The lithonyms â®
1 â®ï¬»Ö·×Ö°ï¬»Ö¹× â¬â KadkÅá¸
â®
Isaiah 54:12
â®
×ְשַׂ×Ö°ïÖ´× ï¬»Ö·×Ö°×Ö¹× ï¬ªÖ´×ְשֹׁתַ×Ö´×Ö° וּשְׁעָרַ×Ö´×Ö° ×Ö°×Ö·×Ö°× Öµ× ×Ö¶×§Ö°ï¬³Ö¸× ×Ö°×Ö¸×־גְּ×וּ×Öµ×Ö° ×Ö°×Ö·×Ö°× Öµ×Ö¾×ֵפֶץ â¬â
I will make your battlements of kadÌ kÌ ÅdÌ , your gates of eḳdÄḥ, the whole encircling wall of gems.
Ezekiel 27:16
â®
×Ö²×¨Ö¸× ×¡Ö¹×ַרְïÖµ×Ö° ×Öµ×¨Ö¹× ×ַעֲשָׂ×Ö´×Ö° ï¬±Ö°× Ö¹×¤Ö¶×Ö° ×ַרְגָּ×Ö¸× ×ְרִקְ×Ö¸× ï¬µ×וּץ ×ְרָ××ֹת ×Ö°×Ö·×Ö°ï¬»Ö¹× × Ö¸×ªÖ°× ï¬µ בְּעִ×Ö°××Ö¹× Ö¸×Ö´×Ö°× â¬â
Aram traded with you because of your wealth of merchandise, dealing with you in turquoise, purple dyed-cloth, embroidery, fine linen, seashells, and kadÌ kÅdÌ .
Within Biblical Hebrew, the phonemes /d/ (transcribed â¨â®
â®
Garnet was exported to the international market from mines near Carthage, Caria (Anatolia), India, and the Black Sea region.4
Îλλο δε Ïι Î³á½³Î½Î¿Ï ÎµÏÏá½· λίθÏν á½½ÏÏÎµÏ ÎµÎ¾ ενανÏá½·Ïν ÏεÏÏ Îºá½¹Ï á¼ÎºÎ±Ï ÏÏον á½Î»ÏÏ ,άνθÏαξ ÎºÎ±Î»Î¿á½»Î¼ÎµÎ½Î¿Ï ,εξ Î¿Ï ÎºÎ±Î¹ Ïá½± ÏÏÏαγίδια γλύÏÎ¿Ï Ïιν ,εÏÏ Î¸Ïον μεν ÏÏ ÏÏώμÏιÏι ,ÏÏÎ¿Ï Î´Îµ Ïον ηλιον ÏιθέμενÏν άνθÏÎ±ÎºÎ¿Ï ÎºÎ±Î¹Î¿Î¼ÎµÎ½Î¿Ï Ïοιει ÏÏόαν ,ÏιμιώÏαÏον δ *á½½Ï ÎµÎ¹Ïείν âμικÏόν Î³á½±Ï ÏÏόδÏα ÏεÏÏαÏάκονÏα ÏÏÏ Ïών ,άγεÏαι δε ούÏÎ¿Ï ÎµÎº ÎαÏÏÎ·Î´á½¹Î½Î¿Ï ÎºÎ±Î¹ ÎαÏÏÎ±Î»á½·Î±Ï .ού καίεÏαι δἠό ÏεÏá½· ÎίληÏον γÏÎ½Î¹Î¿ÎµÎ¹Î´á½µÏ á½½Î½ εν ᾦÏÎµÏ ÎºÎ±Î¹ Ïá½± εξάγÏνα ,καλοῦÏι δ *άνθÏακα και ÏούÏον ,ὠκαι Î¸Î±Ï Î¼Î±ÏÏόν εÏÏίν âομοιον Î³á½±Ï ÏÏá½¹Ïον Ïινά και Ïο ÏÎ¿Ï Î±Î´á½±Î¼Î±Î½ÏÎ¿Ï â
But there is another kind of stone which seems to be of an exactly opposite nature, since it cannot be burnt. It is called anthrax, and seals are cut from it; it is red in color, and when it is held towards the sun it has the color of a burning coal. One might say that it has great value; for a very small one costs forty pieces of gold. It is brought from Carthage and Massalia. The stone found near Miletus does not burn; it is angular and there are hexagonal shapes on it. It is also called anthrax, and this is remarkable, for in a way the nature of adamas is similar ⦠5
The traditional etymology of
The variant spellings in Greek and Latin seem to have led to an erroneous association of this gemstone with Carthage, adapted as
ÎαÏÏηδών in Greek and Carthago in Latin from the Phoenician name of the city, â®×§×¨×ª ××שת â¬â âNew Cityâ. Pliny claims that the gemstone carchedonia comes from North Africa (Nat. 37.30.104), but this is probably a mistake resulting from its apparent similarity to GkÎαÏÏηδών and Lat Carthago. Extant manuscripts of Pliny preserve several different variants (charcedonia, calcedonia, calchedonia, and carchedonius), some of which are more similar to the ancient name for Chalcedon than to Carthage. It makes little sense to think that the gemstone denoted by â®ï¬»Ö·×Ö°×Ö¹× â¬â comes from Carthage because Ezek 27:16 lists this gemstone as a product imported by Tyre from the north.6
