Translating Gemstones

Anthrax simply means coal (presumably referring to the color of burning coal-reddish); Vulgate here has Carbunculus, which was red. Philo of Alexandria, when writing about this stone, says that it was red. He seems to be in agreement with Josephus, the LXX, and the Jerusalem Targum, the latter saying that it is כדכדנא, explained by Saadia Gaon as meaning karkand, a red variety of precious stone. However, Nofekh appears to be a loan word; it may derive from the Egyptian term m-f-k-t, referring to malachite or turquoise, both of which are a greenish blue. In addition to the appearance of nōpeḵ in Exod 28:18,39:11, and Ezek 28:13, it is mentioned in Ezek 27:16 among other gems and luxury items traded between Edom (Arabia) and Israel, and in Isaiah 54:11 as the variant pûḵ , where it is a foundation stone. Ezek 27:16 "the Edomites may have been miners in the 7th and 6th centuries BC, or were middlemen as they controlled the Kings Highway, the important north-south overland trade route from Aqaba to Damascus. Since Sinai was the source of turquoise, the role of Edom in its distribution in the Levant makes sense." [Hebrew Gemstones in the Old Testament: A Lexical, Geological, and Archaeological Analysis][6] Sixth Stone: Yahalom (יָהֲלֹם) Iaspis (Septuagint)

Yahalom: יָהֲלֹֽם:

The word Yahalom appears to be connected with the Hebrew meaning strike hard, and possibly with the word hallamish.

Fitting the color theme of red/green/blue: Theophrastus (O.S. 4.23) says iaspis was carved for seals and twice mentions it in association with smaragdos, implying that both stones have a bluish or greenish color (O.S. 4.27, 6.35). Posidippus of Pella (Lith. 14.1) refers to an engraving on “dark iaspin” and Plato (Phaed. 110D–E) lists iaspidas among “our highly prized stones.” Pliny the Elder (Nat. 37.37.115–119) says iaspis is “translucent” and has many sources and varieties, with most of these being some shade of blue or especially green. His contemporary, Dioscorides Pedanius (Mat. med. 5.142), also describes many varieties of iaspis with, again, most either bluish or greenish. Although the ancient descriptions are far from definitive, it is likely that the LXX’s iaspis is some form of greenish microcrystalline quartz, most likely chalcedony but also possibly jasper. Indeed, the word jasper is derived from the ancient iaspis.[9] Ninth Stone: Aḥlamah (אַחְלָמָה) Amethystos (Septuagint)

AMETHYST

Hebrew ahlmh; Septuagint amethystos... It is the third stone in the third row of the rational, representing the tribe of Issachar (Exodus 28:19; 39:12); the Septuagint enumerates it among the riches of the King of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:13). The Greek name alludes to the popular belief that the amethyst was a preventive of intoxication; hence beakers were made of amethyst for carousals, and inveterate drinkers wore amulets made of it to counteract the action of wine.

Abenesra and Kimchi explain the Hebrew ahlmh in an analogous manner, deriving it from hlm, to dream; hlm in its first meaning signifies "to be hard" (Fürst, Hebr. Handwörterbuch). We have no reason to doubt the accuracy of the translation since we find a general agreement among the various versions; Josephus (Ant. Jud., III, vii, 6) also has "amethyst"; the Targum of Onkelos and the Syriac Version have "calf's eye", indicating the color. The amethyst is a brilliant transparent stone of a purple colour resembling that of diluted wine and varying in shade from the violet purple to rose.

There are two kinds of amethysts: the oriental amethyst, a species of sapphire, is very hard (cf. Heb., hlm), and when colourless can hardly be distinguished from the diamond; [Souvay, C. (1912). Precious Stones in the Bible][10] Tenth Stone: Taršīš (תַּרְשִׁישִׁ) Chrysolithos (Septuagint)

• Modern Topaz - Old Chrysolthios.• Lapis lazuli • “Citrine” (yellowish transparent quartz)

In none of the Hebrew texts is there any hint as to the nature of this stone; however, since the Septuagint habitually translates the Hebrew by chrysolithos, except where it merely transliterates it and in Ezekiel 10:9, since, moreover, the Vulgate follows this translation with very few exceptions, and Aquila, Josephus, and St. Epiphanius agree in their rendering, we can safely accept the opinion that the chrysolite of the ancients, which is our topaz, was meant. The word tharsis very likely points to the place whence the stone was brought (Tharsis). [Souvay, C. (1912). Precious Stones in the Bible]

Diodorus Siculus (L.H. 2.52.3–4) is apparently the first writer to mention this gemstone, and he notes its golden color and then warns about the “false chrysos” (ψευδοχρυσους) produced by heating: this, “we are told, is fabricated by mortal fire, made by man, by dipping the krystallon [that is, a crystal] into it” (L.H. 2.52.4). 43 He seems to be referring here to the well-known process of producing “citrine” (yellowish transparent quartz) by heating amethyst and, if so, this first-century b.c. account is the earliest known for this process Although Pliny the Elder does not mention the heat-treatment process, he does say (Nat. 37.42.126) that chrysolithus, a “bright golden transparent stone” comes from, among other countries, “Ethiopia” (a reference to the desert east of the Nile River beginning in southern Egypt and extending south to modern Ethiopia).

[Old Testament Gemstones: A Philological, Geological, and Archaeological Assessment of The Septuagint]