12 foundation stones of the New Jerusalem,
from the book of Revelation 19-21

updated cross-referenced 12 stones of the foundations of the New Jerusalem from Revelation chapter 21

Issue 6 June 2014 “Faraway Calls, part 2 (Welcome to the Tower)”

“Faraway Calls pt 2” (slogan: “temperance movement”)/ gluttony animal pig colors pink/orange)

story and art by jp 2 issue #6 june 2014 copyright Bathtub Comics (sons of god comic book, on facebook)

Deadly Virtue II: Temperance (slogan: “temperance movement”)/ (converse vice is gluttony)

Animal: pig

Virtue colors pink/orange

number of souls in heaven: still 143992

disclaimer/ credits “The depiction of any revellings, banquetings, abominable idolatries, or excess of riot by Jews or Gentiles, quick or dead, is purely strange.” ¹

“Things is gonna get weird…”

Front Cover, and Front Inner Sleeve: hoo boy… here we go…

The idea (with all the psychedelic biblical images) is that we are homing in on a possible crazy convergence point: Armageddon (although it may all be imagined, it may just be businessmen slowly destroying the world, it may be hallucinations, whatever…) and while our characters live and work in the modern real world of 2014, we see more and more glimpses (through a hazy gauze) of the insane existence of The New Jerusalem from Revelation.

We’ve all heard the amazing descriptions when John was brought up for a glimpse of the New Heaven and the New Earth… the twelve pearly gates, the bizarre measurements taken by the Angel… but I’ve always been extremely captivated by the descriptions of the beautiful precious stones decorating the twelve foundations of the wall. Now there are several depictions available, or artist’s conceptions of the wall, but I could find no well annotated or well documented referenced picture of the actual foundations with the stones.

I believe this may be the best cross-referenced image of what the 12 layers looked like, PERIOD. But it was a biggggg job. I wrote to libraries and gem experts and read bible translations with original greek gem names… You see, John the Revelator wrote “Revelation” sometime in the late 1^st century (81-96 CE), so the terms he used for the 12 stones of the foundations must be looked at as they were understood at that time. Of course John may have had confusing or erroneous understandings of what gem was what color, etc., but taking Revelation at its word, the list of 12 gems can be very well referenced by the most respected naturalist of that day, Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE). He wrote the amazing Naturalis Historia, about “all the knowledge of the day” (including the last two books of the work (Books XXXVI and XXXVII), in which Pliny describes many different minerals and gemstones, building on works by Theophrastus and other authors.)²

But the names of some of the stones written in Revelation are different today, some have switched places with other stones, and some require the best guesses of scholars (Bible and Gemology scholars): scholars can cross-reference the names with the descriptions, and with Pliny’s more standardized scientific descriptions, and use best evidence to get an image of what stone was intended by each citing in the Bible. (I at first wondered if it might turn out to be set up like a sunset or a rainbow…) I will include all my references after the footnotes, and it’s fun historical detective work to try to recreate the actual colors based on our most up to date understanding of what John meant by each stone name in the foundation, and also to show actual photos of these stones in a horizontal foundation wall (my artistic choice, I know they may well have been stacked vertically…)

On the front cover, I just layed out flat cuts of the stones or inlays, while on the front inner sleeve I also included polished gems and jewelries made from each stone, to better show what john may have had in mind when he was thinking about the beautiful gems.

The UPPER part of the front cover, of course, shows the pearly gates (with the revolving door!), and a line of very interesting characters waiting to get in? maybe defending the gate? Maybe just looking? Ask Jojo… I just did all the stonework, and the brass plaque (the same plaque, of course, that was seen on the Earthly Tower, the Kingdom of Heaven corporation building at 90 west st in NYC City.) As it is on earth, so it will be in Heaven… crazy fun-house mirror symmetry of cover #5 and cover #6

On the Inner sleeve, there is an explanation of the gem name changes through history. There are also two alien-like god creatures looking over the gates, one colored with oil pastels (a first in this book). The one wall is pure gold, polished to look like clear glass (my understanding of how gold could look “transparent” because it’s so highly polished into a mirror)

Page 1 the sons of God all laughing like Ron Burgundy’s crew in Anchorman 2 (like when they laugh at the “I Hate Mondays” poster: HHHHAAA!)

Page 2 Stan, very possibly an archangel, in exile or in hiding, avoiding the Sons of God corp at any rate, repeating his mantra “My only wish is to see Far Arden again…” (Shakespeare’s idyllic lost Forest of Arden, magical poetic, natural world, long since destroyed…) on his way back “home” to Dunning (Welcome Home Sanitarium)

Page 3 the quote is adapted from Peter 4:3 about lack of temperance (“revelings, banquetings, abominable idolatries…”)

Page 4 panel 1 another clue: Jesse’s brother and devil allusion

The fish tank shows a very familiar starfish and his neighbor who lives in an easter island head.

Panel 2 another spongebob joke, but this is a little complicated: this is an homage to “Opposite Day”, season 1, ep 9b. we see not just Patrick Star and Squidward’s house, but also we see jesse holding a pineapple (Spongebob’s house). A very tricky idea is that of doing “the Opposite” all day: just think about it... Spongebob tells Patrick “whatever you normally do, today you do the opposite.” And Patrick stops breathing, so Spongebob says “Not THAT opposite.” So then they try to do things the wrong way, they speak backwards, etc. They decide they will be Squidward, so they say to each other “After you, Mr. Squidward!” so in this panel, instead it is Squidward pretending to be his opposite, the successful Squilliam Fancyson.

But think about it: if you say “I’m doing the opposite today” then “the opposite” is now the status quo. Then you should automatically be doing the opposite of THAT instead. So you’re back to the same thing in the end. If you announce that “Today is opposite day!”, you are really automatically announcing that it is “NOT opposite day”. But others will be equally confused by the absurd thesis (not just because it is undefined how far the opposite taking goes…) If I say to Squidward “It’s Opposite Day” and he says “No it’s NOT!” then he really means “I agree, it IS opposite day”… it’s kind of existential, and that is the joke on this page: I have good intentions for my children/followers, even if that means having murderous or destructive wishes. (p.s. and we made Patrick naked because…)

Panel 3 tame foxes are just super cute…

Panel 4 “free and wild, beyond good and evil” Of course, this is from Cthulhu (and we see the elder god depicted in cave paintings here). Another complicated idea: Lovecraft was a brilliant creator, and also a racist etc etc (see Lovecraft controversies) to be “Beyond good and evil” kind of means to be “Outside” of the system… but then, you are still confined within the NEXT system (just draw a bigger box around the great old ones…) anyway, this is a cave-drawing depicting the “Holocaust” scene in Cthulhu. Also note the familiar Lambie on the wall. And yes, that is crow and Tom Servo sitting in with the Gods, kind of making fun of our whole premise: basically saying “Aren’t you comic book creators taking yourselves just a little too seriously?” basically lampooning us as being a cheap B-movie story?

Panel 5 “So free will is just…” the logical next step in Jesse’s argument that people are only good if they obey everything he decrees, do everything proscribed for them, is really the opposite of “Life”. “Don’t live your own life, be my puppet-man!” yes, the little seal is even more sad and confused, and he is now wearing a Santa hat, to add to the satire of religion as make-believe.

Panel 6 again with the special magic religious drinks with ice tesseracts for cubes.

“Wounded soldiers”, unfinished vessels, glasses fully half-empty (paradoxically)”, descriptions of souls waiting to be filled with grace? The joke here: Wounded Soldiers” is slang for unfinished drinks. Some less discriminating college kids walk around the aftermath of parties finishing off unfinished drinks. We see the unfortunate young waiter Mr. Legion eyeing the fancy drinks left on his tray… bad idea, bro…

Page 5 panel 1 we ominously see the “Devel” brand beer commercial on tv again ³

Panel 4 “Baptism by Fire” this SHOULD be a drink!

Panel 5 this bottle is based on famous single malt Scotches, such as the Dalmore 62 Single Highland Malt Scotch- (which sold for $250,000, and contains whiskies from the mid 1800’s) we see here again that this is Mr. Gerasenes, the boss, talking with the younger sneakier Mr. Legion. Their names are from Luke 8:26-40 (New International Version (NIV))In this whacky Bible story, jesus comes across a demon-possessed man:

For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” 29 For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.

32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. 33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

Yeah! Bible stories! Theyah! (Yessah…)

Panel 6 Lourdes is the holy grotto in France where people come to be miraculously cured, then they hang up their crutches there once they can walk again. People can take little bottles of super-holy water from this healing place. The water in the Gods’ drinks was also blessed by the Pope. If you’ve ever snuck a drink of holy water, you’ll know it’s salty and disgusting (at least that’s how I remember it as a little kid in catholic church). You can see this glass is sparking with magical fireworks…

Panel 7 waiters used to always eat some of the leftover food that came back. A joke was that “sharing tips” meant sharing some especially good food with the other waiters. This kind of “tips” is indeed part of their “wages”… the wages of sin.

Panel 8 his mind is already going bye-bye with psychedelic biblical imagery, including the priest being eaten by the Leviathan.

Page 6 panel 1 I believe I made up this expression: “You’ll make a black sailor blush”. Jesse REALLY can’t swear…

Panel 2 “I’ll make him sign the damned papers of his own free will” another contradiction in terms, that is actually exactly what Jesse means. The weapon is of course the flaming sword of Uriel.

“Old Testament Crazy” real off the hooks violence, falsely justified wrath, etc. The really depraved, sick stuff. The “no-risk landfall for everyone” is our first allusion to a really good movie that comes in later: “The Descendants” becomes a parallel story or an allegory for the Gods taking over the world and tearing it all down.

Panel 3 the other gods are against killing Stan. This was an actual chart showing the popularity or growth rates of the world’s most practiced religions. Christianity remains the religion with most adherents, but Jainism, Bahai Faith, Daoism, Islam, Sikhism and Hinduism all have faster growth rates.⁴

Panel 4 “go straight to hell, do not pass go…” the Monopoly card “go to jail”.

“Holy Me Monkeyballs”. “Oh my Jesus Christ Monkeyballs”: this is of course, Cartman’s famous exclamation when he sees Super Fun Time in season 12.

This is an old Barbarino joke from welcome back Kotter: “We’re doing the work of 3 guys: Moe, Larry, and Curly!”

Panel 5 they can’t reach Stan cause he’s in a “Dead Zone” (no cellular service): more on these later, but you can see the old ghostly places here: the hellmouth which is in the Chicago River; and the nearby safe place, which is in Dunning, Insane Asylum.

Panel 6 From Wikipedia: “Nomophobia is a proposed name for the phobia of being out of cellular phone contact. It is, however, arguable that the word "phobia" is misused and that in the majority of cases it is another form of anxiety disorder.” Ah, but Jesse still has his little black book with old-fashioned (landline) telephone numbers in it…

We see the afflicted/stricken waiter wandering into the room looking for Jesse…

Page 7 Panel 1 the waiter’s fonts are all hyper religious now. “Rabboni” is translated in the King James Bible as “Master”, and other places as “Teacher” or “my dear teacher”. The waiter now sees that Jesse is Jesus.

Panel 2 the waiters wild rambling speech is morphing into the words from “Day by Day” from the musical “Godspell”. On TV is the Guardians of the Galaxy commercial, now a commercial for the end: the last episode; the apocalypse; “Tons of Goo” Some people who saw the earlier issues at comicons thought the title said “Tons of Goo”. This was too awesome not to use, so watch for this title in the final issues…

Panel 4 jesus asking Charlie Brown’s famous question “What now?” the quotes are about Temperance, the deadly virtue theme for this issue.

Panel 5 we see he is having wild religious biblical hallucinations: this is the flip side, how I figured human minds could never handle actually touching their God. Jesse’s joke “I am the way… tired…” is of course from John 14:6

Panel 6 more godspell humor: see thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, (“Of watching this smucking looney bin…) “fall apart more queerly day by day”. We get another hint: a glimpse of the real jesus’ sandals

Panel 8 we were really looking fwd to drawing all these Gods as men would see them! (their true forms are suddenly revealed only to this waiter who drank the holy water from Jesus’ glass)

And the punch line for the waiter: “And then did the herd of pigs… and was drowned.” The daemons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs: Translation, this is what you get when you interact directly with the Son of God.

Page 8 panel 1 to 3 jesse is like the REALLY bad parent here. This is based on an incident I saw once when I was about 12: an aggressive, antisocial new parent was holding his brand new baby girl after she fed: the baby spat up some formula on his shoulder (a big flannel lumberjack shirt or jacket as I recall) and he freaked and swore and held the baby away from his body, cursing. A much cooler relative of his said “Hey man, it’s ok. Later you’ll tell people ‘see that spot? My kid made that spot!’”

Panel 4 Physical contact with jesse is too much for human’s minds

Panel 5 But if you give your life and mind and hopes away, they’ll say you have a servant’s heart, so it’s all good in religion!

Panel 7, 8 these are the real grave markers at the Dunning Memorial Park, but Dunning Asylum itself was torn down. But on the massive grounds, workers digging up sewer lines, building new shopping centers, etc found thousands of human remains. The surrounding fields were also burial grounds, “Potters Fields” for the poor, the disenfranchised, all of Society’s down and out. so, many of the remains were reburied in the park, but work is ongoing to try to identify the over 38,000 bodies buried on the old Dunning grounds.⁵ Here are the markers⁶ . for the poorhouse; the insane asylum; the great fire of 1871; abandoned orphans, infants and children (and mothers); the sick and infirm at dunning; the civil war veterans; and the other unknown and itinerant poor of cook county. Everything about Dunning is so sad. So VERY very sad…

Panel 9 the famous warning parents told their kids back in Chicago as recently as the 70’s and 80’s.

Page 9 Panel 1 My main sources for the heartbreaking stories of Dunning are Robert Loerzel’s excellent articles, and also his book “Alchemy of Bones: Chicago’s Luetgert Murder Case of 1897.”

excellent article from wbez by Robert Loerzel⁷

Panel 2 The real “crazy train”: documented here ⁸the quote here is from an 1874 Chicago Tribune article about Dunning.

Panel 3 these are all quotes and reports about Dunning, from the 1800s and from today. Also at this time, far away from the desperation of Dunning, George Seurat painted his masterpiece starting in 1884, called Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” in Paris. “In his best-known and largest painting, Georges Seurat depicted people relaxing in a suburban park on an island in the Seine River called La Grande Jatte. The artist worked on the painting in several campaigns, beginning in 1884 with a layer of small horizontal brushstrokes of complementary colors. He later added small dots, also in complementary colors, that appear as solid and luminous forms when seen from a distance.” And where does this world-famous painting, which inspired the musical Sunday in the Park With George, which documents an idyllic life on the warm river banks of the Seine, with happy summery people, reside? Why, the painting belongs to the Art Institute Chicago, of course! A weird dichotomy, the contrast between the crazy people locked away, and the beautiful colorful people painted on Seurat’s canvas, which is housed in Chicago… here we have the characters from the painting walking past patients and inmates behind the fence at Dunning in the 1880’s.

Panel 4 On top of the other injustices visited upon the poor souls buried at Dunning, bodies were also stolen and sold to institutions (the body snatchers stories are well documented by Robert Loerzel⁹) the Great Fire image is based on the famous “Chicago in Flames” lithograph by Currier & Ives.

Panel 6 from loerzel’s article: “Political corruption was part of the problem at Dunning. County officials treated it as a patronage haven, hiring pals and cronies who had no expertise in handling mental patients. Employees got drunk on duty, partying and dancing late at night in the asylum. Some of the asylum’s top authorities used taxpayer money to decorate their offices and hold lavish parties while patients were suffering in squalor.” Robert Burns’ case is sad, but typical: the two attendants who killed the patient were aquitted.

Page 10 panel 1 these pages are based on the movie “One flew over the cuckoo’s nest” for look and atmosphere, but the stories and people are all REAL. Sorrowful, documented tales of the hollow, bitter fates of patients and residents of Dunning. Many patients’ cases are reviewed in Loerzel’s article for “Alchemy of Bones” ¹²

Panel 2 yes, this character’s face is based on Mr. Cheswick from Cuckoo’s nest. The patient, Frank Johnson, cut off his right hand because the Bible told him to.

Panel 3 and expected it to grow back again

Panel 4 William Mitchell heard voices of people trying to kill him. (“Dunning Stunning” is what we used to call people who frequented a certain bar called “Dunning’s”)

Panel 5 this is of course, the great American writer Nellie Bly (she is wearing a Marckness County Hospital gown just like the characters in the cuckoos nest movie). Nellie, 23 then, was a reporter for the New York World, and pretended to be insane in order to do an undercover story on the conditions in the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island in 1887. Diagnosed as being insane by the head of Bellevue, she experienced firsthand the terrible, unconscionable treatment of the mentally ill.

the speculation that guards might sexually abuse female patients given Mickey Finn’s is my idea, but is not, I believe, very farfetched.

Panel 6 these treatments were real, but they came after Nellie Bly’s time: “In the first half of the 20th century, Chicago State Hospital used several different treatments for mental illness. Hydrotherapy used hot or cold water to soothe people who were depressed or agitated. Fever treatments induced high temperatures to kill off bacteria in the brains of patients with syphilis.

Lobotomies were not performed at Chicago State Hospital, but Mehr says the hospital did send some of its patients elsewhere for the treatment, which cuts the brain’s frontal lobe. “That’s like shooting someone in the head with a shotgun,” he says.

For a time, some patients at Dunning and other Illinois hospitals were given electroshock therapy “once a day, every day for years, which is just an absolute abomination,” Mehr says. “That was a terrible thing to do.” ¹¹

To this day I get so mad thinking about the poor patients who got lobotomies: untested, ruthless, sick procedures to wipe out their minds in an attempt to make the patients more manageable, less psychiatrically compromised, or just to curb unwanted rebellious behavior (like poor Rose Kennedy, John F Kennedy’s sister, who was a little too headstrong for her father, so he had her lobotomized and she became a vegetable for her entire life…)

Page 11 panel 1 Theresa K. was severely emaciated and believed her food was being poisoned. in the background, you can see Catherine L., “She owns a flat building, where she is obliged to live alone because her tenants will not remain. But the greatest sin that is laid to her is that she has a pet cat, which she carries about and talks to it, and laughs over it. A Chicago Inter Ocean article from October 24, 1897”

You can see John L. sitting upside down in his chair. (John L. has wife and three living children, two having died; rolls over and over and jumps often two hours at a time;)

Panel 2 we combined 2 characters here: Catherine T. and Maggie Mc__.

Catherine T. is 56, and has been a terror to her family for seventeen years, or since the birth of her last child. Her doctor testified that she was something like a wild cat, when he was called in to see her

Maggie Mc___ “Five years ago she had a fall that left her unconscious for several hours; her wrist was broken at the time, and now there is a suspicion that her skull must have been fractured. She is silly, helpless, Irish, very poor, and 28 years of age. A Chicago Inter Ocean article from October 24, 1897

Next to her is Will L. (his name tag says “Hey, Babe: Will L.” “An officer found him wandering about the boulevards ogling women and girls.”

Fans of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 will doubtless recognize the 3 characters shown in silhouette from behind: These are, of course, Mike, Tom Servo, and Crow. This gag is just because we keep showing only half the circle from the front, and in MST3K we only see the 3 hecklers from behind in the darkened theatre. If you look at the panel just below, you will see why they are here.

Panel 3 Fredericka W., 35, who was unkempt with a weather-beaten complexion, was sent to Dunning after a policeman found her sitting on a curbstone in a park. She said she “was searching for a prince, who had promised her marriage.” A Chicago Inter Ocean article from October 24, 1897

Panel 4 Fannie Hrdlicka was placed in Dunning when she became depressed after her baby died… She rocked the baby for a couple of days, and wouldn’t let it out of her arms.

Considine Z. is 25 and was found by an officer hanging around a Polish church, where he had picked up a red lamp and threw it at the alter and did other descrations (sic) because "the Irish had been served before he was by the priest."
We see that he is dressed like Mike from MST3K in the panel above, and next to him, the silhouette of Tom Servo is actually the red Lamp he threw at the altar (whose nametag reads “Coleman, L.” for Coleman Lamp) on Mike’s other side, the silhouette of Crow is actually Martha G.: “Martha Grote:, an inmate of the Dunning Asylum for the Insane, died on Friday night of laudanum poisoning. The woman managed to get into the drug closet, and swallowed the narcotic without the knowledge of the attendants.

Martha Grote was admitted to the asylum July 8. She was suffering from acute melancholia as the result of the death of her 5-year-old child.”

With his back to us is John E.N. who believed he was Jesus Christ, and this is why he says “Let the Dead bury the Dead.”

Panel 5 John E.N. is 28, and is the perfect image of ex-Governor Altgeld. His brother testified that “he has been arrested several times for walking the streets day and night. Now he is the prophet and the Christ, seeing and knowing people who are down in the earth. When Judge Carter asked him specifically about these delusions he looked up sharply and said: "Why, don’t you see those people yourself, and you an intelligent man?"

“What of the night?” is our famous recurring quote on the backs of issues, from the Jehovah’s Witnesses newsletter, the Watchtower. His name tag says “Hi, I’m John E.N. “The Way” (because Jesus said “I am the way and the light...”) he is dressed as and based on “Jack Gurney, 14th Earl of Gurney” from Peter O’Tooles character in “The Ruling Class”: a brilliant and freaky movie.