Chalcedon (Greek
There is a third toponym yet to be proposed as the origin of â®
By the Medieval period, the connection between Alabanda and garnet was so intertwined that the red garnets became known as almandine garnet (Fe2+3Al2Si3O12). Almandine garnet is used to differentiate the original garnet (Fe2+3Al2Si3O12) from other minerals classified within the garnet mineral-class, but gemologically, garnet without a modifier refers to almandine garnet. Garnets can be found in the Menderes Massif in the north of Aydın-Ãine district, around the ancient city of Alabanda, in Caria.11 The geology of Turkey is still poorly investigated, but Lüle-Whipp reports that â[i]n recent excavations the city walls of Alabanda were found to have been built with local migmatitic rocks containing red garnets, but large samples of garnet gems are not yet known in this area.â12 Unfortunately, little geological work has been done in this region to characterize and describe garnets.
If â®
Putting the Carian endonym *Kark- and the Carrian derivational suffix -(u)
2 â®×Ö¶×§Ö°ï¬³Ö¸× â¬â ʾeḳdÄḥ
Whereas â®
â®
×ְשַׂ×Ö°ïÖ´× ï¬»Ö·×Ö°×Ö¹× ï¬ªÖ´×ְשֹׁתַ×Ö´×Ö° וּשְׁעָרַ×Ö´×Ö° ×Ö°×Ö·×Ö°× Öµ× ×Ö¶×§Ö°ï¬³Ö¸× ×Ö°×Ö¸×־גְּ×וּ×Öµ×Ö° ×Ö°×Ö·×Ö°× Öµ×Ö¾×ֵפֶץ â¬â
I will make your battlements of kadÌ kÌ ÅdÌ , your gates of eḳdÄḥ, The whole encircling wall of gems.
The parallelism between â®
Although â®
3 Greek á¼Î½Î¸Ïαξ Anthrax and Latin Carbunculus
The Greek word
4 Ugaritic Pḥm and Akkadian PÄndÈ
Ugaritic pḥm and Akkadian pÄndÈ refer to precious stones that have remained previously unidentified. Although pḥm is often interpreted as a color, it is actually a type of precious stone,15 sometimes used to describe a color via abstraction. Knoppers lists of a number of instances where pḥm designates wool equivalent to Akkadian ḫaÅ¡mÄnu (now identified as amethyst16). The use of precious stones to describe the colors of dyed wool was the norm in the second millennium BCE, most well-known from Akkadian examples.17 Even though pḥm-wool = ḫaÅ¡mÄnu-wool, that does not indicate that pḥm and ḫaÅ¡mÄnu are necessarily exactly the same gemstone. Rather, Ugaritic and Akkadian may have innovated these names for wool colors independently. Whereas ḫaÅ¡mÄnu âamethystâ is purple, it is prudent to consider the identity of pḥm with amethyst more loosely.
