Edelsteine in der Bibel.

• Author: Cornelius, Izak
• Position: Book Review

Edelsteine in der Bibel. Edited by WOLFGANG ZWICKEL. Mainz: VERLAG PHILLIP VON ZABERN, 2002. Pp. vii + 99, illus. [euro]24.80.

Humankind has always been fascinated by gemstones (precious stones and jewels) that have formed part of the category of "personal art" (Romano 1995). Pliny the Elder called them the concentrated beauty of the world. Such stones also play an important role in the Bible. Gemstones in the Bible was the theme of a small exhibition presented in Germany during 2002 and 2003 in various centers (cf. http://www.dike.de/Frankfurter-Bibelgesellschaft/jdbedelsteine.html) as part of the "Year of the Bible." It was organized by Wolfgang Zwickel, Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Archaeology at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, assisted by other colleagues. The book under discussion here is the Begleitbuch to this exhibition; offering such catalogues is a custom typical of exhibitions in Germany, where such books sell like hotcakes.

The book is divided into eleven chapters: "The World of Gemstones" (Zwickel); "The Mineralogical Analysis of Archaeological Objects" (W. Hoffmeister); "The Making of a Cylinder Seal or Bead" (Zwickel); "Inscribed Seals from Palestine" (R. Lehmann); "The High Priest in the Post-Exilic Period: His Status and Garb" (Zwickel); "Colors in the Ancient World" (Zwickel); "The Meaning of the Breastplate of the High Priest" (Zwickel); "The Date of the Breastplate of the High Priest" (Zwickel); "The Precious Stones in the Breastplate and in the Heavenly Jerusalem" (Zwickel); "The Heavenly Jerusalem" (Otto Bacher); and "The Reception (Wirkungsgeschichte) of the Heavenly Jerusalem" (Otto Bacher). There are bibliographical references and a list of bibliographical sources for the articles on the breastplate of the high priest and the heavenly Jerusalem, inscribed seals from Palestine, and colors in the ancient world.

The most important contributions to this semi-academic popular book are by Zwickel on the stones of the high priest and the heavenly Jerusalem, the chapter by Lehmann, and those by Bacher which contribute to the study of the reception of biblical motifs.

Zwickel researches the identification of the twelve gemstones representing the twelve tribes of Israel on the breastplate (Exod. 28:17-20 and 39:10-13) by looking at the Septuagint, Vulgate, Josephus and later Bible translations, descriptions in Pliny, other biblical references (cf. Ezek. 28:13, where there are nine references to the...