Marble
Marble
(, Lat. marmor; from , sparkle, glisten)
Marble is the name given to any limestone which is sufficiently close in texture to admit of being polished. It is mentioned as part of the merchandise of Babylon, i.e. Rome (Rev 18:12). It began to be used there for the adornment of buildings about the beginning of the 1st cent. b.c. For a time such luxury was viewed with jealousy by stern republicans (Pliny, Historia Naturalis (Pliny) xxxvi. 7), but the Empire effected a great change of sentiment, and Augustus boasted, not without reason, that he found Rome of brick and left it of marble (Suet. Octav. xxix.). The Emperor obtained this result, seconded by his friend and minister, Agrippa, and succeeded in leaving behind him truly a city of marble, to which the Pantheon bears sufficient witness (Mary W. Porter, What Rome was built with, 1907, p. 7). While the white marble of Luna (near the modern Carrara), Hymettus, Pentelicus, and Paros was used for statuary, many varieties of coloured marble were available for architecture. See, further, article Rome.
Literature.-F. Corsi, Delle pietre antiche, Rome, 1845; G. P. Merrill, Stones for Building and Decoration3, New York, 1903.
James Strahan.
Fuente: Dictionary of the Apostolic Church
Marble
is the rendering in the Auth.Vers. of two forms of the same Heb. word, and is thought by some to be signified by others differently rendered. (shesh, Est 1:6, Sept. ; Son 5:15, Sept. ), or (sha’yish, 1Ch 29:2, Sept. ), so called from its whiteness, undoubtedly refer to a pure kind of marble, (Rev 18:12). Primary limestone, or marble, is a simple rock, consisting of carbonate of lime. In its pure state, it is granular, crystalline, and of a color varying from pure white to gray and yellowish. It is sometimes found in irregular masses, or beds, or large nodules, with little or no appearance of stratification; more generally, however, it is regularly stratified, and these strata alternate with other rocks, and are of all varieties of thickness. The texture varies from a highly crystalline, of a larger or finer grain, to a compact and even earthy. Other substances are sometimes combined with the simple rock, which modify its appearance and texture, such as mica, quartz, hornblende. It is never found in veins, except in the form of regular crystals, and, in this respect, it exactly resembles quartz. There is considerable difficulty in drawing the line of distinction between the primary and secondary limestones, where the latter do not happen to contain organic remains. In the primary limestone, strictly speaking, no organic remains have yet been discovered. With one or two exceptions, and as a general rule, it may be said, they, like the primary schists, are almost destitute of organic bodies. Like the strata which it accompanies, beds of limestone are often bent and contorted, evidently from disturbance below. The colors vary from a pure white, which constitutes the statuary marble, to various shades of gray, brown, black, and green. These tints are derived from a carbonaceoas matter or oxide of iron, or an admixture of other minerals.
Several other terms occur in Est 1:6, as the names of stones in the pavement of the magnificent hall in which Ahasuerus feasted the princes of his empire. That rendered white marble, is , dar, which some take to signify Parian marble, others white marble; but nothing certain is known about it. In Arabic, the word dar signifies a large pearl. Now pearls were certainly employed by the ancients in decorating the walls of apartments in royal palaces, but that pearls were also used in the pavements of even regal dining-rooms is improbable in itself, and unsupported by any known example. The Septuagint refers the Hebrew word to a stone resembling pearls ( ), by which, as J. D. Michaelis conjectures, it intends to denote the Alabastrites of Pliny (Hist. Nat. 36:7, 8), which is a kind of alabaster with the gloss of mother-of-pearl. SEE ALABASTER.
The (bahat’; Sept. , red marble) of the same passage was, Gesenius thinks, the verdeantique, or half-porphyry of Egypt. The . (soche’reth; Sept. , black marble) is likewise there mentioned with the other kinds of marble for forming a pavement. Gesenius says, perhaps tortoiseshell. Others, from the rendering of the Syriac, think it refers to black marble. It was probably some spotted variety of marble. SEE MINERALOGY.
The pavement in the palace of Ahasuerus was no doubt of mosaic work, the floors of the apartments being laid with painted tiles or slabs of marble, in the same way as Dr. Russell describes the houses of the wealthy in modern times. In these a portion of the pavement of the courts is of mosaic, and it is usually that part which lies between the fountain and the arched alcove on the south side that is thus beautified. SEE HOUSE.
