This word is sometimes taken in the sense of rock, and is applied
figuratively to God, as the refuge of his people. See _Rock_, The
Hebrews gave the name of “stones” to the weights used in commerce; no
doubt because they were originally formed of stone. “Just weights,” is
therefore in Hebrew, “just stones.” “The corner stone,” or “the head
stone of the corner,” is a figurative representation of Christ. It is
the stone at the angle of a building, whether at the foundation or the
top of the wall. Christ was that corner stone, which, though rejected by
the Jews, became the corner stone of the church, and the stone that
binds and unites the synagogue and the Gentiles in the unity of the same
faith. Some have thought the showers of stones cast down by the Lord out
of heaven, mentioned several times in the Old Testament, to be showers
of hail of extraordinary size; which was probably the case, as they even
now sometimes occur in those countries in a most terrific and
destructive form, and show how irresistible an agent this meteor is in
the hands of an offended God. The knives of stone that were made use of
by the Jews in circumcision, were not enjoined by the law; but the use
of them was founded, either upon custom, or upon the experience that
this kind of instrument is found to be less dangerous than those made of
metal. Zipporah made use of a stone to circumcise her sons, Exod. iv,
25. Joshua, v, 2, did the same, when he caused such of the Israelites to
be circumcised at Gilgal, as had not received circumcision during their
journey in the wilderness. The Egyptians, according to Herodotus, made
use of knives of stone to open dead bodies that were to be embalmed; and
Pliny assures us, that the priests of the mother of the gods had sharp
stones, with which they cut and slashed themselves, which they thought
they could not do with any thing else without danger. Great heaps of
stones, raised up for a witness of any memorable event, and to preserve
the remembrance of some matter of great importance, are among the most
ancient monuments. In those elder ages, before the use of writing, these
monuments were instead of inscriptions, pyramids, medals, or histories.
Jacob and Laban raised such a monument upon Mount Gilead in memory of
their covenant, Gen. xxxi, 46. Joshua erected one at Gilgal, made of
stones taken out of the Jordan, to preserve the memorial of his
miraculous passage over this river, Josh. iv, 5–7. The Israelites that
dwelt beyond Jordan also raised one upon the banks of the river, as a
testimony that they constituted but one nation with their brethren on
the other side, Joshua xxii, 10. Sometimes they heaped up such a
collection of stones upon the burying place of some odious persons, as
was done in the case of Achan and Absalom, Joshua vii, 26; 2 Kings
xviii, 17.
A “heart of stone” may be understood several ways. Job, xli, 24,
speaking of the leviathan, says, that “his heart is as firm as a stone,
yea as hard as a piece of the nether millstone:” that is, he is of a
very extraordinary strength, boldness, and courage. It is said, 1 Sam.
xxv, 37, that Nabal’s heart died within him, and he became as a stone,
when he was told of the danger he had incurred by his imprudence; his
heart became contracted or convulsed, and this was the occasion of his
death. Ezekiel, xxxvi, 26, says, that the Lord will take away from his
people their heart of stone, and give them a heart of flesh; that is, he
will render them contrite, and sensible to spiritual things. “I will
give him a white stone,” Rev. ii, 17; that is, I will give him full and
public pardon and absolution. It is spoken in allusion to an ancient
custom of delivering a white stone to such as they acquitted in
judgment. They used likewise to give a white stone to such as conquered
in the Grecian games.
figuratively to God, as the refuge of his people. See _Rock_, The
Hebrews gave the name of “stones” to the weights used in commerce; no
doubt because they were originally formed of stone. “Just weights,” is
therefore in Hebrew, “just stones.” “The corner stone,” or “the head
stone of the corner,” is a figurative representation of Christ. It is
the stone at the angle of a building, whether at the foundation or the
top of the wall. Christ was that corner stone, which, though rejected by
the Jews, became the corner stone of the church, and the stone that
binds and unites the synagogue and the Gentiles in the unity of the same
faith. Some have thought the showers of stones cast down by the Lord out
of heaven, mentioned several times in the Old Testament, to be showers
of hail of extraordinary size; which was probably the case, as they even
now sometimes occur in those countries in a most terrific and
destructive form, and show how irresistible an agent this meteor is in
the hands of an offended God. The knives of stone that were made use of
by the Jews in circumcision, were not enjoined by the law; but the use
of them was founded, either upon custom, or upon the experience that
this kind of instrument is found to be less dangerous than those made of
metal. Zipporah made use of a stone to circumcise her sons, Exod. iv,
25. Joshua, v, 2, did the same, when he caused such of the Israelites to
be circumcised at Gilgal, as had not received circumcision during their
journey in the wilderness. The Egyptians, according to Herodotus, made
use of knives of stone to open dead bodies that were to be embalmed; and
Pliny assures us, that the priests of the mother of the gods had sharp
stones, with which they cut and slashed themselves, which they thought
they could not do with any thing else without danger. Great heaps of
stones, raised up for a witness of any memorable event, and to preserve
the remembrance of some matter of great importance, are among the most
ancient monuments. In those elder ages, before the use of writing, these
monuments were instead of inscriptions, pyramids, medals, or histories.
Jacob and Laban raised such a monument upon Mount Gilead in memory of
their covenant, Gen. xxxi, 46. Joshua erected one at Gilgal, made of
stones taken out of the Jordan, to preserve the memorial of his
miraculous passage over this river, Josh. iv, 5–7. The Israelites that
dwelt beyond Jordan also raised one upon the banks of the river, as a
testimony that they constituted but one nation with their brethren on
the other side, Joshua xxii, 10. Sometimes they heaped up such a
collection of stones upon the burying place of some odious persons, as
was done in the case of Achan and Absalom, Joshua vii, 26; 2 Kings
xviii, 17.
A “heart of stone” may be understood several ways. Job, xli, 24,
speaking of the leviathan, says, that “his heart is as firm as a stone,
yea as hard as a piece of the nether millstone:” that is, he is of a
very extraordinary strength, boldness, and courage. It is said, 1 Sam.
xxv, 37, that Nabal’s heart died within him, and he became as a stone,
when he was told of the danger he had incurred by his imprudence; his
heart became contracted or convulsed, and this was the occasion of his
death. Ezekiel, xxxvi, 26, says, that the Lord will take away from his
people their heart of stone, and give them a heart of flesh; that is, he
will render them contrite, and sensible to spiritual things. “I will
give him a white stone,” Rev. ii, 17; that is, I will give him full and
public pardon and absolution. It is spoken in allusion to an ancient
custom of delivering a white stone to such as they acquitted in
judgment. They used likewise to give a white stone to such as conquered
in the Grecian games.