Biblical Gemstones

We like to pass information on to you as we conclude small research projects.  We thought you might like to know about some of your favorite gemstones that you call birthstones as well as other important minerals.  You might not have known that the King James Version of the Scriptures has an astonishing total of 1,704 references to gemstones and minerals under 124 Greek and Hebrew names.  Some of these references are to gems whose names are obscure and whose identity is uncertain, such as adamant or ligure.  Others include those of increasing importance - gold, copper, iron, sulfur, and precious gems.  Modern versions have used the names of gems more familiar to us, and mention gems and minerals which were known to ancient peoples - jade, turquoise, lapis lazuli, and zircon.  Here are a few of those gems that you might be familiar with as well as a few that you may not have known about.  If you would like further information, please e-mail us at uqi@buffalo.edu.  We always welcome your comments.

REFER TO: Ruth V. Wright and Robert L. Chadbourne. Gems and Minerals of the Bible: The Love and Mystery of the Minerals and Jewels of Scripture from Adamant to Zircon.  Keats Publishing, Inc. New Canaan, Connecticut. 1970, for further information on each stone and mineral.

Gemstone/Mineral	Passage	Bible Reference
ADAMANT	Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law.	Zechariah 7:12, A.V.
AGATE	And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning works.And thus shalt set it in settings of stones, even four rows of stones.And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.	Exodus 28:15, 17, 17l, A.V.
ALABASTER	Jesus himself was now in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper.  As he was sitting at table, a woman approached him with an alabaster flask of very costy spikenard perfume.  She broke the neck of the flask and poured the perfume on Jesus' head.	Mark 14:3, M.E.
AMBER	And I looked, and behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.	Ezekiel 1:4, A.V.
AMETHYST	The foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones.. the twelfth, an amethyst.	Revelation 21: 19, 20, A.V.
ANTIMONY	O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires.	Isaiah 54:11, R.S.V.
ASPHALT	Then, as they had bricks for stone and asphalt for mortar, they said, "Come on, let us make a name for ourselves by building a city and a tower whose top reaches to heaven."	Genesis 11:3-4, Moffatt
BDELLIUM (Probably Opal)	And the gold of that land is good; their bdellium and the onyx stone.	Genesis 2:12, A.V.
BERYL	And in the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper; they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.	Exodus 28:20, A.V.
BITUMEN	And they said to one another, "Come let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly."  And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.	Genesis 11:3, R.S.V.
BRASS	For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, .a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.	Deuteronomy 8:7, 9, A.V.
BRIMSTONE	But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.	Luke 17:29, A.V.
BRONZE	.and when they came from the market place, they do not eat unless they purify themselves; and there are many other traditions which they observe, the washing of cups and pots and vessels of bronze.	Mark 7:4, R.S.V.
CARBUNCLE	And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle:  This shall be the first row.	Exodus 28:17, A.V.
CARNELIAN (CORNELIAN)	The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every jewel; .the sixty carnelian.	Revelation 21: 19-20, R.S.V.
CHALCEDONY	And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones.  The first foundation was jasper.the third, a chalcedony.	Revelation 21:19, A.V.
CHALK	By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob  be purged;  and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the alter as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up.	Isaiah 27:9, A.V.
CHRYSOLITE	And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones.the seventh, chrysolyte.	Revelation 21:  19-20, A.V.
CHRYSOPRASE (CHRYSOPRASUS)	And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones.  The first foundation was jasper; .the tenth, a chrysoprasus.	Revelation 21: 19-20, A.V.
CLAY	He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and establishing my goings.	Psalm 40:2, A.V.
COAL	The flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar.	Isaiah 6:6, A.V.
COPPER	For the Lord your God is bringing you into the good land,.a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper.	Deuteronomy 8:7, 9, R.S.V.
CORAL	But where shall wisdom be found?  And where is the place of understanding?  No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of wisdom is above pearls.	Job 28:12, 18, R.S.V.
CRYSTAL	The gold and crystal cannot equal it, and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.	Job 28:17, A.V.
DIAMOND	The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the hours of your altars.	Jeremiah 17:1, A.V.
EMERALD	And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone:  and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.	Revelation 4:3, A.V.
FLINT	Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint.	Deuteronomy 8:15, R.V.
GLASS	And the building of the wall of it was a jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto pure glass.	Revelation 21:18, A.V.
GOLD	Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.	Job 28:1, A.V.
HYACINTH (a variety of zircon)	You are to make the pectoral of judgment.In this you are to set four rows of stones.the third, hyacinth, ruby, amethyst.	Exodus 28: 15, 17, 19, J.B.