Garnets and amethyst may easily have been confused in antiquity. Despite the fact that garnets are archetypically dark red, they also occur in colors closer to purple. As similarly colored transparent stones, garnets and amethysts would be easily confused. Beyond the visual similarity, amethyst and garnet were found in the same Middle Kingdom mine in Egypt.18 Though this mine was not the only source of garnets in the ancient world, the shared source of two highly similar stones would provide an opportune source of confusion for the non-expert tradesman.
There is good reason to believe that Ugaritic pḥm means âgarnetâ and not âamethystâ. Ugaritic pḥm must be compared with Hebrew â®
Akkadian pendÈ (pindÈ) is morphologically similar to Ugaritic pḥm, and like its doppelganger in the west, Akkadian pendÈ (pindÈ) was used to designate an obscure precious stone. Context makes it clear that pendÈ was a red precious stone,19 entirely explicable if identified with garnet. Although the orthography doesnât indicate this directly, etymological considerations suggest that the first vowel should be long (pÄndÈ). The various forms extant throughout the life of Akkadian demonstrate that pendÈ was derived from pÄntu (pÄndu, pÄmtu, peâittu) âcharcoal, embersâ with the nisbe suffix *-Äy (reflected in the long final vowel)20 to generate the meaning âcharcoal-likeâ. Three additional changes occurred to create the various forms extant in Akkadian; voicing of t > d on influence of /m/, backing of m > n on influence of /t/, and assimilation of -nt- to -tt-.
Like Ugaritic pḥm, Akkadian pÄmtu also derives from PS *paḥm- âcharcoalâ on analogy of the other Semitic forms. The feminine suffix -t probably functioned in this word to differentiate pÄmtu âcharcoal, emberâ from pÄmu âthighâ, thus the double-marking of the feminine in pendÈ âgarnetâ. Alongside PS *paḥm- âcharcoalâ, I would reconstruct the derivative term PS *paḥm-(at)-Äy âgarnetâ. Arabic offers a potential candidate for this stem. The Arabic paradigm ÊafÊal- forms color adjectives of the shape 1a23-ÄÊ-u in the feminine, which reconstructs to Proto-Semitic *1a23-Äy-u.21 Thus *paḥm-Äy- may be reconstructed as ancestral of Ugaritic pḥm and Akkadian pendÈ (with the addition of -at in the latter).
