Reference: Stone
American
The allusion in Re 2:17 may be to the practice at the Olympic games of giving the successful competitor a white stone, inscribed with his name and the value of his prize; or to the mode of balloting with black and white stones on the question of the acquittal of an accused person, or his admission to certain privileges; if the stones deposited in the urn by the judges were all white, the decision was favorable. In early ages, flint-stone knives were in common use, instead of steel, Ex 4:25; Jos 5:2. It was also customary to raise a heap or mound of stones in commemoration of any remarkable event, Ge 31:46; Jos 4:5-7; 7:26; 8:29; 2Sa 18:17. The same custom still prevails in Syria, and passing travellers are wont to add each one a stone to the heap. See CORNER STONE.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Jacob will say to his brethren, Gather stones; and they will take stones and make a heap; and they will eat there upon the heap.
And Zipporah will take a stone, and will cut off the uncircumcision her son, and will come to his feet, and will say, For a spouse of bloods, thou to me.
And Joshua will say to them, Pass ye over before the ark of Jehovah your God into the midst of Jordan, and lift up to you each one stone upon his shoulder according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel: So that this shall be a sign in the midst of you, when your sons shall ask to-morrow, saying, What these stones to you? read more. And say ye to them that the waters of Jordan were cut off from before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; in its passing through Jordan the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones were for a remembrance to the sons of Israel even to forever.
In that time Jehovah said to Joshua, Make to thee swords of stone, and turning back, circumcise the sons of Israel the second time
And they will raise up upon him a great heap of stones even till this day. And Jehovah will turn back from the wrath of his anger: for this, the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, even to this day.
And the king of Ai he hung upon the tree till the time of evening: and when the sun went down Joshua commanded and they will take down his carcass from the tree and cast it at the opening of the gate of the city, and they will set upon it a great heap of stones till this day.
He having ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches; To him conquering will I give to eat from the hidden manna, and I will give him a white small stone, and upon the small stone a new name written, which none knew except he receiving.
Easton
Stones were commonly used for buildings, also as memorials of important events (Ge 28:18; Jos 24:26-27; 1Sa 7:12, etc.). They were gathered out of cultivated fields (Isa 5:2; comp. 2Ki 3:19). This word is also used figuratively of believers (1Pe 2:4-5), and of the Messiah (Ps 118:22; Isa 28:16; Mt 21:42; Ac 4:11, etc.). In Da 2:45 it refers also to the Messiah. He is there described as "cut out of the mountain." (See Rock.)
A "heart of stone" denotes great insensibility (1Sa 25:37).
Stones were set up to commemorate remarkable events, as by Jacob at Bethel (Ge 28:18), at Padan-aram (Ge 35:4), and on the occasion of parting with Laban (Ge 31:45-47); by Joshua at the place on the banks of the Jordan where the people first "lodged" after crossing the river (Jos 6:8), and also in "the midst of Jordan," where he erected another set of twelve stones (Jos 4:1-9); and by Samuel at "Ebenezer" (1Sa 7:12).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Jacob will rise early in the morning, and take the stone which he put at his head, and will set it a pillar, and pour oil upon its head.
And Jacob will rise early in the morning, and take the stone which he put at his head, and will set it a pillar, and pour oil upon its head.
And Jacob will take a stone and raise up a pillar. And Jacob will say to his brethren, Gather stones; and they will take stones and make a heap; and they will eat there upon the heap. read more. And Laban will call it the heap of testimony, and Jacob called it the heap of witness.
And they will give to Jacob all the strange gods which are in their hand and the earrings which are in their ears, and Jacob will hide them under the turpentine tree which is in Shechem.
