Stone

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STONE
I. In OT.—1. Several different words are rendered ‘stone,’ but the one of by far the most frequent occurrence is ’ebhen, which has the same wide range of application as its English equivalent. Palestine is a stony country, arid the uses to which stone was put were numerous and varied. In its natural state a stone served for a pillow (Gen_28:18) or a seat (Exo_17:12), for covering the mouth of a well (Gen_29:2 ff.) or closing the entrance to a cave (Jos_10:18; cf. Mat_27:30 etc.). Out of it, again, might be constructed a knife (Exo_4:25, Heb. tsûr. RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘flint’), a vessel (Exo_7:19; cf. Joh_2:6), a mill (Deu_24:8). Above all, stone was employed in architecture. Houses (Lev_14:42 etc.), walls (Neh_4:8, Hab_2:11), towers (by implication in Gen_11:3), and especially the Temple (1Ki_5:17 f. etc.), are referred to as built of stone. We read of foundation-stones (1Ki_5:17), of a corner-stone (Psa_118:22), of a head-stone or finial (Zec_4:7); and in 2Ki_16:17 mention is made of a pavement of stone. Masonry was a regular trade (2Sa_5:11 etc.), and stone-hewing is frequently referred to (2Ki_12:12 etc.). Belonging to the aesthetic and luxurious side of life are precious stones and the arts of cutting and graving and setting them (Exo_28:9; Exo_28:11; Exo_31:5 etc.); see, further, Jewels and Precious Stones. The profusion of stones made it natural to use them as missiles. Stone-throwing might be a mark of hatred and contempt (2Sa_16:6; 2Sa_16:13), or the expedient of murderous intentions against which provision had to be made in legislation (Exo_21:18, Num_35:17). In war, stones were regular weapons of offence. Usually they were hurled with slings (1Sa_17:49, 1Ch_12:2), but, later, great stones were discharged by means of ‘engines’ (2Ch_26:15, 1Ma_6:51). Stoning to death was a natural and convenient method of execution. At first an expression of popular fury (Jos_7:25), it was afterwards regulated by law as an appointed means of capital punishment (Deu_17:5-7; cf. Act_7:58 f.). See, further, Crimes and Punishments, § 10. The use of stones as memorials was common. Sometimes a single large stone, at other times a heap of stones, was raised (Gen_31:45 f., Jos_8:29; Jos_24:26). Akin to this was their employment to mark a boundary (Jos_15:6 etc.). Stones would be the ordinary landmarks between the fields of one person and another, the removal of which was strictly forbidden (Deu_19:14 etc.). In religious worship stones were employed in the forms of the pillar (Gen_28:18; Gen_28:22; Gen_31:45; Gen_35:14) and the altar. The latter was at first a single great stone (1Sa_6:14 f.), but afterwards was built of several stones, which must be unhewn (Exo_20:25, Deu_27:5-6). See, further. Pillar and Altar. The use of stone for literary purposes (cf. the Moabite Stone) is illustrated by the tables of stone on which the Decalogue was written (Exo_24:12 etc.) and the inscribed stones of the altar on Mt. Ebal (Deu_27:2 ff., Jos_8:30 ff.).
2. Stones = testicles (Lev_21:20, Deu_23:1, Job_40:17).
II. In NT.—Here tithos is the ordinary word, and is found in most of the connexions already referred to. Noteworthy is the fact that Jesus, after quoting Psa_118:22, took the rejected and exalted stone as a symbol of Himself (Mat_21:42 ff., Luk_20:17 f.). St. Peter adopts the symbol in his address to the Sanhedrin (Act_4:11), and enlarges it, with further reference to Isa_8:14; Isa_28:13, in his figure of the ‘living stone,’ which is at once the foundation of God’s spiritual house and a stone of stumbling to the disobedient (1Pe_2:4-8). The stone (petros) of Joh_1:42 should be ‘rock,’ or still better ‘Peter’ (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ); ‘stony’ (petrôdçs) in Mat_13:5, Mar_4:5; Mar_4:16 should be ‘rocky.’ The ‘white stone’ of Rev_2:17 represents Gr. psçphos, ‘a pebble,’ and the ref. perhaps is to the tessara gladiatoria bestowed on the victorious young gladiator.
J. C. Lambert.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909


