the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Encyclopedias
Pearls
Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
or It is doubtful that pearls are mentioned in the Old Testament. The word gabish, rendered 'pearl' in , appears to mean crystal; and the word peninim, which our version translates by 'rubies,' is now supposed to mean coral [CORAL]. But in the New Testament the pearls are repeatedly mentioned. In , a merchant (traveling jeweler) seeking goodly pearls, finds one pearl of great price, and to be able to purchase it, sells all that he has—all the jewels he had previously secured. In , and , pearls are mentioned as the ornaments of females; in , among costly merchandise; and , the twelve gates of the heavenly Jerusalem are 'twelve pearls.' These intimations seem to indicate that pearls were in more common use among the Jews after than before the captivity, while they evince the estimation in which they were in later times held. The island of Tylos (Bahrein) was especially renowned for its fishery of pearls; the Indian Ocean was also known to produce pearls. Pearls have at all times been esteemed one of the most valuable commodities of the East. Their modest splendor and simple beauty appear to have captivated the Orientals, even more than the dazzling brilliancy of the diamond, and have made them at all times the favorite ornament of despotic princes. In the West, the passion for this elegant luxury was at its height about the period of the extinction of Roman freedom, and they were valued in Rome and Alexandria as highly as precious stones. In Asia this taste was of more ancient date, and may be traced to a period anterior to the Persian dynasty; nor has it ever declined. A string of pearls of the largest size is an indispensable part of the decorations of an Eastern monarch. It was thus that Tippoo was adorned when he fell before the gates of his capital; and it is thus that the present ruler of the Persians is usually decorated.
Public Domain.
Kitto, John, ed. Entry for 'Pearls'. "Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature". https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/kbe/p/pearls.html.