And it shall be as all the people finished passing over Jordan, and Jehovah will say to Joshua, Take to you from the people twelve men, one man, one man from a tribe; read more. And command ye them, saying, Take up to you from hence out of the midst of Jordan from the firm standing of the feet of the priests, twelve stones, and pass them over with you, and deposit them in the lodging place where ye shall remain in it the night. And Joshua will call to the twelve men whom he prepared from the sons of Israel, one man, one man from a tribe: And Joshua will say to them, Pass ye over before the ark of Jehovah your God into the midst of Jordan, and lift up to you each one stone upon his shoulder according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel: So that this shall be a sign in the midst of you, when your sons shall ask to-morrow, saying, What these stones to you? And say ye to them that the waters of Jordan were cut off from before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; in its passing through Jordan the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones were for a remembrance to the sons of Israel even to forever. And the sons of Israel will do so as Joshua commanded, and they will lift up the twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as Jehovah spake to Joshua according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel, and they will pass them over with them to the lodging place, and they will deposit them there. And Joshua raised up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place of the standing of the feet of the priest lifting up the ark of the covenant: and they shall be there till this day.
And it will be as Joshua said to the people, and the seven priests lifting up the seven trumpets of alarms before Jehovah, passed by and clanged upon the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah went after them.
And Joshua will write these words in the book of the law of God, and he will take a great stone and will set it up there under the oak which is in the holy place of Jehovah. And Joshua will say to all the people, Behold, this stone shall be to us for a testimony, for it heard all the sayings of Jehovah which he spake with us: and it was to you for a testimony lest ye shall lie to your God.
And Samuel will take one stone and set between Mizpeh and between Shen, and he will call its name the Stone of Help; and he will say, Till now Jehovah helped us.
And it will be in the morning in the wine coming forth from Nabal, and his wife will announce to him these words, and his heart will die in the midst of him, and he was for a stone.
And strike ye every fortified city and every chosen city, and every good tree ye shall cause it to fall, and all the fountains of water ye shall shut up, and every good part ye shall mar with stones.
The stone the builders refused will be for the head of the corner.
And he will dig it up, and he will free it from stones, and he will plant it with a vine of purple grapes, and build a tower in its midst, and he will also hew out a wine-vat in it: and he will wait for grapes to be made, and it will make wild grapes.
For this, thus said the Lord. Jehovah, Behold me placing for a foundation in Zion a stone, a stone of trial, a corner precious, a foundation being founded: and he believing shall not hasten.
Because that thou sawest that the stone being cut from the rock not with hands, and it beat small the iron, the brass, the burnt clay, the silver and the gold: the great God made known to the king what to be after this: and the dream certain, and its interpretation faithful.
Jesus says to them, Have ye never read in the writings, The stone which the builders disapproved of, this was for the head of the corner? This was from the Lord, and it was wonderful in your eyes.
This is the stone set at nought by you building, he having been for the head of the corner.
To whom approaching, a living stone, truly disapproved of by men, and chosen by God, highly valued, And ye yourselves are built, as living stones, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to bring up spiritual sacrifice; acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Hastings
STONE
I. In OT.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And they shall say a man to his neighbor, Come, we will make bricks, and we will burn to a burning, and brick shall be to them for stone, and potter's clay shall be to them for potter's clay.
And Jacob will rise early in the morning, and take the stone which he put at his head, and will set it a pillar, and pour oil upon its head.
And Jacob will rise early in the morning, and take the stone which he put at his head, and will set it a pillar, and pour oil upon its head.
And this stone which I set a pillar shall be the house of God, and all which thou shalt give to me, the tenth I will tithe it to thee.
And he will see, and behold, a well in the field, and behold there three flocks of sheep lying by it; for from that well they will water the flocks and the great stone upon the mouth of the well.
And Jacob will take a stone and raise up a pillar.
And Jacob will take a stone and raise up a pillar.
And Jacob will set up a pillar in the place which God spake with him; a pillar of stone: and he will pour out upon it a libation, and he will pour out upon it oil
And Zipporah will take a stone, and will cut off the uncircumcision her son, and will come to his feet, and will say, For a spouse of bloods, thou to me.
