A range of gemstones are mentioned in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation. Much has been written about the precise identification of these stones, which has ranged from speculative to increasingly scientific with the advent of archeogemology.

History The Israelites obtained gemstones from across the known world, from Egypt and the African continent broadly to the Baltic Sea in Europe as far as Badakhshan in Afghanistan. At the time of the Exodus, the Bible states that the Israelites took gemstones with them from Egypt (Book of Exodus, 3:22; 12:35–6). When they were settled in the Land of Israel, they obtained gemstones from the merchant caravans traveling from Babylonia or Persia to Egypt, and those from Saba and Raamah to Tyre (Book of Ezekiel, 27:22). King Solomon even equipped a fleet which returned from Ophir, laden with gems (Books of Kings, 10:11).

Gemstones are mentioned in connection with the breastplate of the High Priest of Israel (Book of Exodus, 38:17–20; 39:10–13), the treasure of the King of Tyre (Book of Ezekiel, 28:13), and the foundations of the New Jerusalem (Book of Tobit, 13:16–7, in the Greek text, and more fully, Book of Revelation, 21:18–21). Both Book of Ezekiel 28:13 and Book of Revelation, 21:18–21 are patterned after the model of the priestly breastplate and further allude to the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

At the time of the Septuagint translation, the stones to which the Hebrew names apply could no longer be identified, and translators used various Greek words to translate the same Hebrew word. The ancients did not classify gemstones by analyzing their composition or crystalline shapes: names were given in accordance with appearance (color, luster), use, or provenance. Therefore, stones of the same or nearly the same color, but of different composition or crystalline form, may bear identical names. Another problem is nomenclature; names having changed in the course of time: thus the ancient chrysolite is peridot, sapphire is lapis lazuli, etc.

Alphabetical list The list comprises the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin names for each stone, referential locations, etymology, descriptions, and historical source for each stone in the Bible. Note that the Hebrew term does not always correspond perfectly to Greek or Latin, certainly not to English. Because of the frequency of mistranslation, the Greek and Latin translations of the Hebrew Bible have been largely omitted.

Agate

Agate - Hebrew שְׁבוֹ šəḇō; Greek ἀχάτης achates, Latin achates (Exodus 28:19, 39:12, in Heb. and Vulgate; also Ezekiel 28:13 in Septuagint).

This is the second stone of the third row of the priestly breastplate, where it likely represented the tribe of Asher. Hebrew šəḇō was borrowed from Akkadian šubû which itself was borrowed from Sumerian šuba ‘multicolored, agate’. The Greek and Latin names derive from the name of the river Achates (the modern Dirillo) in Sicily where this stone was first found (Theophrastus, "De lapid.", 38; Pliny, "Hist. nat.", 37, liv).

The banded agate 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 colors which it contains. Its conchoidal cleavage makes it susceptible to a highly polished state.

Agate is not present in the Land of Israel, the etymology may indicate that it was imported from Mesopotamia, where it is also not native, originally perhaps from the Arabian Peninsula, where the aqiq (agate) industry is strong.

Amazonite

Amazonite - Hebrew לֶשֶׁם‬‎ lešem, the first stone of the third row of the priestly breastplate (Exodus 28:19, 39:12), representing Gad. It is missing in the Hebrew of Ezekiel 28:13, but present in the Greek Septuagint.

The Hebrew word lešem is borrowed from the Ancient Egyptian word nšmt, referring to amazonite, a blue-green form of microcline feldspar. The Greek and Latin translations here (Septuagint's λιγύριον ligurion ‘amber’ and Vulgate's ligurius) are probably swapped with another stone or corrupt.

Amber

Amber - Hebrew תַּרְשִׁישׁ‬‎ taršīš (Exodus 28:20; 39:13; Ezekiel 1:16; 10:9; 28:13; Song of Songs 5:14; Daniel 10:6); Septuagint χρυσόλιθος chrysolithos (Exodus 28:20; 39:13; Ezekiel 28:13); tharsis (Song of Songs 5:14; Daniel 10:6); tharseis (Ezekiel 1:16; 10:9); Vulgate, chrysolithus (Exodus 28:20; 39:13; Ezekiel 10:9; 28:13; Daniel 10:6), hyacinthus (Song of Songs 5:14); quasi visio maris (Ezekiel 1:16); Revelation 21:20, chrysolithos; Vulgate, chrysolithus. This is the tenth stone of the priestly breastplate, representing the tribe of Zebulun. It stands fourth in the enumeration of Ezekiel 28:13 and is given as the seventh foundation stone of the celestial city in Revelation 21:20.

The term taršīš is a fascinating development: originally an ethnic group in southern Iberia (modern Andalusia), which then became the name of their country, Tartessos. The Phoenicians built large trading ships called an אֳנִיָּה תַּרְשִׁישׁ‬‎ ʾǒniyyā taršīš to reach this distant location, so over time taršīš came to mean "oceanic" or "maritime." Through a quirk of Hebrew grammar, the phrase אֶבֶן תַּרְשִׁישׁ‬‎ ʾeb̠en taršīš "stone of the oceanic vessel" was reinterpreted as "taršīš-stone," giving amber its Hebrew name based on the ships that transported it.

