(Heb gabish, Job 28:18; Gr. margarites, Mt 7:6; 13:46; Re 21:21). The pearl oyster is found in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. Its shell is the "mother of pearl," which is of great value for ornamental purposes (1Ti 2:9; Re 17:4). Each shell contains eight or ten pearls of various sizes.

gabish. Job 28:18. Literally, "ice"; "what is frozen", as in 13/11/type/diaglott'>Eze 13:11,13; 38:22 with "stones." So translated "crystal." In Eze 38:17, zekukit translated "glass" for "crystal." The orientals anciently valued the rock crystal for its beauty and pure luster. In the New Testament margaritoee mean "pearls" (Mt 13:45-46; 1Ti 2:9; Re 17:4; 18:12,16; 21:21). In Mt 7:16, "neither cast your pearls before swine," the pearls resemble peas or acorns, their natural food; so the swine, finding them not so, turn against the giver and rend him. Saving counsels offered to the swinish sensualist only provoke his filthiness and profanity (Pr 23:9; 9:8).

The godly love even the sharp rebuke which heals their souls (Pr 15:31; Ps 141:5; Job 13:23; Isa 39:8, Hezekiah; the Virgin, Joh 2:4-5; Ga 2:14; 2Pe 3:16. Peter). He that is filthy must be filthy still. Pearls are accidental concretions within certain molluscs, especially the Avicula margaritifera found in the Indian ocean and Persian gulf and Pacific. Some foreign substance, introduced naturally or artificially, as a sandgrain, an egg, a parasite, or minute shell, forms the nucleus round which the surface of the mantle deposits nacreous or calcareous matter in thin layers, which hardening forms a shelly coat on the inner side of the valves. A pearl is an abnormal shell, reversed, i.e. the lustrous nacreous coat is external.

References in OT are uncertain. In Job 28:10 g

In Job 28:18 the word is gabish, which signifies 'ice' and hence 'crystal.' In the N.T. ?????????? is from 'to glisten, shine,' and perhaps refers to pearls, such as are discovered in shells of various species. They are mentioned three times as distinct from precious stones. Re 17:4; 18:12,16. They were worn as an ornament by women. 1Ti 2:9. Metaphorically the term applies to anything costly: things which should not be cast before swine. Mt 7:6. The gates of the heavenly Jerusalem were each of one pearl. Re 21:21. In the parable of the one Pearl of Great Price the Lord is represented as selling all that He had (as man and Messiah) in order to become its possessor. Mt 13:45-46. It implies the unique character of the church in the eyes of Christ.

(Heb. gabish). The Hebrew word in

Job 28:18

probably means "crystal." Pearls, however are frequently mentioned in the New Testament,

Mt 13:45; 1Ti 2:9; Re 17:4; 21:21

and were considered by the ancients among the most precious of gems, and were highly esteemed as ornaments. The kingdom of heaven is compared to a "pearl of great price." In

Mt 7:6

pearls are used metaphorically for anything of value, or perhaps more especially for "wise sayings." (The finest specimens of the pearl are yielded by the pearl oyster (Avicula margaritifera), still found in abundance in the Persian Gulf and near the coasts of Ceylon, Java and Sumatra. The oysters grow in clusters on rocks in deep water, and the pearl is found inside the shell, and is the result of a diseased secretion caused by the introduction of foreign bodies, as sand, etc., between the mantle and the shell. They are obtained by divers trained to the business. March or April is the time for pearl fishing. A single shell sometimes yields eight to twelve pearls. The size of a good Oriental pearl varies from that of a pea to about three times that size. A handsome necklace of pearls the size of peas is worth $15,000. Pearls have been valued as high as $200,000 or $300,000 apiece.--ED.)

PEARL, a hard, white, shining body, usually roundish, found in a shell fish resembling an oyster. The oriental pearls have a fine polished gloss, and are tinged with an elegant blush of red. They are esteemed in the east beyond all other jewels.