Onyx in the Bible 

Did you know that the onyx stone is mentioned 11 times in the Bible? Onyx is first mentioned in the Book of Genesis: “And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone” (2:12). It is then mentioned 7 times in the Book of Exodus, where the Onyx is set in the ephod and the breastplate of the priests of Israel. The ephod was an article of clothing worn by the priests of Israel. King David is said to have danced before the Ark of the Covenant wearing an ephod. The breastplate was adorned with jewels like the onyx and worn by the High Priest in the Holy Place inside the Temple. The onyx was to be placed on the fourth row of the breastplate, along with a beryl stone and jasper and they were to be encased in gold. [Featured Above: Onyx Cross Pendant for men in 14k gold from Apples of Gold].

Onyx is then mentioned in 1 Chronicles 29:2 in which David prepares precious stones and materials to build the house of God through his son Solomon, who would later build the Temple: “Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.” [Featured Above: “Black Onyx Cross Ring for Men” from Apples of Gold].

The Book of Job mentions the onyx stone. Speaking of wisdom, Job declares: “It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire” (Job 28:16). Speaking of God’s blessing to man, the Book of Ezekiel re-affirms the bountiful provision of God to man first mentioned in the Book of Genesis: “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created” (28:13). [See more Black Onyx Jewelry].

Category: Christian Jewelry, Gemstone Jewelry, Jewelry History, Jewelry in the Bible