This word is sometimes taken in the sense of rock, and is applied figuratively to God, as the refuge of his people. See Rock. The Hebrews gave the name of “stones” to the weights used in commerce; no doubt because they were originally formed of stone. “Just weights,” is therefore in Hebrew, “just stones.” “The corner stone,” or “the head stone of the corner,” is a figurative representation of Christ. It is the stone at the angle of a building, whether at the foundation or the top of the wall. Christ was that corner stone, which, though rejected by the Jews, became the corner stone of the church, and the stone that binds and unites the synagogue and the Gentiles in the unity of the same faith. Some have thought the showers of stones cast down by the Lord out of heaven, mentioned several times in the Old Testament, to be showers of hail of extraordinary size; which was probably the case, as they even now sometimes occur in those countries in a most terrific and destructive form, and show how irresistible an agent this meteor is in the hands of an offended God. The knives of stone that were made use of by the Jews in circumcision, were not enjoined by the law; but the use of them was founded, either upon custom, or upon the experience that this kind of instrument is found to be less dangerous than those made of metal. Zipporah made use of a stone to circumcise her sons, Exo_4:25. Jos_5:2, did the same, when he caused such of the Israelites to be circumcised at Gilgal, as had not received circumcision during their journey in the wilderness. The Egyptians, according to Herodotus, made use of knives of stone to open dead bodies that were to be embalmed; and Pliny assures us, that the priests of the mother of the gods had sharp stones, with which they cut and slashed themselves, which they thought they could not do with any thing else without danger. Great heaps of stones, raised up for a witness of any memorable event, and to preserve the remembrance of some matter of great importance, are among the most ancient monuments. In those elder ages, before the use of writing, these monuments were instead of inscriptions, pyramids, medals, or histories. Jacob and Laban raised such a monument upon Mount Gilead in memory of their covenant, Gen_31:46. Joshua erected one at Gilgal, made of stones taken out of the Jordan, to preserve the memorial of his miraculous passage over this river, Jos_4:5-7. The Israelites that dwelt beyond Jordan also raised one upon the banks of the river, as a testimony that they constituted but one nation with their brethren on the other side, Jos_22:10. Sometimes they heaped up such a collection of stones upon the burying place of some odious persons, as was none in the case of Achan and Absalom, Jos_7:26; 2Ki_18:17.
A “heart of stone” may be understood several ways. Job_41:24, speaking of the leviathan, says, that “his heart is as firm as a stone, yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone:” that is, he is of a very extraordinary strength, boldness, and courage. It is said, 1Sa_25:37, that Nabal's heart died within him, and he became as a stone, when he was told of the danger he had incurred by his imprudence; his heart became contracted or convulsed, and this was the occasion of his death.
Eze_36:26, says, that the Lord will take away from his people their heart of stone, and give them a heart of flesh; that is, he will render them contrite, and sensible to spiritual things. “I will give him a white stone,”
Rev_2:17; that is, I will give him full and public pardon and absolution. It is spoken in allusion to an ancient custom of delivering a white stone to such as they acquitted in judgment. They used likewise to give a white stone to such as conquered in the Grecian games.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.


The stone is used as a type of many things throughout the Scripture. In both the Old Testament and the New, it represents the Lord JESUS CHRIST, or the child of GOD, or the truth of GOD. Sometimes it represents glory and beauty. It stands for solidity and permanence. We will give here some of these typical meanings:

Gen_11:3 (c) Man-made doctrines are substituted for GOD's Word.

Gen_49:24 (a) This represents the Lord JESUS CHRIST.

Exo_20:25 (c) The thought in this passage probably is that the stones represent GOD's truth as revealed in His Word, and man is not to alter it nor change it in any way. False teachers and leaders do take GOD's Word and twist the meaning to suit their own theology. They take the passage from its text and misuse it. It is this that is forbidden by this type. (See also Deu_27:6; Jos_8:31; 1Ki_6:7).

