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Bible Dictionaries
Ivory
American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
or Mentioned in the reign of Solomon, and referred to in Psalm 45:1-17 , as used in decorating palaces. Solomon, who traded to India, brought thence elephants and ivory to Judea. "For the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish, with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold and silver and ivory," 1 Kings 10:22 2 Chronicles 9:21 . Solomon had a throne decorated with ivory, and inlaid with gold, these beautiful materials relieving the splendor and heightening the luster of each other, 1 Kings 10:18 . Ivory, as is well known, is the substance of the tusks of elephants, and hence it is always called in Hebrew, tooth.
As to the "ivory houses," 1 Kings 22:39 Amos 3:15 , they may have had ornaments of ivory, as they sometimes have of gold, silver, or other precious materials, in such abundance as to be named from the article of their decoration; as the emperor Nero's palace was named aurea, or golden, because overlaid with gold. This method of ornamenting buildings or apartments was very ancient among the Greeks, and is mentioned by Homer. See Ezekiel 27:6,15 Amos 6:4 Revelation 18:12 .
These files are public domain and are a derivative of the topics are from American Tract Society Bible Dictionary published in 1859.
Rand, W. W. Entry for 'Ivory'. American Tract Society Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ats/i/ivory.html. 1859.
