throne, in sight like unto an emerald," Rev. iv. 9. Lovely emblem of peace and complacency! The emerald is also mentioned, Ezek. xxvii. 16. xxviii. 13.

Flint. A hard stone, whose parts when broken fly off with great force. It is used as an emblem of firmness, Is. 1. 7., and sometimes as an emblem of destitution. Thus, the goodness of God to Israel is as it were magnified by contrast. He brought them forth water out of the rock of flint, Deut. viii. 15. Ps. cxiv. 8. He made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock, Deut. xxxii. 13. that is, afforded them rich supplies from sources not naturally yielding them.

Jacinth (or hyacinth,) a gem of a deep reddish yellow, approaching to a flame colour, or the deepest amber. It is mentioned as the eleventh foundation of the New Jerusalem, Rev. xxi. 20.—also Rev. ix. 17.

Jasper. A hard stone of a bright beautiful green colour, sometimes clouded with white, sometimes spotted with red, yellow, and white. It is of very irregular sizes and shapes, admits of a beautiful polish, and is veined in the manner of marble, and of semi-pellucid gems. It was the twelfth stone on the breast-plate, Exod. xxviii. 20. xxxix. 13.

It is

mentioned among the splendid luxuries of Tyre, Ezek. xxviii. 13. and is a frequent figure in the sublime sketches of the Apocalypse. He that sat upon the throne is compared to a jasper, Rev. iv. 3. the light of the heavenly city was "like a jasper stone, clear as crystal," Rev. xxi. Its walls are built of

jasper, ver. 18. and jasper is the first mentioned of its foundation stones, (v. 19.)

Ligure. The seventh precious stone in the pectoral, on which was inscribed the name of Gad. It is of a deep red colour, considerably tinged or spotted with yellow. The spots are said to resemble those of the Ounce. Exod. xxviii. 19. xxxix. 12.

Marble. A fine hard stone, capable of a high polish; sometimes of the purest white, sometimes beautifully veined with black and various colours. It is much used in statues and elegant buildings; the most esteemed comes from the isle of Paros, and is hence called Parian marble. David provided abundance of this beautiful stone for building the temple, 1 Chron. xxix. 2. The pavement of the palace of king Ahasuerus was of marble, Esther i. 6. In allusion, perhaps, to a beautiful and wellturned statue, the spouse compares the legs of her Beloved to pillars of marble, Cant. v. 15. It is mentioned as an instance of the desolation of Babylon, when the vessels of marble are sold no more, Rev. xviii. 12.

Nitre. The substance well known to us under this name, is more commonly called salt-petre. The nitre of Scripture, however, differs considerably from it, and indeed from all other native salts. It is a fixed alkali, of the nature of those made by fire, from vegetables; it dissolves in a very small quantity of water, and is made into soap by mixing it with oil. This alkali would of course effervesce or ferment, if

mixed with vinegar; hence the propriety of Solomon's comparison,-that attempts at mirth, in the midst of grief, are as incongruous as a mixture of vinegar and nitre, Prov. xxv. 20. Whether the soap mentioned in Scripture is prepared from this lixivial salt, or from the ashes of the herb borith, or fuller's herb, is not clear. There are but two allusions: First, Jer. ii. 22. to represent the inveterate corruption of Judah, it is said, "Though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God." The other passage is Mal. iii. 2. which alludes to the use of alkaline salts in purifying metals, by causing their impurities to vitrify, and melt down into dross, thus leaving the metal pure, "He (the Messiah) shall sit as a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap."

Ochre,-Is a fossil earth, of a chalky nature; there are two colours, a dingy yellow, and red; both are much used in painting. Is. xliv. 13. where the work of the idol-maker is described, Bishop Lowth thinks that instead of marking it out with a line, it should have been translated, marketh it out with red ochre.

Onyx, or Onycha.-The same word is used in two different senses in scripture :-the odoriferous snail, or shell, which is brought from the East Indies, where the creature feeds on the spikenard, which makes its shell so aromatic; this is the onycha prescribed for the sacred perfume, Exod. xxx. 34. The onyx is a semi-pellucid gem, of which there are several sorts, but the bluish white kind, with brown

and white zones, is the true onyx of the ancients; it is thought to bear a resemblance to the whitish band at the base of the human nail. Onyx was found with the gold and bdellium of the river Pison, in the garden of Eden, Gen. ii. 12. On two onyx stones, worn on the shoulders of the high priest, were engraven the names of the children of Israel, Exod. xxviii. 9, 10. The onyx was the eleventh stone on the pectoral, Exod. xxviii, 20. xxxix. 13. Onyx is mentioned among the traffic of Tyre, Ezek. xxviii. 13. and saving wisdom is extolled as infinitely more valuable than the onyx, and other precious commodities, Job xxviii. 16. Onyx stones were prepared by David for the service of the temple, 1 Chr. xxix. 2. which some suppose to be a kind of marble so called.

Pearls, Are substances found in a testaceous fish, resembling an oyster, and though highly esteemed as a costly decoration, are but a distemper in the creature that produces them. Pearls are once mentioned in the Old Testament, and repeatedly in the New; but it has been strongly and justly doubted, whether the article referred to is that so called among us, but rather some mineral production, Job xxviii. 18. Pearls, however valuable, are described as not worth mention, in comparison of saving wisdom. Our Lord enjoins his disciples not to cast their pearls before swine, Matt. vii. 6. that is, not to speak of the mysteries of the gospel, and the peculiarities of experimental piety, to profane

persons, who would but ridicule and abuse them. Elsewhere in a parable He compares the gospel treasure to a pearl of great price, which the merchantman would do well to secure at any price, Matt. xiii. 45. St. Paul recommends to holy women, the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, as greatly preferable to any outward adornings of gold and pearls, &c. 1 Tim. ii. 9.-Pearls are mentioned among the merchandise of Babylon, Rev. xviii. 12. and finally the twelve gates of the heavenly city are described as twelve pearls, every several gate was of one pearl, Rev. xxi. 21.

Pitch.-See Bitumen, p. 646.

Ruby. A precious stone of a bright crimson red colour, next in hardness and value to a diamond. Rubies are frequently mentioned as of great value, yet not worthy to be brought into comparison with heavenly wisdom or godliness, Job xxviii. 18. Prov. iii. 15. viii. 11. The virtuous woman is anxiously inquired after by the mother of Lemuel, as a wife for her beloved son; she esteems such a treasure both invaluable and rare: "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies," Prov. xxxi. 10. Jeremiah, when lamenting over fallen Jerusalem, describes the Nazarites in her better days as more ruddy than rubies," Lam. iv. 7

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Salt.-This well-known mineral production seems to have two distinguishing properties; its easy solubility in water, and its pungent taste. It is an active incombustible substance, it gives all bodies their