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.
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and Jacob saith to his brethren, 'Gather stones,' and they take stones, and make a heap; and they eat there on the heap;
and Zipporah taketh a flint, and cutteth off the foreskin of her son, and causeth it to touch his feet, and saith, 'Surely a bridegroom of blood art thou to me;'
and Joshua saith to them, 'Pass over before the ark of Jehovah your God unto the midst of the Jordan and lift up for you each, one stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel, so that this is a sign in your midst, when your children ask hereafter, saying, What are these stones to you? read more. that ye have said to them, Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off, at the presence of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; in its passing over into the Jordan were the waters of the Jordan cut off; and these stones have been for a memorial to the sons of Israel -- to the age.'
At that time said Jehovah unto Joshua, 'Make for thee knives of flint, and turn back, circumcise the sons of Israel a second time;'
and they raise up over him a great heap of stones unto this day, and Jehovah turneth back from the heat of His anger, therefore hath one called the name of that place 'Valley of Achor' till this day.
and the king of Ai he hath hanged on the tree till even-time, and at the going in of the sun hath Joshua commanded, and they take down his carcase from the tree, and cast it unto the opening of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones till this day.
He who is having an ear -- let him hear what the Spirit saith to the assemblies: To him who is overcoming, I will give to him to eat from the hidden manna, and will give to him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, that no one knew except him who is receiving it.
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).
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And Jacob riseth early in the morning, and taketh the stone which he hath made his pillows, and maketh it a standing pillar, and poureth oil upon its top,
And Jacob riseth early in the morning, and taketh the stone which he hath made his pillows, and maketh it a standing pillar, and poureth oil upon its top,
And Jacob taketh a stone, and lifteth it up for a standing pillar; and Jacob saith to his brethren, 'Gather stones,' and they take stones, and make a heap; and they eat there on the heap; read more. and Laban calleth it Jegar-Sahadutha; and Jacob hath called it Galeed.
And they give unto Jacob all the gods of the stranger that are in their hand, and the rings that are in their ears, and Jacob hideth them under the oak which is by Shechem;
And it cometh to pass, when all the nation hath completed to pass over the Jordan, that Jehovah speaketh unto Joshua, saying, Take for you out of the people twelve men, one man -- one man out of a tribe; read more. and command ye them, saying, Take up for you from this place, from the midst of the Jordan, from the established standing-place of the feet of the priests, twelve stones, and ye have removed them over with you, and placed them in the lodging-place in which ye lodge to-night.' And Joshua calleth unto the twelve men whom he prepared out of the sons of Israel, one man -- one man out of a tribe; and Joshua saith to them, 'Pass over before the ark of Jehovah your God unto the midst of the Jordan and lift up for you each, one stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel, so that this is a sign in your midst, when your children ask hereafter, saying, What are these stones to you? that ye have said to them, Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off, at the presence of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; in its passing over into the Jordan were the waters of the Jordan cut off; and these stones have been for a memorial to the sons of Israel -- to the age.' And the sons of Israel do so as Joshua commanded, and take up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as Jehovah hath spoken unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel, and remove them over with them unto the lodging-place, and place them there, even the twelve stones hath Joshua raised up out of the midst of the Jordan, the place of the standing of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant, and they are there unto this day.
And it cometh to pass, when Joshua speaketh unto the people, that the seven priests bearing seven trumpets of the jubilee before Jehovah have passed over and blown with the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah is going after them;
And Joshua writeth these words in the Book of the Law of God, and taketh a great stone, and raiseth it up there under the oak which is in the sanctuary of Jehovah. And Joshua saith unto all the people, 'Lo, this stone is against us for a witness, for it hath heard all the sayings of Jehovah which He hath spoken with us, and it hath been against you for a witness, lest ye lie against your God.'
And Samuel taketh a stone, and setteth it between Mizpeh and Shen, and calleth its name Eben-Ezer, saying, 'Hitherto hath Jehovah helped us.'
