Lapis lazuli in the Bible: Valuable Treasure

How wonderful must a stone like lapis lazuli be for society to continue talking about it over the years? Have you ever thought of it that way? Well, if you’re here surely yes, and if you’re not, then it has to be because you’re caught up in the history of our ancestors, just like me.  I love to tell you interesting stories every time I have new discoveries. Today we will tell the whole magical story of this stone reflected in the Bible.

Lapis lazuli, a magical blue stone and the bible, what relationship can they have?

As most people already know, the Bible gathers the history of people, the historical experiences of a nation and the life of a man who, for better or worse, means a lot to the society in which we live. This historical book allows us to know a little more about that ancient society that picks so much our curiosity, and it is wonderful! Because if you study it well you will notice that there are amazing details .

The stone of the sky and of curious name: lapis lazuli was admired, desired and highly valued by ancient civilizations. And thanks to the Bible, today we can receive that message.

The Precious Stones and the Bible:

First I’ll tell you a little about the value of stones in Biblical antiquity: Many precious stones are mentioned in the bible and they are always referred to as treasures, they were used as offerings, important gifts. Not only because of how difficult it is to obtain them, but also because of all the mystery and power hidden behind them.

Although people still believe that some jewels have the faculty to heal and purify the body, this thought was much more recurrent and popular at that time. Precious stones are those that are distinguished from the common ones due to their beauty, color and durability.

At this time, wealth was measured by the possession of these stones; kings and important people possessed them as true treasures. One of the biblical characters who possessed a large number of these was King Solomon.

Have you ever heard of this powerful man’s magical ring? Don’t worry, we’ll talk about it later.

We wanted to talk to you about this because you will be able to understand a little better the importance of lapis lazuli in this universal book.

Does lapis lazuli appear in the Bible?

In ancient times, studies of stones were a little more basic, and although civilizations cared about the quality of the piece they had, they were based more on its beauty and appearance. For this reason certain confusions arose.

In the past they called “Sapphire” what we now know as “lapis lazuli”. Perhaps its color can cause some confusion, because the sapphire is also a blue stone. However, lapis lazuli is sprinkled with shiny pyrites that give the appearance of a “dew of gold”.

It is impossible that the stone has been the one we know today as “Sapphire” because Theophrasto and Plinio describe it as a blue stone with golden spots, and the sapphire does not look like that. These are the characteristics of lapis lazuli. Besides, before the Roman Empire, sapphires were not known.

Plinio (A.D. 23-69) describes sappir (translated as sapphire) as follows: “The night sky, full of stars”.

 Theophratus (372-287BC) describes the stone as: “sappir stained with gold”. 

Although it is true that there is an original bible in which it manifests the same history, it is practically impossible that with its longevity and transcendence, it has not been interpreted and translated in different ways and religions. The perennial study of this historical piece of humanity has given rise to different discussions and points of view.

Exodus 28:18 describes the armour of the high priest (a person who acts as a priest ruler or who is at the head of a religious caste) and there, it is mentioned that the stone in the middle of the second row of his armour is called “Sappiyr” (Hebrew), according to Strong #H5601. 

While this word is translated by Strong as “Sapphire”, other versions of the Bible such as the BDB lexicon say that this can also be translated to lapis lazuli. Other versions such as the HCSB Bible and the New International version agree that it can be either of these two stones. NTV refers to the stone as “blue lapis lazuli”

Thus experts conclude that the stone that appears in the armour of the high priest is the lapis lazuli. A stone with a hardness of 5.5 on Mohs scale, much less laborious to engrave than a sapphire, which has a value of 9 on the hardness scale.

Historical appearances of lapis lazuli:

Did you know that the 10 commandments were carved on lapis lazuli?

God gave Moses the 10 commandments in the tables of the law, this table contains 10 statements to be followed by the people, these rules are the right way. What better place to leave these commandments that come from heaven than on the stone of lapis lazuli? The Hebrews knew it in Egypt and knew how valuable it was. Moses himself was possibly an important figure before leaving the land of the Pharaohs and, as such, having refined tastes, lapis lazuli was one of its reference stones. The most important laws of the ancient Jewish people and much of the world could not be engraved on any material.

Solomon’s Ring: Do you know King Solomon? This is the most powerful King that ever lived.

The Archangel Michael gave the king a lapis lazuli ring that allowed him to control the legions of demons, summon geniuses, talk to animals and flowers and who knows what else. The ring was made of gold with a stamp engraved on our protagonist stone.

This overseas stone has been present since the oldest civilizations, being a protagonist in religion, art, health, beauty and much more… Its value is immeasurable.

It is a pleasure for me to share my knowledge about this stone. Who knows what else we will discover?

Originally Post  “Lapislázuli en la Biblia: Valioso Tesoro“

Translated by Oscar Moreno.