Panel 6 we see fannie H. holding her dead baby. We see Fannie C holding her can of red paint: “She runs away, and cries for her mother, who has been dead five years, and latterly took to brandishing a carving knife and threatening to paint the house red.” Her name tag says “watch out, it’s Fannie C.”

John E.N’s name tag now says INRI. In silhouette we see 3 more patients Edward H., Timothy O.B., and Sarah S. whose stories are all told on the back inner sleeve, along with all the dead.¹⁶

We recognize this colorful word balloon as coming from only one man: Stan is channeling Lloyd Bentson in his famous debote with opposing vice-presidential candidate Dan Quayle. When Quayle, a republican, said he had as much experience in Congress as Jack Kennedy did. To which Sen Bentsen had his famous response: “ Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.”

Page 12 panel 1 governor, you’re no Jesus Christ.” Stan previously worked with Jesus/Jesse, before they split up and Stan went into hiding.

Hi name tag says “Hi kids, I’m Stan”. The pay-phone in the background has the real number and address for the Chicago-Read Mental Health Center at Dunning. (notice that the phone is clean and normal and apparently functional here). I love our loose, floating borders and panels here, as Stan reminisces about his childhood.

Panel 2 this is of course, the famous Bugs Bunny line from his awesome cartoon “This is a Life?” ¹³

Stan also speaks the famous warning from Gabor Mate’s excellent book Hold on to Your Kids Gabor Maté.

Panel 3 our first look at Stan’s mother (so by extension, also Jesse’s mother). The big hint here is that she is “the spirit of our family”. Any time we see her, things are colorful and beautiful with flowers etc.. Her eyes are 2 different colors (and yes, maybe she does look a little like Rosario Dawson…) there are lots of fun theories about who was Jesus’ mother: is it the 3rd tripartite God, the Holy Spirit? ¹⁴

It’s very cool stuff to read: Finally, an extremely rich and influential source is constituted by the homilies of Symeon of Mesopotamia. For centuries, these homilies were transmitted under the name of Makarios (Macarius), an Egyptian monk who lived c. 300–390 and was a staunch supporter of Athanasius. Modern research, however, established that their real author is no other than a certain contemporary Symeon, who lived in Mesopotamia, in the vicinity of the upper Euphrates. The homilies of this Symeon mainly survive in Greek in four collections. The second collection, consisting of fifty ‘spiritual’ homilies, became the most popular, but the other three are important as well.¹⁰

Here I quote only some of the most conspicuous examples, derived from a number of editions of the various collections. In the most influential Fifty Homilies, we read:

And from his (sc. Adam’s) time until the last Adam, the Lord, man did not see the true heavenly Father and the good and kind Mother (mētera), the grace of the Spirit (pneumatos) (…). (Makarios/Symeon, Hom. 28, 4 – Dörries, Klostermann & Kroeger 1964:232–233)

Elsewhere it runs of the Holy Spirit:

She (autē) is the kind and heavenly Mother (mēter) (…) (Makarios/Symeon, Hom. 27, 4 – Klostermann 1961:155)

Repeatedly it is stressed by Makarios that there is no human birth without a mother, and therefore no spiritual birth without the Holy Spirit (e.g. Hom. 8, 1; Klostermann 1961:37). As the mother (mēter) of young birds cares for them, so the Holy Spirit provides food for God’s children (Hom. 16, 2; Klostermann 1961:79–81). At another occasion, Makarios speaks of ‘the grace of the Spirit, the Mother (mēter) of the holy’ (Hom. 27, 1; Klostermann 1961:151).

Over the centuries, the writings of Makarios and/or Symeon have exerted an enormous influence, both in the East and in the West, not only in Syriac Christianity and other Eastern Orthodox circles, but also among Protestants. It is interesting to note that, among many others (see e.g. Benz 1963; Van de Bank 1977), both the very influential John Wesley¹¹ and the also very influential Nikolaus Ludwig Graf von Zinzendorf were deeply influenced by Makarios. Although in the case of the first one I was not able to find any stress on the femininity of the Holy Spirit, in Zinzendorf there is indeed. In his first address in Pennsylvania, for instance, he said that ‘the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is our true Father, and the Spirit of Jesus Christ is our true Mother’. ¹⁵

Panel 4 more fun creation theories, involving the Pleiades: The name of the Pleiades comes from Ancient Greek. It probably derives from plein ("to sail") because of the cluster's importance in delimiting the sailing season in the Mediterranean Sea: "the season of navigation began with their heliacal rising".^[9] However, in mythology the name was used for the Pleiades, seven divine sisters, the name supposedly deriving from that of their mother Pleione and effectively meaning "daughters of Pleione". In reality, the name of the star cluster almost certainly came first, and Pleione was invented to explain it.^[10]

They are also known as Nā hiku o Makali‘i (the Seven Little Eyes) in the Hawaiian language,^[11] as noted in James Michener's historical novel Hawaii.¹⁸

(deep breath) In addition to Hawaiian culture, native American societies had various stories and creation beliefs involving the Pleiades ¹⁷

But the most fun involves Kundalini Yoga, and the awesome amazingness of the “Lemurian Scrolls” (wooHOO!) ¹⁹ wait it gets better…

This story was transcribed from inside a holy master’s mind, so you know it’s pretty authentic, right there… “Enliven your spiritual quest with a lavishly illustrated, clairvoyant revelation of man's untold journey to Earth from the Pleiades millions of years ago, and the struggles faced in ensuing eras as souls matured into their ultimate destiny and Divinity. This unusual book by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami was actually read from the akasha in 1973 and spent 25 years entrusted only to his cloistered monastic order. “

Unfortunately, the Lost Land of Lemuria is… well, LOST, so we can’t really do any real fact-checking here, but, hey, if the internet says it, it must be true. But Kundalini Yoga, Kauai legend, and Billy Freakin’ Meier all converge on the origins of life on earth: this panel takes the next possible step in the story: that life began there in the Pleiades, with the seven sisters… because God, the creator Salmon, swam through there and sewed his seed, then split, as absentee fathers are wont to do…

In fact, Stan was at one point going to go to the secret lost temple of Mu on Lemuria, but that seemed just a bit too lame. But he did have some cool things to say about Kundalini’s "Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization" (3HO) as a teaching organization.

Stan: “The god of david duchovny and cindy Crawford can’t be all wrong… healthy, happy, holy hell, I sure hope they’re right about this… thank you, edgar cayce! The sleeping prophet of lemuria…!”

Still sorry I couldn’t use that line… oh well…

Panel 5 Stan, sharing his story in “circle time”… but before he can spill the big secret, Jesse calls him on a land line( Jesse has the number to in his black book) because in this safe-zone there is no cell phone reception. He was about to explain how Stan, Jesse, and all the (lesser) Sons of God had to manage the Earth, like rich, uninvolved landlords, and how theyhad to agree, unanimously, on any decisions regarding “Acts of God”, catastrophic extinctions of people, etc.

Panel 6 Jesse is reading “Escape From Jesus Island”, an awesome horror comic by our friends Shawn and Max and Bruce (the cover features everyone’s favorite mutant, Meatwagon…). Jesse also has Issue 4 of Sons of God on his telephone desk, but note that he has a recycling bin right there too… he’s wondering how anyone could come up with such crazy Jesus-based apocalyptic comic book fantasy stories…

Page 13 Panel 1 Stan is out in the real world, “living life” not perched on high making corporate decisions about demolishing old properties.

“This is all made up…” a recurring theme

Well, it WAS drawn by a 13 yr old, Stan…

“When you get a good line…” from the old Mad Magazine parody of Planet of the Apes (no. 157, mar 1973) where Charlton Heston says “Let my people go!” and they joke about him holding onto his famous line from “The Ten Commandments”…

Panel 2 Not to be outdone, jesse returns to one of his most famous lines “Avi slach lahem!” ²⁰ “Father forgive them…” (for they know not what they do…)

Panel 3 and 4 these two panels show Jesse and Stan “talking at each other”, but not really communicating or connecting at all. Panel 3 happens before Panel 4 (i.e. the word balloons in 4 are not responding to the Balloons in 3) You can only hear their individual viewpoints in each panel, and you can’t hear the responses (yet! We will replay the entire conversation, but including the muted/hidden responses to each line, in episode 10, page 5) this is to create a sense of mystery, of withheld content, but it all goes along with hints and clues to what this story is REALLY all about: who is really who here…

Panel 5 the conversation is back together here. Stan “November looks wide open…” of course…

Jesse “Righteous suck-oven heat on some poor smucking smuckers…” we’ll see who this “Ghost Writer” is in a minute.

In the background, we see images designed for the missing part of the conversation in panels 3 and 4 above: the images have to do with people coveting each others’ lives, and that if you do this in your heart, you have already changed your life: so we see a weed (dandelion creature) dreaming of being a mighty redwood-type tree (and vice versa) (in the ancient lengendary Forest of Arden); we see a cat looking at the Queen, and vice versa; we see a young college girl on a long-board, dreaming of being a mother, and a mother dreaming of being a college girl…

Page 14 Panel 1 of course if there’s a “ghost-writer”, it’s Stephen King, my favorite living author (and my neighbor less than a mile away here in Bangor…) Jesse has no “soul” for public speaking, he can’t tell a joke, so of course he uses a bad speech-writer (metaphorically). I love Stephen King, but his dialogue, sometimes… this is some of his dialogue from “Lisey’s Story”, a great and complex book (but with some cringe-worthy secret/private language… more on this in Episode 7…) Suffice it to saywe hear the minced oath “Smuck” way too many smucking times…

Before computers, Stephen King always liked typing out his stories on a type-writer and still sometimes writes them out by hand on yellow legal pads. So of course he would use an “Underworld” typewriter (instead of an Underwood). He always gets corgis for pets, and Frodo was their current dog back then (as we all know, his new corgi is the highly estimable “Molly, Thing of Evil”.

Panel 2 we see he is typing a phrase over and over again on his typewriter: “My only wish is to see far Arden again…” Arden is a metaphor in our story, for Stan’s wish for a forgotten, lost life of magic and tradition and nature… ²¹ this is of course a tribute to his character Jack Torrance, who goes mad/is possessed/haunted/seduced by the creature in the Overlook Hotel in The Shining (in my mind, King’s greatest book, a classic of American literature, should be studied by schoolkids every year!)

Panel 3 the windows up in Jesse’s exclusive NY penthouse the Kingdome, keep changing, reflecting his moods, thoughts… here we see fire and brimstone raining down.

Panel 4 meanwhile Stan is in an idyllic creepily nice environment: the forest of Arden? Or is he actually back at Dunning Insane Asylum… Jojo did an unbelievable job with the three guards from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. That’s their real names on their name tags too.

In this panel, Stan lays out the difference between his and Jesse’s life’s philosophies and goals. We can see their jealousy for each others’ lives too.

Panel 5 again with “How’s come we never talk?” they just go around and around in a circle, (oh yeah, and Jesse is really pretty crazy…)

Panel 6 “you’re lost brother: you’re breaking up… can you hold on?” a double entendre… this panel is pretty sad to me: we see Stan’s nostalgic image of this place he apparently spent a lot of time in, slowly fading away to reveal it’s all imaginary. The guards are fading, the patients, and even the characters from Stan’s childhood idealized memories (From seurat’s painting) all fading to reveal…

Panel 7 just the gothic, skeleton remains of his buried fears and traumas; we see Dunning is abandoned, a haunted house; even the telephone was imagined (it’s old and in ruins) and someone (Stan) has written obsessively on the walls “My only wish is to see far arden again” (as well as “The end is WAY near 10/2/14)

Page 15 panel 1 now we see that the poor souls in “Circle Time” at the Asylum are really just ghosts

Panel 2 and they are being drawn up again into the (imaginary) ceiling light, while all that really stands on the site there is a grave marker from October 2 1914, (when the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jesus began his 100 year reign in Heaven): “here lie the childless mothers, and the motherless children, who await the end of Jesus’ 100 year reign, and the End Times. The sea will give up its dead, and death and the grave^b will give up their dead. And all will be judged according to their deeds.” Revelation 20 13

It is still sad to me to think of the old souls, trapped there in eternal winter, on that same site that gave them so much pain and fear, feeling lost every day EVERY DAY…

Here was an old caption we prepared but never used:

Jehovah’s Witness’ real hidden agenda/secret plans:

The 100 year reign started oct 2, 1914. In preparation for this, a building was prepared, the tallest on the waterfront of the Earth’s greatest city: it featured several unusual specifications and requirements: granite walls 6 feet thick formed the walls of the ground floors. Unique ceramic tiles separated each floor and stairwell. The roof featured a new copper design reminiscent of a scientist’s radio or sonar antenna, and the entire building was protected by a covent ~~an abbey~~ of gryphons and gargoyles. The structure was finished in 1907, and for the next 7 years, meticulous preparation of the interior soundscaping, infrastructure and security systems took place, stone by stone, tile by tile. In 1914, the real, never seen “top floor” was ready for the only occupants it has ever known…

On October 1, 1914, the lord of Darkness was banished from Heaven down to Earth, marking the beginning of “the End Times”. On October 2, 1914 Jesus Christ began his 100 yr reign as ruler of God’s kingdom. Global Armageddon will mark the end of the 100 year reign, and the beginning of Jesus’ 1000 year reign in Heaven. The 144000 of the “Little flock” will rule with Jesus as priests and kings, helping fulfill God’s original purpose for the Earth: turning it into a Paradise free from sickness, sorrow, or death. The multitudes sleeping in death on the earth will be raised after the Apocalypse, and will study and learn to be more perfect followers of Jehovah during the 1000 year period. Those who fail god’s testing will be cast into the fire with the Daemon; those who remain will be a tested, glorified human race. Then, with his work done, will Jesus hand full control of Heaven and Earth back to God.

Page 16 panel 1 is “Epilude” a word? It should be: if there’s a prelude and an interlude…

I always love thinking of these things, like deconstructing the norms of written literature with its proscribed rules to follow: prelude to the epilude; postscript to the prologue; epilogue to the preface…

Anyway, we see this has all happened on that same day: Feb. 14^th 2014, like a big circle (“It all just goes around again…”) Now we see how we got all that amazing footage of these cataclysmic events in Chicago: it was Stan (like Peter Parker taking photos for the newspaper). He was using his Google Glass. I was SO sure those things were going to take over! They were in beta testing back in 2014, and this is how you used them: you said “OK Glass,… record a video”.

But now we make a bad realization about Stan:

Panel 2 We realize he was there, in that back alley. He’s the one who left the footprints for Dany to follow; he’s the one who invited the Nun to come and find the fallen priest’s heart to harvest for her ceremony;

The video time marking is 21-22, for Revelation “And I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth…” but he pretends it’s really Matthew 21:22 “²²And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” In other words, if earthlings believe they can follow the ancient rituals and bring about the prophecies with the Leviathan, then they can in reality. Stan repeats his famous line “You were expecting maybe…” and also gives her her line from issue 1 “Shh, now don’t make such a fuss…”

Panel 3 Stan’s response is, of course, Peter Venckman’s famous line from Ghostbusters “Dogs and Cats, living together…” Yeah, like the cubs will ever win the pennant…

Panel 4 this is the way Tom Hanks (as Woody) says thank you in Toy Story: creepy…

Matthew 21:22 “If you believe…” so,mmm, just believe it and it will happen. Wish for a child to kill, and you’ll get one? I like her happy eyes, and the little leech-monsters in the snow

Leap and the net will appear? We have that magnet on our fridge….

Panel 5 these are my favorite drawings of Stan Jojo did in the whole story: it really tells the mystery of just who the hell is Stan?

His line here is from a great Kenneth Patchen picture-poem from The Walking Away World: ““Come now, my child, if we were planning to harm you, do you think we'd be lurking here beside the path in the very darkest part of the forest?” ²²

Panel 7 we see we have come full circle, Dany is back where he was at the beginning of issue 1; Stan is about to videotape it all (but he first erases the incriminating stuff with Sister Mary Todesengele ), as Stan says his catchphrase: “Things is gonna get weird…”

Back Inner Sleeve I knew immediately when I read the sad stories of the people’s lives at Dunning, that I was in questionable moral territory: I often take writers to task for blithely “appropriating” people’s sorrow and tragedy for pithy little touches of reality in a book or play… I wanted to tell their hidden stories, but also to use them in my story. I hope I did them and the poor and homeless and mentally ill of today some justice and service by trying to tell their stories to a world thet REALLY has not heard of Dunning (outside of Chicago, that is…). But we also decided to make it a tribute, an “in memoriam”, and a public service announcement for the mentally ill all over America, and in Chicago in particular. ²³

“The infamous “Dunning Lunatic Asylum” and Poorhouse have been torn to the ground, but today people in Illinois can seek help for mental Illness at:

Chicago-Read Mental Health Center

4200 N Oak Park Ave

Dunning, Chicago IL 60634

(773) 794-4000

Free national 24 hour suicide and crisis hotline: 800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)”

Back Cover: ok: why Abe Lincoln? We took a break from putting god-related comic book creator parodies, and switched to a great man, a great president, who happened to just maybe (I think very likely!) be the opposite of God-related: an Atheist… “Hey, Abe Lincoln made many great speeches with God and Jesus and Christ and Creator in them…!” Yes, but if you look at his quieter quotes, I think it may show the truer, more deliberate Lincoln when he says "When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion."

“Roger Norton:
This quote has some degree of authenticity to it. Its source is William Herndon, Lincoln's long time law partner. According to Herndon, Lincoln was once asked about his religion and he remarked that it was very much like that of an old man named Glenn in Indiana whom he had heard speak at a church meeting and who said, "When I do good I feel good; when I do bad I feel bad; and that's my religion."

SOURCE: p. 245 of "Recollected Words of Abraham Lincoln" compiled and edited by Don E. Fehrenbacher and Virginia Fehrenbacher.

Among most Lincoln scholars, the book by the Fehrenbachers has a good reputation as being one of the more reliable compilations of Lincoln quotes. ^24”

This painting of Lincoln won Jojo an honorable mention in the Maine Art and Writing Scholastic Awards. Above Lincoln’s head, the greek letters "αθεοι" (atheoi), stand for "those without god", as it appears in the Epistle to the Ephesians on the third-century papyrus known as "Papyrus 46"

This image also introduces some of my very favorite characters in the series: The Pansies! I love these little guys: they are fearless, stand right up to any encounter, are brave little free-thinkers. The pansy has been the symbol of Free Thought for many years, and their name comes from the French “Pensee” or “thought”. ²⁵

They are also symbols of Free Thought because , God help us, they DO look like little people! …little flower guys who are kind of irascible, even trouble-makers.

Young Lincoln “read the works of religious skeptics. Books like Thomas Paine's "Age of Reason," Edward Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," and "Ruins" by the French writer Volney gave Lincoln the intellectual tools for dismantling the edifice of religion. ²⁶ We see “Age of Reason” and “Ruins” here in the image.

And of course, Abe’s name is spelled out here with a capital “A” in a circle. This is both a symbol for Atheism and especially for Anarchy. (Atheism symbols include the block letter A; A in a circle; a cursive A in a circle; an “atomic” A in a circle or on a flag… etc.) and remember…

Footnotes:

1) this is from the famous Bible passage about intemperance, Peter 4:2-3 here, from Gill’s Exposition: “in lasciviousness, lusts; which belong to the head of uncleanness, and take in all kinds of it; as fornication, adultery, incest, sodomy, and all unnatural lusts:

excess of wine, revellings, banquetings; which refer to intemperance of every sort, by eating or drinking: as gluttony, drunkenness, surfeitings, and all luxurious feasts and entertainments, attended with riotings, revellings, and obscene songs; and which are here mentioned in the Syriac and Arabic versions, and which lead to lasciviousness, and every unclean lust:

and abominable idolatries; which some understand of worshipping of angels; but they seem rather to intend the idolatries the Jews were led into by the feasts of the Gentiles, either at their own houses, or in the idol's temple; by which means they were gradually brought to idolatry, and to all the wickedness and abominations committed by them at such times: and it is easy to observe, that the two former, uncleanness and intemperance, often lead men into idolatry; see Exodus 32:6. Now when they walked in these things, they "wrought the will of the Gentiles"; they did the things which the sinners of the Gentiles, the worst of men, that knew not God, took pleasure in, and what they would have others do; and therefore, since the past time of their life had been spent in such a way, it was sufficient, and more than sufficient; see Ezekiel 44:6, for no time is allowable for sin; and therefore it became them for the future, and in the remaining part of life, to behave in another manner; not to do the will of the Gentiles, but the will of God; to which that grace of God obliged them, that had made a difference between what they were themselves formerly, and themselves now, and between themselves, and others.”

