Stones(precious stones)
Summary
Used extensively in ancient Israel for construction, memorials, weapons, and symbolically to represent Christ, believers, and spiritual realities.
☩Construction Uses
Stones were the primary building material for important structures in ancient Israel. The Temple of Solomon was built with great hewn stones, some measuring over thirty feet in length. These were quarried and prepared at the site so that no sound of hammer or axe was heard at the Temple during construction. City walls, houses, and tombs were also constructed of stone.
☩Memorial Stones
Large stones or heaps of stones were set up to commemorate remarkable events. Jacob consecrated a stone at Bethel by anointing it with oil. Stones marked covenant agreements, as between Jacob and Laban. The Israelites set up twelve stones from the Jordan as a memorial of their crossing, and Samuel raised the stone called Ebenezer ('stone of help') to commemorate God's deliverance.
☩Precious Stones
Precious stones were highly valued and used in the high priest's breastplate, where twelve stones represented the twelve tribes. The Queen of Sheba brought precious stones to Solomon, and they were exported from Sheba and Ophir. In John's vision, precious stones form the foundation of the New Jerusalem.
☩Symbolic and Figurative Uses
Stone imagery pervades Scripture. The 'stone of stumbling' refers to Christ as one over whom unbelievers stumble. Christ is the 'tested stone' and 'precious cornerstone' that God laid in Zion. The rejected stone that became the chief cornerstone prophesied Christ's rejection and exaltation. Believers are described as 'living stones' being built into a spiritual house.
Related Verses211 mentions
References
- 1.George Morrish, "Stones," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 2.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Stones," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Stones," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).