Man felt a great need to find an outlet for his aesthetic leanings at a very early stage in human culture. One of the ways of fulfilling this need was to acquire rare, gleaming stones. To some of these stones, of unusual shape or color, he would attribute magical or therapeutic qualities or the power of conferring fruitfulness. Much later these beliefs became deeply rooted among the Hebrews and other Semitic peoples, as well as among those of the neighboring countries.
The Hebrews’ love of precious stones is amply illustrated by many references in the Bible to the extraordinary properties of such stones, and by the large number of stones specifically named. Personal and official seals were frequently made out of semi-precious stones.
Very few of the precious stones referred to in the Bible are among the natural resources of Palestine, but in some cases their place of origin is mentioned. The main sources were the rich countries of Arabia, such as Havilah (Gen 2:11-12), where gold and shoham (“onyx”) came from; Ophir (I Kgs 10:11; II Chr 9:10), whence, in addition to precious stones, came gold and precious timber; Sheba and Raamah (“gold and precious stone” Ezek 27:22); and topaz from Ethiopia (Job 28:19).
The desire for precious stones was also common among the Canaanites, and many are mentioned in the E1 Amarna Letters. In excavated sites throughout the Middle East precious stones have been found, set into jewelry made of gold, silver and bronze, and into scarabs, weights and seals. The high priest’s “breastplate of judgment” was set with 12 precious stones (Ex 28:17-20; 39:10-13), and most of these are enumerated by Ezekiel (28:13) as among the stones found in the Garden of Eden.
A variety of precious stones are mentioned in the description of the wall of the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation (Rev 21:15-22).The identification of the precious stones mentioned in the Bible with those known today presents many difficulties. It is only now, with the development of chemistry, mineralogy and crystallography, that the classification of the various stones into groups and their attribution to distinct mineralogical families has become possible. In ancient times they were classified solely on the basis of external characteristics, especially color. Thus stones that are listed in the Bible as belonging to different groups sometimes form a single mineralogical family.
The following list includes precious stones mentioned in the Bible with tentative identifications.
Ahlamah (“amethyst” Ex 28:19; 39:12). The identification of this stone is not certain. In the Septuagint it is rendered as “amethyst”, one of the quartzes, which is purple or violet in color. Some scholars agree with this identification of the stone.
Bareket (“emerald” Ex 28:17). This stone has the same name in Akkadian. The Septuagint calls it smaragdos, and the identification with smaragd, emerald, is generally accepted. During the Hellenistic period this name was applied to a different stone, the “false emerald” or malachite, whose greenish shade is close to that of the true emerald. Real emeralds were extremely rare in the ancient world and could not be easily worked. Some scholars hold that bareket should be identified with jasper.Dar The court of the garden of the Persian king was paved with dar (“alabaster, turquoise, white and black marble” Est 1:6). In Arabic dar means pearl, and some scholars believe that it should be identified with mother-of pearl. Others believe that it was an orange-colored stone.
Ekdah (“crystal” Is 54:12). The Septuagint refers to this as lithus crystallou, which would be the equivalent of rock crystal. Some maintain that it should be identified with carbunculus, the garnet, a red stone.
Kadkod (“ruby”). Listed among the precious stones which the Aramean merchants brought to Tyre (Ezek 27:16). According to Isaiah (54:12) God will make the windows of the house of Jerusalem of kadkod. The Arabs give the name karkund to a red stone resembling the ruby, identified today with the pinel. Scholars are of the view that kadkod should be identified with hyacinth, the medieval name for a yellow stone with sorts of lilac and purple. It may possibly be one of the quartzes that the Greeks and Romans used for jewelry. Pliny says that it was blue and that it came from Gaul. Today, under the name of hyacinth, it is classified among the zircons, stones that range from a colorless quality to green, blue, red and golden yellow.
Leshem (“jacinth” Ex 28:19). The Septuagint has ligurion, a corruption of the lyncurium of the classical sources, which is a shining yellow color; probably the opal, which is multicolored or a glimmering orange. Some identify it with aventurine, a quartz containing very fine crystals of hematite, limonite or mica, which sparkle when the light catches them. Still others identify it with amber.