2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Pliny)#Mineralogy

3) https://youtu.be/svzEjDBQbC0

4) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_of_religion

5) http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-forgotten-cemetery-dunning-20141021-story.html

6) http://hiddentruths.northwestern.edu/potters_field/disinters/county_potters.html

7) https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/the-story-of-dunning-a-tomb-for-the-living/6d71dc74-bb21-4a25-8980-c2d7a5670b06

8) https://ceramembersblog.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/i-love-a-mystery-photo-contest-answers-transit-trivia-3/ see #6

9) http://www.alchemyofbones.com/stories/bodysnatchers.htm

10) Author:Bly, Nellie,

Title:Ten days in a mad-house, or, Nellie Bly's experience on Blackwell's Island
feigning insanity in order to reveal asylum horrors

Publisher: New York : Munro, [c1887]

11) https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/the-story-of-dunning-a-tomb-for-the-living/6d71dc74-bb21-4a25-8980-c2d7a5670b06

12) http://www.alchemyofbones.com/stories/dunning.htm

13) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x34axsv speech starts at 2:50

14) https://pistissophia.org/The_Holy_Spirit/the_holy_spirit.html

15) http://www.hts.org.za/index.php/HTS/article/view/3225/html

16) Edward H. worked for a lady in the suburbs at gardening and other things pertaining to it. He grew silly and was discharged, then worked at several other places, and was continually talking about the daughter of the first place he worked at. He is 30, and has a rich, Irish brogue; but there was method in his madness, when he wrote love letters to "Birdie," enclosing an offer of marriage and a $20 gold piece in one. He has upward of $200 in his possession for which the court appointed a conservator and sent him to Dunning…

A Chicago Inter Ocean article from October 24, 1897

Timothy O’B., has wife and two children, aged 16 and 19. His nephew testified that he had acquired the big head, ordering dry goods jewelry in great abundance, with no cash to pay; he also imagines he has valuable and paying property. He is 48 years of age and a boiler-maker by trade. He has in reality $2,000 worth of property, bringing in $10 or $11 of monthly rent, and a flat for themselves to live in, and some expectations from the wife’s parents. His trouble began by falling from a ladder two years ago and hurting his back and side, … after developing rough behavior, it is said that he was struck over the head by a policeman, through which he has become a raving maniac, necessitating cuffs and irons in order to take him to the station and finally to detention.

Chicago Inter Ocean Nov 7, 1897

Sarah S. is a pretty blonde and furious in her madness. Her father says that a young man paid her court for a year, then suddenly became non est. She has been unmanageable for a month and now goes to an asylum…

A Chicago Inter Ocean article from October 24, 1897

17) http://www.crystalinks.com/pleiades.html

18) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiades

19) https://www.himalayanacademy.com/view/lemurian-scrolls

20) Yahoo Answers: אָבִי סְלַח לָהֶם כִּי אֵינָם יֹדְעִים מָה הֵם עֹשִׂים
avi slach lahem ki eynam yod'im ma hem 'osim
Pronunciation key:
a- 'a' as in "father"
i- 'ee' as in "bee"
e- 'e' as in "bell"
o- 'o' as in "or"
ch- 'ch' as in "loch", or "Bach"
'- deep guttural sound that does not exist in English. In Modern Hebrew pronounced as a glottal stop, but you may simply ignore it.
In this sentence, you stress the last vowels of the words: a-VEE slach la-HEM ki ey-NAM...

There are two main translations of the New Testament into Hebrew, one into Biblical-style Hebrew made by the great Christian Hebraist Franz Delitzsch in the mid-nineteenth century, as well as another done into "Modern" Hebrew. I'll transliterate both of those translations of Luke 23:34, with the accented syllables capitalized (ch is always a gutteral ch as in Bach or Scottish loch).

Delitzsch: Avi, s'LACH laHEM ki EInam yoDIM ma hem oSIM.
Modern: Avi, s'LACH laHEM ki EInam yoDIM ma shehem oSIM.

Note that the only difference is the extra "she" in the Modern version.

21) http://www.shakespearesallskapet.se/forestofarden.pdf

22) http://www.bookslut.com/poetry/2008_08_013235.php

The Walking Away World gathers three collections of picture-poems he created in the last 13 bed-ridden years of his life, and their fervency emanates off the page. A terribly striking picture-poem contains a background of barely legible words in crooked lines around bug-eyed birds; most prominent is a box of black written over in white cursive, “This room, this battlefield.” Henry Miller rightly remarked in his essay, “Patchen: Man of Anger and Light,” “One is no longer looking at a dead, printed book but at something alive and breathing, something which looks back at you with equal astonishment.”
And this book has many eyes -- the creatures surrounding the text of the picture-poems can be multi-legged and impossibly shaped, clearly recognizable as lions or owls, or patchwork creations of several animals. Yet their eyes are their most fascinating aspect, as they can be tickling or terrifying, depending. Some are altered by their black and white reproduction here, which is this edition’s only drawback. Patchen composed many of these picture poems with inks, watercolors, casein, and other chromatic media. After looking at What Shall We Do Without Us (Yolla Bolly Press, 1984), a full color printing of selected picture-poems, the poorer transfers in The Walking Away World are lamentable -- like arriving in a black and white Oz.
But that we landed, with what adventures ahead, is what matters. One picture-poem reads, “I have a funny feeling that some very peculiar creatures out there are watching us.” The creatures can comfort, “Of course there is a beautiful world what do you think we’re looking out of?” or the creatures can leer, “Come now, my child if we were planning to harm you, do you think we’d be lurking here beside the path in the very darkest park of the forest?” Whose world is beautiful, and where to seek refuge, are open questions.
Apart from the wonders of the creatures, Patchen is a poet of Orphic profundity in the picture-poems. In his later years, he gravitated towards the role of prophet, brandishing ultimatums: “Peace now for all men or amen to all things.” His jazzy colloquialisms can evoke a sax-slinging enlightened grandpa grumbling, “It’s really lousy taste to live in a world like this.” The last collection, But Even So, exemplifies his unique power of balancing contradictions, both in the title and in the layout: the picture-poems appear on the right pages, while on each left page, in identical large script, is the phrase “But Even So” -- each poem refutes and builds from the other. In their lyric tone and swell, it’s debatable whether the picture-poems are more like psalms or Proverbs of Hell -- “Any who live stand alone in one place together.”
We Meet and The Walking Away World are books to pore over and delight in and be moved by again and again, and convincing invitations to his Collected Poems and experimental prose. These companion volumes, much like two critters in a Patchen drawing, highlight the achievement of his work and hint at what else is out there.

23) The infamous “Dunning Lunatic Asylum” and Poorhouse have been torn to the ground, but today people in Illinois can seek help for mental Illness at:

Chicago-Read Mental Health Center

4200 N Oak Park Ave

Dunning, Chicago IL 60634

(773) 794-4000

Free national 24 hour suicide and crisis hotline: 800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)

Here are the actual stories of the patients featured in this fictionalized tale.

Robert burns native of Ireland, who at the time of his death was 51 years of age and had been married for 25 years…occasional bouts of drinking, and for some months he had shown signs of melancholia… attempted to poison himself with carbolic acid. Charles Beck alias Hunter testified to having witnessed a number of brutal attacks upon Burns by several attendants at the Insane Asylum in Dunning. …a gaping linear scalp wound…purplish black contusions with extravasation of blood of the right shoulder…the left axilla…the left inguinal region (groin)……a complete fracture of the sternum and a complete fracture of a rib, add to that… numerous contusions… one of which caused the effusion of a pint of blood into the abdomen…#1 “Secondary Consequences of Surgical Shock, JF Todd, MD, The Medical News, vol. 56, no. 17 Sat April 26, 1890, pp 444-449

…Two attendants at the Dunning asylum were charged with murdering patient Robert Burns. A defense attorney claimed these “blows and kicks … were beneficial to the insane man, as they were a sort of stimulus or tonic,” according to the Tribune. Jurors acquitted the attendants, blaming Dunning’s overcrowding rather than the actions of individual employees. #2

The story of Dunning, a 'tomb for the living'

The notorious asylum and poor farm embraced thousands of Chicagoans, in both life and death

April 30, 2013 by Robert Loerzel

Frank Johnson of No. 2033 Seipp avenue, who, in a fit of religious mania, cut off his right hand a few days ago, was before Judge Jones at the detention hospital yesterday. When the Judge asked him why he did it he said in broken English: "I have read in the Bible if thy right hand offend the cut him off, and I cut him off. I think he will grow again." An order was made committing the man to Dunning.Chicago Inter Ocean, April 30, 1897: “IN THE INSANE COURT”

William Mitchell is colored and 43; extremely emaciated. His sister testified to his delusions of knowing that people are after him for murderous purposes. For eight months he hears the voices of spirits and knows to whom they belong. A Chicago Inter Ocean article from October 24, 1897

Nellie Bly, 23, a reporter for the New York World, pretended to be insane in order to do an undercover story on the conditions in the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island in 1887. diagnosed her as being insane by the head of Bellevue, she experienced firsthand the terrible, unconscionable treatment of the mentally ill.

Author:Bly, Nellie,

Title:Ten days in a mad-house, or, Nellie Bly's experience on Blackwell's Island
feigning insanity in order to reveal asylum horrors

Publisher: New York : Munro, [c1887]

Theresa K. may be 35 and is so emaciated that one could count every bone in her hands, face, and neck. Her husband says that he can see that she is insane, but cannot tell what she does or says that makes him think so. She walks about night and day, sometimes excitedly, sometimes listlessly; again she will tear everything to pieces within her reach, or will climb on the ledge in the window and be in great danger of falling; talks about her sister, long since dead, and declares her food is poisoned purposely so she can’t eat. Has been ill for several years, and goes to Dunning, for which her friends pay…

A Chicago Inter Ocean article from October 24, 1897

Catherine L. is about 35; she never speaks except under provocation, then she throws things at the head of any one within reach, and calls vile names, her language being very rough; talks to herself, and is often furious; she threatened to throw a burning lamp at a neighbor; her best friend seems to be herself, with whom she talks and laughs. She owns a flat building, where she is obliged to live alone because her tenants will not remain. But the greatest sin that is laid to her is that she has a pet cat, which she carries about and talks to it, and laughs over it. A Chicago Inter Ocean article from October 24, 1897

John L. has wife and three living children, two having died; rolls over and over and jumps often two hours at a time; has delusions of persecution, and declares his blood boils; he heard two men talking together that they would bury him in a hole which they would dig between their houses. He has been in this condition for three years; and when he is ready to retire, instead of going to bed, he will walk about the room for hours. His son and wife testified that he had been steady and kind to his family until this cross came upon him.

Chicago Inter Ocean Nov 7, 1897

Catherine T. is 56, and has been a terror to her family for seventeen years, or since the birth of her last child. Her doctor testified that she was something like a wild cat, when he was called in to see her; has been ill for six months, her husband thinking at first it was temper from her scolding so much. "All the same," she interrupted, "I have cooked and washed all along for the whole family, and I wish I was dead." But this is not necessary, for her way is paid to Dunning, over which preside very womanly and scientific women, who will soon have her in a convalescent condition, and in a mood grateful for the privilege of living. A Chicago Inter Ocean article from October 24, 1897

Maggie Mc. — The doctor in the case testified that she can’t be trusted in public, her conduct not being proper. Five years ago she had a fall that left her unconscious for several hours; her wrist was broken at the time, and now there is a suspicion that her skull must have been fractured. She is silly, helpless, Irish, very poor, and 28 years of age. A Chicago Inter Ocean article from October 24, 1897

William L. is 45 and looks to be 65. An officer found him wandering about the boulevards ogling women and girls. When the court said, "Dunning," and the bailiff quickly headed him toward the door, he turned in amazement and shouted "It doesn’t take long to do up a man here."

A Chicago Inter Ocean article from October 24, 1897

Fredericka W., 35, who was unkempt with a weather-beaten complexion, was sent to Dunning after a policeman found her sitting on a curbstone in a park. She said she “was searching for a prince, who had promised her marriage.” A Chicago Inter Ocean article from October 24, 1897

Fannie Hrdlicka was placed in Dunning when she became depressed after her baby died… She rocked the baby for a couple of days, and wouldn’t let it out of her arms.

“The story of Dunning, ‘a Tomb for the Living’”, Robert Loerzel, wbez.org april 30, 2013

Considine Z. is 25 and was found by an officer hanging around a Polish church, where he had picked up a red lamp and threw it at the alter and did other descrations (sic) because "the Irish had been served before he was by the priest."

A Chicago Inter Ocean article from October 24, 1897

Martha Grote:, an inmate of the Dunning Asylum for the Insane, died on Friday night of laudanum poisoning. The woman managed to get into the drug closet, and swallowed the narcotic without the knowledge of the attendants.

Martha Grote was admitted to the asylum July 8. She was suffering from acute melancholia as the result of the death of her 5-year-old child. The child died from diphtheria, and the woman blamed herself for not securing the services of a physician sooner. She attempted suicide a dozen times before her husband made application to have her put under restraint. The woman insisted, however, that she must go and meet her child, and declared that she would never stop until she had ended her life.

"We tried to keep her alive by artificial respiration, but she was too far gone. That the woman was determined to commit suicide was shown by the discovery of two of her stockings tied together by her apron strings and formed in the shape of a noose. This was taken from beneath her pillow."

"I would rather have lost a month’s salary than have this thing happen," said Superintendent Lang… Chicago Daily Tribune, August 8, 1897

John E. N. is 28, and is the perfect image of ex-Governor Altgeld. He was in the bicycle business for a year, then sold the property, and the money was lost. His brother testified that he has been arrested several times for walking the streets day and night. Now he is the prophet and the Christ, seeing and knowing people who are down in the earth. When Judge Carter asked him specifically about these delusions he looked up sharply and said: "Why, don’t you see those people yourself, and you an intelligent man?" He, too, had not good mother or nurse to teach him, when a little lad, the difference between right and wrong, and now he will spend some time in Dunning, where his first primary lesson in morals will begin, to the end that he may become a worthy citizen and not an imbecile…

Chicago Inter Ocean Nov 7, 1897

Fannie C. is about 28. Her sister (the only relative in this country) testified that she thinks every one is against her, that she buys many clothes and things that are unnecessary. Two years ago she was adjudged insane, but the sister managed to have her stay with her, and paid for her in extra work. She runs away, and cries for her mother, who has been dead five years, and latterly took to brandishing a carving knife and threatening to paint the house red. Kankakee and paid for by the sister, who earns $3 a week at housework. A Chicago Inter Ocean article from October 24, 1897

Edward H. worked for a lady in the suburbs at gardening and other things pertaining to it. He grew silly and was discharged, then worked at several other places, and was continually talking about the daughter of the first place he worked at. He is 30, and has a rich, Irish brogue; but there was method in his madness, when he wrote love letters to "Birdie," enclosing an offer of marriage and a $20 gold piece in one. He has upward of $200 in his possession for which the court appointed a conservator and sent him to Dunning…

A Chicago Inter Ocean article from October 24, 1897

Timothy O’B., has wife and two children, aged 16 and 19. His nephew testified that he had acquired the big head, ordering dry goods jewelry in great abundance, with no cash to pay; he also imagines he has valuable and paying property. He is 48 years of age and a boiler-maker by trade. He has in reality $2,000 worth of property, bringing in $10 or $11 of monthly rent, and a flat for themselves to live in, and some expectations from the wife’s parents. His trouble began by falling from a ladder two years ago and hurting his back and side, … after developing rough behavior, it is said that he was struck over the head by a policeman, through which he has become a raving maniac, necessitating cuffs and irons in order to take him to the station and finally to detention.

Chicago Inter Ocean Nov 7, 1897

Sarah S. is a pretty blonde and furious in her madness. Her father says that a young man paid her court for a year, then suddenly became non est. She has been unmanageable for a month and now goes to an asylum…

A Chicago Inter Ocean article from October 24, 1897

Sources:

Alchemy of Bones: Chicago’s Luetgert Murder Case of 1897, Robert Loerzel the University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02858-9.

Alchemyofbones.com (Robert Loerzel)

“The story of Dunning, ‘a Tomb for the Living’”, Robert Loerzel, wbez.org april 30, 2013

“Secondary Consequences of Surgical Shock, JF Todd, MD, The Medical News, vol. 56, no. 17 Sat April 26, 1890, pp 444-449

Newspapers:

Chicago Inter Ocean, 1897-1898

Chicago daily tribune 1897-1898

Ten Days in a Mad-House , by Nellie Bly, published by Ian L. Munro, New York 1887

(Reporter Nellie Bly pretended to be insane, to do an undercover story on the conditions in the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island in the 1880’s. )

24) http://lincoln-assassination.com/bboard/index.php?action=printpage;topic=1139.0

25) https://hornface.com/atheism-101-are-freethinkers-pansies/

26) https://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-mansfield/understanding-lincolns-atheist-period_b_2145340.html

Stones of the New Jerusalem, references, sources:

From Sons of God, Issue 6, Front Inner Sleeve:

There is a huge and acknowledged uncertainty in identifying the stones of the Bible, or the colors the ancient writers intended to convey by them. Pliny the Elder, a Roman naturalist who lived from 23 to 79 AD, wrote Naturalis Historia, a Roman Encyclopedia, collecting all of their knowledge about plants, animals, stars, minerals… “Life Itself”_ Written at the time of Jesus, the book contains colorful descriptions of the stones of Revelation 21: the apocalyptic, hallucinatory tale of The New Jerusalem written for the people of the early church: “the Bride, the Lamb’s Wife”. Over the millenia, some of John the Revelator’s ancient terms for the precious stones have changed and some have even switched names with other gems in our modern mineralogy. “1) Iaspis, 2) sapphiros, 3) Chalcedon, 4) smaragdos, 5) sardonyx, 6) Sardion, 7) Beryllos, 9) Topazion, 10) Chrysoprason, 11) Yacinthos, and 12) Amethystos”. Cross referenced with Pliny and the Bible, the colors of the foundation of the wall, in today’s actual terms, may well have been:

12) “Amethyst”: the same as today’s stone

11) “Jacinth or Hyacinthus” named after the flower (which mostly runs from blue to light purple). Most scholars agree this is today’s Sapphire. Pliny compared the ancient world’s stone “jacinth” to the violet amethyst, “partaking of a color that closely borders upon it,” while a little later Solinus describes jacinth as a clear blue tinted gem. (What we call “jacinth” today is a brownish to reddish zircon.)

10) chrysoprasus is a translucent bright green form of chalcedony, and most agree this is the right stone today. (Still some translations of the Bible have turquoise as the 10th or 11th stone while the King James Bible never mentions the word turquoise.)

9) “Topaz”: this is almost certainly actually chrysolite. Most experts agree that the ancient words for topaz and chrysolite have switched places! Pliny writes that the pale green “topazion” stone was found on the Island of “Topazios” (which is now called St. John’s Island) but this island does not and never has contained any “topaz”. The island is actually the world’s largest source of chrysolite (or “Peridot”). So today’s “chrysolite” was the ancient “topaz”, and vice versa (see #7 Topaz)

8)beryl/aquamarine: the same stone as today

7) “Chrysolite”: switched at birth with “#9 Topaz”… “Chrysolithos” means gold stone, or yellow gem. Pliny’s descriptions of this stone matches our topaz of today (and the Bible’s term “topaz” perfectly fits today’s peridot (chrysolite).

6) Sard/Carnelian: the same as today’s stone (although some Bible translations call the sixth stone “ruby”)

5) Sardonyx: same as today’s stone

4) emerald: same as today’s stone

3) chalcedony: modern sources are divided between a waxy, translucent pale sky-blue stone, or one closer to Pliny’s description of the stones found in the copper mines of Chalcedon: “more or less bright according to the angle at which it was viewed, like the green feathers in a peacock's tail or on a pigeon's neck.” (In Solomon-like fashion, both colors are represented here). Today, we recognize many stones to be in the “chalcedony family”: the bright apple-green type is called chrysoprase; a brick-red one carnelian; black and white onyx; red and white striped sardonix. (Some even feel that “Chalkedon” could be a misspelling for “Charkedon” a red glittering stone known as carbuncle.) While today the stones called “chalcedony” proper are generally an opalescent translucent blue, the color can run anywhere from pink to orange, purple to green, yellow to brown.

2) “Sapphire”: experts agree this is really what we call lapis lazuli today. The sapphiros of Biblical times is described by Pliny as "refulgent with spots like gold. It is also of an azure color… in no case, however, is this stone diaphanous (see-through)” (Natural History, book 37, ch 39). This “fragment of the starry firmament" is an accurate description of lapis lazuli, and not what we call “sapphire” today. (our modern “sapphire” seems to be the stone called “jacinth”, in the 11’th foundation above)

A little divergence by me: it is a pet peeve of mine when people just keep repeating something they found on the internet OVER AND OVER, till it becomes ubiquitous, and kind of a “Common knowledge”. Go ahead, try this experiment: Type in “Lapis” and “Starry Firmament”… I guarantee you the first 3 pages of results all say “Pliny the Elder described Lapis as “a fragment of the starry firmament”. No, No, and NOOO! Pliny NEVER said this at all. Here is a little correspondence with the New York Public Library over this fake quote:

“Nypl reference question about fake pliny “quote”

So in fact, it was pliny’s “gold points in their blueness”, and the rest was confusing, because Pliny was quoting Theophrastus. Some later translator poeticized it “made it fancy”.

chat@nypl.org

Jan 26 at 6:29 PM

##- Please reply above this line. Anything below this line will not be sent in your reply. We do not accept attachments via this reply method -##

Hello john picone

Hello, John:

You are correct - the internet is the mother - of all inaccurate quotations and attributions. And in addition to - giving birth - to inaccurate quotations and attributions - then causes them to multiply like fruit flies!

Pliny in Natural History xxxvii. sec 39 wrote of (what he thought to be sapphires) but were - much later - identified by geologists as being lapis lazuli only that they contained: " aurum punctis collucet coeruliis" (gold points in their blueness). Pliny's observation has been both geologically corrected to name a geological formation that he was unfamiliar with and was then "poeticized" first around the turn of the 20th Century and this incorrect quotation was then picked up - and re-published on the internet again and again - after about 1990.

For the original Latin with English facing translation, e.g., The First and Thirty-Third Books of Pliny's Natural History - A Proposed Translation by John Bostock, MD that quotes and translate the above passage from Book 37 at page 38.