And Jehovah will speak to Moses, Say to Aaron, Take thy rod and stretch out thy hand over the waters of Egypt. upon their rivers, upon their canals, and upon their pools, and upon all the collections of their waters, and they shall be blood: and blood was in all the land of Egypt, and in wood, and in stones.
And the hands of Moses were heavy; and they will take a stone and put under him, and he will sit upon it: and Aaron and Hur took hold upon his hands, one from here, and one from there; and his hands will be in firmness till the sun went forth.
And if thou shalt make to me an altar of stones, thou shalt not build them, cutting, for didst thou lift up thy sword upon it, and thou shalt defile it.
And if men shall contend, and a man struck his friend with a stone or with the fist, and he shall not die, and he fell upon the bed:
And Jehovah will say to Moses, Come up to me to the mountain, and be there: and I will give to thee tablets of stone, and the law and the commands which I wrote, to teach them.
And take two stones of onyx, and engrave upon them the names of the sons of Israel.
The work of a stone engraver, the engravings of a signet, engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel: surrounded with textures of gold thou shalt make them.
And in graving stone for filling up, and in graving wood, to work in all work.
And they took other stones and brought instead of these stones; and he shall take other clay and spread over the house.
Or curved, or withered, or stained in his eye, or scurvy, or scabby, or a bruised testicle:
And if with a stone of the hand which he shall die by it he smote him, he the slayer shall die; dying, the slayer shall die.
And bring thou forth that man or that woman who did this evil word, to thy gates, the man and the woman, and stone them with stones, and they died. At the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses they shall be put to death; they shall not die by the mouth of one witness. read more. The hand of the witnesses shall be at first upon him to put him to death, and the hand of all the people afterward. And put thou away the evil from the midst of thee.
Thou shalt not remove the boundary of thy neighbor which they at first set bounds in thine inheritance which thou shalt inherit in the land which Jehovah thy God gave to thee to inherit it.
He wounded by crushing, and having the privy member cut off, shall not come in to the gathering of Jehovah.
Watch in the stroke of leprosy to watch greatly, and to do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them ye shall watch to do.
And it was in the day which ye shall pass over Jordan to the land that Jehovah thy God gave to thee, and set up to thee great stones, and plaster them with lime.
And build there an altar to Jehovah thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up iron upon them. Whole stones thou shalt build the altar of Jehovah thy God: and bring up upon it burnt-offerings to Jehovah thy God:
And Joshua will say, Why didst thou trouble us? Jehovah will trouble thee in this day, and all Israel will stone him with stone, and they will burn them in fire, and they will stone them with stones.
And the king of Ai he hung upon the tree till the time of evening: and when the sun went down Joshua commanded and they will take down his carcass from the tree and cast it at the opening of the gate of the city, and they will set upon it a great heap of stones till this day. Then Joshua will build an altar to Jehovah the God of Israel in mount Ebal.
And Joshua will say, Roll great stones to the mouth of the cave, and set men over it to watch them.
And the bound went up to the house of Hoglah, and passed over from the north of the house of Arabah; and the bound went up to the stone of Bohan, son of Reuben:
And Joshua will write these words in the book of the law of God, and he will take a great stone and will set it up there under the oak which is in the holy place of Jehovah.
And the wagon came into the field of Joshua of the House of the Sun, and it will stand there; and there a great stone: and they will cleave asunder the wood of the wagon, and the heifers they brought up a burnt-offering to Jehovah.
And David will stretch forth his hand to the vessel and take from thence a stone and sling and strike him of the rovers into his forehead, and the stone will sink into his forehead; and he will fall upon his face to the earth.
And Hiram, king of Tyre, will send messengers to David, and wood of cedars and artificers of wood, and artificers of stone of the wall: and they will build a house for David.
And he will stone David with stones, and all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty, from his right hand and from his left
And David went, and his men, in the way; and Shimei went by the side of the mountain near to him going, and he will curse and stone with stones near to him, and dusting with dust
The king will command and they will remove great stones, precious stones; to set the house, cut stones.