5 Historiography
The exegetical history of â®
â®
וּשְׁעָרַ×Ö´×Ö° ×Ö°×Ö·×Ö°× Öµ× ×Ö¶×§Ö°ï¬³Ö¸× ï¬»Ö´× ×Ö¸× ï¬³Ö°×ָתֵ×× ×¨Ö·ï¬±Ö´× ××Ö¹×Ö¸× Ö¸× ×Ö°×§Ö¸× ×ָרֵ×שׁ עָתִ×× ×Ö·ïÖ¸××ֹשׁ בָּרוּ×Ö° ×ï¬µ× ×Ö°×Ö¸×Ö´×× ×Ö²×Ö¸× Ö´×× ××Ö¹××ֹת וּ×ַרְגָּ×ִיּ×ֹת שֶׁ×Öµ× ï¬ªÖ°×ֹשִׁ×× ×¢Ö·× ï¬ªÖ°×ֹשִׁ×× ×Ö°××ֹקֵק בָּ×Ö¶× ×¢Ö¶ï¬«Ö¶×¨ ×¢Ö·× ×¢Ö¶ï¬«Ö°×¨Ö´×× ï¬µ×Ö·×¢Ö²×Ö´××Ö¸× ï¬±Ö°ï¬ªÖ·×¢Ö²×¨Öµ× ×ְרוּשָׁ×Ö·×Ö´× ×Ö´×Ö°×Öµ× ×¢Ö¸×Ö¸×× ××ֹת×Ö¹ ïÖ·×Ö°×Ö´×× ×ַשְׁïÖ¸× ï¬»Ö°×Öµ××¢Ö²×ªÖ¸× ×ְצִ×צְ×Ö¸× ×Ö¸× ×ַשְׁכְּ×Ö´×× Ö·× ï¬»ï¬µï¬¼Öµ× ×Ö·×× ×ַשְׁכְּ×Ö´×× Ö·× ×Ö°×Ö¸×Ö´×× ×ִפְ×Ö´××Ö¸× ×¡Ö°×¤Ö´×× Ö¸×ª×Ö¹ ï¬±Ö·ï¬¹Ö¸× ×Ö²×Ö¸× ×Ö·×Ö°×Ö²×Öµ× ×ַשָּׁרֵת דְּ×ָתְ×Ö´× ×Ö°×§Ö¸× ×Ö°×× Ö·ïÖ°×¨Ö´× ×Ö²×Ö¸× Ö´×× ××Ö¹××ֹת וּ×ַרְגָּ×ִיּ×ֹת שֶׁ×Öµ× ï¬ªÖ°×ֹשִׁ×× ×¢Ö·× ï¬ªÖ°×ֹשִׁ×× ×Ö°×ָקוּק בָּ×Ö¶× ×¢Ö¶ï¬«Ö¶×¨ ï¬±Ö°×¨ï¬µ× ×¢Ö¶ï¬«Ö°×¨Ö´×× ×Ö²×ַר ×Ö°×וּ ×Ö¸× Öµ× ×Ö°×Ö·×× ×Ö²×ַרוּ ×Öµ×הּ שֶׁעָתִ×× ×Ö·ïÖ¸××ֹשׁ בָּרוּ×Ö° ×ï¬µ× ×Ö°×Ö·×¢Ö²×Ö´××Ö¸× ï¬±Ö°ï¬ªÖ·×¢Ö²×¨Öµ× ×ְרוּשָׁ×Ö·×Ö´× ×Ö²×ªÖ¸× ×ְקַמֵּ×הּ ï¬³Ö°×¨Ö·ï¬±Ö´× ××Ö¹×Ö¸× Ö¸× ×Ö²×ַר ×Öµ×הּ דְּר×ֹשׁ ×¨Ö·ï¬±Ö´× ×Ö°×Ö¸ × Ö¸×Ö¶× ×Ö´×ְר×ֹשׁ כַּ×ֲשֶׁר ×Ö¸×ַרְïÖ¸ ï¬»Öµ× ×¨Ö¸×Ö´××ªÖ´× ×Ö¸×ַר ××Ö¹ רֵ××§Ö¸× ×Ö´×Ö°×Ö¸×Öµ× ×Ö¹× ×¨Ö¸×Ö´×תָ ×Ö¹× ×Ö¶×Ö±×Ö·× Ö°ïÖ¸ ×Ö°×Ö·×Ö°×Öµ× ×¢Ö·× ï¬³Ö´×Ö°×¨Öµ× ×Ö²×Ö¸×Ö´×× ×Ö·ïÖ¸× × Ö¸×ªÖ·× ×¢Öµ×× Ö¸×× ï¬±×Ö¹ ×Ö°× Ö·×¢Ö²ï¬«Ö¸× ï¬²Ö·× ï¬ªÖ¶× ×¢Ö²×¦Ö¸××ֹת â¬â
The esoteric reading of rabbinic texts is not an art familiar to most readers,23 so I will offer an explanation of this passage in leu of a literal translation. Rabbi Yoḥanan was expounding Isaiah 54:12, and created an association between â®
It so happens that the original meaning of â®
Establishing the meaning of â®
Because â®
In Egypt, garnet was quite rare until the Ptolomaic period,24 which correlates with the absence of garnet in biblical texts set prior to the eighth-century BCE. This may suggest that this stone was unavailable in Ancient Israel (or at least, unpopular) until the first millennium BCE. The primary source for these garnets was evidently Anatolia, but the geological source is unconfirmed. Hebrew appears to have had at least two words for âgarnetâââ®
Meloni, Carlo. (2021). The Resh Riddle: Identifying The Biblical Hebrew Rhotic (Doctoral dissertation, Tel Aviv University).