And see the Latin quotation from Pliny and English translation of Theophrastus' work - from which Pliny borrowed his discussion of "sapphires" in: Theophrastus's History of Stones with an English Version and Notes by Sir John Hill at p. 100.

And I do hope that this helps clear up this matter for you!

Best,

The NYPL

-----------------------

Question History:

Patron: can you please help me find the actual reference where Pliny supposedly described lapis lazuli as “a fragment of the starry firmament”. I have never found it, and believe it to be apocryphal, but it is cited over and over on the internet.
thanks!

Librarian 1: Hello, John:

You are correct - the internet is the mother - of all inaccurate quotations and attributions. And in addition to - giving birth - to inaccurate quotations and attributions - then causes them to multiply like fruit flies!

Pliny in Natural History xxxvii. sec 39 wrote of (what he thought to be sapphires) but were - much later - identified by geologists as being lapis lazuli only that they contained: " aurum punctis collucet coeruliis" (gold points in their blueness). Pliny's observation has been both geologically corrected to name a geological formation that he was unfamiliar with and was then "poeticized" first around the turn of the 20th Century and this incorrect quotation was then picked up - and re-published on the internet again and again - after about 1990.

For the original Latin with English facing translation, e.g., The First and Thirty-Third Books of Pliny's Natural History - A Proposed Translation by John Bostock, MD that quotes and translate the above passage from Book 37 at page 38.

And see the Latin quotation from Pliny and English translation of Theophrastus' work - from which Pliny borrowed his discussion of "sapphires" in: Theophrastus's History of Stones with an English Version and Notes by Sir John Hill at p. 100.

And I do hope that this helps clear up this matter for you!

Best,

The NYPL”

p.p.s. (This is also like the fake quote from X-factor #70 “In Mutant Heaven there are no pearly gates…” everyone repeats this, but it is not in X-factor #70: I own that book. I doubt Prof Xavier ever even said this quote…)

The New Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb

⁹One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ¹⁰And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. ¹¹It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. ¹²It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.¹³There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. ¹⁴The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. ¹⁶The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia^[^c^]in length, and as wide and high as it is long. ¹⁷The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits^[^d^] thick.^[^e^] ¹⁸The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. ¹⁹The 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, ²⁰the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.^[^f^] ²¹The twelve gates were twelve pearls,each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.

²²I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ²⁴The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. ²⁵On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. ²⁶The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. ²⁷Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Footnotes:

Revelation 21:1 Isaiah 65:17
Revelation 21:4 Isaiah 25:8
Revelation 21:16 That is, about 1,400 miles or about 2,200 kilometers
Revelation 21:17 That is, about 200 feet or about 65 meters
Revelation 21:17 Or high
Revelation 21:20 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain.

the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

New Living Translation
the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.

English Standard Version
the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.

New American Standard Bible
the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.

King James Bible
The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.

International Standard Version
the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth and the twelfth amethyst.

NET Bible
the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And the fifth, red and white Sardius and banded Onyx, and the sixth, red and white Sardius, and the seventh, Goldstone, and the eighth, Beryl, and the ninth, Topaz, and the 10th, green and gold Chrysoprasus, the 11th, dark blue Jacinth, the 12th, Amethyst,

GOD'S WORD® Translation
the fifth onyx, the sixth red quartz, the seventh yellow quartz, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth green quartz, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

Jubilee Bible 2000
the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprasus; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.

King James 2000 Bible
The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, carnelian; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprase; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

American King James Version
The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

American Standard Version
the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The fifth, sardonyx: the sixth, sardius: the seventh, chrysolite: the eighth, beryl: the ninth, a topaz: the tenth, a chrysoprasus: the eleventh, a jacinth: the twelfth, an amethyst.

Darby Bible Translation
the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprasus; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.

English Revised Version
the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.

Webster's Bible Translation
The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprase; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

Weymouth New Testament
the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.

World English Bible
the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprasus; the eleventh, jacinth; and the twelfth, amethyst.

Young's Literal Translation
the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprasus; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.

Parallel Commentaries

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

21:9-21 God has various employments for his holy angels. Sometimes they sound the trumpet of Divine Providence, and warn a careless world; sometimes they discover things of a heavenly nature of the heirs of salvation. Those who would have clear views of heaven, must get as near to heaven as they can, on the mount of meditation and faith. The subject of the vision is the church of God in a perfect, triumphant state, shining in its lustre; glorious in relation to Christ; which shows that the happiness of heaven consists in intercourse with God, and in conformity to him. The change of emblems from a bride to a city, shows that we are only to take general ideas from this description. The wall is for security. Heaven is a safe state; those who are there, are separated and secured from all evils and enemies. This city is vast; here is room for all the people of God. The foundation of the wall; the promise and power of God, and the purchase of Christ, are the strong foundations of the safety and happiness of the church. These foundations are set forth by twelve sorts of precious stones, denoting the variety and excellence of the doctrines of the gospel, or of the graces of the Holy Spirit, or the personal excellences of the Lord Jesus Christ. Heaven has gates; there is a free admission to all that are sanctified; they shall not find themselves shut out. These gates were all of pearls. Christ is the Pearl of great price, and he is our Way to God. The street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. The saints in heaven tread gold under foot. The saints are there at rest, yet it is not a state of sleep and idleness; they have communion, not only with God, but with one another. All these glories but faintly represent heaven.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 20. - The fifth, sardonyx. A variety of agate - a kind of onyx, valued for its use in engraving into cameos. The name onyx appears to be owing to the resemblance in colour to the fingernails. The sixth, sardius. Probably the modern carnelian (see on Revelation 4:3). The seventh, chrysolyte. A variety of the gem of which that called topaz (the ninth stone) is another kind. This species contained a considerable amount of yellow colour, whence the name "golden stone." It has been suggested that it is identical with the modern jacinth or amber. The eighth, beryl. A variety of emerald, of less decided green shade than the pure emerald. The ninth, a topaz. Not the modern topaz, but a variety of chrysolite (see the seventh stone, supra), of a yellowish-green colour, the latter predominating. The tenth, a chrysoprasus. The name "golden leek green" appears to point to a species of beryl, and the modern aquamarine. It is thus probably a variety of emerald, being of a yellowish pale green hue. The eleventh, a jacinth. "A red variety of zircon, which is found in square prisms, of a white, grey, red, reddish brown, yellow, or pale green colour" (Smith's 'Dictionary of the Bible'). "The sapphire of the moderns" (King). The twelfth, an amethyst. A purple stone, possibly the common amethyst.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

The fifth, sardonyx,.... Which is partly of the sardian, and partly of the onyx stone, which resembles a man's nail, from whence it has its name; it is reddish, bordering on white; it may be thought to answer to the onyx in the breastplate, on which was written the name of Joseph.

The sixth, sardius; the same with the sardine stone, Revelation 4:3 of a blood colour, and what is commonly called a cornelian: it is found in Sardinia, from whence it has its name, and in Bohemia and Silesia, though those of Babylon are the best. This was Reuben's stone.

The seventh, chrysolite; a stone of a dusky green colour, with a cast of yellow; by its name it should have the colour of gold. Schroder says it is found in Bohemia, and that it is the same the moderns call the topaz. Some think it answers to "tarshish" in the breastplate, rendered "beryl", on which was the name of Asher.

The eighth, beryl; a stone of a pale green colour, thought to be the diamond of the ancients: it may answer to the "ligure" in the breastplate, which the Targum on Sol 5:14 calls "birla", and had the name of Dan on it.

The ninth, a topaz; a stone very hard and transparent, of a beautiful yellow, or gold colour: the topaz of Ethiopia was counted the best, Job 28:19. Some say it is so called from the island "Topazus"; on this stone Simeon's name was engraven.

The tenth, a chrysoprasus; a stone of a green colour, inclining to that of gold, from whence it has its name; for this is the agate in the breastplate, which was Napthali's stone.

The eleventh, a jacinth; or "hyacinth": a stone of a purple, or violet colour, from whence it has its name; though what the moderns so call is of a deep reddish yellow, pretty near a flame colour. Zabulon's stone was the diamond.

The twelfth, an amethyst; a stone of a violet colour, bordering on purple: it has been thought a preservative from drunkenness, from whence it seems to have its name. On this stone was written the name of Gad. Agreeably to this account of John's, the Jews speak (n) of the tabernacle above being built on twelve precious stones; and sometimes they say (o), that the holy blessed God will found Jerusalem with ten kind of precious stones, and which they mention, and several of which are the same with these.

(n) Zohar in Gen. fol. 17. 2. & in Exod. fol. 65. 4. (o) Abkath Rocel, p. 150. Vid. Zohar in Exod. fol. 96. 3.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

20. sardonyx—a gem having the redness of the cornelian, and the whiteness of the onyx.

sardius—(See on [2744]Re 4:3).

chrysolite—described by Pliny as transparent and of a golden brightness, like our topaz: different from our pale green crystallized chrysolite.

beryl—of a sea-green color.

topaz—Pliny [37.32], makes it green and transparent, like our chrysolite.

chrysoprasus—somewhat pale, and having the purple color of the amethyst [Pliny, 37, 20, 21].

jacinth—The flashing violet brightness in the amethyst is diluted in the jacinth [Pliny, 37.41].

Revelation 21:20 Additional Commentaries

And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

18. the building—"the structure" [Tregelles], Greek, "endomeesis."

gold, like … clear glass—Ideal gold, transparent as no gold here is [Alford]. Excellencies will be combined in the heavenly city which now seem incompatible.

Revelation 21:19

And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

19. And—so Syriac, Coptic, and Andreas. But A, B, and Vulgate omit. Compare Re 21:14 with this verse; also Isa 54:11.

all manner of precious stones—Contrast Re 18:12 as to the harlot, Babylon. These precious stones constituted the "foundations."

chalcedony—agate from Chalcedon: semi-opaque, sky-blue, with stripes of other colors [Alford].

Revelation 21:20

The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

20. sardonyx—a gem having the redness of the cornelian, and the whiteness of the onyx.

sardius—(See on [2744]Re 4:3).

chrysolite—described by Pliny as transparent and of a golden brightness, like our topaz: different from our pale green crystallized chrysolite.

beryl—of a sea-green color.

topaz—Pliny [37.32], makes it green and transparent, like our chrysolite.

chrysoprasus—somewhat pale, and having the purple color of the amethyst [Pliny, 37, 20, 21].

jacinth—The flashing violet brightness in the amethyst is diluted in the jacinth [Pliny, 37.41].

Revelation 21:21

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

21. every several—Greek, "each one severally."

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 20. - The fifth, sardonyx. A variety of agate - a kind of onyx, valued for its use in engraving into cameos. The name onyx appears to be owing to the resemblance in colour to the fingernails. The sixth, sardius. Probably the moderncarnelian (see on Revelation 4:3). The seventh, chrysolyte. A variety of the gem of which that called topaz (the ninth stone) is another kind. This species contained a considerable amount of yellow colour, whence the name "golden stone." It has been suggested that it is identical with the modern jacinth or amber. The eighth, beryl. A variety of emerald, of less decided green shade than the pure emerald. The ninth, a topaz. Not the modern topaz, but a variety of chrysolite (see the seventh stone, supra), of a yellowish-green colour, the latter predominating. The tenth, a chrysoprasus. The name "golden leek green" appears to point to a species of beryl, and the modern aquamarine. It is thus probably a variety of emerald, being of a yellowish pale green hue. The eleventh, a jacinth. "A red variety of zircon, which is found in square prisms, of a white, grey, red, reddish brown, yellow, or pale green colour" (Smith's 'Dictionary of the Bible'). "The sapphire of the moderns" (King). The twelfth, an amethyst. A purple stone, possibly the common amethyst.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

The fifth, sardonyx,.... Which is partly of the sardian, and partly of the onyx stone, which resembles a man's nail, from whence it has its name; it is reddish, bordering on white; it may be thought to answer to the onyx in the breastplate, on which was written the name of Joseph.

The sixth, sardius; the same with the sardine stone, Revelation 4:3 of a blood colour, and what is commonly called a cornelian: it is found in Sardinia, from whence it has its name, and in Bohemia and Silesia, though those of Babylon are the best. This was Reuben's stone.

The seventh, chrysolite; a stone of a dusky green colour, with a cast of yellow; by its name it should have the colour of gold. Schroder says it is found in Bohemia, and that it is the same the moderns call the topaz. Some think it answers to "tarshish" in the breastplate, rendered "beryl", on which was the name of Asher.

The eighth, beryl; a stone of a pale green colour, thought to be the diamond of the ancients: it may answer to the "ligure" in the breastplate, which the Targum on Sol 5:14 calls "birla", and had the name of Dan on it.

The ninth, a topaz; a stone very hard and transparent, of a beautiful yellow, or gold colour: the topaz of Ethiopia was counted the best, Job 28:19. Some say it is so called from the island "Topazus"; on this stone Simeon's name was engraven.

The tenth, a chrysoprasus; a stone of a green colour, inclining to that of gold, from whence it has its name; for this is the agate in the breastplate, which was Napthali's stone.

The eleventh, a jacinth; or "hyacinth": a stone of a purple, or violet colour, from whence it has its name; though what the moderns so call is of a deep reddish yellow, pretty near a flame colour. Zabulon's stone was the diamond.

The twelfth, an amethyst; a stone of a violet colour, bordering on purple: it has been thought a preservative from drunkenness, from whence it seems to have its name. On this stone was written the name of Gad. Agreeably to this account of John's, the Jews speak (n) of the tabernacle above being built on twelve precious stones; and sometimes they say (o), that the holy blessed God will found Jerusalem with ten kind of precious stones, and which they mention, and several of which are the same with these.

(n) Zohar in Gen. fol. 17. 2. & in Exod. fol. 65. 4. (o) Abkath Rocel, p. 150. Vid. Zohar in Exod. fol. 96. 3.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

20. sardonyx—a gem having the redness of the cornelian, and the whiteness of the onyx.

sardius—(See on [2744]Re 4:3).

chrysolite—described by Pliny as transparent and of a golden brightness, like our topaz: different from our pale green crystallized chrysolite.

beryl—of a sea-green color.

topaz—Pliny [37.32], makes it green and transparent, like our chrysolite.

chrysoprasus—somewhat pale, and having the purple color of the amethyst [Pliny, 37, 20, 21].

jacinth—The flashing violet brightness in the amethyst is diluted in the jacinth [Pliny, 37.41].

Revelation 21:20 Additional Commentaries

Aramaic plain English bible

15And he who spoke with me had with him a measuring reed of gold to measure the city and its wall. 16And the city was laid out four-sided, and its length like its width. And he measured The City with the reed, with twelve thousand stadia its length; its width and its height are equal. 17And he measured its wall one hundred and forty four cubits by the measure of a man, that is, of the Angel. 18The building of the wall was Jasper Quartz, and the city was of pure gold, in the likeness of pure glass. 19And the foundation of the wall of the city is adorned with precious stones; and the first foundation, Jasper red-blue-yellow Quartz, and the second, Sapphire, and the third, white Chalcedony, and the fourth, Emerald, 20And the fifth, red and white Sardius and banded Onyx, and the sixth, red and white Sardius, and the seventh, Goldstone, and the eighth, Beryl, and the ninth, Topaz, and the tenth, green and gold Chrysoprasus, the eleventh, dark blue Jacinth, the twelfth, Amethyst, 21And twelve gates and twelve pearls, one to each, and every one of the gates was of one pearl, but the street of the city of pure gold, as if there was glass in it.

Pliny: The 'smaragdi' of Chalcedon have perhaps completely disappeared now that the copper-mines in the district have failed; and, in any case, they were always worthless and very small. Moreover, they were brittle and of a nondescript colour, this being more or less bright according to the angle at which it was viewed, like the green feathers in a peacock's tail or on a pigeon's neck. Furthermore, they were marked with veins and were scaly. They had also a characteristic defect called 'sarcion,' that is a kind of fleshy growth on the stone. There is a mountain known as Smaragdites, or Emerald Mountain, near Chalcedon, on which they used to be gathered. Juba states that a 'smaragdus' known as 'chlora,' or 'green stone,' is used as an inlay in decorating houses in Arabia; and likewise the stone which the Egyptians call 'alabastrites.' Several of our most recent authorities mention not only Laconian 'smaragdi,' which are dug on Mount Taygetus and resemble the Median variety, but also others that are found in Sicily.

List of precious stones in the Bible

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Precious stones are stones remarkable for their colour, brilliancy, or rarity. Such stones have at all times been held in high esteem everywhere, particularly in the East where their use and adornment have served ceremonial,ritualistic and stylistic purposes. Sacred Scripture illustrates that very early on the Eastern civilizations appropriated them for diverse ornamental uses: rings, bracelets, collars and necklaces. The crowns of kings, their garments and those of their officers and of the priests were all set with precious stones, often as engraved gems, a major art form throughout the ancient Near East.

[hide]

· 1 Origins

· 2 Alphabetical List

· 3 Agate

· 4 Amethyst

· 5 Beryl

· 6 Carbuncle

· 7 Carnelian

· 8 Chalcedony

· 9 Chodchod

· 10 Chrysolite

· 11 Chrysophrasus

· 12 Coral

· 13 Crystal

· 14 Diamond

· 15 Emerald

· 16 Jacinth

· 17 Jasper

· 18 Ligurus

· 19 Onyx

· 20 Sardonyx

· 21 Pearl

· 22 Ruby

· 23 Sapphire

· 24 Sardonyx

· 25 Topaz

· 26 References

Origins[edit]

The Hebrews obtained their precious stones from the Middle East, India, and Egypt. At the time of the Exodus Egypt was flooded with riches, and the Israelites on leaving the land possessed themselves of many precious stones, according to the commandment of God (Ex., iii, 22; xii, 35-36). Later when they were settled in Palestine they could easily obtain stones from the merchant caravans travelling from Babylonia or Persia to Egypt and those fromSaba and Reema to Tyre (Ezech., xxvii, 22) King Solomon even equipped a fleet which returned from Ophir laden with precious stones (III Kings, x, 11).

The precious stones of the Bible are chiefly of interest in connection with the breastplate of the high-priest (Ex., xxviii, 17-20; xxxix, 10-13), the treasure of the King of Tyre (Ezech., xxviii, 13), and the foundations of the NewJerusalem (Tob., xiii, 16-17, in the Greek text, and more fully, Apoc., xxi, 18-21). The twelve stones of the breastplate and the two stones of the shoulder-ornaments were considered by the Jews to be the most precious. Both Ezech., xxviii, 13, and Apoc., xxi, 18-21, are patterned after the model of the rational^[^{clarification
needed}^] and further allude to the twelve tribes of Israel.

The stones composition were the objects of a considerable amount of literature from the fourth century. That such a literature should have arisen is of itself convincing proof that the identification of the stones was no easy problem to solve. At the time of the Septuagint translation the stones to which the Hebrew names apply could no longer be identified, and the translators rendered the same Hebrew name by different Greek words. So also didJosephus who, however, claimed he had seen the actual stones. This, coupled with the fact that the late Biblical lists, although visibly depending on that of Exodus, exhibit here and there notable changes, makes the task of identifying the stones a difficult one.

The ancients did not classify their precious stones by analyzing their composition and crystalline forms: names were given in accordance with their colour, use, or their country of origin. Therefore stones of the same or nearly the same colour, but of different composition or crystalline form, bear identical names.

Another problem is nomenclature; names having changed in the course of time: thus the ancient chrysolite is our topaz, the sapphire is our lazuli, etc. However, we know most of the stones accounted precious in Egypt, Assyria, and Babylonia. Owing to the neighbourhood and to the influence of these countries on Palestine, it is highly probable that the score of substances called in the Bible "desirable stones" (Is., liv, 12) must be contained in the fairly long list of the precious and ornamental stones of the Assyro-Babylonians and the Egyptians.

Alphabetical List[edit]

The list comprises comparative etymological origins and referential locations for each stone within the Bible. Where relevant, additional information concerning individual stones has also been included.

Agate[edit]

Agate, Heb. shbw; Sept. achates; Vulg. achates (Ex., xxviii, 19; xxxix, 12, in Heb. and Vulg.; also Ezech., xxviii, 13, in Sept.). - This is the second stone of the third row of the rational, where it very probably represented the tribe ofAsher. The etymological derivation of the Hebrew word is unclear, but the stone has generally been acknowledged to be the agate. The Hebraic derivation derives shbw from shbb "to flame"; it may also be related to Saba (shba), caravans having brought the stone to Palestine. The Greek and Latin names are taken from the river Achates, the modern Dirillo, in Sicily, where this stone was first found (Theophrastus, "De lapid.", 38; Pliny, "Hist. nat.", XXXVII, liv).

The stone belongs to the silex family (chalcedony species) and is formed by deposits of siliceous beds in hollows of rocks. This mode of formation results in the bands of various colours which it contains. Its conchoidal cleavage makes it susceptible to a highly polished state.

Various medicinal powers were attributed until far into the Middle Ages. Agate was supposed to void the toxicity of all poisons and counteract the infection of contagious diseases; if held in the hand or in the mouth it was believed to alleviate fever. 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.

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. Formerly an agate that was banded with well-defined colours was the onyx. The banded agate is used for the manufacture of cameos.

