STONING
308
STONING
and the Vulgate (Ex., xxviii, 20; xxxix, 13), represent-
ing the tribe of Joseph; in the Sept. it is the twelfth
stone; it is the fifth in Ezech., x.xviii, 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. Many think, be-
cause the Greek word p-qpiWoi occurs instead of the
Hebrew 2~B that the beryl is meant ; but this is not so
(see Beryl above). The Vulgate indeed gives onyx
as the equivalent of the Hebrew cnr. True, this alone
would be a very weak argument; but we have other
and stronger evidences in the fact that the Hebrew
word occurs frequently in Holy Writ (Gen., ii, 12;
Ex., xxv, 7; xxv, 9, 27; I Par., xxxix, 2; etc.) and on
each occasion, save Job, xxviii, 16, it is translated in
the Vulgate by lapis onychinus {lapis sardonychus in
Job, xxviii, 16). The Greek is very inconsistent in its
translation, rendering cnr differently in various texts;
thus in Gen., ii, 12, it is XWos Trpdaims, a-dpSiot in Ex.
xxv, 7 ;\xxv,9,(rp-a,paySos in Ex., x.\viii, 9; xxxv, 27;
xxxix, 6; ffodfi, a mere transcription of the Hebrew
word in I Par., xxix, 2; and 6vv( in Job, xx\'iii, 16.
The other Greek translators are more uniform:
Aquila has a-apddvv^; Symmachus and Theodotion
have Sfv^\ the paraphrase of Onkelos had bUrla, the
Syriac berula, both of which evidently are the Greek
^TlpiXXo!, "beryl". Since the translations do not ob-
serve the same order as the Hebrew in enumerating
the stones of the rational (see Beryl above), we are in
no way bound to accept the Greek firipvWos as the
translation of 2~"i',and relying on the testimony of the
various versions we may safely hold the onyx is the
stone signified by Z~t- The onyx is a variety of
quartz analogous to the agate and other crypto-crys-
talline species. It is composed of different layers of
variously coloured carnelian much Uke banded agate
in structure, but the layers are in even or parallel
planes. Hence it is well adapted for the cutting of
cameos and was much used for that purpose by the
ancients. The colours of the best are perfectly well
defined, and are either white and black, or white,
brown, and black. The best specimens are brought
from India. Sardonyx has a structure Uke onyx, but
is composed usually of alternate layers of white chal-
cedony and carnelian, although the carnelian may be
associated with layers of white, brown, and black
chalcedony. The ancients obtained the ony^ from
Arabia, Egypt, and India.
Pearl. — The pearl can hardly be termed a stone; we may nevertheless, by giving the word "stone" a broad meaning, treat here of the pearl, as we have treated above of coral. It is comparatively certain that the pearl (Greek pjipyaphri, Vulg. margarita) was known among the Jews, at least after the time of Solo- mon, as it was among the Phoenicians. What word designated it is uncertain. The following have been suggested : "j-^JiWhich, however, signified "crystal' ' (see above; also Furst, "Hebr. u. Chald. Worterb." ) ; E'J'^JC, which Gesenius renders by "red coral"; Ti, Esth., i, 6, which is translated in the Vulg. by lapis partus, "marble"; the Arabic dar, however, means "pearl", and thus also Furst renders the Hebrew word. In the New Testament we find the pearl mentioned in Matt., xiii, 45, 46; I Tim., ii, 9; etc. The pearl is a concre- tion consisting chiefly of carbonate of lime found in several bivalve moUusks, but especially in the avicula margaritifera. It is generally of a whitish blue, some- times showing a tinge of pink ; there are also yellow pearls. This gem was considered the most precious of all among the ancients, and was obfainetl from the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Persian Gulf.
Ruby. — This may have been eitlier the carbuncle or the chodchod (see above). There is, however, a choice between the oriental ruby and the spinel nibv; 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, In-
dia, and China. It is considered a most pre-
cious gem.
Sapphire, Heb. TCD ; Septuag. adiripupov; Vulg. sap- phirus. — The sapphire was the fifth stone of the ra- tional (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 genu- ine sapphire is a hyaUne corindon of a beautiful blue colour; it is composed of nearly pure alumina, its col- our being due to the presence of oxide of iron. The ancients gave the name of sapphire also to our lapis- lazuli, which is likewise a blue stone, often speckled with shining pyrites which give it the appearance of being sprinkled with gold dust. It is composed of silica, alumina, and alkali; it is an opaque substance easily engraved. Which of these two is referred to in the Bible? Both may be meant, but the lapis-lazuli seems more probable, for as often as its qualities are described, it is spoken of as being easily engraved (Lam., iv, 7; Ex., xxviii, 17; xxxix, 13). The sapphire was obtained from India.
Sardonyx; Sard. — These two words are often con- founded by interpreters. The sard is the carnelian, while the sardonyx is a species of onyx.
Topaz, Heb. DTJC ; .Sept. TOTrdfioi/; Vulg. topo.zius, the second stone of the rational (Ex., x>;viii, 17; xxxix, 19), representing Simeon; also the second ston<; in Ezech., xxviii, 13; the ninth foundation stone of the celestial Jerusalem (Apoc, x.xi, 20); also mentioned in Job, xxviii, 19. This topaz is generally believed lo have been the chrysolite rather than our topaz. The orien- tal topaz is composed of nearly pure alumina, siUca, and fluoric acid; its shape is an orthorhombic prism with a cleavage transverse to its long axis. It is ex- tremely hard and has a double refraction. When rubbed or heated it becomes highly electric. It varies in colour according to the country from which it comes. The 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.
St. Epiphanius, De duodecim gemmis in P. G., XLIII, 294- 304; St. Isidore, De lapidibus in Elymol.. xv-i, 6-15, in P. L. LXXXII, 570-580; Kino, Antique Gems (2d ed., London. 1872); Idem, The Natural History of Gems or Decorative Stones (2d ed., London, 1870); Braun, Vestitus sacerdotum hebreeorum (Leyden, 1680) ; Babelon in Daremberg and Saglio, Did, des anliquit(s ffrecqiies et romaines, a. v. Gemma'; Lesetre in VlGOl'ROUX, Did. de la Bible, 3. v, Pierres precii'u,'ies: Ro-senmuller, Handbuch der biblischcn AHerthumskunde (Leipzig); Winer in Biblisches Real- worterbuch (Leipzig, 1847), s. v. Edelsline,
Charles L. Souaay.
Stoning in Scripture. — Palestine being a very rocky country, the abundance of stones made it natu- ral to use them as missiles. Stone throwing might be merely a mark of hatred and contempt (II Kings, xvi, 6-13), or the means of carrying out murderous inten- tions against which provision had to be made in the Law (Ex., xxi, 18; Num., xxxv, 17). Stoning to death which was at first an expression of popular fury anal- ogous to "lynching", later came to be a n.atural and legally recognized method of execution. It was thus regulated by law as an appointed means of capital punishment (Deut., xvii, 5-7; Acts, vii, 5S). Death by stoning is prescribed in the Pentateuch as the penalty for eighteen different crimes including Sabbath-break- ing, but for one crime only— murder — is it the penalty prescribed in all the codes. The execution of the criminal usually took place outside the city walls, and acconling to Deut., xvii, 7, the witnesses in the case were to cast the first stone: "Thou shalt bring forth the man or the woman, who have committed that most wicked thing, to the gates of thy city, and they shall be stoned. By the mouth of two or three wit- nesses shall he die who is to be slain. . . . The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon iiim to kill him, and