Exo_24:12 (c) The commandments were on stone, not on rubber, which would bend or stretch. It speaks of permanence and durability.

1Sa_17:49 (c) This may represent a portion of the Scripture, the Gospel.

Job_28:3 (b) We may understand these to be matters that are difficult to understand, and require much investigation and research.

Psa_118:22 (b) There is no doubt but that this type represents the Lord JESUS CHRIST as the One in whom we trust for eternity. Israel rejected him as the foundation of their faith, but GOD exalted Him as the foundation of the Church. (See Isa_28:16; 1Pe_2:6).

Psa_144:12 (a) These represent beautiful daughters, refined, cultured, substantial and solid in their faith. They are dependable and trustworthy.

Pro_26:27 (b) This is probably a type of gossip, malicious lie, or a false report which when started returns to injure the one who told it.

Isa_8:14 (a) This type represents the Lord JESUS for He stood in the way of Israel. In rejecting Him they fell from their place of power and influence, and have been scattered abroad as a punishment for their sins. His Name and His presence are an offense to the nation of Israel. (See also Mat_21:42; Mar_12:10).

Isa_28:16 (a) This type of CHRIST reveals Him as being tried and tested by men and circumstances, and proving His perfection.

Isa_34:11 (b) These are types of those matters which look good, but have no value. They make a big show, but have no reality. These things are hypocritical, pretending to be what they are not. They look like stones, but really are puff balls.

Lam_3:9 (b) GOD permitted His prophet to be surrounded with wicked men and evil workers so that he could not go about His work easily nor comfortably.

Eze_28:14 (b) Satan's glory is thus described. The unsaved follow the Devil's plans and programs, thinking he has permanent value, and will give permanent blessing.

Dan_2:34 (b) The Lord JESUS is this stone who comes in His sovereign power to crush all opposition, to defeat his enemies, and to set up his own kingdom throughout the earth.

Zec_3:9 (b) This also is a type of CHRIST who is brought before men for their trust and confidence. It also represents CHRIST, Spirit-filled and Spirit-led, and yet the One who sends and gives the Holy Spirit. (See also Zec_4:7).

Mat_21:44 (a) CHRIST JESUS is this stone, the Rock of ages, the foundation of all GOD's church and kingdom. When He crushes His enemies beneath His feet, they will be utterly broken, but those who, feeling their need, rest their lives and hearts on Him, they are eternally blessed. (See also Luk_20:18).

Luk_20:17 (a) CHRIST JESUS is this stone. He was rejected by Israel, and is still rejected by that nation. (See also Act_4:11; 1Pe_2:4-7).

1Co_3:12 (b) The good works of GOD's people carried on for the glory of GOD, the honor of CHRIST, and by the leading of the Spirit, are solid, substantial and eternal in their character.

1Pe_2:5 (a) Christians are reckoned to be a part of CHRIST, and so they are as small stones broken off from the big stone, the Rock of Ages. They partake of His appearance and character.

Rev_2:17 (b) Since the Scripture says that no man knows what this represents, we can hardly dare to express an opinion. It certainly represents some pure precious gift solid and eternal in character which the Lord will give to the overcomer.

Rev_17:4 (b) This type refers to the great wealth and beauty that is seen and adorns false religions. Their magnificence is wonderful and attracts those who do not know our Lord.

Rev_21:11 (b) This is poetic language which describes the glory of GOD by telling us of things we can understand, as a comparison to things we cannot understand.
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types
press 1957.