Amethyst[edit]

Amethyst, Heb. ahlmh; Sept. amethystos, also Apoc., xxi, 20, where it is the twelfth and last stone of the foundation of the New Jerusalem. It is the third stone in the third row of the rational, representing the tribe of Issachar (Ex., xxviii, 19; xxxix, 12); the Septuagint enumerates it among the riches of the King of Tyre (Ezech., xxviii, 13). The Greek name alludes to the popular belief that amethyst prevented intoxication; hence drinking vessels were made of amethyst for festivities, and carousers wore amulets made of it to counteract the action of wine. Abenesra and Kimchi explain the Hebrew ahlmh in an analogous manner, deriving it from hlm, to dream; hlm in its first meaning signifies "to be hard". A consensus exists regarding the accuracy of the translation among the various versions; Josephus (Ant. Jud., III, vii, 6) also has "amethyst"; the Targum of Onkelos and the Syriac Version have "calf's eye", indicating the colour.

The amethyst is a brilliant transparent stone of a purple colour and varying in shade from violet purple to rose. There are two kinds of amethysts: the oriental amethyst, a species of sapphire which is very hard (cf. Heb.,hlm), and when colourless is almost indistinguishable from the diamond. The occidental amethyst is of the silex family and different in composition from the oriental stone. But the identity of names is accounted for by the identity of colour. The occidental amethyst is easily engraved and is found in a variety of sizes. Its shape is different from the round pebble to the hexagonal, pyramid-capped crystal.

Beryl[edit]

Beryl, Heb. yhlm; Sept. beryllos; Vulg. beryllus occupied the third place of the second row and in the breastplate and was understood to represent Nephtali (Ex., xxviii, 19; xxxix, 13). According to the Septuagint it was the second of the fourth row, and third of the fourth according to the Vulgate. Ezech., xxviii, 13, mentions it in the third place and it is also cited in the Greek text of Tob., xiii, 17, but is missing in the Vulgate; Apoc., xxi, 20, gives it as the eighth stone of the foundation of the New Jerusalem.

The etymological debate indicates a difference of opinion regarding the exact Hebrew correlative of this word. The best supported is yhlm, though shhm is also probable. shpht has also been suggested, but with little proof. Consequently the Hebrew shpht must correspond to jasper, Gr. iaspis and Lat. jaspis. This mistaken idea probably arose from the supposition that the translated words originally occupied the same position in the original. Comparative analysis of the Greek and Latin translations demonstrates this is not the case; in the Vulgate, jasper is in the same position as yshpht, whereas the Greek beryllos does not correspond to the Latin beryllus.

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. Josephus is not reliable in this instance as he most likely quoted from memory; the position of the words being at variance in his two lists (Bell. Jud., V, v, 7; Ant. Jud., III, vii).

Therefore, the ultimate analysis is limited to the two words yshlm and shlm. By comparing various texts of the Vulgate - the Greek is very inconsistent - we find that shlm always translated to onyx. This alone seems sufficient to support the opinion that beryl corresponds to the Heb. yhlm. That beryl was among the stones of the rational appears beyond doubt because all translations mention it and with the etymology giving us no special help, by elimination; we come to the generally accepted conclusion that beryl and yhlm stand for each other.

Beryl is a stone composed of silica, alumina, and glucina with beryl and emerald being of the same species. The difference between beryl, aquamarine, and emerald is determined by the colouring and the peculiar shade of each. Beryl, though sometimes white, is usually of a light blue bordering on a yellowish green; emerald is more transparent and of a finer hue than beryl. As a gem, it is considered more beautiful, and therefore more expensive - aqua marine is a beautiful sea-green variety.

Emerald derives its colour from a small quantity of chromium oxide; beryl and aqua marine from a small quantity of iron oxide. Beryl occurs in the shape of either a pebble or of an hexagonal prism. It is found in metamorphiclimestone, slate, mica schist, gneiss and granite. In ancient times it was mined in Upper Egypt and is still found in the mica slate of Mt. Zaborah. 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. and measures 51 inches in length by 32 inches by 22.

According to John Aubrey in "Miscellanies" beryl has also been employed for mystical and cabalistic practices.

Carbuncle[edit]

Carbuncle, Heb., gphr; Sept. anthrax (Ex., xxviii, 18; xxxix, 11; Ezech., xxviii, 13; omitted in Ezech., xxvii, 16); Vulg., carbunculus (Ex., xxviii, 18; xxxix, 11; Ezech., xxviii, 13), gemma (Ezech., xxvii, 16). The carbuncle was the first stone of the second row of the rational and it represented Juda, and is also the eighth stone mentioned of the riches of the King of Tyre (Ezech., xxviii, 13). An imported object, not a native product, (Ezech., xxvii, 16); it is perhaps the third stone of the foundation of the celestial city (Apoc., xxi, 19).

The ancient authors are not in accordance on the precise nature of the carbuncle stone. It probably corresponded to the anthrax of Theophrastus (De lap., 18), the carbunculus of Pliny (Hist. nat., XXXVII, xxv), the charchedoniusof Petronius, and the ardjouani of the Arabs. If so, it is a red glittering stone, probably the Oriental ruby, though the appellation may have been applied to a variety of other red gems. 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." This description fits well with the Oriental ruby. He also relates that the most perfect carbuncles were brought from Carthage, Marseilles,Egypt, and the neighbourhood of Siena.

Carbuncles were named differently according to their places of origin. Pliny (Hist. nat., XXXVII, xxv) cites the lithizontes, or Indian carbuncles, the amethystizontes, the colour of which resembled amethyst, and sitites. Carbuncle was therefore most probably a generic name which applied to several stones.

Carnelian[edit]

Carnelian, Heb. arm, to be red, especially "red blooded"; Sept. and Apoc. sardion; Vulg. 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). Also found in Noahs story is the unproven that the dove Noah sent down to the ground was actually a garnet used to light the ground.

The word sardion has sometimes been called sardonyx. This is a mistake, for the same word is equivalent to carnelian in Theophrastus (De lap., 55) and Pliny (Hist. nat., XXXVII, xxxi), who derive the name from that of the city ofSardes where, they claim, it was first found. The carnelian is a siliceous stone and a species of chalcedony. Its colour is a flesh-hued red, varying from the palest flesh-colour to a deep blood-red. It is of a conchoidal structure. Normally its colour is without clouds or veins; but sometimes delicate veins of extremely light red or white are found arranged much like the rings of an agate. Carnelian is used for rings and seals. The finest carnelians are found in the East Indies.

Chalcedony[edit]

Chalcedony, Apoc., xxi, 19, chalkedon; Vulg. chalcedonius, the third foundation stone of the celestial Jerusalem. The view that the writing chalkedon is an error and that it should be charkedon (the carbuncle) is not without some reason. However, the other eleven stones correspond to a stone in the rational and this is the only exception. The ancients very often confounded the names of these two stones. Chalcedony is a siliceous stone. Its name is supposed to derive from Chalcedon, in Bithynia, where the ancients obtained the stone from. It is a species of agate and bears various names according to its colour. Chalcedony is usually made up of concentric circles of various colours and the most valuable of these stones are found in the East Indies. The gem is used for rings, seals and, in the East; drinking vessels.

Chodchod[edit]

Chodchod, kdkd (Is., liv, 12; Ezech., xxvii, 16); Sept.iaspis (Is., liv, 12), chorchor (Ezech., xxvii, 16); Vulg.jaspis (Is., liv, 12), chodchod (Ezech., xvii, 16). This word is used only twice in the Bible. Chodchod is generally identified with the Oriental ruby. The translation of the word in Is. both by the Septuagint and the Vulgate is jasper; in Ezech. the word is merely transliterated; the Greek chorchor is explained by considering how easy it is to mistake a reshfor a daleth.

"What chodchod signifies", says St. Jerome, "I have until now not been able to find" (Comment. in Ezech., xxvii, 16, in P. L., XXV, 255). In Is. he follows the Septuagint and translates chodchod by jaspis. The word is probably derived from phyr, "to throw fire"; the stone was therefore brilliant and very likely red. This supposition is strengthened by the fact that the Arabic word kadzkadzat, evidently derived from the same stem as chodchod, designates a bright red. It was therefore a kind of ruby, likely the Oriental ruby, perhaps also the carbuncle (see above).

Chrysolite[edit]

Chrysolite, Heb. 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. chrysolithus (Ex., xxviii, 20; xxxix, 13; Ezech., x, 9; xxviii, 13; Dan., x, 6), hyacinthus (Cant., v, 14); quasi visio maris (Ezech., i, 16); Apoc., xxi, 20, chrysolithos; Vulg. chrysolithus. This is the tenth stone of the rational, representing the tribe of Zabulon; it stands fourth in the enumeration of Ezech., xxviii, 13, and is given as the seventh foundation stone of the celestial city in Apoc., xxi, 20.

None of the Hebrew texts give any hint as to the nature of this stone. However, since the Septuagint repeatedly translates the Hebrew word by chrysolithos, except where it merely transliterates it, and in Ezech., x, 9, since, moreover, the Vulgate follows this translation with very few exceptions, and Aquila, Josephus, and St. Epiphanius agree in their rendering, it can be assumed that the chrysolite of the ancients equates to our topaz.

The word tharsis very likely points to the origin of the gem (Tharsis). The modern chrysolite is a green oblong hexagonal prism of unequal sides terminated by two triangular pyramids. Topaz, or ancient chrysolite, is an octangular prism of an orange-yellow colour; it is composed of alumina, silica, hydrofluoric acid, and iron. it is found in Ceylon, Arabia, and Egypt. Several species were reported to exist (Pliny, "Hist. nat.", XXXVII, xlv) and during the Middle Ages it was believed to possess the power of relieving anxiety at night, driving away devils and to be an excellent cure for eye diseases.

Chrysophrasus[edit]

Chrysophrasus, Greek chrysoprasos, the tenth foundation stone of the celestial Jerusalem (Apoc., xxi, 20). This is perhaps the agate of Ex., xxviii, 20, and xxxix, 13, since the chrysoprasus was not very well known among the ancients. It is a type of green agate, composed mostly of silica and a small percentage of nickel.

Coral[edit]

Coral, Heb. ramwt (Job, xxviii, 18; Prov., xxiv, 7; Ezech., xxvii, 16); Sept. meteora, ramoth; Vulg. excelsa, sericum. The Hebrew word seems to derive from tas, "to be high", probably pertaining to a tree. Another possibility is that the name originates from a strange country, as did the coral itself. It is apparent that the ancient versions have been prone to mis-interpretation. In one instance they even went so far as to simply transliterate the Hebrew word.

In Ezech., xxvii, 16, coral is mentioned as one of the articles brought by the Syrians to Tyre. The Phoenicians mounted beads of coral on collars and garments. These corals were obtained by Babylonian pearl-flshers in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The Hebrews apparently made very little use of this substance, and it is seldom mentioned in their writings. This also explains the difficulty experienced in scriptural translation.

Gesenius (Thesaurus, p. 1113) translates phnynys (Job, xxviii, 18; Prov., iii, 15; viii, 11; xx, 15; xxxi, 10; Lam., iv, 7) as "red coral". However, pearl has also been interpreted to be the meaning in these passages. The coral referred to in the Bible is the precious coral (corallum rubrum), the formation of which is well known. It is a calcareous secretion of certain polyps resulting in a tree-like formation. 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. One of the greatest coral-fisheries of the present day is Torre del Greco, near Naples.

Crystal[edit]

Crystal, Heb. ghbsh (Job, xxviii, 18), qrh (Ezech, i, 22): both words signify a glassy substance; Sept. gabis; Vulg. eminentia (Job, xxviii, 18); krystallos, crystallus (Ezech., i, 22). Crystal is a transparent mineral resembling glass, most probably a variety of quartz. Job places it in the same category with gold, onyx, sapphire, glass, coral, topaz, etc. The Targum renders the qrt of Ezech. as "ice"; the other versions translate it as "crystal". Crystal is again mentioned in Apoc., iv, 6; xxi, 11; xxii, 1. In Ps. cxlvii, 17, and Ecclus., xliii, 22, there can be no question that ice is indicated. The word zkwkyh, Job, xxviii, 17, which can be translated as crystal, means glass.

Diamond[edit]

Diamond, Heb. shmyr; Sept. adamantinos; Vulg. adamas, adamantinus (Ezech., iii, 9; Zach., vii, 12; Jer, xvii 1). Whether or not this stone is really diamond cannot be established. Many passages in Holy Scriptures point to the qualities of diamond, in particular its hardness (Ezech., iii, 9; Zach., vii, 12; Jer., xvii, 1). In the last citation Jeremiah informs us of a diamond usage which is much the same as its usage today: "The sin of Juda is written with a pen of iron, with the point of a diamond". However, although diamond is used to engrave hard substances, other stones can serve the same purpose.

The Septuagint omits the passages of Ezech. and Zach., while the first five verses of Jer., xvii, are missing in the Cod. Vaticanus and Alexandrinus, but are found in the Complutensian edition and in the Syriac and Arabic Versions. Despite the qualities mentioned in the Bible, the stone referred to may be the limpid corindon; which exhibits the same qualities, and is used in India for the same purposes as the diamond.

Diamond was not very well known among the ancients; and if we add to this the etymological similarity between the words smiris, the Egyptian asmir, "emery", a species of corindon used to polish precious stones, and shmyr, the Hebrew word supposed to mean diamond; the conclusion to be drawn is that limpid corindon was intended.

Aben-Esra and Abarbanel translate yhlm as "diamond"; but yhlm was demonstrated above to be beryl. Diamond is made up of pure carbon, mostly of a white transparent colour, but sometimes tinted. White diamond is often regarded as the most precious because of its beauty and rarity.

Emerald[edit]

Emerald, Heb. brqm; Sept. smaragdos; Vulg. smaragdus; the third stone of the rational (Ex., xxviii, 17; xxxix, 10), representing the tribe of Levi; it is the ninth stone in Ezech., xxviii,13, and the fourth foundation stone of the celestial Jerusalem (Apoc., xxi, 19). The same precious stone is also mentioned in Tob., xiii, 16 (Vulg. 21); Jud., x, 21 (Vulg. 19); and in the Greek text of Ecclus., xxxii, 8, but there is no indication of it in the Manuscript B. of the Hebrew text, found in the Genizah of Cairo in 1896.

Practically all versions, including Josephus (Ant. Jud., III, vii, 5; Bell. Jud., V, v, 7) translate brhm as "emerald". The Hebrew root brq (to glitter"), from which it is probably derived, is agreed on by scholastic consensus. The word may also derive from the Sanskrit marakata which is certainly emerald nor is the Greek form smaragdos that different either. In Job, xiii, 21; Jud., x, 19; Ecclus., xxxii, 8; and Apoc., xxi, 19, the emerald is certainly the stone referred to. The word bphr also has sometimes been translated by smaragdus but this is a mistake as bphr signifies carbuncle.

Emerald is a green variety of beryl and is composed of silicate of alumina and glucina. Structurally, it is a hexagonal crystal with a brilliant reflecting green colour. The emerald is highly polished and is found in metamorphic rocks,granites, and mica schist. Many of the finest specimens have been found in Muzo, Bogota, South America but the ancients obtained the stone from Egypt and India.

Although claims have been made that the ancients knew nothing of the emerald - Pliny, Theophrastus and others clearly refute this even though the name may have been used possibly for other stones. In the Middle Ages miraculous healing powers were attributed to the emerald, among them; the power to preserve or heal visual problems.

Jacinth[edit]

Hyacinth, Greek hyakinthos; Vulg. hyacinthus (Apoc., xxi, 20); the eleventh stone of the foundation of the heavenly city. It very probably equates with Heb., the ligurius of Ex., xxviii, 19; xxxix, 12 (St. Epiphan., "De duodecim gemmis" in P. G., XLIII, 300). The stone referred to in Cant., v, 14, and called hyacinthus in the Vulgate is the Hebrew shoham, which has been shown above to be chrysolite. The exact nature of hyacinth cannot be determined as the name was applied to several stones of similar colours and most probably designated stones reminiscent of the hyacinth flower. ^[1] Hyacinth is a zircon of a crimson, red, or orange colour. It is harder than quartz and its cleavage is undulating and sometimes lamellated. Its form is that of an oblong quadrangular prism terminated on both ends by a quadrangular pyramid. It was allegedly used as a talisman against tempests.

Jasper[edit]

Jasper Heb. יָשְׁפֵ֑ה yashpeh; Sept. iaspis; Vulg. jaspis; the twelfth stone of the breastplate (Ex., xxviii, 18; xxxix, 11), representing Benjamin. In the Greek and Latin texts it comes sixth, and so also in Ezech., xxviii, 13; in the Apocalypse it is the first (xxi, 19). Despite this difference of position jaspis is undoubtedly the yshphh of the Hebrew text.== The gem is an anhydrate quartz composed of silica, alumina, and iron and there are jaspers of nearly every colour. It is a completely opaque stone of a conchoidal cleavage. It seems to have been obtained by the Jews from India and Egypt.

Ligurus[edit]

Ligurus, Heb. lshs; Sept. ligyrion; Vulg. ligurius; the first stone of the third row of the rational (Ex., xxviii, 19; xxxix, 12), representing Gad. It is missing in the Hebrew of Ezech., xxviii, 13, but present in the Greek. This stone is probably the same as hyacinth (St. Epiphan., loc. cit.). This traditional identification, is based upon the remark that the twelve foundation stones of the celestial city in Apoc., xxi, 19-20, correspond to the twelve stones of the rational. This alone is enough to equate ligurus with hyacinth although it has been identified with turmaline; though the latter view is rejected by most scholars.

Onyx[edit]

Onyx, Lat; Sept. onychion; Vulg. lapis onychinus; the eleventh stone of the breastplate in the Hebrew and the Vulgate (Ex., xxviii, 20; xxxix, 13), representing the tribe of Joseph. In the Sept. it is the twelfth stone and the fifth in Ezech., xxviii, 13, in the Heb., but the twelfth in the Greek; it is called sardonyx and comes in the fifth place in Apoc., xxi, 20.

The exact nature of this stone is disputed because the Greek word beryllos occurs instead of the Hebrew ??? thereby indicating beryl. However, this is not so (see Beryl above). The Vulgate equates onyx with the Hebrew ???and although this alone would be a very weak argument; there are other, stronger testimonies to the fact that the Hebrew word occurs frequently in Holy Scripture: (Gen., ii, 12; Ex., xxv, 7; xxv, 9, 27; I Par., xxxix, 2; etc.) and on each occasion, except Job, xxviii, 16, the gem is translated in the Vulgate by lapis onychinus (lapis sardonychus in Job, xxviii, 16).

The Greek is very inconsistent in its translation, rendering shhs differently in various texts; therefore in Gen., ii, 12, it is lithos prasinos, sardios in Ex. xxv, 7; xxxv, 9; 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.

Other Greek translators are more consistent: Aquila has sardonyx and Symmachus and Theodotion have onyx. The paraphrase of Onkelos had burla, the Syriac berula, both of which evidently are the Greek beryllos; "beryl". Since the translations do not observe the same order as the Hebrew in enumerating the stones of the rational (see Beryl above), it is not mandatory to accept the Greek beryllos as the translation of shhm. Therefore, relying on the testimony of the various versions it can safely be assumed that onyx is the stone signified by shhm.

Onyx is a variety of quartz analogous to agate and other crypto-crystalline species. It is composed of different layers of variously coloured carnelian much like banded agate in structure, but the layers are in even or parallel planes. This makes it well adapted for the cutting of cameos and was much used by the ancients for that purpose. The colours of the best are perfectly well defined, and are either white and black, or white, brown, and black. Some of the best specimens have been brought from India.

Sardonyx[edit]

Sardonyx has a structure similar to onyx, but is composed usually of alternate layers of white chalcedony and carnelian, although carnelian may be associated with layers of white, brown, and black chalcedony. The ancients obtained onyx from Arabia, Egypt, and India.

Pearl[edit]

Pearl. Although not a gemstone in the strictest sense we can apply the word "stone" in a broader context similar to that of coral. It is comparatively certain that pearl (Greek margarite, Vulg. margarita was known among the Jews, at least after the time of Solomon, as it was among the Phoenicians. The exact etymology is uncertain but the following have been suggested: ghbysh, which signified "crystal" (see above); phnynym, which Gesenius renders by "red coral"; dr, Esth., i, 6, which is translated in the Vulg. by lapis parius, "marble"; the Arabic dar also signifies "pearl", and therefore Furst also renders the Hebrew word.

In the New Testament we find pearl mentioned in Matt., xiii, 45, 46; I Tim., ii, 9; etc. Pearl is a concretion consisting chiefly of lime carbonate found in several bivalve molluscs, but especially in avicula margaritifera. Generally, it has a whitish blue hue, sometimes showing a tinge of pink; but there are also yellow pearls. This gem was considered the most precious of all among the ancients, and was obtained from the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Persian Gulf.

Ruby[edit]

Ruby. This stone may have been either the carbuncle or the chodchod (see above). There is, however, a choice between the oriental ruby and the spinel ruby; but the words may have been used indiscriminately for both. The former is extremely hard, almost as hard as the diamond, and is obtained from Ceylon, India, and China. It is considered one of the most precious gems.

Sapphire[edit]

Sapphire, Heb. mghry Septuag. sappheiron; Vulg. sapphirus. Sapphire was the fifth stone of the rational (Ex., xxviii, 19; xxxix, 13), and represented the tribe of Dan. It is the seventh stone in Ezech., xxviii, 14 (in the Hebrew text, for it occurs fifth in the Greek text); it is also the second foundation stone of the celestial Jerusalem (Apoc., xxi, 19).

