Hebrew word · H3095

יַהֲלֹם

veyahalom

jasper

A precious stone, found only in Exodus 28:18, 39:11 and Ezekiel 28:13. BDB connects it with the verb halam, 'to strike, hammer', which would make it the 'striking' or very hard stone. The etymology is suggestive, not proven.

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

What it means

1) a precious stone (known for its hardness)

1a) perhaps the jasper, onyx, or diamond

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 39:11

Range of meaning

A precious stone, found only in Exodus 28:18, 39:11 and Ezekiel 28:13. BDB connects it with the verb halam, 'to strike, hammer', which would make it the 'striking' or very hard stone. The etymology is suggestive, not proven.

Against the English

KJV, YLT, ESV, NASB and BSB say 'diamond'. NIV and WEB say 'emerald'. NLT and NRSV choose a 'moonstone'. The ancient versions say 'jasper'. The Strong's gloss supplied here is 'jasper', which follows the ancient Greek and Latin.

How it drifted

In medieval Jewish usage yahalom came to mean diamond, and that is still its meaning in modern Hebrew. The KJV tradition took over that later meaning. For the time of Exodus it is very unlikely. Diamonds were essentially unknown in the ancient Near East before contact with India in the Hellenistic period. Also, every breastpiece stone had a tribal name cut into it 'like the engravings of a seal' (39:14), which is impractical in diamond with ancient tools.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint has iaspis, jasper, an opaque coloured quartz that was widely used for seals in Egypt and the Near East. The Vulgate has iaspis and Josephus lists a jasper in this row (his order differs). Ezekiel 28:13 includes it among the Eden stones of the king of Tyre.

Where it appears

Exodus · 2

  1. Exodus 28:18 וְיָהֲלֹֽם׃ and an emerald

    in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond;

  2. Exodus 39:11 וְיָהֲלֹֽם׃ and an emerald

    the second row had a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond;

    Here: 'And yahalom,' the third stone. The word may come from a root meaning 'to strike, hammer', which suggests a very hard stone, and that is why medieval and modern Hebrew use it for 'diamond'. The ancient Greek and Latin translations read 'jasper'. A stone engraved with a tribe's name in this period was very unlikely to be a diamond.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 28:13 וְיָהֲלֹ֗ם and emerald

    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: Possibly from a root meaning 'to strike,' suggesting a hard stone. KJV/BSB 'diamond' follows later Hebrew usage. Ancient gem-cutters could not cut diamonds, so it was probably jasper, onyx or a similar stone.

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