It was fashioned into beads, pins, brooches, signet rings, goblets, cups, bottles, bowls, and carved figurines. Agates were highly prized among ancient civilizations. 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. Colors range from white to dull yellow, red, brown, orange, blue, black and gray. 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. 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.Īgate is named as the second stone in the third row of the High Priest’s breastplate. 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. It has only been since the mid-1800’s that we have begun to identify stones according to their mineral content. The difficulty has been in knowing the exact identity of the stones named. In Revelation 21:19-20, John names twelve stones that adorn the foundation of the New Jerusalem. Zechariah 9:16 says that the Lord’s people will be like jewels in a crown. In Exodus 28:21 the Lord ordains precious stones to be used in the making of the breastpiece of the High Priests’ garments. The Bible makes numerous references to jewels and precious stones. Throughout history, in every civilization, gemstones have been highly prized and sought after.
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