The genuine sapphire is a beautiful blue hyaline corindon and is composed of nearly pure alumina, its colour resulting from the presence of iron oxide. The ancients also referred to lapis-lazuli as sapphire, which is likewise a blue stone, often speckled with shining pyrites giving it the appearance of being sprinkled with gold dust. It is composed of silica, alumina, and alkali and is an opaque substance easily engraved. Debate still continues as to which stone is precisely referred to in the Bible. Both may be meant, but lapis-lazuli seems more probable as its qualities are better suited for the purposes of engraving (Lam., iv, 7; Ex., xxviii, 17; xxxix, 13). Sapphire was obtained from India.

Sardonyx[edit]

Sardonyx; SARD. These two words are often confused by interpreters. Sard is carnelian, while sardonyx is a species of onyx.

Topaz[edit]

Topaz, Heb. ghtrh; Sept. topazion; Vulg. topazius, the second stone of the rational (Ex., xxviii, 17; xxxix, 19), representing Simeon; also the second stone in Ezech., xxviii, 13; the ninth foundation stone of the celestial Jerusalem (Apoc., xxi, 20) and also mentioned in Job, xxviii, 19.

This topaz is generally believed to have been chrysolite rather than the more generally known topaz. Oriental topaz is composed of nearly pure alumina, silica, and fluoric acid; its shape is an orthorhombic prism with a cleavage transverse to its long axis. It is extremely hard and has a double refraction. When rubbed or heated it becomes highly electric.

It varies in colour according to the country of origin. Australian topaz is green or yellow; the Tasmanian clear, bright, and transparent; the Saxon pale violet; the Bohemian sea-green and the Brazilian red, varying from a pale red to a deep carmine. The ancients very probably obtained it from the East.

References[edit]

1. Jump up^ Exodus xxviii:19, xxxix:12

Attribution

· This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Souvay, Charles (1912). "Precious Stones in the Bible". In Herbermann, Charles. Catholic Encyclopedia 14. Robert Appleton Company. The entry cites:

· ST. EPIPHANIUS, De duodecim qemmis in Patrologia Graeca, XLIII, 294-304;

· ST. ISIDORE, De lapidibus in Etymol., xvi, 6-15, in Patrologia Latina, LXXXII, 570-580;

· Charles William King, Antique Gems (2d ed., London, 1872);

· —, The Natural History of Gems or Decorative Stones (2d ed., London, 1870);

· BRAUN, Vestitus sacerdotum hebræorum (Leyden, 1680);

· BABELON in DAREMBERG AND SAGLIO, Dict. des antiquités grecques et romaines, s.v. Gemmæ;

· LESÉTRE in VIGOUROUX, Dict. de la Bible, s.v. Pierres précieuses;

· ROSENMÜLLER, Handbuch der biblischen Alterthumskunde (Leipzig);

· WINER in Biblisches Realwörterbuch (Leipzig, 1847), s.v. Edelstine.

home shop gallery of stones color symbolism contact	PRECIOUS STONES OF THE BIBLE Throughout history, in every civilization, gemstones have been highly prized and sought after. The Bible makes numerous references to jewels and precious stones. In Exodus 28:21 the Lord ordains precious stones to be used in the making of the breastpiece of the High Priests’ garments. Zechariah 9:16 says that the Lord’s people will be like jewels in a crown. In Revelation 21:19-20, John names twelve stones that adorn the foundation of the New Jerusalem. The difficulty has been in knowing the exact identity of the stones named. It has only been since the mid-1800’s that we have begun to identify stones according to their mineral content. In Bible times stones were identified by color, such as the Hebrew term odem which simply means “red stone.” This could have been any number of red stones known at the time (i.e. red jasper, carnelian, garnet). As more information surfaces thanks to archaeological findings and the writings of ancient historians such as Theophrastus (372-287 BC), Elder Pliny (23-79 AD), and Josephus (37-100 AD), we are able to come a bit closer to making some identifications sure.

		AGATE Ex 28:19, 39:12 Agate is named as the second stone in the third row of the High Priest’s breastplate. Agates are a form of chalcedony (a fine-grained variety of quartz) that are banded or lined in a variety of patterns of colored layers. Colors range from white to dull yellow, red, brown, orange, blue, black and gray. The Hebrew word for agate is shebo which literally means “to flame, split into tongues.” “Agate” comes from the Greek word, achates, which is the name of the river in Sicily where agate was mined in abundance as early as 3000 BC. Agates were highly prized among ancient civilizations. It was fashioned into beads, pins, brooches, signet rings, goblets, cups, bottles, bowls, and carved figurines. Large amounts of agate have been found in archaeological digs of Sumer, dating back to 3500 BC. Theophrastus (372-287 BC) appears to have been the first man to write about agates. In his work, Concerning Stones, he notes that agate is a “marvelously beautiful stone” and usually sold at high prices.

		AMBER Ezek 1:4, 27; 8:2 Amber is the fossilized resin of pine trees. It ranges in color from golden yellow to orange-brown. In the KJV, amber is mentioned three times by Ezekiel (Ezek 1:4, 27; 8:2). Other versions use the terms glowing metal or gleaming bronze. It is the Hebrew word hashmal. The exact original meaning of the word is uncertain. The Brown-Driver-Briggs dictionary defines hashmal as "a shining substance, amber or electrum or bronze." The Revell Bible Dictionary says, "While the root meaning remains uncertain, all scholars agree that the image, used to describe the visible glory of God, conveys the sense of brilliance." Ancient Greeks called amber "electrum." The Elder Pliny (23-79 AD) described amber's magnetic attraction, how that when rubbed it would become electrically charged and attract such things as straw, hair, dry leaves and feathers. This is where we get the word electricity. Amber is one of the oldest gemstones, having been found in archaeological digs of tombs dating to the Stone Age. The most valued amber (even today) is that which contains an inclusion of an insect.

		AMETHYST Ex 28:19, 39:12, Rev 21:20 Amethyst is a variety of quartz that is best know for it's rich, violet-purple hue. The color can vary in intensity from a pale, almost pinkish (mauve) color to a dark purplish violet. It is thought that the color of the stone comes from small amounts of iron in the quartz. Amethyst is the third stone in the third row of the High Priest’s breastplate (Ex. 28:19) and the twelfth stone listed in the foundation of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:20). It is one of the few stones in which experts agree as to the correctness of the name. The Hebrew word for amethyst, ahlamah, literally means “dream stone,” and it was thought that it induced pleasant dreams. The Greek name for the stone, amethustos (from which we get “amethyst”), literally means “not drunken” and it was believed that the gem guarded one against intoxication. Beautifully carved and engraved amethyst goblets, vases, charms and miniatures have been found in excavations. Historically amethyst has been highly valued as a precious stone for the uniqueness of it's color, as there are few purple gemstones.

		AQUAMARINE (BERYL) Rev 21:20 Aquamarine is a light blue or bluish-green variety of beryl. Historians have likened it to “a thousand leagues of sunlit sea imprisoned in a cup.” It’s very name is descriptive of it’s color: aqua meaning water and marine meaning sea. Aquamarine was the most available variety of beryl during Bible times, while the emerald (also a beryl) was more rare. The term aquamarine is not used by any of the Bible translators, but many scholars believe that the aquamarine was the type of beryl (Grberullos) of the eighth stone of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:20). The Roman historian and writer, Elder Pliny (23-79 AD), describes the color and characteristics of the aquamarine in his description of the berullos stone of his time. At that time, emeralds, though also beryl, were called by another name, smaragdos (this being the fourth stone in the New Jerusalem). See Beryl, Emerald

		BERYL Ex 28:19, 39:12, Ezek 28:13, Rev 21:20 Beryl (Gr. berullos) is the 8th stone in the New Jerusalem. Beryl is the true name of several very important gemstones, yet a term not often used. The best known beryl are the emerald (grass green in color), and the aquamarine (blue-green). Both of these stones were well known in Bible times, the aquamarine being the most common. Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) who was a historian at the time the Book of Revelation was written, describes the beryl (berullos) of that day, “The lapidaries cut all beryls of a hexagonal form because the color...is heightened by reflections resulting from the angles. The most esteemed beryls are those which in color resemble the pure green of the sea.” This would seem to indicate the aquamarine as being the beryl of choice in that time. Now, of course, the emerald is considered the most valued of the beryls. Beryl is a silicate of beryllium and aluminum, occurs in hexagonal, prismatic crystals and is very hard as a mineral, measuring 8 (on a scale of 1-10). See Aquamarine and Emerald

		CARNELIAN (SARDIUS) Ex 28:19, 39:10; Rev 4:3, 21:20 Carnelian is a translucent, hard, fine-grained variety of orangish red quartz that has often been used for ring stones and wax seals. Carnelian has been frequently discovered in excavations of the ancient tombs of royalty. A necklace more than 10 feet long and containing 670 orange-red carnelian beads was found in the tomb of a queen dating 1000 BC. A string of expertly carved carnelian beads was found in Egypt dating back to 3100 BC. Carnelian is the modern word for the stone translated as sardius in the KJV. The Greek word is sardios and is found as the 6th stone of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:20), and in the description of the Lord in Rev 4:3. The Hebrew word odem (literally redness or red stone) is translated by some Bible scholars as sardius (today’s carnelian). Odem is the stone listed as the first stone in the breastplate in Exodus. Odem here could have been any one of several red stones known to the ancient Hebrews; the garnet or red jasper, as well as the sardius (carnelian).

		CHALCEDONY Rev 21:19 Chalcedony is a cryptocrystalline (having crystals so small they cannot even be seen with a microscope) variety of quartz. It has a waxy luster and can be semi-transparent to translucent. There are many varieties of chalcedony, but most of them are known under different names and are distinguished by their color (i.e. chrysoprase is apple green, carnelian is red, onyx is black and white stripes, sardonyx is red and white stripes, and agate is banded in many colors). Specimens that are called by the name chalcedony are generally milky white, light gray, blue and yellowish brown in color. Chalcedony in gem form is general cut in cabochons, as it is not well suited for faceting. In Bible times, chalcedony was used extensively in the carving of seals, signet rings, beads, bowls, goblets, glasses, and other household objects. The word “chalcedony” is derived from the name of the ancient Greek town, Chalkedon, in Asia Minor, in modern English usually spelled Chalcedon. It is listed as the third foundation stone of the New Jerusalem.

		CHRYSOPRASE Rev 21:20 Chrysoprase is a translucent, bright apple or grassy green variety of chalcedony. The green color comes from nickle. It is the most valuable variety of chalcedony. Chrysophrase is listed as the 10th stone in the foundation of the New Jerusalem. The modern word comes from the Greek chrusoprasos and literally translated is chrusos meaning “golden” and prason meaning “a leek” indicating the color of the stone. Chrysoprase has been discovered in archaeological digs in ancient Egypt. A necklace which included chrysoprase beads was found on a mummy dating back to 1500 BC. The most famous deposits of chrysoprase came from Silesia (a former Prussian province). During the Middle Ages, it was believed that if one who was condemned for crime held the stone in his mouth he would escape the just punishment of his crime. Though obviously there is no merit to this belief, it is a delightful picture of the redemptive work of Jesus (our Rock) and the scripture that says, “it is with our mouths that we confess and are saved,” escaping our just punishment.

		CRYSTAL Job 28:17, Isa 54:12, Rev 4:6; 21:11; 22:1 Rock crystal is a colorless, transparent, coarse crystalline quartz. Quartz is one of the most common minerals found nearly everywhere In the world. Rock crystal is very abundant and can occur in single crystals that can weigh several tons. The largest recorded crystal, found in Brazil, was 20 feet long, several feet thick, and weighed more than 44 tons. Ancient peoples developed many uses for crystal. Quartz crystal lenses were found in the ruins of Nineveh (3800 BC). Lenses such as these may have been used for magnifying, burning or even cauterizing wounds. Egyptians mined crystal as early as 3500 BC. The Romans carved vases, bowls, and goblets from larger blocks of crystal. Small, natural crystal was often used uncut as jewelry - either strung or placed in a setting. The Greek word for crystal is krustallos or “ice” because they believed that it was formed from water exposed to extreme cold. This belief persisted until the nineteenth century! The Hebrew word literally means “transparent” and can be used for ice, glass or crystal.

		CORAL Job 28:18, Ezek 27:16 Coral is a limestone formation of calcium carbonate produced by the skeletons of millions of tiny marine animals (polyps). Because it is of animal origin it is not technically considered a mineral. Gem quality coral or precious coral is only found in a few places in the world, one being the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea which produces some of the very finest. It is unique in that it has an internal skeleton which can be polished bringing out it’s beautiful shades of red. It grows in bush-like clumps of branches about a foot high and must be harvested while still living to preserve the color. If the polyps die before a branch reaches the surface, the coral turns dark and loses its value. This precious coral has been harvested from the earliest times and prized by many civilizations. Many specimens of polished branches mixed artfully with beads have been discovered in early Egyptian jewelry. Coral is mentioned several places in the Bible (scripture references vary according to version). Discrepancies are common with gemstones because the meanings of some of the original words have been lost over time.

		DIAMOND Ex 28:18, 39:11, Jer 17:1, Ezek 28:13 Diamonds are the most highly prized gemstones in the world, mostly due to their many qualities and few weaknesses. Diamonds are pure elemental carbon. They are the hardest of all gemstones. The diamond has the highest melting point of any substance (3,820 degrees Kelvin), is an excellent heat conductor, and has very low reactivity to chemicals. Diamonds are made of carbon - the most common substance on earth - formed deep within the earth under extreme heat and pressure. The English word “diamond” comes from the Greek word adamas meaning “the invincible.” Only the KJV uses the term diamond in its translation (see scripture references above). The diamond was probably not true identity of these stones because the diamond was not identified in the Mediterranean lands until the first century AD, and then it was not valued for it’s beauty as a decorative gemstone, but for it’s use as a tool for carving other stones due to it’s hardness. The first definite reference to it is found in the Latin poetry of Manilius about 12 AD, and Elder Pliny describes diamond crystals from India about 77 AD.

		EMERALD Ex 28:20, 39:13, Ezek 28:13, Rev 4:3, 21:18 Emeralds are the valuable and highly prized grassy-green variety of beryl. Emeralds were well known among the people of the Bible lands. One of the earliest known source of emerald were mines located near the Red Sea in Egypt. There is evidence that these mines were in operation as early as 1650 BC (the time that the Hebrew people would have been in Egypt). Later these mines became known as Cleopatra’s Mines, who was quite fond of emeralds and was reported to wear them to enhance her beauty. Emeralds were engraved with her likeness and given as gifts to her guests. The word emerald comes from the Greek word smaragdos by way of the French word for emerald esmeralde and simply means “green gemstone.” The emerald (Gr. smaragdos) is the fourth stone of the New Jerusalem. Most scholars agree that the emerald was the stone meant here. According to the Encyclopedia Judaica, the Hebrew word for emerald is most likely bareqet, which is the third stone in the first row of the High Priests’ breastplate. Most Greek versions translate bareqet as smaragdos.

		GARNET The word “garnet” comes from the Latin “granatum” (the pomegranate) having to do with the red color of the stone. It is a brittle, hard, glassy, mineral silicate. Though the word “garnet” is not found in any of the translations of the Bible, garnets were a common stone in Bible times. It is very possible that it was a garnet that was used for the 1st stone in Aaron’s breastpiece. The Hebrew word here is odem which simply means “red” and could have been any number of red stones (though most likely not the ruby as they were not in use until 300 BC). The garnet, however, has been found as early as the Bronze Age, in Egyptian jewelry, dating back to 3100 BC. The Greeks used garnets as signet rings with found artifacts dating around 400 BC. Due to their color, garnets , have been closely associated with blood, as have other stones that are red. They also have the distinction throughout history of often being mistaken for rubies.

		JACINTH (HYACINTH) Rev 21:20 Jacinth is a derivation of the word “hyacinth” which comes from the Greek huakinthos. Most scholars agree that it was some kind of blue stone, taking it’s color from the flower. It is the 11th foundation stone in the New Jerusalem. Pliny (AD 23-69) describes the hyacinthus as being very different from amethystus, "though partaking of a color that closely' borders upon it" and as being of a more diluted violet, It is held that the jacinth/hyacinth may actually be the sapphire of today.

		JASPER Ex 28:20, 39:13, Job 28:18, Ezek 28:13, Rev 4:3, 21:11,18,19 Jasper is an opaque variety of chalcedony (quartz). It is most commonly red due to the presence of iron, but can also be found in yellow, brown and green.”Jasper” comes from the Greek word iaspis which is a derivation of the Hebrew word yashepheh coming from a root word meaning “to polish”. In fact, one of the characteristics of jasper is that it is able to take a high polish and was used in ancient times as mantles, pillars, vases, and other interior decorations. Jasper is named as the 12th stone in Aaron’s breastpiece. Scholars think that the yashepheh here actually refers to a green form of Jasper - which was very rare, and highly prized. Jasper (iaspis) is mentioned in several places in Revelation, most noted being the 6th foundation stone of the New Jerusalem. Pliny the Elder who lived and wrote around the same time that the book of Revelation was written, describes iaspis as “being green and often transparent” which is of interest since today we consider jasper to be opaque.

		LAPIS LAZULI Lapis Lazuli is a beautiful, rich ultramarine-blue stone consisting largely of lazurite and speckled with yellow pyrite. Lapis was one of the most sought after and prized stones of ancient times. It was used for jewelry, ornamentation, seals, and amulets. It was also used extensively for inlaying. Egyptian blue paint was made from finely ground lapis. This stone has been found in abundance in archaeological digs of ancient civilizations, including King Tut’s tomb which held many beautiful specimens of lapis jewelry dating to 1350 BC. Mines in Afghanistan have been producing gem lapis lazuli for nearly 5000 years and are still the worlds largest producer of the material. Most scholars agree that lapis lazuli is actually the stone meant for the term “sapphire” in the Bible. Sapphires were not known before the Roman empire and were initially considered to be jacinth. The Elder Pliny (AD 23-69) gives a description of sappir (translated by most as sapphire) as being like the night sky, spangled with stars, and Theophratus (372-287BC) describes “sappir spotted with gold.” These descriptions definitely indicate the lapis lazuli. See Sapphire

		ONYX Gen 2:12, Ex 28:20, Job 28:16, Ezek 28:13 Onyx is chalcedony that has even, banded layers of various color (most typically black and white). The Greek word for onyx is onux literally “the nail of a finger” which implies the banding of color for which the stone is known. Onyx has been very popular through the ages as the stone used for engraving cameos. The carving of cameos came into great popularity with Alexander the Great. His handsome features and classic profile became a favorite subject of engravers. Prior to this time onyx was used extensively for carving seal rings. These seal rings were most often cut as intaglios where the design is cut down into the stone, so that when it is pressed into the seal material (clay or wax) the impression leaves a raised design. The Hebrew word shoham is most often translated as onyx and is the second stone in the 4th row of Aaron’s breastpiece. There has been a lot of question about whether the shoham stone is indeed the onyx, however, Josephus (Jewish historian AD 37-100) who had personal access to the breastpiece in his time, clearly identifies the shoham stone as the onyx.

		PEARL Matt 13:46, Rev 21:21 The pearl holds the distinction of being the only gem that is formed within a living organism. A pearl is made when an irritant, such as a grain of sand, finds its way into the soft tissue of the oyster. To protect itself, the oyster begins to cover the irritant with sheets of nacre. Nacre is the smooth lining material that these mollusks produce that covers the insides of their shells. Layer upon layer of nacre is applied to the irritant, producing, over a period of 1 - 3 years (or more), one pearl. Pearls were considered among the most precious stones in the ancient world. In the Roman empire at the time of Christ pearls became quite the rage. Julius Caesar, who had a particular love for pearls, paid the equivalent of $1,000,000 for a single pearl. This gives significance to Jesus’ story about the “pearl of great price.” For many centuries the pearl was known as the “Margarite” from the Greek word for pearl, margarites, which is the name of the oyster that produces the pearl found in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, margaritafera vulgaris. It was not until the King James Version of the Bible that the term pearl was used.

