39:6 They set the onyx stones in gold filigree settings, engraved as with the engravings of a seal 5 with the names of the sons of Israel. 6
28:16 It cannot be measured out for purchase 7 with the gold of Ophir,
with precious onyx 8 or sapphires.
54:11 “O afflicted one, driven away, 9 and unconsoled!
Look, I am about to set your stones in antimony
and I lay your foundation with lapis-lazuli.
54:12 I will make your pinnacles out of gems, 10
your gates out of beryl, 11
and your outer wall 12 out of beautiful 13 stones.
1 tn Heb “good.”
2 tn The Hebrew term translated “pearls” may be a reference to resin (cf. NIV “aromatic resin”) or another precious stone (cf. NEB, NASB, NRSV “bdellium”).
3 tn Or “onyx.”
4 sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 375-76) points out that these are the same precious stones mentioned in Ezek 28:13 that were to be found in Eden, the garden of God. So the priest, when making atonement, was to wear the precious gems that were there and symbolized the garden of Eden when man was free from sin.
5 tn Or “as seals are engraved.”
6 sn The twelve names were those of Israel’s sons. The idea was not the remembrance of the twelve sons as such, but the twelve tribes that bore their names.
7 tn The word actually means “weighed,” that is, lifted up on the scale and weighed, in order to purchase.
8 tn The exact identification of these stones is uncertain. Many recent English translations, however, have “onyx” and “sapphires.”
9 tn Or, more literally, “windblown, storm tossed.”
10 tn Perhaps, “rubies” (so ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
11 tn On the meaning of אֶקְדָּח (’eqdakh), which occurs only here, see HALOT 82 s.v.
12 tn Heb “border” (so ASV); NASB “your entire wall.”
13 tn Heb “delightful”; KJV “pleasant.”
14 tn Grk “and its wall”; the referent of the pronoun (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
15 tn The phrase ἡ ἐνδώμησις τοῦ τείχους (Jh endwmhsi" tou teicou") is difficult to translate precisely. BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνδώμησις states, “primary mng. ‘interior structure’; in our lit. prob.=construction, hence material τοῦ τείχους Rv 21:18.” The phrase could then be translated, “the foundation of the city wall was jasper” or “the material used for the wall of the city was jasper.” The latter alternative has been used in the translation because the text goes on to discuss the foundation in 21:19 (using the term θεμέλιος [qemelios]), which is somewhat redundant if the foundation is mentioned here.
16 tn Or “transparent crystal.” See L&N 6.222, which notes the emphasis is on transparency here. The same Greek word, καθαρός (kaqaros), means both “pure” (referring to the gold) and “transparent” (referring to the glass).
17 tn The perfect participle here has been translated as an intensive (resultative) perfect.
18 sn Agate (also called chalcedony) is a semiprecious stone usually milky or gray in color (L&N 2.32).
19 sn Onyx (also called sardonyx) is a semiprecious stone that comes in various colors (L&N 2.35).
20 sn Carnelian is a semiprecious gemstone, usually red in color (L&N 2.36).
21 sn Chrysolite refers to either quartz or topaz, golden yellow in color (L&N 2.37).
22 sn Beryl is a semiprecious stone, usually blue-green or green in color (L&N 2.38).
23 sn Chrysoprase is a greenish type of quartz (L&N 2.40).
24 sn Jacinth is a semiprecious stone, probably blue in color (also called “hyacinth,” but that translation is not used here because of possible confusion with the flower of the same name). See L&N 2.41.
25 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
26 tn The Greek word πλατεῖα (plateia) refers to a major (broad) street (L&N 1.103).