The gemstone taršīš is identifiable as Baltic amber, not local Lebanese amber. While Lebanese amber was available, Baltic amber acquired through maritime trade began displacing it in the Levant starting in the 14th century BCE. The amber traveled from the Baltic region through European trading centers to Mediterranean ports via what archeologists call the amber road. The identification of taršīš as amber is supported by the description of the stone in Daniel 10:6 as luminous and warm-colored, coinciding with archaeological evidence of Baltic amber's presence in the ancient Levant during the relevant time period. Unlike other proposed identifications (such as chrysolite, topaz, or tiger's eye), amber was actually known in Ancient Israel.

Amethyst

Amethyst - Greek ἀμέθυστος amethystos (Revelation 21:20). Amethyst is not known appear in the Hebrew Bible, as no Hebrew gemstone name can be securely associated with the stone. However, the stone was known among the Israelites.

This is the twelfth and last stone of the foundation of the New Jerusalem. The Greek name amethystos alludes to the popular belief that amethyst prevented intoxication; as such, drinking vessels were made of amethyst for festivities, and carousers wore amulets made of it to counteract the action of wine.See, for example:

The earliest reference to amethyst as a symbol of sobriety is in a poem by Asclepiades of Samos (born ≈320 BCE). See "XXX. Kleopatra's Ring" in: Edward Storer, trans., The Windflowers of Asklepiades and the Poems of Poseidippos (London, England: Egoist Press, 1920), page 14.

An epigram by Plato the Younger also mentions amethyst in connection with drinking: "The stone is an amethyst; but I, the tipler Dionysus, say, "Let it either persuade me to be sober, or let it learn to get drunk." See George Burges et al., The Greek Anthology,... (London, England: George Bell and Sons, 1881), p. 369.

Pliny says about amethysts: "The falsehoods of the magicians would persuade us that these stones are preventive of inebriety, and that it is from this that they have derived their name." See Chapter 40 of Book 37 of Pliny the Elder's The Natural History.

The amethyst is a brilliant transparent stone of a purple color and varies in shade from violet purple to rose. The amethyst is found in a variety of sizes and easily engraved or shaped.

Aquamarine

Aquamarine - Greek beryllos, Latin beryllus. Revelation 21:20, gives it as the eighth stone of the foundation of the New Jerusalem.

Beryl is a stone composed of silica, alumina, and glucina with aquamarine and emerald being the same species of gemstone. The difference between aquamarine and emerald is color. Aquamarine is a cyan or light blue variety of beryl, while emerald is a bright green variety.

Aquamarine derives its color 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 metamorphic limestone, slate, mica schist, gneiss and granite. In ancient times it was imported from India via the Red Sea trade.

Carnelian

Carnelian - Hebrew אֹדֶם‬‎ ʾōḏem, Greek σάρδιον sardion; Latin sardius; the first stone of the breastplate (Exodus 28:17, 39:10) representing Ruben; also the first among the stones of the King of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:13); the sixth foundation stone of the celestial city (Revelation 21:19).

Hebrew ʾōḏem derives from the Hebrew root meaning "red". Carnelian is called sardion in Greek. Theophrastus (De lap., 55) and Pliny (Hist. nat., XXXVII, xxxi) derive sardion from the name of the city of Sardes where, they claim, it was first found. The carnelian is a siliceous stone and a species of chalcedony.

Carnelian is a flesh-hued red, varying from the palest flesh-color to a deep blood-red. It is of a conchoidal structure. Normally its color 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 was historically popular for rings and seals.

Chalcedony, Blue

Blue Chalcedony - Hebrew יָשְׁפֶה‬‎ yošp̄e, Greek ἴασπις iaspis, Latin jaspis; the twelfth stone of the breastplate (Exodus 28:18, 39:11), representing the tribe of Benjamin. In the Greek and Latin texts it comes sixth, and so also in Ezekiel 28:13; in Revelation it is the first (21:19).

This shared word is part of a large family of similar terms found throughout the Mediterranean and Asia. The ultimate source of these word may lie in a now lost Indo-Iranian form.

In Pliny’s Natural History, iaspis is a generic term that encompasses fourteen types of gemstones. This makes it difficult to determine the identity of the stone intended in the original text, if a particular type was intended at all. Epiphanius mentions that "there is an iaspis, the so-called ancient, which is like snow or sea foam". This fits blue chalcedony, a highly prized gemstone in the Ancient Near East. Because the Septuagint translated yošp̄e with the visually similar stone beryllos "aquamarine" (even though aquamarine was not accessible to the Ancient Israelites), this strongly indicates that yošp̄e should be specifically identified with blue chalcedony.

Chalcedony, Chrome

Chrome Chalcedony - Greek χρυσόπρασος chrysoprasos, the tenth foundation stone of the celestial Jerusalem (Revelation 21:20). This likely refers to a chrome chalcedony (and not a nickel-colored chrysoprase, as the word is used today), which was known in the Roman world at the time. It is a type of green agate, composed mostly of silica and colored green by a small percentage of chromium.

Coral

Coral - Hebrew רָאמֹת rāmōth (Job 28:18, Ezekiel 27:16), Greek meteora, ramoth; Vulg. excelsa, sericum. In one instance the ancient translations went so far as to simply transliterate the Hebrew word. The Hebrew word rāmōth is cognate to Arabic ra'ma(t), a type of seashell.

The Israelites apparently made little use of coral, and it is seldom mentioned in their writings. In Ezekiel 27:16, 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-fishers in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.