		PERIDOT (CHRYSOLITE) Rev 21:19,20 Peridot is the modern name for chrysolite which is a lovely, transparent, gem from the mineral olivine. It’s color, which ranges from yellow-green to a deep bottle green comes from the presence of iron. Peridot (or chrysolite) has been known since Biblical times with the earliest source being St. John’s Island in the Red Sea off the Egyptian Coast. From here the identification of Bible stones gets very interesting. It appears that the identity of two stones, the chrysolite (or peridot) and the topaz have completely switched. According to Pliny (AD 23-69), the topaz (Gr. topazion) was a stone found and mined on the island of Topazios (today called St. John’s Island off the coast of Egypt). This is the world’s principle source for the peridot (chrysolite). No topaz as we understand it today has been found there. So the term topaz of Bible times was actually the peridot (or chrysolite) of today. Conversely the term chrysolite in the Greek is actually the Topaz of today. See Topaz

		RUBY Ex 28:17, 39:10; Prov 8:11, 31:10, Job 28:18, Ezek 28:13 Rubies are the red gem variety of the mineral corundum. Rubies get their red color from traces of chromium. All other colors of corundum are called sapphire. Rubies are the among the hardest of the gemstones with only the diamond being harder. Called “king of the gems” in some ancient cultures, rubies are considered the rarest and most precious gemstone in the world. They are generally not as large as some of the other gemstones. While sapphire, diamond and emerald gems weighing hundreds of carats exist, high quality rubies of even 20 carats are rare. The price of a gem-quality ruby will far exceed the price of a diamond of the same size. Rubies did not come into use until the Roman Empire around 300 BC. There have been no rubies (or diamonds or sapphires) found in any excavations of early Egyptian civilization. There are several places in the Old Testament where ruby is the term used in the translation of various stones. In these cases it is most likely that some other red stone is the true identification (i.e. red coral, pink pearl, carnelian, garnet)

		SAPPHIRE Ex 24:10; 28:18; 39:11; Job 28:6,16; Song 5:14; Isa 54:11; Ezek 1:26; 10:1; 28:13, Rev 21:20 The gemstone, sapphire, that we know today is the blue, translucent variety of corundum. The sapphire gets it’s blue color from small amounts of iron and titanium and ranges from a pale, ice blue to deep cobalt blue. Kashmir, India was one of the earliest sources of fine sapphires. These mines produced a cornflower blue sapphire to which all other sapphires are compared. Our modern term sapphire comes from the Greek sapphiros which is from the Hebrew sapir (or capir). The term sapphire appears many times in the Bible (see references above), however, the stone we associate with sapphire today was not known in Bible lands until the Roman Empire (300 BC). Initially they were considered forms of jacinth. The sapphiros of the Bible is described by historian Elder Pliny as "refulgent with spots like gold. It is also of an azure color...the best kind being that which comes from Media. In no case, however, is this stone transparent." These characteristics describe more accurately the lapis lazuli, and not the sapphire of today. See Lapis lazuli and Jacinth.

		SARDONYX Rev 21:20 Sardonyx is a variety of chalcedony (fine-grained quartz) that has alternating bands of reddish-brown and white. Early Roman writers spoke of sardonyx as a “gem of great value.” Sardonyx made beautiful cameos, and was often extravagantly carved. The Romans developed this craft of engraving into a fine art. Great quantities of quality sardonyx came from India during this time. Even Julius Caesar, the Roman general, became an avid collector of engraved sardonyx. The word sardonyx comes from the Greek sardonux, and has remained relatively unchanged for centuries. It is a combination of sard (the stone carnelian) and onux (nail of the finger; the stone onyx) and indicates the layers of color found in the stone. It is possible that the sardonyx of Bible times was not limited to the reddish-brown and white stripes. Pliny the Elder (AD 23 - 69) describes imitation sardonyx made of a triple stripe of quality white, red and black stone cemented together. Sardonyx is the 5th foundation stone of the New Jerusalem. Josephus the Jewish historian indicates this stone was used for the shoulder pieces of the ephod.

		TOPAZ Ex 28:19, 39:12, Ezek 28:13, Job 28:19, Rev 21:20 The topaz of today is a mineral that is composed of aluminum, silicon, oxygen, and fluorine. It occurs in many colors, including deep golden-orange, yellow, brownish-yellow, pink, red, and various shades of blue. It may also be colorless. Topaz comes from the Greek word topazion, named for the island, Topazios, located in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt. The gemstone which was mined on this island was actually the peridot (chrysolite) of today. Thus the term topaz in the Bible actually refers to the peridot (chrysolite). However when Pliny (the natural historian during the time when the book of Revelation was written) describes the chrysolite (Gr. chrusolithos), he describes today’s topaz. The term chrusolithos literally means ” gold stone” and very likely refers to the yellow topaz of today. Both the topaz and chrysolite (today called peridot) are stones in the foundation of the New Jerusalem. See Peridot (Chrysolite)

		TURQUOISE Ex 28:18; 39:11; Ezek 28:13 Turquoise is hydrous compound of phosphorus, aluminum and copper. It is opaque, blue to blue-green in color with a dull, waxy luster. Turquoise is not mentioned in the KJV of the Bible, but it can be found in references in some of the newer translations. There are many differences among scholars as to the identification of many of the stones of the Old Testament, but due to the widespread use of turquoise in those times it is very likely that one of those obscure terms refers to this beautiful gemstone. Turquoise specimens have been found in excavations of early civilizations such as Sumer (3500 BC). Turquoise was used by the Egyptians of the First Dynasty (3000 BC) who mined it at Serabit on the Sinai Peninsula. Turquoise was one of the first gemstones to be mined and some of the oldest known mines come from this region, which is called "Country of Turquoise" by the native peoples. Turquoise was used for jewelry, beads, amulets and inlaying on furnishings. It has been found in the palaces and tombs of kings. It is soft and therefore easily shaped and polished.

Jacinth is a traditional term for yellow, orange or red-brown zircon. Although the term jacinth is no longer much used in the gem trade, it is an important part of the history of gemstones. It dates back to one of the most important historical gemstone references, the description of the breastplate of Aaron in the Old Testament:

"And you shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work; like the work of the ephod you shall make it; of gold, blue and purple and scarlet stuff, and fine twined linen shall you make it. It shall be square and double, a span its length and a span its breadth. And you shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper; they shall be set in gold filigree. There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel; they shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes." (Exodus 28:15-21)

Orange Zircon from Cambodia

No one is sure exactly which gemjacinth referred to, since at that time there was no science of mineralogy and gem names were really only color descriptions. The color of jacinth could have originally been blue-violet, since the name is derived from the Latin hyacinthus, referring to the flowering plant still known today as hyacinth. However, hyacinths can be various colors, including red, blue, white, orange, pink, violet and yellow. Nowadays, jacinth is considered to be golden to red-brown.

It is not really known how the name jacinth came to refer to the orange or red zircon. Zircon gems were certainly well known in antiquity, and the orange, orange-red and brown-red colors for gems are not that common in the gemstone world. Today we recognize a number of gems in that color range, including sapphire, spessartite garnet, fire opal, hessonite garnet, citrine and sphalerite. However, none of these were as well known as zircon in the ancient world.

Letter to bannersbyrose@juno.com <bannersbyrose@juno.com>; 1/10/2015

Contact Information:

Rose Crownover
1032 NW Regent Dr.
Grants Pass, OR 97526

Phone: (541) 474-9455 or (541) 218-3005 Pacific Time

E-mail: bannersbyrose@juno.com

your site is wonderful: really well done! I think you have this figured out:

could i ask your opinion on the colors of the stones in the foundations of the walls of heaven from revelation 21? it is a little confusing how many different colors each stone can be, and what color John was thinking of at the time of revelation. I have tried reading different sources, but they often even have different names of stones. My son and I are trying to do a painting of the foundation, and we would be grateful for your opinions on these:

1) jasper so probably green, and maybe transparent? (we have jasper as the 1'st stone in the foundation. do you agree? (probably a typo on your site: " Jasper (iaspis) is mentioned in several places in Revelation, most noted being the 6th foundation stone of the New Jerusalem." ?)

2) sapphire so, should this probably be lapis lazuli, do you think?

3) agate vs chalcedon... your agate is brownish and striped, but your chalcedony is sky blue: which do you think belongs in the third foundation?

4)emerald/smaragmus

5) sardonix vs onyx it seems you favor the red/brown/white striped stone here, as opposed to black onyx: right?

6) sardius vs ruby new international version translates this as "ruby" do you agree? or would you think sard/carnelion in 6th, right next to sardonyx (5'th)

7) chrysolite so should this be peridot, and should it be switched with 9'th place "topaz" ? (ie tawny topaz here, green peridot in the 8'th row?)

8) beryl I'm sure you mean that this would be the sea green beryl called aquamarine, right?

9) topaz see # 7 above: so this should be the yellow-green olivine/peridot, right?

10) turquoise vs chrysoprasus thanks for the explanation about the archaic unclear terms, and how turquoise was probably used some places in the KJV. some translations have #10 as turquoise, some as chrysoprasus: do you think there is a chance the 10th foundation is turquoise, or is it highly likely to be chrysoprase? one reference (Robert Jamieson) says Pliny described chrysoprasus as "somewhat pale, and having the purple color of the amethyst [Pliny, 37, 20, 21]. I've not seen chrysoprase described as purple: could this be a typo? I'll attach a screenshot of this old reference

11) jacinth/hyacinthus so should this be today's sapphire, more likely, or jacinth?

12) amethyst

can I please ask you 2 more things? My take on the "transparent" gold, is just how perfectly polished it was, resembling a clear still lake (as if you could put your finger through it). and what do you make of the 12 gates "The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl." I pictured inlaid pearl gates, but the sources seem to indicate giant actual pearls: could they mean gates carved out of giant pearls?

thank you so much for your wonderful site, and for your time and expertise!

yours,

john picone

95 silver rd

bangor, me 04401

thezef@yahoo.com

Bible Versions GNT Revelation Revelation 21Revelation 21:19-20

Revelation 21:19-20 (Good News Translation)

View In My Bible

· Footnotes (a-z)

· One verse per line

19 The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation stone was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh yellow quartz, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chalcedony, the eleventh turquoise, the twelfth amethyst.

<< Revelation 21:18Revelation 21:19-20Revelation 21:21 >>

A Commentary: Critical, Practical and Explanatory, on the Old and New ...

By Robert Jamieson, Andrew Robert Fausset, David Brown p646

· Achates (Agate) has been replaced by Yacinthos (Jacinth). According to classical rabbinical literature, the specific agate was of a sky-blue colour, and though Jacinth now refers to a red-tinted clear gem – the Jacinth – this wasn't the case at the time the Book of Revelation was written, and at that time Jacinth appears to have referred to a bluish gem; Pliny describes Jacinth as a dull and blueish amethyst, while Solinus describes it as a clear blue tinted gem – the modern Sapphire.^[10]Cheyne and Black, Encyclopedia Biblica

12 Jewels in New Testament[edit]

In the New Testament Book of Revelation is the description of a city wall, with each layer of stones in the wall being from a different material; in the original Koine Greek, the layers are given as iaspis, sapphiros, chalcedon,smaragdos, sardonyx, sardion, chrysolithos, beryllos, topazion, chrysoprason, yacinthos, amethystos.^[46] This list appears to be based on the Septuagint's version of the list of jewels in the Breastplate – if the top half of the breastplate was rotated by 180 degrees, and the bottom half turned upside down, with Onchion additionally swapping places with Topazion, the lists become extremely similar; there are only four differences:

· Onchion (literally Onyx) has become Sardonyx (red Onyx)

· Anthrax has become Chalcedon (literally meaning Chalcedony, of which the red variety is the most common). Anthrax literally means coal, presumably meaning the red colour of burning coal, while Chalcedon literally meansChalcedony, of which the red variety is the most common.

· Ligurios has become Chrysoprason. Scholars suspect that Ligurios was a pale yellowish mineral, and although Chrysoprase now refers to a specific gemstone – Chrysoprase – which is generally apple-green in colour, in earlier times it referred to gems of a yellowish leek-green, such as Peridot; Chrysoprase literally means golden leek.^[10]

· Achates (Agate) has been replaced by Yacinthos (Jacinth). According to classical rabbinical literature, the specific agate was of a sky-blue colour, and though Jacinth now refers to a red-tinted clear gem – the Jacinth – this wasn't the case at the time the Book of Revelation was written, and at that time Jacinth appears to have referred to a bluish gem; Pliny describes Jacinth as a dull and blueish amethyst, while Solinus describes it as a clear blue tinted gem – the modern Sapphire.^[10]

Whether there is any pattern to the choice of gemstones depends on their identity. Taking the majority view of scholars in regard to the identity of the gems, and including the implication from the Book of Revelation that the Onyxat the end of the fourth row was a Sardonyx, there are four colours – red, green, yellow, and blue – each represented by a clear gem (red – Carbuncle, green – Heliodor, yellow – Chrysolite, blue – Amethyst), an opaque gem (red – Carnelian/red Jasper, green – green Jasper, yellow – yellow Jasper/yellow Serpentine, blue - Lapis Lazuli), and a striped gem (red – Sardonyx, green – Malachite, yellow – pale golden Agate, blue – sky-blue Agate).^[10]The four colours of red, green, yellow, and blue, are the first four colours (apart from black and white) distinguished by languages, and are distinguished in all cultures with at least six colour distinctions (the other two being black and white);^[47] these colours roughly correspond to the sensitivities of the retinal ganglion cells (the retinal ganglia process colour by positioning it within a blue to yellow range, and separately positioning it within a red to green range).^[48]

JACINTH[edit]

is given by RV for liguriits) in Ex. 28 19 30 12, where AV has LIGURE ; also in EV of Rev. 21 20 (vaxtvdcx; ; RV g- sapphire ), and in A V of Rev. 9 r7 (ua(aV0ii>os = of jacinth, RV of hyacinth ). In Ex. 2819, RV">s- gives amber ; cp Enoch 71 2, where the streams of fire (Dan. 7 10) are likened to hyacinth (Di. and Charles).

The hyacinthus of the ancients (mentioned in Rev.) was probably our sapphire (see SAPPHIRE). It is now commonly held (see, e.g. , Riehm, ffWBW) that the Heb. Usem (\iyvpioi>) is the jacinth, for a description of which see below. This, however, appears to be a mistake. It is probable that ow 1 ? is simply a miswritten ^DDn haSmal* (see AMBER), or perhaps rather, tra^n halmis (see TARSHISH, STONE OF). This may enable us to account for the superfluous /cat apytipLov Kal xpv<riov which comes between iaffiriv and \iyvpiov in @ of Ezek. 2813 (where, apart from this, the fuller catalogue in is to be adopted). JCBTI is in fact understood by many to mean an alloy of gold and sih>er ; dpyvpiov Kal Xpvcriov seems to be a gloss on the word SBBTI or troSn (which must have stood in the true text of Ezekiel), intended to correct the rendering \iytipiov. We are of course not bound to agree with this gloss, but the word SoK n or B D^n ( white sapphire ? but see AMBER) may with some confidence be substituted for nt? 1 ?. Elsewhere (see TARSHISH, STONE OF) it has been shown that the word also appears disguised as twin, tarsis. It is no objection to this theory that tarsls and Ushem both occur in the list of precious stones in Ex. 2817-20, for this list comes from P, who makes up such lists as he best can, and does not mind including variants.

The true jacinth is a red-coloured variety of silicate of zirconium, those varieties which are yellow -brown or green being distinguished, if transparent, by the name of jargoon, while the dull-coloured varieties, more or less opaque, are termed rightly zircon. The true jacinth, when polished, is peculiarly brilliant. It is extremely rare. Probably many of the antique camei or intagli reputed to be jacinth are merely hyacinthine garnets ; garnets, however, have a lower specific gravity. T. K. C.

1 Such an interpretation agrees with E s explanation of the clivine name in Ex. 814 (see NAMES, inyC).

2 The suggestion of Bondi that leshciii may be the Egypt. rcshein is of course possible : it is adopted by Hommel (AHT 283) ; but it does not meet all the circumstances of the case.

SAPPHIRE[edit]

CVSD ; CAn<J)6lpOC [BAL] 1 ), mentioned as a much-prized stone in Ex. 24:10, 28:18, 39:11, Job 2:8, 6:16, Cant. 5:14, Lam. 4:7, Is. 54:11, Ezek. 1:26, 10:1, 28:13, Tobit l3:16; to which we can now add, from the self-evidently correct Hebrew text, Ecclus. 43:19 [of the hoar-frost], 'he makes it to bloom with flowers like sapphire', and in NT Rev. 21:19, where Rmg has lapis lazuli. The marg. rendering just cited is correct ; wherever 'sapphire' occurs in the above passages we should mentally interpret 'lapis lazuli'. That lapis lazuli was the sapphire of the ancients is plain from Theophrastus (p. 692) and Pliny (HN 37:38-39). Theophrastus states that it is uffirtp ^yorcriTracrroj [oosper chrysopastos] (as it were sprinkled with gold dust), and Pliny says, Inest ei (cyano) aliquando et aureus pulvis qualis in sapphiris, in iis enim aurum punctis conlucet (cp 33:31 aurum in sapphiro scintillat). Such a description would be quite inappropriate to any variety of the modern sapphire, but applies very well to the lapis lazuli, which frequently contains disseminated particles of iron pyrites, easily mistaken by their colour and lustre for particles of gold.

Lapis lazuli was so much prized by the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Egyptians (see LAPIS LAZULI) that we should expect to find it sometimes, or even often, referred to in the old Hebrew writings. We must, however, omit from the list of occurrences Job 28:6 (see below), Cant. 5:14, {2} and Lam. 4:7. The identification of sappir with this stone throws light on the description of the appearance of the Most High in Ex. 24:10 (J) and Ezek. 1:26. According to J, where the divine form stood, it was 'as the very heaven for clearness, like a paved work of sapphire stone' (see PAVEMENT); according to Ezekiel, the base of the throne of God was something like a firmament (see LXX), above which was a sapphire-coloured pavement (see Toy, 'Ezekiel', SBOT). In fact, the 'gold dust' on the deep blue of the lapis lazuli made this stone a most appropriate symbol of 'this brave o'er-hanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire'.

This, however, is merely a plausible interpretation ; the text does not expressly refer to the star-like, gold-like particles which add lustre to the deep blue of the lapis lazuli. It has been thought by some (Hitz., Bu., Du.) that such a reference is to be found in a section where, if anywhere, we should certainly expect to find it, viz., in Job 28. This is how Duhm renders v. 6, -

His stones are the place of the sapphire,

Which has grains of dust of gold.

If this is right, we need not have hesitated elsewhere (see OPHIR) to connect 'Ophir' with Ass. epru = Heb. 1Et . But the truth is that -|t;y [APR] properly means, not dust, but a lump of earth ; JViBJ? is not the word which a Hebrew poet would have chosen for the 'aureus pulvis' of which Pliny speaks. The passage needs very careful treatment. TSD, 'sapphire', should be rps 'silver'. See GOLD, i, col. 1750, foot.

The name by which our modern sapphire was known to the ancients is vdnivOos [hyakinthos] or hyacinthus, the stone which forms the eleventh foundation of the wall of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:20). See JACINTH. The colourless sapphire may perhaps be intended by the hashmal (halmish ?) or tarshish. See TARSHISH (STONE OF), STONES (PRECIOUS), 4c, (2), 11.

T. K. C.

1 T23 in Tg. is KT 13?, *+*> See Pott in ZKM 4:275.

2 In Cant. 5:14 an intolerable hyperbole is removed by reading C - r:S, 'red coral' ; in Lam. 4:7, we should read, 'Their skin glitters like coral, (even) the blight colour of their flesh' ("inN2 for T23; cp LAMENTATIONS, 5).

king: modern names of stones

Nataniel fish moore ancient mineralogy

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Jasper - A Diamond in the Rough?

Jasper - what is it? Today it is classified as an opaque, impure variety of silica from the family of quartz. It can come in almost any color but most commonly as red, yellow, brown or green. It can be found worldwide. But what about in biblical times? Jasper is known to have been a favorite gem in the ancient world; its name can be traced back in Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Assyrian, Greek and Latin. Probably the jasper of the ancients included stones which would now be considered chalcedony, and the emerald-like jasper may have been akin to modern-day chrysoprase.

Two different Hebrew words are translated as jasper in the bible, "yashĕpheh" and "iaspis." Yashĕpheh was the term in Exodus 28:20 and 39:13 for describing the last or twelfth jewel in the Breastplate of Aaron, the High Priest. This stone signified the Tribe of Benjamin (from birth order) the last of the twelve sons of Jacob, or Naphtali from the order of the camp (found in Numbers 2:1ff); scholars don't agree on how to match up the sons and the stones. The stones of the breastplate have also been ascribed to the Apostles, with the yashĕpheh given to Peter.

Literally translated, yashĕpheh means "to polish" and was a precious stone of different colors. The word yashĕpheh probably designated a green jasper. The odem, the first stone on the High Priest's breastplate, may have been a red jasper and tarshish, the tenth stone, may have been a yellow jasper.

Jasper is the Last Stone on the
Breastplate of the High Priest
And the First Foundation of the New Jerusalem

Iaspis is considered as a derivative of yashĕpheh, albeit the feminine form. It is a Phoenican word signifying a translucent stone of various colors, especially that of fire, as in the appearance of the Lamb of God sitting on His throne in Revelation 4:3. It is used in our quoted verses, Revelation 21:19-20 (NIV), as well as in Revelation 21:11 (NIV) - the light of the New Jerusalem - "clear as crystal" and in Revelation 21:18 (NIV) - the wall of the City - "like unto clear glass."

These references to being "crystal clear" have led some to think that a diamond is referenced here, but it is not the same word as used in Exodus (28:18 and 39:11) when describing the diamond in the High Priest's breastplate. The diamond was in the second row, the sixth stone and signified the Tribe of Naphtali (birth order) or Gad (Numbers 2:1ff). The word used for diamond is yahalom, which refers to the hardness of the stone - diamond is the hardest substance known to man. However, the characteristics of the jasper stone as far as they are specified in Revelation, that it "was most precious," and "like crystal," and that is was a stone of brilliant and transparent light seem to uphold the theory that the diamond may more adequately fit the description for the foundation.

Most biblical scholars agree that the color of the stone in the breastplate was green. Many also assign green to jasper in the foundation of the New Kingdom. However there is a school of thought that both jaspers may actually be red. The breastplate stones were probably spoils from Egypt and Egyptian jasper was known to be only one of three colors — brown, yellow, or red, but not green. Also, the appearance of Jesus sitting on His throne inRevelation 4:3 is described as "to look upon like a jasper and a sardius stone.” The sardius stone is a red carnelian and the reference is equating the two stones as looking very similar. Jesus is elsewhere described as having fire in His eyes (Revelation 1:14 - "His eyes like a flame of fire") and He shed His blood for our salvation (Matthew 26:28). Red jasper is found in "bloodstone." Bloodstone is dark to medium green with small spots of red jasper scattered throughout. Many early Christians wore it to remind themselves of Christ's sacrifice. Legend maintains that the red formed when drops of Christ's blood landed on green jasper at the foot of the Cross although bloodstone originated in India long before Christ's birth.