The king will command and they will remove great stones, precious stones; to set the house, cut stones.
And to those building the wall, and to the cutters of stone, and to buy woods and stones being cut to strengthen the breach of the house of Jehovah, and for all which went forth upon the house to strengthen.
And king Ahaz will cut off all the enclosings of the bases, and he will remove from off them the wash-basin; and he will take down the sea from off the oxen of brass which was under it, and he will give it upon a pavement of stones.
And all the people will take Uzziah, and he the son of sixteen years, and they will make him king instead of his father Amaziah.
And he will make in Jerusalem engines, devised of him devising, to be upon the towers and upon the corners to cast with arrows and with great stones. And his name went forth even to afar off; for he was made wonderful to help even till he was strong.
And they will conspire all of them together to come to war against Jerusalem, and to do damage to it
He will bend his tail as a cedar; the sinews of his thighs will be woven together.
The stone the builders refused will be for the head of the corner.
The stone the builders refused will be for the head of the corner.
And he was for a holy place and for a stone of striking, and for a rock of falling to the two houses of Israel; for a trap net and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And the word of Jehovah was to them, precept to precept, precept to precept; line to line, line to line; a little there, a little there, so that they shall go and they stumbled backward, and were broken and snared and taken.
For the stone from the wall shall cry out, and the cross-beam from the wood shall answer it.
Who art thou, O great mountain? before the face of Zerubbabel for a level region. And he brought forth the stone of the head, a noise: Grace, grace to it
And others fell upon rocky places where it had not much earth, and quickly it sprang forth, for it had no depth of earth.
Jesus says to them, Have ye never read in the writings, The stone which the builders disapproved of, this was for the head of the corner? This was from the Lord, and it was wonderful in your eyes.
And having spit upon him, they took the reed, and struck upon his head.
And other fell upon stony places, where it had not much earth; and quickly it sprang forth, for it had no deepness of earth:
And these are likewise they sown upon stony places; who, when they hear, quickly with joy receive it;
And having looked upon them, he said, What then is this written, The stone which the builders disapproved of, this has been for the head of the corner?
And he brought him to Jesus. And Jesus having looked upon him, said, Thou art Simon son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is, interpreted, Peter.
And six stone water-buckets were placed there, according to the purification of the Jews, containing each two or three measures.
This is the stone set at nought by you building, he having been for the head of the corner.
And having cast out of the city, they stoned: and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man called Saul.
To whom approaching, a living stone, truly disapproved of by men, and chosen by God, highly valued, And ye yourselves are built, as living stones, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to bring up spiritual sacrifice; acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. read more. Wherefore also it holds in the writing, Behold, I place in Zion a corner stone, chosen, highly valued: and he believing on him shall not be ashamed. Therefore honour to you believing: and to the unbelieving, the stone which the builders disapproved of has become the head of the corner, And a stone of stumble, and rock of offence, they disbelieving the word stumble: to which also they were set.
He having ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches; To him conquering will I give to eat from the hidden manna, and I will give him a white small stone, and upon the small stone a new name written, which none knew except he receiving.