(usually אֶבֶן, eben; but occasionally סֵלֵע, sela, or צוּר, tsur, both of which are rather a rock; λίθος, sometimes πέτρος or ψῆφος). In such rocky countries as Mount Sinai and Syria, stones were naturally of very frequent reference in Biblical language. SEE ROCK.
The kinds of ordinary stone mentioned by ancient and modern writers as found in Palestine (q.v.) are chiefly limestone (Isa_27:9) [especially marble (q.v.)] and sandstone; occasionally basalt (Josephus, Ant. 8, 7, 4), flint, and firestone (2Ma_10:3). (See Wagner, De Lapidibus Judaicis [Hal. 1724]). SEE MINERAL.
The uses to which stones were applied in ancient Palestine were very various.
1. They were used for the ordinary purposes of building, and in this respect the most noticeable point is the very large size to which they occasionally run (Mar_13:1). Robinson gives the dimensions of one as 24 feet long by 6 feet broad and 3 feet high (Res. 1, 233; see also p. 284, note). SEE QUARRY. For most public edifices hewn stones were used. An exception was made in regard to altars, which were to be built of unhewn stone (Exo_20:25; Deu_27:5; Jos_8:31), probably as being in a more natural state. The Phoenicians were particularly famous for their skill in hewing stone (2Sa_5:11; 1Ki_5:18). Stones were selected of certain colors in order to form ornamental string courses. In 1Ch_29:2 we find enumerated onyx stones and stones to be set, glistening stones (lit. stones of eye-paint), and of divers colors (i.e. streaked with veins), and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones” (comp. 2Ch_3:6). They were also employed for pavements (2Ki_16:17; comp Est_1:6)
2. Large stones were used for closing the entrances of caves (Jos_10:18; Dan_6:17), sepulchres (Mat_27:60; Joh_11:38; Joh_20:1), and springs (Gen_29:2).
3. Flint stones ( צוּר or צֹר) occasionally served the purpose of a knife, particularly for circumcision and similar objects (Exo_4:25; Jos_5:2-3; comp. Herod. 2, 86; Plutarch, Nicias, 13; Catull. Carm. 62, 5). SEE KNIFE.
4. Stones were further used as a munition of war for slings (1Sa_17:40; 1Sa_17:49), catapults (2 Chronicle 26:14), and bows (Wis_5:22; comp. 1Ma_6:51). Also as boundary marks (Deu_19:14; Deu_27:17; Job_24:12; Pro_22:28; Pro_23:10) such were probably the stone of Bohan (Jos_15:6; Jos_18:17), the stone of Abel (1Sa_6:15; 1Sa_6:18), the stone Ezel (20:19), the great stone by Gibeon (2Sa_20:8), and the stone Zoheleth (1Ki_1:9). Finally as weights for scales (Deu_25:13; Pro_16:11); and for mills (2Sa_11:21).
5. Large stones were set up to commemorate any remarkable events, as by Jacob, at Bethel after his interview with Jehovah (Gen_28:18; Gen_35:14), and again when he made the covenant with Laban (Gen_31:45) by Joshua after the passage of the Jordan (Jos_4:9); and by Samuel in token of his victory over the Philistines (1Sa_7:12). SEE PILLAR. Similarly the Egyptian monarchs erected their steloe at the farthest point they reached (Herod. 2, 106). Such stones were occasionally consecrated by anointing, as instanced in the stone erected at Bethel (Gen_28:18). A similar practice existed in heathen countries, both in Asia and in Europe (see De Saulcy, Dead Sea, 2, 51, 52; Hackett, Illustra. of Script. p. 102 More, Pillar Stones of Scotland [Edinb. 1865]). SEE ALTAR. By a singular coincidence these stones were described in Phoenicia by a name very similar to Bethel, viz. boetylia (βαιτύλια), whence it has been surmised that the heathen name was derived from the scriptural one, or vice versa (Kalisch, Comm. in Gen. loc. cit.). But neither are the names actually identical, nor are the associations of a kindred nature; the boetylia were meteoric stones, and derived their sanctity from the belief that they had fallen from heaven, whereas the stone at Bethel was simply commemorative. SEE BETHEL. The only point of resemblance between the two consists in the custom of anointing-- the anointed stones (λίθοι λιπαροί, Clem. Alex. Strom. 7, 302), which are frequently mentioned by ancient writers as objects of divine honor (Arnob. Adv. Gent. 1, 39; Euseb. Proep. Evang. 1, 10, 18; Pliny, 37, 51; Theophr. Char. 17; Pausan. 10, 24, 5,; see Bellermann, Steine zu salben [Erf. 1793]), being probably aerolites.
