Greek word · G5116

τοπάζιον

topazion

topaz

In Pliny (37.107-109), topazos is a green or yellow-green stone named after an island in the Red Sea (Topazos, usually identified with Zabargad, the classic ancient source of peridot). Most specialists think ancient 'topaz' was largely what we call peridot.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

τοπάζιον, -ου, τό

(and τόπαζος, ὁ), [in LXX: Exodus 28:17 35:17 (Exodus 39:10), Job 28:19, Ezekiel 28:13 (פִּטְדָה), Psalms 119:127 (פָּז)* ;]

topaz: Revelation 21:20 (see Swete, in l).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Revelation 21:20

Range of meaning

In Pliny (37.107-109), topazos is a green or yellow-green stone named after an island in the Red Sea (Topazos, usually identified with Zabargad, the classic ancient source of peridot). Most specialists think ancient 'topaz' was largely what we call peridot. The identification is probable, not certain.

Against the English

All English versions say 'topaz,' which modern readers picture as golden-yellow (or the blue of treated stones). The ancient stone was probably green.

How it drifted

Gem names moved during the Middle Ages and early modern period. 'Topaz' came to mean the aluminium-silicate gem that is often yellow. Ancient 'topaz' and 'chrysolite' may in effect have swapped names.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 28:17 and 39:10 LXX: second breastplate stone (for Hebrew pitdah). Job 28:19 ('the topaz of Cush'). Ps 119:127 LXX (118:127): God's commands loved 'above gold and topazion.' Ezek 28:13 LXX. Pliny 37.107-109; Strabo 16.4.6.

Where it appears

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 21:20 τοπάζιον, topaz,

    the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

    Here: The ancient 'topaz' was most likely a green to yellow-green stone (probably what we call peridot), named after a Red Sea island, according to Pliny. It is not certainly the golden gem sold as topaz today. It is the second breastplate stone in the Greek Old Testament (Exod 28:17).

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.