Sacred Stones in the Bible

Biblical scholars agree that the Septuagint’s ligyrion is amber. Photo credit: Steve Voynick.

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

Precious gems and semi-precious stones mentioned in the Bible represent groups of people, the presence of God, and virtues. They have a sacred meaning in Genesis, Exodus, Job, Ezekiel, and Revelation. Depending on the Bible version, the names of the stones vary. Exodus 28:6-14 describes two stones used to secure the High Priest's ephod. In the New Jerusalem Bible, these are identified as carnelian. In the King James Version, they are identified as onyx, and in the Septuagint, they are emeralds. What the Septuagint calls "sardion" is identified as carnelian in other texts. In his Naturalis Historia, Pliny the Elder describes sardion as a “fiery, red gemstone.”

The original Hebrew and Greek words reflect classification based on physical properties such a transparency, color, and durability. There is little correspondence to the modern geo-chemical understanding of the stones. Red stones such as carnelian represent blood and the blood sacrifices performed by the Hebrew ruler-priest caste. Blue stones such as sapphire or lapis lazuli represent the Heavens and the throne of God.

The colors and shine of the stones seem to be the one consistent thread connecting the narratives involving sacred stones. For example, there is a correspondence between the stones on the high priest's breastplate and the fiery stones mentioned in Ezekiel 28:14-16:

You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.

I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from amidst the stones of fire.

The stones were said to flash with a fiery light. Umberto Cassuto's Masoretic text translates the Hebrew "stones of fire" as "sparkling stones". The symbolism of the sacred stone involved their shine and transparency.

Twelve stones of the High Priest's breastplate are said to represent the twelve tribes/sons of Israel. This is a late narrative because in the time of Abraham and his Hebrew ancestors there were no Israelites and the normal Hebrew organization was a 3-clan confederation. The Book of Exodus is based mainly on oral tradition and was written between 600 and 400 B.C., long after the time of Moses (c.1500 B.C.). It is not surprising that the names of the stones on the High Priest's breastplate vary depending on the version of the Bible. For example, the Hebrew word nofekh (נוֹפֶךְ, Ex. 28:18) is commonly translated as "emerald" or "carbuncle" in older texts.

emerald - Emerald is a crystal with a deep green color. It is one of the stones in the breastplate of the High Priest (Ex. 28:18; Ex. 39:11). Emeralds were mined from the mountains of Ethiopia, Egypt and Cyprus but not readily available. Emeralds are mentioned in Revelation 4:3, which describes the throne of God: "And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne." Revelation 21:19 describes one of the foundation walls of the New Jerusalem as emerald. "The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald..."

jasper - Jasper is an opaque variety of quartz that comes in shades of red and yellow. In Hebrew it is called yashpeh and in Greek it is called iaspis. Jasper was another stone in the breastplate of the High Priest (Ex. 28:20). The light that shines in the New Jerusalem appears "like a jasper stone." (Rev. 21:11) However, the stone mentioned in Revelation more likely refers to green malachite which was associated with the Son of God (HR) among the early Hebrew (4000-2000 B.C.). The Book of the Dead speaks of how the deceased will become a falcon "whose wings are of green stone" (chapter 77). The falcon was the animal totem of HR (Horus in Greek). The Ancient Pyramid Texts speak of Horus as the Lord of the green stone (Utterance 301). The Hebrew living in the region of the Timna Valley mined malachite. It is likely that green malachite is the foundation stone of the New Jerusalem.

onyx - Onyx is a type of agate with two or more colors in parallel bands or stripes. The Hebrew word for onyx is shoham. One of the stones in the High Priest's breastplate was onyx. Onyx was found in the land of Ha'vilah (Gen. 2:12). Ha'vilah means the place where the waters part or form a V, and the name refers to the place where the White Nile and the Blue Nile separate. Onyx is mentioned in Job 28:16 and Ezekiel 28:13.

ruby - Ruby or in some Bibles carnelian (odem) is a red stone that symbolizes wisdom and blood. the word odem is related to the word Edom, where some of the Horite Hebrew lived (Gen. 36). The Greeks called that region Idumea, meaning "Land of Red People".

sapphire - Sapphire or in some Bibles lapis lazuli is a blue stone that symbolizes the heavens and the throne of God. Ezekiel 28:13 reports that this stone was abundant in ancient Eden. According to Genesis 2 Eden was a vast well-watered region that extended from the sources of the Nile in the Ethiopian Highlands and Uganda to the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia. The Mesopotamian and Sumerian rulers imported lapis lazuli from Afghanistan. 

topaz - Topaz is the second stone in row one of the High Priest's breastplate. It has been translated as "chrysolite," "emerald," and "peridot." It has a transparent golden color suggesting association with the Sun, a symbol of the High God among the early Hebrew. The word topaz was applied only in the 18th century when it was confused with the ancient "topazos" which gemologists believe to be peridot.

Related reading: Gemstones in the Bible - Rock & Gem Magazine; Three-Clan Confederations to Twelve Tribes; The Religious Symbolism of Gold; The Religious Symbolism of Green Malachite