Hebrew word · H124

אֹ֫דֶם

'odem

sardius

"Red (stone)", from the root 'dm, "to be red". It is named for its color. Ancient names for stones grouped them by color and shine, not by chemical makeup.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) ruby, carnelian (redness)

1a) precious stone

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Exodus 28:17

Range of meaning

"Red (stone)", from the root 'dm, "to be red". It is named for its color. Ancient names for stones grouped them by color and shine, not by chemical makeup.

Against the English

KJV, YLT and ESV have "sardius", following the Greek sardion. BSB, NASB and WEB have "ruby". NIV and NLT have "carnelian". A modern reader hears "ruby" as the hard red corundum of modern jewelry, which is probably not what was meant.

How it drifted

"Ruby" came into English versions as a general word for a precious red gem. Today it names one specific mineral.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Septuagint has sardion and the Latin Vulgate sardius. Both are named after Sardis, and both mean the red sard or carnelian of classical jewelry. 'Ōdem heads the list of gems on the king of Tyre's covering "in Eden, the garden of God" (Ezek 28:13). Revelation 21:20 includes sardion among the foundation stones of the new Jerusalem. Carnelian was one of the commonest gemstones in Egypt and Mesopotamia and was routinely carved into seals.

Where it appears

Exodus · 2

  1. Exodus 28:17 אֹ֤דֶם a ruby

    And mount on it a setting of gemstones, four rows of stones: In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald;

    Here: Literally "the red one", from the root meaning red (as in 'ādōm, "red", and Edom). This is a color name, not a mineral species. It was most likely carnelian or sard, a red stone of the quartz family that was common in Egyptian and Near Eastern jewelry and easy to engrave.

  2. Exodus 39:10 אֹ֤דֶם a ruby

    And they mounted on it four rows of gemstones: The first row had a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald;

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 28:13 אֹ֣דֶם ruby

    You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation.

    Here: Named from the word for 'red' ('adom). Most likely carnelian, a common red stone in ancient jewellery, rather than a true ruby.

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