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The Religious Use of Various Stones: Joseph

Of the tribe Joseph, we are told that it was to be increased, and this meaning is contained in the name itself, which is rendered: "May God add." To Joseph were promised "blessings of heaven above," and "blessings of the deep that lieth under." The sapphire, probably the tribal stone of Joseph, was known in ancient times by the name hyacinth and was a stone of good omen, bringing increase of health and wealth; therefore its significance as a tribal gem does not differ essentially from the traditional one.

Benjamin signifies "son of the right hand," hence this name denotes strength and power. This meaning accords well with what is said in Jacob's blessing: "Benjamin shall raven as a wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey and at night he shall divide the spoil." The banded agate symbolizing this tribe would have the meaning "strength" and "mastery"; indeed, according to other sources the agate was reputed to bring victory to the wearer. Dan is the "judge" among the tribes, according to the meaning of the name. In Jacob's blessing Dan is said to be "a serpent by the way," and "an adder in the path." These metaphors, which may not strike us as commendatory of the tribe, probably indicated the craft and courage of the tribesmen in attacking and defeating their foes, and enriching themselves with the spoils of war. The amethyst, as the tribal stone of Dan, could thus signify both "judgment" and "craft."

To the tribe of Gad was given the beryl, and the fact that spheres made from this stone were believed to be best adapted for use in crystal-gazing makes it an especially appropriate gem for the tribe of "good fortune," this being the most probable signification of the name "Gad," although in the Bible the interpretation "a troop," is given. The beryl would therefore signify "good luck" and perhaps also "cooperation."

The twelfth and last tribe, Asher, has the jasper for its gem. This would also gain an auspicious significance from its association with Asher, which means "happy." To the other meanings assigned to jasper might be added that of "happiness." As we have elsewhere remarked, there seems good reason to suppose that jade was frequently designated jasper in ancient times, and this stone was everywhere believed to possess wonderful magic powers. The jasper as an emblem of strength and fortitude is noted by St. Jerome in his commentary on Isaiah (liv, 11, 12), where he writes that the bulwarks or walls of the Holy City were strengthened by jasper. These bulwarks served "to overthrow and refute every proud attack against the knowledge of God, and to subject falsehood to truth. Whoever, therefore, is most convincing in debate and best fortified with texts of Holy Scripture is a bulwark of the Church." Jerome also alludes to the variety of jasper called grammatias, because of the peculiar markings, suggesting letters of the alphabet. This was believed to possess great talismanic virtue, especially in putting to flight phantoms and apparitions, since the markings were thought to signify some potent spell, written on the stone by nature's hand. Of another kind of jasper, "white as snow or seafoam," and having reddish stains, we are told that it symbolizes the spiritual graces, which preserve those endowed with them from vain terrors; and the learned Father quotes as descriptive of this stone the words of Solomon's Song (v, 10): "My beloved is white and ruddy." Writing of the sapphire (lapis lazuli), one of the foundation stones of the Holy City, St. Jerome likens it to heaven and to the air above us, adding, somewhat fancifully, that we might apply to the sapphire the words of Socrates in the "Clouds" of Aristophanes: "I walk upon air and look down upon the Sun." Turning then to Holy Scripture, Jerome notes the well-known passage in Ezekiel (i, 26) where the Throne of God is said to have "the appearance of a sapphire stone," and finds in this text a proof that blue denoted the glory of God. The ingenuity of the ancient commentators in finding hidden meanings in the simplest things is well shown by the assertion of Thomas de Cantimpre that St. John placed the emerald fourth in the list of foundation stones, because the four evangelists are constant in their praise of chastity. Certain gems and stones have a definite relation and appropriateness to the various religious holidays and festivals. Notable among these is the rhodonite, a silicate of magnesia, named from the Greek word rhodon, "a rose," because of its beautiful rose-pink hue. This is found more especially in the Ural Mountains, and in Massachusetts, but in a number of other places as well. In the Ural Mountains one single mass was so immense that ninety horses were needed to move the 22-ton weight a distance of thirty miles to the Imperial Lapidary Works at Ekaterineburg; here the material was cut up into smaller masses to be finally worked up in the Imperial Lapidary Works at Peterhof into a sarcophagus and tomb for the Emperor Nicholas I.

This stone is a great favorite in Russia, and is frequently cut into egg-shaped ornaments, either in the form of a simple egg, or of one with a halo and a moonstone effect at one end. It may well be termed the "Easter Stone." For those unable to afford such an egg-shaped piece of rhodonite, a yellow fibrous gypsum or satinspar cut into a similar form may be substituted. Jade cut in the same way is also sometimes favored, as well as many varieties of rock-crystal.

In marked contrast with the joyful festival of Easter stands the most solemn day of the Christian year, Good Friday, and for this day also we have a singularly appropriate stone, the variety of jasper known as the bloodstone. Here the red markings can be regarded as symbolical of the blood of Our Lord, shed for the salvation of mankind in the supreme sacrifice of the Passion. When the head of the Christ is cut in this stone it is often possible to utilize the red spots to figure the drops of blood flowing from the wounds inflicted by the Crown of Thorns.

With the glad tidings of Christmas Day is intimately associated the memory of the Star of Bethlehem, which served as a beacon light to guide the three wise men of the East to the humble manger wherein reposed the newly-born Saviour of the World. Hence for this great Christian festival no gem can equal the star-sapphire, combining as it does the pure sapphire-hue, always looked upon as symbolic of the highest moral, spiritual, and religious sentiments, and the mysterious moving star, which, shifting its apparent place with the slightest movement of the stone, seems endowed with a wonderful independent life, just as the phenomenal star of Bethlehem, unlike the fixed and changeless stars of the firmament, glided through the heavenly expanse, by a miraculous motion, due indeed to some supernatural law, but differing in kind and degree from all the usual, every-day aspects of nature.

The symbolism of precious stones presented in so many different ways by the early ecclesiastical writers appears in the prayer offered by the Archbishop of Canterbury at the coronation of the kings and queens of England. While the king kneels upon a footstool, the archbishop takes St. Edward's Crown and lays it upon the altar; whereupon he pronounces the following words: O, God, the crown of the faithful, who on the heads of Thy saints placed crowns of glory, bless and sanctify this crown, that as the same is adorned with divers precious stones, so this Thy servant, wearing it, may be replenished of Thy grace, with the manifold gifts of all precious virtues, through the King eternal, Thy Son our Lord. Amen.