HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H5601
סַפִּיר
sap.pir — sapphire
sapphire, lapis lazuli
8 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →BIBLE DICTIONARY + WORD STUDY
Sapphire
Original Hebrew / Aramaic / Greek connected to this term
How to read this: there is rarely one magic “true meaning” hidden behind an English word. A lexicon records a word’s semantic range. The intended meaning is narrowed by grammar, sentence, author, historical usage and context.
GREEK · G4552
σάπφειρος
sappheiros — sapphire
σάπφειρος, -ου, ἡ [in LXX for סַפִּיר ;] sapphire (perh. = lapis lazuli): Rev.21:19.† (AS)
1 tagged verse occurrence · see every occurrence →GREEK · G5192
ὑάκινθος
huakinthos — hyacinth
ὑακίνθος, -ου, ό [in LXX chiefly for תְּכֵלֶת ;] hyacinth; (a) in cl., a flower, prob. the dark blue iris; (b) in late writers, a precious stone of the same colour, perhaps the sapphire: Rev.21:20 (Phil., FlJ, al.).† (AS)
1 tagged verse occurrence · see every occurrence →Historical dictionary entry
Associated with diamonds (Ex. 28:18) and emeralds (Ezek. 28:13); one of the stones in the high priest’s breastplate. It is a precious stone of a sky-blue colour, probably the lapis lazuli, brought from Babylon. The throne of God is described as of the colour of a sapphire (Ex. 24:10; comp. Ezek. 1:26).
Scripture references
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.