M. Scott Fletcher. PRECIOUS. — The word is of frequent oocurrenee in the NT, and represents various Greek terms: ^i-Ti/ios, TijUTj, rlmos, iadrifios. The root iilea is some- thing of great worth, which also becomes precious or an honour to those who possess it. It is applied to jewels (Rev 11* 18'=- '« 21"- ">), to wood (\»\ to the fruit of the earth (Ja 5'), to costly stones used in building, i.e. stones of large size or of great price, like marble, etc. (1 P 2*-«, 1 Co 3>^ cf. 2 Cli 3"). It is also applied to the great promises (2 P l*), to the blood of Christ (1 P V\ and to faith, 'equally precious faith' (2 P 1', RVm). The AV rendering of 1 P 2', ' Unto you therefore which believe he is precious,' is changed in RV to ' For you therefore which believe is the precious- ness.' In this passage the RVm ' honour ' is to be preferred (see HoNOUE). JOHN Reid.
PRECIOUS STONES (XWot rf/uiot; \Woi tJ,hos used collectively in Rev 18'-- '^). — The writers of Scripture share to some extent the instinctive delight of mankind in precious stones, ' a subject in which the majestic might of Nature presents itself to us within a very limited space, though, in the opinion of many, nowhere displayed in a more admirable manner' (Pliny, HN xxxvii. 1). St. Paul uses precious stones figuratively (1 Co 3"), in allusion either, generally, to the marbles and other costly materials employed in tlie building of palaces and temples, or, in particular, to the ' pleasant stones ' (LXX, \Woi 4k\cktoI, Vulg. ' lapides desiderabiles ') of Is 54'^. He thinks of Christians, of characters, or of creeds (apparently the last are more immediately in view) as the precious stones which may be built upon the one founda- tion, Jesus Christ. The writer of the Rev. alludes to the proper colours of precious stones in a very technical manner, displaying ' that exact know- ledge of particulars only possessed by persons either dealing with precious stones, or from special circumstances compelled to have a practical acquaintance with their nature' (C. W. King, The Nat. Hist, of Precious Stones and of the Precious Metals', 1867, p. 325). He figures Him that sits on the throne of heaven as like a jasper and a sardius (4^). The light (^wo-r^p) within tlie New Jerusalem is like a very precious stone, a jasper, crystal-clear (21") ; and tlie foundations of the city are adorned with all manner of precious stones (21'"). The merchandise of Imperial Rome of course includes precious stones (18'-), with which, indeed, the city decks herself (18"). While Pliny, a contemporary of the writer of Rev., ex- presses a .sober regret that the admiration of precious stones ' has now increased to such a uni- versal passion' {loc. cit.), the Hebrew-Christian prophet writes with a holy indignation, since to liis mind the things that are most precious have become an adornment for her who is most vile — for 'Babylon,' the mother of harlots (Rev XT'*- ■>).
The idea of a New Jerusalem built of precious Btones (21'^'^') was not original, for it occurs in the prayer of Tobit (To IS'"- "). St. John's list of 12 precious stones is closely related to that of the 12 engraved stones in the breastplate of the
high priest (Ex aS""" SO'""'"), and thus to that of the king of Tyre (Ezk 28'», where the LXX, diverging widely from the Ma.ssoretic text, simply reproduces the stones of the breastplate). It was probably the writer's intention to name all the 12 stones which had been consecrated by use in the ephod, but he quotes loosely from memory, omitting some and adding others. Sardius, topaz, emerald, sapphire, jai'inth, amethyst, beryl, and jasper reappear in his list, though in a ditlercnt order. Carbuncle (marg. ' emerald '), diamond (marg. 'carbuncle'), agate, and onyx (marg. ' beryl ') are omitted, and their place is taken by chalcedony, sardonyx, chrysolite, and chrysoprase.
Various causes make the identiticalion of the precious stones of the ancients a diilicult matter. The classical treatises of Theophrastus (r. 300 B.C.) and Pliny (c. A. u. 100) are full of interest, but the descriptions of particular stones are often too vague for diagnosis. The old principle of classitication was colour rather than chemi(ral atlinity. Various red stones — ruby, red spinel, and garnet — were grouped together under the general name of carbuncle (d^SpaJ), while many green stones — emerald, peridote, green fluorspar, malachite, and certain kinds of quartz and jade — were each called (TiidpaySos. Stones once deemed valuable have fallen out of esteem, and their names have been transferred to others which have risen into favour. Stones which were, and still are, precious have had their names interchanged. Of the twelve founda- tion stones in Rev 21'"- ^, the jasper, the emerald (a corruption of a/idpaySo!), the sardonyx, the sard, the beryl, and the amethyst have (on the whole) retained their ancient meanings ; but the ancient sapphire is our modern lapis lazuli, the chalcedony our agate, the chrysolite our topaz, the topaz our chrysolite, and the jacinth our sapphire. More- over, it is very improbable that the stones in the Hebrew ephod were in all instances so precious as the Greek names assigned to them in the Ptolemaic period would seem to indicate. As taste developed, it normally moved away from the common to the rich and rare. The conquests of Alexander brought into the Western markets all the gems of the gorgeous East, and established a new standard of values in precious minerals. The diamond and the ruby, which became well known in the Greek and Roman periods, are anachronisms in the OT (where even the RV retains them) ; and Flinders Petrie (HDB iv. 619 ff.) has stated strong reasons for holding that the 'sardius' of the Hebrew breastplate (Ex 28" ; cf. Rev 21=") was an opaque red jasper, the 'emerald' a quartz crystal, the 'topaz' a yellow green serpentine, and the ' beryl ' a green felspar. The question whether the writer of Rev. gave the terras he found (mostly) in the LXX an ancient or a modern connotation is one which perhaps scarcely occurred to himself.