Howard, Jonathan. (2022). Phonetic Variance of /d/ and /r/ in Hebrew in Late Antiquity. Journal of Semitic Studies, 67(2), 395â415.
Amar, Zohar, & Lev, Efraim. (2017). Most-cherished gemstones in the medieval Arab world. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 27(3), 377â401.
Adams, Noël. (2011). The garnet millennium: the role of seal stones in garnet studies. Gems of Heaven: Recent Research on Engraved Gemstones in Late Antiquity, London: British Museum, 10â24.
Thoresen, Lisbet. (2017). Archaeogemmology and ancient literary sources on gems and their origins. In Gemstones in the First Millennium AD. Mines, trade, workshops and symbolism. Maguncia, Verlag des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums.
Caley, Earle Radcliffe, and John FC Richards. Theophrastus on stones: Introduction, Greek text, English translation, and commentary. The Ohio State University Press, 1956.
Noonan, Benjamin J. (2019). Non-Semitic Loanwords in the Hebrew Bible: A Lexicon of Language Contact (Vol. 14). Penn State Press. Note 286.
Adiego, Ignacio. (2006). The Carian Language. Brill.
Bachenheimer, Avi. (2018). Old Persian: Dictionary, Glossary and Concordance. John Wiley & Sons.
Teixidor, Javier. (1978). The Aramaic text in the trilingual stele from Xanthus. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 37(2), 181â185.
Pliny 37:25.
Ãoban, Evrim, Cahit Helvaci, and Murat HatipoÄlu. (2014). Mineralogical and gemmological investigations on ancient gemstones in the Caria region (MuÄla) and their relations with rocks and minerals outcropping in the region. In Abstract Book of the 8th International Symposium on Eastern Mediterranean Geology (pp. 13â17).
Lüle-Whipp, C. (2006.) Mineralogical-petrological and geochemical investigation on some garnets from volcanic rocks of Gorece Village-Cumaovasi, Izmir and metamorphites of Menderes Massif and their possible archaeogemological connections. Ph.D. thesis, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
Adiego, Ignacio. (2006). The Carian Language. Brill. 331â332.
Knoppers, Gary N. (1993). Treaty, Tribute List, or Diplomatic Letter: KTU 3.1 Reexamined. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 289(1), 81â94.
Black, Jeremy. (2001). Amethysts. Iraq, 63, 183â186.
Thavapalan, Shiyanthi. (2019). The Meaning of Color in Ancient Mesopotamia. Brill.
Harrell, James A. (2023). Archaeology and Geology of Ancient Egyptian Stones. Archaeopress.
Chicago Assyrian Dictionary. (1956â2011). The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Chicago: Oriental Institute. Entry: pendÈ.
Kogan, Leonid. & Krebernik, Manfred. (2020). Etymological Dictionary of Akkadian. Volume 1 Roots beginning with p and b. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter. 105â106.
Van Putten, Marijn. (2018). The feminine endings *-ay and *-Äy in Semitic and Berber. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 81(2), 205â225.
Fekkes, Jan. (1990). âHis Bride Has Prepared Herselfâ: Revelation 19â21 and Isaian Nuptial Imagery. Journal of Biblical Literature, 109(2), 269â287.
Slifkin, Natan. (2008). Messianic Wonders and Skeptical Rationalists. Hakirah, 6, 197â221.
For readers of an academic background, the best introduction to esoteric writing would be the work of Leo Strauss (see âOn a Forgotten Kind of Writingâ for a brief introduction and âPersecution and the Art of Writingâ for a more detailed description [Bibliography]). However, Straussâ axioms are irreconcilable with the rabbinic worldview, and I recommend his work on esoteric writing only to rebut the common academic misconception which pressumes all texts to be read literally. But contra Strauss, to correctly interpret esoteric rabbinic texts requires years to decades of immersion in the rabbinic intellectual lifestyle. For readers with a yeshiva background, see the writings of Ḥakham José Faur [Bibliography].
Harrell, James A. (2012). Gemstones. UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 1(1).