שהם, Gen. ii, 12; Exod. xxv, 7; xxviii, 9, 20; xxxv, 27; xxxix, 6;
1 Chron. xxix, 2; Job xxviii, 16; Ezekiel xxviii, 13. A precious stone,
so called from the Greek ὅνυξ, _the nail_, to the colour of which it
nearly approaches. It is first mentioned with the gold and bdellium of
the river Pison in Eden; but the meaning of the Hebrew word is not
easily determined. The Septuagint render it, in different places, the
_sardius_, _beryl_, _sapphire_, _emerald_, &c. Such names are often
ambiguous, even in Greek and Latin, and no wonder if they are more so in
Hebrew. In Exodus xxviii, 9, 10, a direction is given that two onyx
stones should be fastened on the ephod of the high priest, on which were
to be graven the names of the children of Israel, like the engravings on
a signet; six of the names on one stone, and six on the other. In 1
Chron. xxix, 2, onyx stones are among the things prepared by David for
the temple. The author of Scripture Illustrated” observes, upon this
passage, that “the word _onyx_ is equivocal; signifying, first, a
precious stone or gem; and, secondly, a marble called in Greek
_onychites_, which Pliny mentions as a stone of Caramania. Antiquity
gave both these stones this name, because of their resemblance to the
nail of the fingers. The onyx of the high priest’s pectoral was, no
doubt, the gem onyx; the stone prepared by David was the marble onyx, or
rather _onychus_; for one would hardly think that gems of any kind were
used externally in such a building, but variegated marble may readily be
admitted.”
1 Chron. xxix, 2; Job xxviii, 16; Ezekiel xxviii, 13. A precious stone,
so called from the Greek ὅνυξ, _the nail_, to the colour of which it
nearly approaches. It is first mentioned with the gold and bdellium of
the river Pison in Eden; but the meaning of the Hebrew word is not
easily determined. The Septuagint render it, in different places, the
_sardius_, _beryl_, _sapphire_, _emerald_, &c. Such names are often
ambiguous, even in Greek and Latin, and no wonder if they are more so in
Hebrew. In Exodus xxviii, 9, 10, a direction is given that two onyx
stones should be fastened on the ephod of the high priest, on which were
to be graven the names of the children of Israel, like the engravings on
a signet; six of the names on one stone, and six on the other. In 1
Chron. xxix, 2, onyx stones are among the things prepared by David for
the temple. The author of Scripture Illustrated” observes, upon this
passage, that “the word _onyx_ is equivocal; signifying, first, a
precious stone or gem; and, secondly, a marble called in Greek
_onychites_, which Pliny mentions as a stone of Caramania. Antiquity
gave both these stones this name, because of their resemblance to the
nail of the fingers. The onyx of the high priest’s pectoral was, no
doubt, the gem onyx; the stone prepared by David was the marble onyx, or
rather _onychus_; for one would hardly think that gems of any kind were
used externally in such a building, but variegated marble may readily be
admitted.”