Jasper symbolizes the glory of God; His splendor, brightness, magnificence and beauty. It symbolizes the blood atonement we have through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the passing over of God’s judgment. It also represents royalty, prosperity, prestige, and valiance. Just as jasper was known for its highly polished finish, in the same way we should be known for our high moral standards and the character brought forth in us by obedience to God. In no way does this imply we are sinless, just hopefully meek enough to recognize our weaknesses and willing enough to take the actions necessary to overcome them.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV) - Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Posted by God's Chemistry Set at 10:18 PM

Reactions:

5 comments:

aboundJune 12, 2012 at 3:45 PM

You have a well structured, professionally informative, and worth while blog. Keep up the good work!

AnonymousNovember 5, 2013 at 6:58 PM

Yahushua (wrongly called Jesus), was a reddish brown man...that's what was seen on the thrown, a dark skinned man that whose skin tone resembled the very earth from which the original man was formed.

AnonymousNovember 6, 2013 at 11:52 AM

I can see why Jasper would be bloodstone, good idea!

AnonymousJanuary 17, 2014 at 1:47 PM

I read a viewpoint based on biblical research that the jasper mentioned in Revelation was likely referring to clear quartz which is a cryptocrystalline jasper. This resonates with me because of the purity, light reflection and frequent rainbow effects that clear quartz possesses.

A rainbow is present around God's throne in Revelation 4:3 and Ezekiel 1:28 references a rainbow again to symbolically describe the brightness of God's appearance. Revelation 21:11 describes the New Jerusalem as "descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." Revelation 21:23 says the glory of God will illuminate the New Jerusalem and that the Lamb will be its light in place of the sun and moon. I think all of this points to a truly clear stone, not a colored one, in order to illuminate with pure light, which is the perfect metaphor for God. (All scripture NKJV)

I found this jasper=clear quartz theory under the category 'The Stones' in a blog about an artist's project called http://therevelationpainting.wordpress.com/. I value all of your insightful observations relating to stones and the Bible, especially 'Chalcedony - The Secret Stone'. Thanks for your scripturally-guided insights.

Lydia AnthonyJanuary 19, 2015 at 10:38 AM

Thank you so much for your insights! I am researching Revelation 4:3 for art/worship purposes and this article has given me food for thought and prayer.
Also I want to thank the poster above me for sharing your thoughts and the link!

Wacky revelation painter http://therevelationpainting.wordpress.com/

Pulpit commentary: rev 4:3

Revelation 4:3

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.

Verse 3. - And he that sat was to look upon like, etc.; or, he that sat like in appearance (δράσει). The word ὅρασις is found in this verse and in two other places only in the New Testament, viz. in Acts 2:17 (where it is part of a quotation from Joel) and in Revelation 9:17. In the latter place the expression is ἐν τῇ ὁράσει, and the presence of the preposition, together with the article, seems to justify the rendering "in the vision." In the Septuagint ὅρασις is frequently used to signify either "vision" or "appearance" (see 1 Samuel 3:1; Isaiah 1:1; Lamentations 2:9; Ezekiel 7:13; Daniel 1:17 and Daniel 8:1; Obadiah 1:1; Nahum 1:1; Habakkuk 2:2; and many others, where it is "vision." Also Judges 13:6; Ezekiel 1:5, 13, 26-28; Daniel 8:15; Nahum 2:4; 1 Samuel 16:12; and many others, where it is "appearance"). In the classics, ὅραμα signifies a "vision;" ὅρασις, "sight," the power of seeing. A jasper and a sardine stone. The jasper was the last, and the sardius the first stone of the high priest's breastplate (Exodus 28:17). The jasper was the first, and the sardius the sixth of the foundations of the heavenly Jerusalem (Revelation 21:19, 20). Much doubt is attached to the whole subject of the precious stones of the Bible. The modern jasper is opaque, while it is evident that the jasper of the Revelation is remarkable for its translucent character (seeRevelation 21:11, "jasper stone. clear as crystal;" 21:18, "The building of the wall of it was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass"). It is evident that the stone was characterized by purity and brilliancy - features which seem to point it out as the modern diamond. The varying colour, which, according to some authorities, the jasper possessed, is not inconsistent with this view. It is curious, too, that in Exodus 28:18, the Hebrew יַהְלַם, which in the Authorized Version is rendered "diamond," is represented in the LXX. by ἴασπις; while in ver. 20, יָשְׂפֶה the English "jasper," is ὀνύχιον. The sardius was the carnelian, always red, though somewhat varying in shade. The name has been variously derived from (1) the Persian sered, yellowish red;

(2) Sardis, as the first place of its discovery;

(3) while carnelian is connected with carneus, as being of the colour of raw flesh. But

(4) Skeat derives the word from cornu, a horn;

the term being thus an allusion to the semitransparent nature of the stone. The pure jasper, together with the red sardius, may fitly typify God's purity and mercy together with his justice and judgment. And there was a rainbow round about the throne. The Greek ϊρις, which is used here, is not found in the LXX.? where τόξον is invariably found, probably to avoid reference to a term which was so pre-eminently heathen. The rainbow is here, as always (see Genesis 9:12, 13), a token of God's faithfulness in keeping his promises. It is, therefore, a fit sign of comfort to those persecuted Christians to whom, and for whose edification, this message was sent. In sight like unto an emerald. The σμάραγδος is our modern green emerald. It was highly valued in Roman times. It was one of the stones of the high priest's breastplate, and the fourth foundation of the heavenly Jerusalem (Revelation 21:19). The description in this verse recalls Ezekiel 1:23, "As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain. so was the appearance of the brightness round about." Some have found a difficulty in the association of a rainbow with its varied colours, and the single green hue of the emerald. But of course it is the form only of the rainbow which is alluded to, not every quality which a rainbow may possess. A circular green appearance was seen round the throne, which perhaps may be described as a green halo. If the purity of the jasper (see above) be allowed to symbolize God's purity and spirituality, and the sardine, man clothed with flesh, the green emerald may fitly represent God's goodness displayed in nature.

Revelation 21:18

And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

Verse 18. - And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass; pure glass. The exceeding brightness and purity is the idea contained in both expressions - the light of ver. 11, which is there associated with jasper and crystal. (On "jasper," see on ver. 11 and Revelation 4:3.) The whole description is, of course, typical, not literal.

Revelation 21:19

And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

Verse 19. - And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. Omit "and" (cf. Isaiah 54:12, "All thy borders of pleasant stones"). Foundations (cf. ver. 14). The first foundation was jasper. Probably the diamond (see on Revelation 4:3). The second, sapphire. Thought to be the modern lapis lazuli. It was of a clear blue colour (Exodus 24:10), and very precious (Job 28:16). The third, a chalcedony. Not the modern stone of that name, but a green carbonate of copper, found in the mines of Chalcedon. It was, therefore, a kind of inferior emerald. The fourth, an emerald. The same as the modern stone (cf. Revelation 4:3).

Revelation 21:20

The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

Verse 20. - The fifth, sardonyx. A variety of agate - a kind of onyx, valued for its use in engraving into cameos. The name onyx appears to be owing to the resemblance in colour to the fingernails. The sixth, sardius. Probably the modern carnelian (see on Revelation 4:3).The seventh, chrysolyte. A variety of the gem of which that called topaz (the ninth stone) is another kind. This species contained a considerable amount of yellow colour, whence the name "golden stone." It has been suggested that it is identical with the modern jacinth or amber. The eighth, beryl. A variety of emerald, of less decided green shade than the pure emerald. The ninth, a topaz. Not the moderntopaz, but a variety of chrysolite (see the seventh stone, supra), of a yellowish-green colour, the latter predominating. The tenth, a chrysoprasus. The name "golden leek green" appears to point to a species of beryl, and the modern aquamarine. It is thus probably a variety of emerald, being of a yellowish pale green hue. The eleventh, a jacinth. "A red variety of zircon, which is found in square prisms, of a white, grey, red, reddish brown, yellow, or pale green colour" (Smith's 'Dictionary of the Bible'). "The sapphire of the moderns" (King). The twelfth, an amethyst. A purple stone, possibly the common amethyst.

Revelation 21:21

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

Verse 21. - And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl. The pearl was known to the ancients from the earliest times, and was always held in high honour by them (cf. Revelation 17:4). And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass (cf. ver. 18). The brilliancy was so far beyond ordinary gold as to make it apparently transparent like glass. "The street" is not merely one street, but the whole collective material of which the streets are composed.

My take: in revelation, they write of jasper “clear as glass”, but also of gold “clear as glass”. It could be today’s opaque jasper (they could just be highly polished and appear as though transparent): but Pliny also wrote of jasper as transparent

Eichholz's Introduction to volume Ten Pliny nat hist (pages ix-xviii)

THE text printed in this edition is largely identical with Mayhoff's, but differs from it in some 120 instances. Sometimes a different reading has been preferred, particularly if it improves the sense; and not infrequently Mayhoff's emendations have been rejected as superfluous or unsuitable. Several passages omitted or bracketed by Mayhoff as interpolations have been allowed to stand in the text. In this respect, Mayhoff appears to attach too much importance to B, which in spite of its superiority is sometimes careless or facile. He does not, however, refrain from curtailing even B. The present text is more conservative than Mavhoff's, and so conforms to recent tendencies. Nevertheless, some new readings have been offered in passages which seem to invite or demand a remedy.

The difficulty of identifying the stones mentioned by classical authors is well known. Nomenclature in itself is often misleading. In Pliny, for example, chrysoprasus is not chrysoprase, nor is toparus topaz or sappltirus sapphire. Basanites(v.1. basaltes) is probably never basalt. Smaragdas includes many stones that are not emeralds, and carbanculus some that may not be carbuneles. Iaspis embraces many stones that are not jaspers, while of genuine jaspers it includes at the most the green variety. For reasons such as these, Latin names of stones have usually been retained in the translation.

Interpretation is rendered even more difficult by Pliny's lax use of certain terms.

XXXVII. A green stone that is often translucent is the 'iaspis,' which still preserves the reputation that it enjoyed in the past, even though it now yields to many others. Numerous countries produce it. India produces a variety resembling 'smaragdus,' Cyprus one that is hard and dull greyish-green in colour, and Persia one that is like the blue sky and is therefore called 'aeizusa,' or 'sky-blue.' A similar kind comes from the Caspian region. A deep-blue variety is found near the River Thermodon in Phrygia a purple one, and in Cappadocia another that is purplish-blue, sombre and without lustre. From Amisos comes a kind similar to the Indian, and from Chalcedon one that is cloudy. But it is not so important to distinguish countries of origin as excellences. The best stone is that which has a shade of purple, the next has one of rose, and the next again of 'smaragdus.' The Greeks have applied epithets to each kind in accordance with its character. The fourth variety is known among them as 'boria,' or 'north-wind iaspis,' because it is like the sky on an autumn morning. This will be identical with the kind that is called 'aërizusa.' There is also the 'terebinthizusa,' or 'turpentine iaspis,' the epithet being inappropriate, in my opinion, because the stone is, as it were, compounded of many gems of the same variety, for it is not only like a sard, but also resembles in its colour a violet. There are just as many kinds that remain to be described, but all are blue to a fault, or else are like rock-crystal or a sebesten plum. Consequently the better specimens are set in an open bezel so that they may remain exposed on both faces, with only their edges clasped by the gold. A defect found in them is their weak lustre and failure to shine at a distance, and also specks resembling salt, as well as all the faults that occur in other gemstones. They too can be counterfeited in glass, and the deception becomes obvious when the brightness of a stone is scattered abroad instead of being concentrated within. The remaining varieties are called 'sphragides,' or 'signets,' the common Greek name for a gemstone being thus bestowed on these alone because they are excellent for sealing documents. However, all the peoples of the East are said to wear them as amulets. That variety of 'iaspis' which resembles 'smaragdus' is often surrounded in the middle by a slanting white line, and is therefore called 'monogrammos,' or 'single-lined': if there are several such lines the stone is 'polygrammos,' or 'many-lined.' In passing, it gives me pleasure to refute here, as elsewhere, the falsehoods of the Magi, who tell us that this stone is helpful to public speakers. There is also an 'iaspis' combined with onyx known as 'iasponyx,' or 'jasper onyx,' a stone that has a cloudy inclusion in it and specks on it that look like snow, and is spangled with red dots. There is also an 'iaspis' that resembles Megarian salt and is stained as though with smoke: hence it is called 'capnias,' or 'smoky.' I myself have seen a figure, representing Nero in a breastplate, that was made of this stone and was 16 inches high.

Pliny on lapis lazuli: Book XXXVII. Contents: (i-x) Origin of gems: the tyrant Polycrates's jewel; Pyrrhus's jewel; the best engravers; famous specimens of engraving; the first collection of signet-rings at Rome; jewels carried in the triumph of Pompey the Great; murrine vases, date of first importation; extravagance connected with; their nature; nature of rock-crystal, drug from it; extravagance in use of rock crystal. (xi-xx) Amber, erroneous statements about; kinds of amber, drugs from these; tourmaline, 2 drugs; diamond or ananeite, 6 kinds of diamonds, 2 drugs; emeralds, 12 kinds, their blemishes; the gem tanos; malachite; beryls, their 8 kinds, their blemishes. (xxi-xxx) Opals, their 7 kinds, their blemishes, tests of opals; sardonyx, its kinds, its blemishes; onyx, its kinds; carbuneles, their 12 kinds, their blemishes and tests; coal-carbuncle; sandastros or Garamantitis or sandacitis; sandaresus; lychnis, its 4 kinds; Carthaginian stone. (xxxi-xl) Carnelian, its 5 kinds; chrysolite, its 2 kinds; turquoise; leek-green stone, its 3 kinds; Nile-stone; malachite; jasper, its 4 kinds, their blemishes; lapis lazuli, its kinds; sapphire; amethyst, its 4 kinds;

New world encyclop It appears that ancient writers referred to lapis lazuli as sapphire. For instance, Pliny describes sapphirus as a stone sprinkled with specks of gold. A similar reference can be found in the Hebrew scriptures, in Job 28:6. Currently, the term sapphire is used for blue and other varieties of corundum.

In late classical times and as late as the Middle Ages, lapis lazuli was often called sapphire (sapphirus in Latin, sappir in Hebrew),^[19] though it had little to do with the stone today known as the blue corundum variety sapphire. In his book on stones, the Greek scientist Theophrastus described "the sapphirus, which is speckled with gold," a description which matches lapis lazuli.^[20]

There are many references to sapphires in the Old Testament, but most scholars agree that, since sapphires were not known before the Roman Empire, they most likely are references to lapis lazuli. For instance, Exodus 24:10: "As they saw the God of Israel, and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone.." (KJV). The term used in the Latin Vulgate Bible in this citation is "lapidus sapphiri," the term for lapis lazuli.^[21] In modern translations of the Bible, such as the New Living Translation Second Edition,^[22] references a surface like brilliant blue lapis lazuli as clear as the sky as being under God's feet.

Actual modern day order:

1) jasper green, transparent

2) lapis lazuli

3) chalcedony is sky blue

4) emerald/smaragmus

5) sardonix red (brownish) and white stripes

6) sardius/carnelian clearish red

7) topaz (tawny)

8) beryl/aquamarine sea-green

9) chrysolite/peridot/olivine

10) chrysoprasus (maybe some turquoise?)

11) sapphire

12) amethyst

There is a huge and acknowledged uncertainty in identifying stones and their colors mentioned by the ancient people.

Pliny, a roman naturalist who lived from

23 to 79 AD, wrote Naturalis Historia, a roman

encyclopedia collecting all of their knowledge about plants, animals, stars, minerals…

“life itself”. Written at the time of Jesus,

the books contain scientific descriptions of the

colorful stones of Revelation 21:

the Apocalyptic, hallucinatory tale of the New

Jerusalem written for the people of the

early church: “the bride, the Lamb’s wife”.

Over the millennia, some of John the Revelator’s

ancient terms for the precious stones have changed, and some have even switched names

with other gems in our modern mineralogy:

“1)iaspis, 2)sapphiros, 3)chalcedon, 4)smaragdos,

5)sardonyx, 6)sardion, 7)chrysolithos, 8)beryllos, 9)topazion, 10)chrysoprason, 11)yacinthos, and 12)amethystos”. Cross-referenced with Pliny and

the Bible, the colors of the foundation of the wall, in today’s actual terms were probably:

2) sapphire so, should this probably be lapis lazuli, do you think?

3) agate vs chalcedon... your agate is brownish and striped, but your chalcedony is sky blue: which do you think belongs in the third foundation?

4)emerald/smaragmus

5) sardonix vs onyx it seems you favor the red/brown/white striped stone here, as opposed to black onyx: right?

6) sardius vs ruby new international version translates this as "ruby" do you agree? or would you think sard/carnelion in 6th, right next to sardonyx (5'th)

7) chrysolite so should this be peridot, and should it be switched with 9'th place "topaz" ? (ie tawny topaz here, green peridot in the 8'th row?)

8) beryl I'm sure you mean that this would be the sea green beryl called aquamarine, right?

9) topaz see # 7 above: so this should be the yellow-green olivine/peridot, right?

11) jacinth/hyacinthus so should this be today's sapphire, more likely, or jacinth?

12) amethyst

12) “Amethyst”: the same as today’s stone

11) “Jacinth or Hyacinthus” named after the flower (which mostly runs from blue to light purple). Most scholars agree this is today’s Sapphire. Pliny compared the ancient world’s stone “jacinth” to the violet amethyst, “partaking of a color that closely borders upon it,” while a little later Solinus describes jacinth as a clear blue tinted gem. (What we call “jacinth” today is a brownish to reddish zircon.)

10) chrysoprasus is a translucent bright green form of chalcedony, and most agree this is the right stone today. (Still some translations of the Bible have turquoise as the 10^th or 11^th stone while the King James Bible never mentions the word turquoise.)

8)beryl/aquamarine: the same stone as today

6) Sard/Carnelian: the same as today’s stone (although some Bible translations call the sixth stone “ruby”)

5) Sardonyx: same as today’s stone

4) emerald: same as today’s stone

2) “Sapphire”: experts agree this is really what we call lapis lazuli today. The sapphiros of Biblical times is described by Pliny as "refulgent with spots like gold. It is also of an azure color… in no case, however, is this stone diaphanous (see-through)” (Natural History, book 37, ch 39). This “fragment of the starry firmament" is an accurate description of lapis lazuli, and not what we call “sapphire” today. (our modern “sapphire” seems to be the stone called “jacinth”, in the 11’th foundation above)

XXXVIII. We shall now give a separate account of 'cyanus,' for a short time ago we applied this name to an 'iaspis' owing to itsblue colour. The best kind is the Scythian, then comes the Cyprian and lastly there is the Egyptian. It is very commonly counterfeited by tinting other stones, and this is a famous achievement of the kings of Egypt, whose records also mention the name of the king who first tinted stones in this way 'Cyanus,' too, is divided into male and female varieties. Sometimes inside cyanus there is a golden dust, which, however, differs from that which occurs inside lapis lazuli; for there the gold glistens as dots.

XXXIX. Lapis lazuli also is blue and is only rarely tinged with purple. The best is found in Persia, but nowhere are there any transparent stones. Moreover, they are useless for engraving, because cores like rock-crystal interfere with this. Lapis lazuli which is of the colour of azurite is regarded as a male variety.

1) Jasper: color and characteristics quite uncertain. Pliny described it as “a green stone that is often translucent…” But today’s jaspers are always considered opaque. In Revelation 21 we hear of “jasper stone, clear as crystal” but also that “the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.” John and Pliny may both have been describing some separate transparent stone (some authors believe the first foundation was actually diamond.) Pliny also described some jaspers as grey-green, sky-blue, dark blue, purple, or rose… The majority of today’s experts seem to favor the New Jersalem’s “jasper” as being green.

Disclaimer: I am fully aware of just how Zimsky this is: writing down all these sources and inspirations and references for… well, for posterity. I know nobody is probably going to read this, and even less people will care: Well Theyah!

Bathtub Comics

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

The Annotated Sons of God, Issue 6

The New Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb

Footnotes:

List of precious stones in the Bible

Contents

Origins[edit]

Alphabetical List[edit]

Agate[edit]

Amethyst[edit]

Beryl[edit]

Carbuncle[edit]

Carnelian[edit]

Chalcedony[edit]

Chodchod[edit]

Chrysolite[edit]

Chrysophrasus[edit]

Coral[edit]

Crystal[edit]

Diamond[edit]

Emerald[edit]

Jacinth[edit]

Jasper[edit]

Ligurus[edit]

Onyx[edit]

Sardonyx[edit]

Pearl[edit]

Ruby[edit]

Sapphire[edit]

Sardonyx[edit]

Topaz[edit]

References[edit]

Revelation 21:19-20 (Good News Translation)

A Commentary: Critical, Practical and Explanatory, on the Old and New ...

12 Jewels in New Testament[edit]

JACINTH[edit]

SAPPHIRE[edit]

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Jasper - A Diamond in the Rough?

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