6. That the worship of stones prevailed among the heathen nations surrounding Palestine (see Biedermann, De Lapidum Cultu [Frib. 1749]; Hölling, De Boetylli. Vett. [Gron. 1715]; Falcconet, in the Memoires. de l'Acad. des Inscr. 6, 513 sq., SEE STONE WORSHIP ), and was borrowed from them by apostate Israelites, appears from Isa_57:6, according to the ordinary rendering of the passage; but the original (בְּחִלְּקֵיאּנִחִל חֵלְקֵךְ) admits of another sense “ in the smooth (clear of wood) places of the valley” and no reliance can be placed on a peculiar term introduced partly for the sake of alliteration. The eben maskith (מִשְׁכַּית
אֶבֶן), noticed in Lev_26:1 (An “image of stone”), has again been identified with the boetylia, the doubtful term maskith (comp. Num_33:52, “picture; “ Eze_3:12, “imagery”) being supposed to refer to devices engraven on the stone. SEE IDOL. The statue (matstsebah, מִצֵּבָה) of Baal is said to have been of stone and of a conical shape (Movers, Phon. 1, 673), but this is hardly reconcilable with the statement of its being burned in 2Ki_10:26 (the correct reading of which would be matstsebah, and not matstseboth). SEE STONEHENGE.
7. Heaps of stones were piled up on various occasions as in token of a treaty (Gen_31:46), in which case a certain amount of sanctity probably attached to them (Homer, Od. 16, 471); or over the grave of some notorious offender (Jos_7:26; Jos_8:29; 2Sa_18:17; see Propert. 4, 5, 75, for a similar custom among the Romans). SEE GALEED. The size of some of these heaps becomes very great from the custom prevalent among the Arabs that each passer by adds a stone. Burckhardt mentions one near Damascus 20 feet long, 2 feet high and 3 feet broad (Syria, p. 46). A reference to this practice is supposed by Gesenius to be contained in Pro_26:8, which he renders “as a bag of gems in a heap of stones” (Thes. p. 1263). The Vulgate has a curious version of this passage: (Sicut qui mittit lapidem in acervum Mercurii.”
8. The “white stone” (q.v.) noticed in Rev_2:17 has been variously regarded as referring to the pebble of acquittal used in the Greek courts (Ovid, Met. 15, 41); to the lot cast in elections in Greece; to both these combined, the white conveying the notion of acquittal, the stone that of election (Bengel, Gnom.); to the stones in the high priest's breastplate (Züllig); to the tickets presented to the victors at the public games, securing them maintenance at the public expense (Hammond); or, lastly, to the custom of writing on stones (Alford, ad loc.). (See the monographs on this subject, in Latin, by Majus [Giss. 1706] and Dresig [Lips. 1731].)
9. The use of stones for tablets is alluded to in Exo_24:12 and Jos_8:32; and to this we may add the guide stones to the cities of refuge (see Schöttgen, De Lapidibus Vialibus [Lips. 1716]), and the milestones of the Roman period (comp. Otho, Lex. Rab. p. 362). SEE CITY.
10. Stones for striking fire are mentioned in 2Ma_10:3.
11. Stones were prejudicial to the operations of husbandry; hence the custom of spoiling an enemy's field by throwing quantities of stones upon it (2Ki_3:19; 2Ki_3:25), and, again, the necessity of gathering stones previous to cultivation (Isa_5:2). Allusion is made to both these practices in Ecc_3:5 (“a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones”).
12. The notice in Zec_12:3 of the “burdensome stone” is referred by Jerome to the custom of lifting stones as an exercise of strength, which he describes as being practiced in Judaea in his day (comp. Ecclesiastes 6:21); but it may equally well be explained of a large corner stone as a symbol of strength (Isa_28:16).
Stones are used metaphorically to denote hardness or insensibility (1Sa_25:37; Eze_11:19; Eze_36:26), as well as firmness or strength, as in Gen_49:24, where the stone of Israel” is equivalent to “the rock of Israel” (2Sa_23:3; Isa_30:29). The members of the Church are called “living stones,” as contributing to rear that living temple in which Christ, himself “a living stone,” is the chief or head of the corner (Eph_2:20-22; 1Pe_2:4-8). SEE CORNER STONE.



CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.





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