Nopheh (“turquoise” Ex 28:18; Ezek 28:13). The Septuagint has anthrax. Ancient Greek sources refer to it as a hard red stone, much used by jewelers. Pliny calls the same stone carbunculus. Some scholars identify it with turquoise; a sulfate of aluminum, the small percentage of copper it contains gives it a distinctive red color. It was very much used in jewelry.
Odem (“sardius” Ex 28:17; Ezek 28:13). Some identify it with the Akkadian samtu, a red stone, but it is more likely the carnelian. Others believe it was red jasper, an opaque stone found abundantly in Palestine and Egypt. The identification of the odem with the ruby cannot be sustained, because this was not known before the 3rd century A.D.
Pitdah (“topaz” Ex 28:17; Ezek 28:13). Most biblical commentators understand this to be a greenish stone. Pliny uses the name topazion for a stone known as chrysolithos or as olivine, but pitdah is now identified with plasma, a greenish semi-translucent stone, one of the chalcedonies. The pitdah of Ethiopia symbolizes the value of wisdom in Job 28:19.
Ramoth (“coral” Ezek 27:16; Job 28:18). The identification of this stone is not certain. Some suggest that it is not a stone at all, but a shell.
Sapir (“sapphire” Ex 28:18). In the OT this is referred to among the most precious stones (Job 28:16). Ezekiel sees the firmament as resembling the sapphire and his vision of the Garden of Eden includes the sapir (Ezek 28:13). It is also a symbol of beauty (Song 5:4). This is not to be mistaken for the sapphire of our day, which is the corundum, a stone that was not known in ancient times. Theophrastos, a Greek scholar, in his book on stones, refers to it as blue with gold-white specks, like lapis lazuli.
Shebo (“agate” Ex 28:19). The identification with agate is accepted by all scholars. It is believed that the agate of the OT was not the white stone, but a mixed black and white stone. White-grey agates were found in Egypt.
Shoham (“onyx” Ex 28:20; Ezek 28:13; Job 28:16). One of the stones brought from Havilah (Gen 2:11-12). It seems that onyx is the most appropriate identification. It comes from the East and has three colors arranged in three stripes: red, blue or brown and black or dark brown. To Job (28:16) it was a symbol of wealth.
Soheret (“black marble” Est 1:6). The identification is not known. Some scholars think that it was a black stone used for paving floors.
Tarshish (“beryl” Ex 28:20). Believed to have been identical with mother-of-pearl. To Ezekiel the wheels of his vision resemble tarshish (Ezek 28:13).
Yahalom (“diamond” Ex 28:18; Ezek 28:13). According to the Midrash this stone is white. Some identify it with anthrax or carbuncle, which is red, and others with onyx, which has different colors arranged in layers, or even with chalcedony, which was much used for beads and seals. However, its identification with the diamond should be rejected, as this stone was not known before the Middle Ages. Ezekiel (28:13) sees it as one of the precious stones in the Garden of Eden.
Yaspeh (“jasper” Ex 28:20; 39:13). A translucent green stone; but may refer to a present-day opaque red quartz. Yaspeh is mentioned in the E1 Amarna Letters as a royal stone. Another stone known in biblical times was the lapis lazuli. There were in fact two qualities of it in the ancient world: natural and artificial. The natural stone was found in Cyprus and Scythia. Chemically it is a silicate of aluminum and sodium, ultramarine blue in color. The artificial lapis lazuli was produced in Egypt and was an alkaline silicate in which the blue color came from copper carbonate. It was often set in rings and used for scarabs. Ground lapis lazuli was used as an ultramarine pigment.In the NT, pearls (rendered as “rubies” in OT translations) are mentioned as items of women’s jewelry (I Tim 2:9; Rev 17:4).
The list of the 12 precious stones which adorn the foundations of the walls of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:19-21) was influenced by the description of the high priest’s breastplate (Ex 28:17-20; 39:10-13). The discrepancies between the two, however, show that the later list is not directly dependent on the first. The twelve gates of this city “were twelve pearls” (Rev 21:21). Some scholars have seen the use of twelve stones and gates as symbolizing the signs of the zodiac, the twelve tribes or the twelve apostles, but there is no general agreement on this.