IRON	.the Eternal your God is brining you into a fine country, .where you shall lack for nothing, a country whose ore is iron and from whose hills you can dig copper.	Deuteronomy 8:7, 9, Moffatt
JACINTH	And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones.the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth, the twelfth, an amethyst.	Revelation 21: 19-20, A.V.
JADE	Make the breast-piece of judgment; .Set in it four rows of precious stones: .the second row, purple garnet, lapis lazuli and jade.	Exodus 28:15,17,18, N.E.B.
JASPER	And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work;.And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper; they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.	Exodus 28:15,20, A.V.
LAPIS LAZULI	The foundations of the city wall were adorned with jewels of every kind, the first of the foundation-stones being jasper, the second lapis lazuli.	Revelation 21:19, N.E.B.
LEAD	The bellows blow fiercely, the lead is consumed by the fire; in vain the refining goes on, for the wicked are not removed.	Jeremiah 6:29, R.S.V.
LIGURE	And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones..And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.	Exodus 28:17, 19, A.V.
LIME	And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.	Isaiah 33: 12, A.V.
MALACHITE	The wall was built of diamond, and the city of pure gold, like polished glass. The foundations of the city wall were faced with all kinds of precious stone;  the first with diamond, the second lapis lazuli.the eighth malachite.	Revelation 21: 18,20, J.B.
MARBLE	And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo any more, cargo of gold, silver,.iron and marble.	Revelation 18:11, 12, R.S.V.
NITER (also known as natron)	For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God.	Jeremiah 2:22, A.V.
ONYX	the name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.	Genesis 2:11,12,A.V.
PEARL	Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all he had, and bought it.	Matthew 13:45-46, A.V.
PITCH	And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.	Isaiah 34:9, A.V.
QUARTZ	The foundations of the city wall were faced with all kinds of precious stone: the first with diamond, .the seventh gold quarts.	Revelation 21:19,20, J.B.
RUBY	And you must insert in it a setting of stones, four rows of stones,.the second row a ruby, a sapphire, and a crystal.	Exodus 28:17, 18, S.-G.
SALT	Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted:  It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be case out, and to be trodden under the foot of men.	Matthew 5:13, A.V.
SAPPHIRE	And this how I saw the horses in my vision:  the riders wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulphur.	Revelation 9:17, R.S.V.
SARDINE STONE	.and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.  And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone.	Revelation 4:2-3, R.V.
SARDIUS (SARD)	The foundation stones of the wall of the city were ornamented with all kinds of precious stones.  The first foundation stone was jasper.the sixth sardius.	Revelation 21: 19-20, S.-G.
SARDONYX	And the foundations of the wall o the city were garnished with al manner of precious stones.  The first foundation was jasper.the firth, sardonyx, the sixty, sardius.	Revelation 21: 19-20.A.V.
SILVER	And Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.	Genesis 23:16, A.V.
SLIME	(the woven  basket for Moses was waterproofed with slime and pitch) And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick and burn them thoroughly.  And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.	Genesis 11:3, A.V.
SOLDER	The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, 'It is good"; and they fasten it with nails so that it cannot be moved.
STIBIC-STONE	(This was eye makeup that was used to increase the apparent size of the eyes, and was also used for coloring the hair, eyebrows, and skin.).  All of us Uncrowned Queens know about that!!:  But when thou art spoiled what will thou do?  Though thou clothest thyself with scarlet, though thou deckest thyself with ornaments of gold, and paintest thy eyes with stibic-stone, thou shalt dress thyself out in vain.	Jeremiah 4, 30, D.V.
SULFUR	Just as the sun rose over the earth and Lot entered Zoar, the Lord rained sulphur and fire from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah, devastating those cities and all the valley, with all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation on the land.	Genesis 19: 23-25, S.-G.
TIN	This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord commanded Moses; Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, Everything that may abide the fire, ye shall make go through the fire, and it shall be clean:  nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water.	Numbers 31:21: 21-23, A.V.
TOPAZ	But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? .The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.	Job 28:12, 19, A.V.
TURQUOISE	The foundations of the city wall were adorned with jewels of every kind, the first of the foundation-stones being jasper,.the eleventh turquoise.	Revelation 21:19,20, N.E.B.
VERMILION (CINNABAR) (bright scarlet-red mineral)	Woe to  him who builds his house by unrighteousness.Who says, "I will build myself a great house with spacious upper rooms," and cuts out windows for it, paneling it with cedar and painting it with vermilion".
WATER	For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, it is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven.	Deuteronomy 11:10-11, A.V.
ZIRCON	The wall itself was built of translucent stone, while the city was of purest gold, with the brilliance of glass. The foundation s of the wall of the city were fashions out of every kind of precious stone.  The first foundation stone was jasper.the eleventh, zircon.	Revelation 21: 18-19