Watsons
STONE. This word is sometimes taken in the sense of rock, and is applied figuratively to God, as the refuge of his people. See Rock. The Hebrews gave the name of "stones" to the weights used in commerce; no doubt because they were originally formed of stone. "Just weights," is therefore in Hebrew, "just stones." "The corner stone," or "the head stone of the corner," is a figurative representation of Christ. It is the stone at the angle of a building, whether at the foundation or the top of the wall. Christ was that corner stone, which, though rejected by the Jews, became the corner stone of the church, and the stone that binds and unites the synagogue and the Gentiles in the unity of the same faith. Some have thought the showers of stones cast down by the Lord out of heaven, mentioned several times in the Old Testament, to be showers of hail of extraordinary size; which was probably the case, as they even now sometimes occur in those countries in a most terrific and destructive form, and show how irresistible an agent this meteor is in the hands of an offended God. The knives of stone that were made use of by the Jews in circumcision, were not enjoined by the law; but the use of them was founded, either upon custom, or upon the experience that this kind of instrument is found to be less dangerous than those made of metal. Zipporah made use of a stone to circumcise her sons, Ex 4:25. Jos 5:2, did the same, when he caused such of the Israelites to be circumcised at Gilgal, as had not received circumcision during their journey in the wilderness. The Egyptians, according to Herodotus, made use of knives of stone to open dead bodies that were to be embalmed; and Pliny assures us, that the priests of the mother of the gods had sharp stones, with which they cut and slashed themselves, which they thought they could not do with any thing else without danger. Great heaps of stones, raised up for a witness of any memorable event, and to preserve the remembrance of some matter of great importance, are among the most ancient monuments. In those elder ages, before the use of writing, these monuments were instead of inscriptions, pyramids, medals, or histories. Jacob and Laban raised such a monument upon Mount Gilead in memory of their covenant, Ge 31:46. Joshua erected one at Gilgal, made of stones taken out of the Jordan, to preserve the memorial of his miraculous passage over this river, Jos 4:5-7. The Israelites that dwelt beyond Jordan also raised one upon the banks of the river, as a testimony that they constituted but one nation with their brethren on the other side, Jos 22:10. Sometimes they heaped up such a collection of stones upon the burying place of some odious persons, as was none in the case of Achan and Absalom, Jos 7:26; 2Ki 18:17.
A "heart of stone" may be understood several ways. Job 41:24, speaking of the leviathan, says, that "his heart is as firm as a stone, yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone:" that is, he is of a very extraordinary strength, boldness, and courage. It is said, 1Sa 25:37, that Nabal's heart died within him, and he became as a stone, when he was told of the danger he had incurred by his imprudence; his heart became contracted or convulsed, and this was the occasion of his death. Eze 36:26, says, that the Lord will take away from his people their heart of stone, and give them a heart of flesh; that is, he will render them contrite, and sensible to spiritual things. "I will give him a white stone," Re 2:17; that is, I will give him full and public pardon and absolution. It is spoken in allusion to an ancient custom of delivering a white stone to such as they acquitted in judgment. They used likewise to give a white stone to such as conquered in the Grecian games.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Jacob will say to his brethren, Gather stones; and they will take stones and make a heap; and they will eat there upon the heap.
And Zipporah will take a stone, and will cut off the uncircumcision her son, and will come to his feet, and will say, For a spouse of bloods, thou to me.
And Joshua will say to them, Pass ye over before the ark of Jehovah your God into the midst of Jordan, and lift up to you each one stone upon his shoulder according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel: So that this shall be a sign in the midst of you, when your sons shall ask to-morrow, saying, What these stones to you? read more. And say ye to them that the waters of Jordan were cut off from before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; in its passing through Jordan the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones were for a remembrance to the sons of Israel even to forever.
In that time Jehovah said to Joshua, Make to thee swords of stone, and turning back, circumcise the sons of Israel the second time
And they will raise up upon him a great heap of stones even till this day. And Jehovah will turn back from the wrath of his anger: for this, the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, even to this day.
And they will come to the circuits of Jordan, which are in the land of Canaan, and the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh will build there an altar upon Jordan, a great altar for seeing.
And it will be in the morning in the wine coming forth from Nabal, and his wife will announce to him these words, and his heart will die in the midst of him, and he was for a stone.
His heart will press as a stone; and it will press as the under millstone.
And I gave to you a new heart, and a new spirit will I give in the midst of you: and I turned away your heart of stone from your flesh, and I gave to you an heart of flesh.
He having ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches; To him conquering will I give to eat from the hidden manna, and I will give him a white small stone, and upon the small stone a new name written, which none knew except he receiving.