And it cometh to pass in the morning, when the wine is gone out from Nabal, that his wife declareth to him these things, and his heart dieth within him, and he hath been as a stone.
and ye have smitten every fenced city, and every choice city, and every good tree ye cause to fall, and all fountains of waters ye stop, and every good portion ye mar with stones.'
A stone the builders refused Hath become head of a corner.
And he fenceth it, and casteth out its stones, And planteth it with a choice vine, And buildeth a tower in its midst, And also a wine press hath hewn out in it, And he waiteth for the yielding of grapes, And it yieldeth bad ones!
Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: 'Lo, I am laying a foundation in Zion, A stone -- a tried stone, a corner stone precious, a settled foundation, He who is believing doth not make haste.
Because that thou hast seen that out of the mountain cut hath been a stone without hands, and it hath beaten small the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king that which is to be after this; and the dream is true, and its interpretation stedfast.
Jesus saith to them, 'Did ye never read in the Writings, A stone that the builders disallowed, it became head of a corner; from the Lord hath this come to pass, and it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the stone that was set at nought by you -- the builders, that became head of a corner;
to whom coming -- a living stone -- by men, indeed, having been disapproved of, but with God choice, precious, and ye yourselves, as living stones, are built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Hastings
STONE
I. In OT.
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and they say each one to his neighbour, 'Give help, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly:' and the brick is to them for stone, and the bitumen hath been to them for mortar.
And Jacob riseth early in the morning, and taketh the stone which he hath made his pillows, and maketh it a standing pillar, and poureth oil upon its top,
And Jacob riseth early in the morning, and taketh the stone which he hath made his pillows, and maketh it a standing pillar, and poureth oil upon its top,
then this stone which I have made a standing pillar is a house of God, and all that Thou dost give to me -- tithing I tithe to Thee.'
and he looketh, and lo, a well in the field, and lo, there three droves of a flock crouching by it, for from that well they water the droves, and the great stone is on the mouth of the well.
And Jacob taketh a stone, and lifteth it up for a standing pillar;
And Jacob taketh a stone, and lifteth it up for a standing pillar;
And Jacob setteth up a standing pillar in the place where He hath spoken with him, a standing pillar of stone, and he poureth on it an oblation, and he poureth on it oil;
and Zipporah taketh a flint, and cutteth off the foreskin of her son, and causeth it to touch his feet, and saith, 'Surely a bridegroom of blood art thou to me;'
And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thy hand against the waters of Egypt, against their streams, against their rivers, and against their ponds, and against all their collections of waters; and they are blood -- and there hath been blood in all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in those of stone.'
And the hands of Moses are heavy, and they take a stone, and set it under him, and he sitteth on it: and Aaron and Hur have taken hold on his hands, on this side one, and on that one, and his hands are stedfast till the going in of the sun;
'And if an altar of stones thou dost make to Me, thou dost not build them of hewn work; when thy tool thou hast waved over it, then thou dost pollute it;
'And when men contend, and a man hath smitten his neighbour with a stone, or with the fist, and he die not, but hath fallen on the bed;
And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Come up unto Me to the mount, and be there, and I give to thee the tables of stone, and the law, and the command, which I have written to direct them.'
'And thou hast taken the two shoham stones, and hast opened on them the names of the sons of Israel;
the work of an engraver in stone, openings of a signet, thou dost open the two stones by the names of the sons of Israel; turned round, embroidered with gold, thou dost make them.
and in graving of stone for settings, and in graving of wood to work in all work.
and they have taken other stones, and brought them in unto the place of the stones, and other clay he taketh and hath daubed the house.
or hump-backed, or a dwarf, or with a mixture in his eye, or a scurvy person, or scabbed, or broken-testicled.
And if with a stone in the hand, wherewith he dieth, he hath smitten him, and he dieth, he is a murderer: the murderer is certainly put to death.
