page_title: Gemstones in the Bible
section_title: Beryl
hierarchical_section_title: Gemstones in the Bible / Alphabetical list / Beryl
caption_attribution_description: Español: Aguamarina tallada. Deutsch: Aquamarin geschliffen 12 Carat. Foto von/by Wela49 Français&#160;: Aigue-marine taillée
context_page_description: A range of gemstones are mentioned in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation. Much has been written about the precise identification of these stones, which is largely speculative.
context_section_description: 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 colorless (not white), is usually of a light blue bordering on a yellowish green; emerald is more transparent and of a finer hue than beryl. Beryl is also black in color.  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 metamorphic limestone, 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.
caption: Faceted aquamarine
exif: {}