פְּנִינִים

From the study of Proverbs 8:11

Range of meaning

A luxury material that is always plural and always used as the top example of value: Job 28:18, Proverbs 3:15, 8:11, 20:15, 31:10, and Lamentations 4:7. Lamentations 4:7 says the nobles' bodies were 'more ruddy (red) than peninim', which points to a reddish material. For that reason many scholars (HALOT, BDB as one option, Fox) favour red coral. Others suggest pearls, and the older tradition says 'rubies'.

Against the English

KJV, BSB, NIV and NLT say 'rubies'. ESV and NASB say 'jewels'. 'Rubies' gives a specific gemstone that the Hebrew does not clearly name. 'Jewels' is vaguer but safer.

How it drifted

'Rubies' goes back to medieval Jewish interpretation and entered English through the 16th–17th-century Bibles. It matched the redness in Lamentations 4:7 but named a stone (red corundum) whose use in Iron Age Israel is doubtful.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint has 'costly stones' (lithōn polytelōn), and the Vulgate (the Latin translation) has 'all most precious things'. Neither translation is sure of the exact item. Coral from the Red Sea and Mediterranean and pearls from the Persian Gulf were both high-value trade goods in the ancient world.

From the study of Proverbs 31:10

Range of meaning

A costly luxury material, always plural. Lamentations 4:7 calls it red ("their bodies were ruddier than pənînîm"), so many lexicons, including HALOT, suggest red coral. Jewish tradition and some scholars prefer pearls. It cannot be identified with certainty.

Against the English

KJV, BSB, NIV, NLT and WEB have "rubies". ESV and NASB have "jewels". Others have "pearls" or "corals". "Rubies" is a guess shaped by the red colour. True corundum rubies were probably not a known trade good in ancient Israel.

How it drifted

English translators wanted a familiar, very valuable red gem, and the word's identity was already uncertain. "Rubies" became standard through the KJV tradition.

Used elsewhere in the period

Job 28:18 ("the price of wisdom is above pənînîm"); Prov 3:15; 8:11; 20:15; Lam 4:7. The Septuagint here has "costly stones". The Vulgate reads the line differently (see textual notes).

From the study of Proverbs 3:15

Range of meaning

A luxury item whose exact identity is uncertain. It occurs only in the plural, in Job 28:18, Prov 3:15; 8:11; 20:15; 31:10 and Lam 4:7. Proposed meanings: red coral, which fits Lam 4:7, where Jerusalem's nobles were 'more ruddy in body than pənînîm'; pearls, the medieval Jewish tradition and some modern lexicons; or a general word for 'jewels'.

Against the English

KJV, BSB, WEB and YLT say 'rubies'. Some modern versions say 'jewels', which is less specific and safer. Ruby, the red gem corundum, is not clearly attested in Iron Age Israel, so 'rubies' is a translator's guess, probably prompted by the reddish color in Lam 4:7.

How it drifted

The KJV tradition fixed on 'rubies' and later versions inherited it. The color clue in Lamentations supports something red, but coral is the more likely red luxury of the ancient eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea world.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lam 4:7 links the word with ruddiness. The Septuagint does not name a stone and generalizes: 'costly stones' (lithōn polytelōn). Red coral was widely traded in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean as jewelry and inlay.