 54:12: Septuagint translates krustallos; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) periphrases as lapides sculpti ("engraved stones"); English Versions of the Bible translates "carbuncles." in Job 28:18; Proverbs 3:15; 8:11; 20:15; 31:10; Lamentations 4:7, English Versions of the Bible translation of Hebrew peninim; in Isaiah 54:12; Ezekiel 27:16, the Revised Version (British and American) translation of Hebrew kadhkodh; in Exodus 28:17; 39:10; Ezekiel 28:13, the King James Version margin translation of Hebrew 'odhem. This mistaken idea probably arose from the supposition that the translated words originally occupied the same position in the original. in Septuagint Exodus 28:19; 39:12, Septuagint translation of Hebrew leshem: 1st stone, 3rd row, of breastplate. excelsa, sericum. It is considered one of the most precious gems. Septuagint translates topazion in Job 28:19 and probably also in the other verses; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) translates topazius; English Versions of the Bible translates "topaz." Crystal, Heb. Practically all versions, including Josephus (Ant. Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) translates topazius; English Versions of the Bible translate it as "topaz.". in Ezekiel 1:4,27; 8:2, the King James Version, the English Revised Version and the American Revised Version margin translation of Hebrew chashmal; in Exodus 28:19, the Revised Version margin translation of Hebrew leshem. Professor Maskelyne suggests that the Hebrew yahalom and the Greek hualos may be kindred words and that yahalom may have been a bluish glass (considered valuable in very early times), or blue chalcedony, or perhaps even beryl. ahlmh; Sept. amethystos, also Apoc., xxi, 20. Some are of opinion that beryls are naturally angular.". It is the carbunculus of Pliny's time, and probably included the oriental ruby (corundum, alumina), the balas ruby (spinel, aluminate of magnesium), the almandine (a kind of garnet, alumino-silicate of iron) and pyrope (another kind of garnet, alumino-silicate of magnesium) of the present day. The Greek name alludes to the popular belief that amethyst prevented intoxication; as such, drinking vessels were made of amethyst for festivities, and carousers wore amulets made of it to counteract the action of wine. The breastplate familiar to Josephus (for he was long a priest in the temple of Jerusalem) may thus not have been identical with that in use when the Septuagint version was made. The equivalence of the Hebrew yashepheh and the Greek iaspis is generally accepted. The chrysolithus of Pliny was a "transparent stone with a refulgence like that of gold." mghry Septuag. Shamir was a hard material used for engraving precious stones; in the days of Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah, splinters of both diamond and corundum (white sapphire or adamant stone) were probably available for the purpose. in Revelation 4:3: the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) translates smaragdinus; English Versions of the Bible translates "emerald." The stones of the breastplate according to our Hebrew text (Exodus 28:17-21) were: The foundations of the New Jerusalem are (Revelation 21:19,20): Only 4 of the latter stones are mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament, also in the Book of Revelation, namely: iaspis (4:3; 21:18), smaragdos (4:3), sardion (4:3) and huakinthos (9:17). Presently coral is found in the Mediterranean, the northern coast of Africa furnishing the dark red, Sardinia the yellow or salmon-coloured, and the coast of Italy the rose-pink coral. Carbuncles were named differently according to their places of origin. Even the Egyptian culture, Greek mythology, Americans, Mayans boasts about the use of healing stones. Those were most valued which "when placed by the side of gold, impart to it a sort of whitish hue, and so give it the appearance of silver.". Sard and sardonyx are often confused by interpreters. In the last citation It has only been since the mid-1800’s that we have begun to identify stones according to their mineral content. ", in Revelation 4:6; 22:1: Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) translates crystallum; English Versions of the Bible translates "crystal." In the time of Theophrastus achates was sold at a great price, but by the time of Pliny had ceased to be a precious stone. Equivalence of Hebrew and Greek Names: Taking these matters into consideration, the following have considerable claims to be regarded as equivalents: The remaining three stones, tarshish, shoham and yahalom, are thus equivalent to chrusolithos, onuchion and berullion, but it is uncertain which Greek name corresponds to any of those Hebrew names. Was Moses ' brother and led the tribe of the fourth according to colour... For viewing into the Middle East, India, and China instead of the silex family ( chalcedony ). 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