Chalcedony
Mentioned only in Rev. 21:19, as one of the precious stones in the foundation of the New Jerusalem. The name of this stone is derived from Chalcedon, where it is said to have been first discovered. In modern mineralogy this is the name of an agate-like quartz of a bluish colour. Pliny so names the Indian ruby. The mineral intended in Revelation is probably the Hebrew nophekh, translated "emerald" (Ex. 28:18; 39:11; Ezek. 27:16; 28:13). It is rendered "anthrax" in the LXX., and "carbunculus" in the Vulgate. (See [109]CARBUNCLE.)
Passages cited in this entry
M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 3rd edition (1897). Public domain; text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. A nineteenth-century Protestant reference: its dates, archaeology and judgements reflect the scholarship of its time and are not Imago Dei's editorial position.