The marble pillars and tesserae of various colors of the palace at Susa came doubtless from Persia itself, where marble of various colors is found, especially in the province of Hamadan, Susiana (Marco Polo, Travels, p. 78, ed. Bohn; Chardin, Voy. 3:280, 308, 358, and 8:253; P. della Valle, Viagg i, 2:250). The so-called marble of Solomon’s architectural works, which Josephus calls , may thus have been limestone (a) from near Jerusalem; (b) from Lebanon (Jura limestone), identical with the material of the Sun Temple at Baalbek; or (c) white marble from Arabia or elsewhere (Josephus, Ant. 8:3, 2; Diod. Sic. 2:52; Pliny, H. N. 36:12; Jamieson, Mineralogy, p. 41; Raiumer, Pal. p. 28; Volney, Trav. 2:241; Kitto, Plays. Geogr. of Pal. p. 73, 88; Robinson, 2:493; 3:508; Stanley, S. and P. p. 307, 424; Wellsted. Trav. 1:426; 2:143). That this stone was not marble seems probable from the remark of Josephus, that whereas Solomon constructed his buildings of white stone,’ he caused the roads which led to Jerusalem to be made of black stone,’ probably the black basalt of the Hauran; and also from his account of the porticoes of Herod’s temple, which he says were (Josephus, Ant. 1. c., and War, v. 5, 1, 6; Kitto, ut sup. p. 74, 75, 80, 89). But whether the costly stone’ employed in Solomon’s buildings was marble or not, it seems clear, from the expressions both of Scripture and Josephus, that some, at least, of the great stones,’ whose weight can scarcely have been less than forty tons, must have come from Lebanon (1Ki 5:14-18; 1Ki 7:10; Josephus, Ant. 8:2, 9). There can be no doubt that Herod, both in the Temple and elsewhere, employed Parian or other marble. Remains of marble columns still exist in abundance at Jerusalem (Josephus, Ant. 15:9, 4, 6, and 11,3, 5; Williams, Holy City, 2:330; Sandys, p. 190; Robinson, 1:301, 305). SEE STONE.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Marble
as a mineral, consists of carbonate of lime, its texture varying from the highly crystalline to the compact. In Esther 1:6 there are four Hebrew words which are rendered marble:, (1.) Shesh, “pillars of marble.” But this word probably designates dark-blue limestone rather than marble. (2.) Dar, some regard as Parian marble. It is here rendered “white marble.” But nothing is certainly known of it. (3.) Bahat, “red marble,” probably the verd-antique or half-porphyry of Egypt. (4.) Sohareth, “black marble,” probably some spotted variety of marble. “The marble pillars and tesserae of various colours of the palace at Susa came doubtless from Persia itself, where marble of various colours is found, especially in the province of Hamadan Susiana.” The marble of Solomon’s architectural works may have been limestone from near Jerusalem, or from Lebanon, or possibly white marble from Arabia. Herod employed Parian marble in the temple, and marble columns still exist in great abundance at Jerusalem.
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Marble
MARBLE.See Mining and Metals.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Marble
marb’l (, shayish, , shesh, , ‘abhne shayish, stones of marble (1Ch 29:2); , ricpath bahat wa-shesh we-dhar we-sohareth, a pavement of red, and white, and yellow, and black marble, or, according to the margin, a pavement of porphyry, and white marble, and alabaster, and stone of blue color (Est 1:6); , ammudhe shesh, pillars of marble (Est 1:6; Son 5:15); compare , shesh, the King James Version margin silk or the Revised Version (British and American) fine linen (Gen 41:42; Exo 25:4, etc.); , shoshannm, lilies (Son 2:16, etc.), apparently from a root signifying white; , marmaros, marble (Rev 18:12)): Marble is properly crystalline limestone, usually pure white or veined with black, the former being in demand for statuary, while the latter is used in architecture, especially for floors and pillars. True marble is not found in Palestine, but is obtained from Greece or Italy. Much of the stone described as marble is non-crystalline limestone capable of being smoothed and polished. White or yellow stone of this character is abundant in Palestine. Non-crystalline rocks of other colors are also sometimes called marble. In the passage from Esther cited above (compare margin), it is a question whether the reference is to marble and other stones or to marble of different colors. In 1Ch 29:2, marble stones are mentioned among the materials brought together by David for the building of the temple. In Est 1:6, pillars and a pavement of marble are features of the palace of Ahasuerus. In Son 5:15, the various parts of the body of the beloved are likened to gold, beryl, ivory, sapphire, and marble. In Rev 18:12, marble occurs in the list of the merchandise of Babylon. All these references imply a costly stone, and therefore probably one imported from other countries, and make it likely that true crystalline marble is meant.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Marble
The well-known stone that takes a high polish. It was used in Solomon’s temple, and there were pillars of marble in the Persian palace. Babylon, or Papal Rome, in her luxury imported marble. 1Ch 29:2; Est 1:6; Son 5:15; Rev 18:12.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Marble
In the temple
1Ch 29:2
Pillars of
Est 1:6; Son 5:15
Merchandise of
Rev 18:12
Mosaics of
Est 1:6
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Marble
Marble. The Hebrew, shesh, the generic term for marble, may probably be taken to mean almost any shining stone. The so-called marble of Solomon’s architectural works may thus have been limestone. There can be no doubt that Herod, both in the Temple and elsewhere, employed Parian or other marble. The marble pillars and tesserae of various colors of the palace at Susa came doubtless from Persia. Est 1:8.
Fuente: Smith’s Bible Dictionary
MARBLE
1Ch 29:2; Est 1:6; Rev 18:12
Fuente: Thompson Chain-Reference Bible
Marble
primarily denoted any “glistering stone” (from maraino, “to glisten”); hence, “marble,” Rev 18:12.
Fuente: Vine’s Dictionary of New Testament Words
Marble
, 1Ch 29:2; Est 1:6; Son 5:15; a valuable kind of stone, of a texture so hard and compact, and of a grain so fine, as readily to take a beautiful polish. It is dug out of quarries in large masses, and is much used in buildings, ornamental pillars, &c. Marble is of different colours, black, white, &c; and is sometimes elegantly clouded and variegated. The stone mentioned in the places cited above is called the stone of sis or sish: the LXX and Vulgate render it Parian stone, which was remarkable for its bright white colour. Probably the cliff Ziz, 2Ch 20:16, was so called from being a marble crag: the place was afterward called Petra. The variety of stones, , , , , mentioned in the pavement of Ahasuerus, might be marble of different colours. The ancients sometimes made pavements wherein were set very valuable stones.
Fuente: Biblical and Theological Dictionary
Marble
Son 5:15 (c) This beautiful stone is a symbol of strength, vigor, stamina and symmetry. Soldiers, prize fighters, sailors, mountain climbers and foot travelers know the need of strong, durable legs. The picture is given to us by Solomon to represent the Lord JESUS who would always walk with us and never tire. He would fight for us and never lose. He would go with us and never fail.