Then thou hast brought out that man, or that woman, who hath done this evil thing, unto thy gates -- the man or the woman -- and thou hast stoned them with stones, and they have died. By the mouth of two witnesses or of three witnesses is he who is dead put to death; he is not put to death by the mouth of one witness; read more. the hand of the witnesses is on him, in the first place, to put him to death, and the hand of all the people last; and thou hast put away the evil thing out of thy midst.
'Thou dost not remove a border of thy neighbour, which they of former times have made, in thine inheritance, which thou dost inherit in the land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee to possess it.
'One wounded, bruised, or cut in the member doth not enter into the assembly of Jehovah;
'Take heed, in the plague of leprosy, to watch greatly, and to do according to all that the priests, the Levites, teach you; as I have commanded them ye observe to do;
and it hath been, in the day that ye pass over the Jordan unto the land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, that thou hast raised up for thee great stones, and plaistered them with plaister,
and built there an altar to Jehovah thy God, an altar of stones, thou dost not wave over them iron. Of complete stones thou buildest the altar of Jehovah thy God, and hast caused to ascend on it burnt-offerings to Jehovah thy God,
And Joshua saith, 'What! thou hast troubled us! -- Jehovah doth trouble thee this day;' and all Israel cast stones at him, and they burn them with fire, and they stone them with stones,
and the king of Ai he hath hanged on the tree till even-time, and at the going in of the sun hath Joshua commanded, and they take down his carcase from the tree, and cast it unto the opening of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones till this day. Then doth Joshua build an altar to Jehovah, God of Israel, in mount Ebal,
And Joshua saith, 'Roll great stones unto the mouth of the cave, and appoint over it men to watch them;
and the border hath gone up to Beth-Hoglah, and passed over on the north of Beth-Arabah, and the border hath gone up to the stone of Bohan son of Reuben:
And Joshua writeth these words in the Book of the Law of God, and taketh a great stone, and raiseth it up there under the oak which is in the sanctuary of Jehovah.
And the cart hath come in unto the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite, and standeth there, and there is a great stone, and they cleave the wood of the cart, and the kine they have caused to ascend -- a burnt-offering to Jehovah.
and David putteth forth his hand unto the vessel, and taketh thence a stone, and slingeth, and smiteth the Philistine on his forehead, and the stone sinketh into his forehead, and he falleth on his face to the earth.
And Hiram king of Tyre sendeth messengers unto David, and cedar-trees, and artificers of wood, and artificers of stone, for walls, and they build a house for David,
and he stoneth David with stones, and all the servants of king David, and all the people, and all the mighty men on his right and on his left.
And David goeth with his men in the way, and Shimei is going at the side of the hill over-against him, going on, and he revileth, and stoneth with stones over-against him, and hath dusted with dust.
And the king commandeth, and they bring great stones, precious stone, to lay the foundation of the house, hewn stones;
And the king commandeth, and they bring great stones, precious stone, to lay the foundation of the house, hewn stones;
and to those repairing the wall, and to hewers of stone, and to buy wood and hewn stones to strengthen the breach of the house of Jehovah, and for all that goeth out on the house, to strengthen it.
And king Ahaz cutteth off the borders of the bases, and turneth aside from off them the laver, and the sea he hath taken down from off the brazen oxen that are under it, and putteth it on a pavement of stones.
And all the people of Judah take Uzziah (and he is a son of sixteen years), and cause him to reign instead of his father Amaziah.
And he maketh in Jerusalem inventions -- a device of an inventor -- to be on the towers, and on the corners, to shoot with arrows and with great stones, and his name goeth out unto a distance, for he hath been wonderfully helped till that he hath been strong.
and they conspire, all of them together, to come in to fight against Jerusalem, and to do to it injury.
He doth bend his tail as a cedar, The sinews of his thighs are wrapped together,
A stone the builders refused Hath become head of a corner.
A stone the builders refused Hath become head of a corner.
And He hath been for a sanctuary, And for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of falling, To the two houses of Israel, For a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And to whom a word of Jehovah hath been, Rule on rule, rule on rule, line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there, So that they go and have stumbled backward, And been broken, and snared, and captured.
For a stone from the wall doth cry out, And a holdfast from the wood answereth it.
Who art thou, O great mountain Before Zerubbabel -- for a plain! And he hath brought forth the top-stone, Cries of Grace, grace -- are to it.'
and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth, and immediately they sprang forth, through not having depth of earth,
Jesus saith to them, 'Did ye never read in the Writings, A stone that the builders disallowed, it became head of a corner; from the Lord hath this come to pass, and it is wonderful in our eyes.
And having spit on him, they took the reed, and were smiting on his head;
and other fell upon the rocky ground, where it had not much earth, and immediately it sprang forth, because of not having depth of earth,
'And these are they, in like manner, who on the rocky ground are sown: who, whenever they may hear the word, immediately with joy do receive it,
and he, having looked upon them, said, 'What, then, is this that hath been written: A stone that the builders rejected -- this became head of a corner?
and he brought him unto Jesus: and having looked upon him, Jesus saith, 'Thou art Simon, the son of Jonas, thou shalt be called Cephas,' (which is interpreted, A rock.)
And there were there six water-jugs of stone, placed according to the purifying of the Jews, holding each two or three measures.
This is the stone that was set at nought by you -- the builders, that became head of a corner;
and having cast him forth outside of the city, they were stoning him -- and the witnesses did put down their garments at the feet of a young man called Saul --
to whom coming -- a living stone -- by men, indeed, having been disapproved of, but with God choice, precious, and ye yourselves, as living stones, are built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. read more. Wherefore, also, it is contained in the Writing: 'Lo, I lay in Zion a chief corner-stone, choice, precious, and he who is believing on him may not be put to shame;' to you, then, who are believing is the preciousness; and to the unbelieving, a stone that the builders disapproved of, this one did become for the head of a corner, and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence -- who are stumbling at the word, being unbelieving, -- to which also they were set;
He who is having an ear -- let him hear what the Spirit saith to the assemblies: To him who is overcoming, I will give to him to eat from the hidden manna, and will give to him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, that no one knew except him who is receiving it.
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.
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and Jacob saith to his brethren, 'Gather stones,' and they take stones, and make a heap; and they eat there on the heap;
and Zipporah taketh a flint, and cutteth off the foreskin of her son, and causeth it to touch his feet, and saith, 'Surely a bridegroom of blood art thou to me;'
and Joshua saith to them, 'Pass over before the ark of Jehovah your God unto the midst of the Jordan and lift up for you each, one stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel, so that this is a sign in your midst, when your children ask hereafter, saying, What are these stones to you? read more. that ye have said to them, Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off, at the presence of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; in its passing over into the Jordan were the waters of the Jordan cut off; and these stones have been for a memorial to the sons of Israel -- to the age.'
At that time said Jehovah unto Joshua, 'Make for thee knives of flint, and turn back, circumcise the sons of Israel a second time;'
and they raise up over him a great heap of stones unto this day, and Jehovah turneth back from the heat of His anger, therefore hath one called the name of that place 'Valley of Achor' till this day.
and they come in unto the districts of the Jordan, which are in the land of Canaan, and the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, build there an altar by the Jordan -- a great altar for appearance.
And it cometh to pass in the morning, when the wine is gone out from Nabal, that his wife declareth to him these things, and his heart dieth within him, and he hath been as a stone.
And I have given to you a new heart, And a new spirit I give in your midst, And I have turned aside the heart of stone out of your flesh, And I have given to you a heart of flesh.
He who is having an ear -- let him hear what the Spirit saith to the assemblies: To him who is overcoming, I will give to him to eat from the hidden manna, and will give to him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, that no one knew except him who is receiving it.