Marble

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

(μάρμαρος, Lat. marmor  ; from μαρμαίρειν, ‘sparkle,’ ‘glisten’)

Marble is the name given to any limestone which is sufficiently close in texture to admit of being polished. It is mentioned as part of the merchandise of ‘Babylon,’ i.e. Rome ( Revelation 18:12). It began to be used there for the adornment of buildings about the beginning of the 1st cent. b.c. For a time such luxury was viewed with jealousy by stern republicans (Pliny, Historia Naturalis (Pliny) xxxvi. 7), but the Empire effected a great change of sentiment, and Augustus boasted, not without reason, that he ‘found Rome of brick and left it of marble’ (Suet. Octav. xxix.). ‘The Emperor obtained this result, seconded by his friend and minister, Agrippa, and succeeded in leaving behind him truly a city of marble, to which the Pantheon bears sufficient witness’ (Mary W. Porter, What Rome was built with , 1907, p. 7). While the white marble of Luna (near the modern Carrara), Hymettus, Pentelicus, and Paros was used for statuary, many varieties of coloured marble were available for architecture. See, further, articleRome.

Literature.-F. Corsi, Delle pietre antiche , Rome, 1845; G. P. Merrill, Stones for Building and Decoration 3, New York, 1903.

James Strahan.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( n.) A thing made of, or resembling, marble, as a work of art, or record, in marble; or, in the plural, a collection of such works; as, the Arundel or Arundelian marbles; the Elgin marbles.

(2): ( n.) A little ball of marble, or of some other hard substance, used as a plaything by children; or, in the plural, a child's game played with marbles.

(3): ( a.) Made of, or resembling, marble; as, a marble mantel; marble paper.

(4): ( a.) Cold; hard; unfeeling; as, a marble breast or heart.

(5): ( n.) A massive, compact limestone; a variety of calcite, capable of being polished and used for architectural and ornamental purposes. The color varies from white to black, being sometimes yellow, red, and green, and frequently beautifully veined or clouded. The name is also given to other rocks of like use and appearance, as serpentine or verd antique marble, and less properly to polished porphyry, granite, etc.

(6): ( n.) To stain or vein like marble; to variegate in color; as, to marble the edges of a book, or the surface of paper.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

שיש ,  1 Chronicles 29:2;  Esther 1:6;  Song of Solomon 5:15; a valuable kind of stone, of a texture so hard and compact, and of a grain so fine, as readily to take a beautiful polish. It is dug out of quarries in large masses, and is much used in buildings, ornamental pillars, &c. Marble is of different colours, black, white, &c; and is sometimes elegantly clouded and variegated. The stone mentioned in the places cited above is called the stone of sis or sish: the LXX and Vulgate render it "Parian stone," which was remarkable for its bright white colour. Probably the cliff Ziz,   2 Chronicles 20:16 , was so called from being a marble crag: the place was afterward called Petra. The variety of stones, בהט , שיש , דר , סחרת , mentioned in the pavement of Ahasuerus, might be marble of different colours. The ancients sometimes made pavements wherein were set very valuable stones.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Sohareth, "black marble," probably some spotted variety of marble. "The marble pillars and tesserae of various colours of the palace at Susa came doubtless from Persia itself, where marble of various colours is found, especially in the province of Hamadan Susiana." The marble of Solomon's architectural works may have been limestone from near Jerusalem, or from Lebanon, or possibly white marble from Arabia. Herod employed Parian marble in the temple, and marble columns still exist in great abundance at Jerusalem.

Copyright Statement These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., DD Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

Bibliography Information Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Marble'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/m/marble.html. 1897.

King James Dictionary

M`ARBLE, n. L. marmor Gr. white.

1. The popular name of any species of calcarious stone or mineral, of a compact texture, and of a beautiful appearance, susceptible of a good polish. The varieties are numerous, and greatly diversified in color. Marble is limestone, or a stone which may be calcined to lime, a carbonate of lime but limestone is a more general name, comprehending the calcarious stones of an inferior texture, as well as those which admit a fine polish. Marble is much used for statues, busts, pillars, chimney pieces, monuments, &c. 2. A little ball of marble or other stone,used by children in play. 3. A stone remarkable for some inscription or sculpture.

Arundel marbles,

Arundelian marbles, marble pieces with a chronicle of the city of Athens inscribed on them presented to the university of Oxford, by Thomas, earl of Arundel.

M`ARBLE, a. Made of marble as a marble pillar.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: Μάρμαρος (Strong'S #3139 — Noun Masculine — marmaros — mar'-mar-os )

primarily denoted any "glistering stone" (from maraino, "to glisten"); hence, "marble,"  Revelation 18:12 .

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Marble. The Hebrew, shesh , the generic term for marble, may probably be taken to mean almost any shining stone. The so-called marble of Solomon's architectural works may thus have been limestone. There can be no doubt that Herod, both in the Temple and elsewhere, employed Parian or other marble. The marble pillars and tesserae of various colors of the palace at Susa came doubtless from Persia.  Esther 1:8.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

The well-known stone that takes a high polish. It was used in Solomon's temple, and there were pillars of marble in the Persian palace. Babylon, or Papal Rome, in her luxury imported marble.  1 Chronicles 29:2;  Esther 1:6;  Song of Solomon 5:15;  Revelation 18:12 .

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Song of Solomon 5:15 (c) This beautiful stone is a symbol of strength, vigor, stamina and symmetry. Soldiers, prize fighters, sailors, mountain climbers and foot travelers know the need of strong, durable legs. The picture is given to us by Solomon to represent the Lord Jesus who would always walk with us and never tire. He would fight for us and never lose. He would go with us and never fail.

Holman Bible Dictionary

Minerals And MetalsAlabaster

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

MARBLE. See Mining and Metals.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

is the rendering in the Auth.Vers. of two forms of the same Heb. word, and is thought by some to be signified by others differently rendered. שֵׁשׁ (Shesh,  Esther 1:6, Sept. Πάρινος ;  Song of Solomon 5:15, Sept. Μαρμάρινος ), or שִׁיַשׁ (sha'yish,  1 Chronicles 29:2, Sept. Πάριος ), so called from its whiteness, undoubtedly refer to a pure kind of marble, Μάρμαρος ( Revelation 18:12). Primary limestone, or marble, is a simple rock, consisting of carbonate of lime. In its pure state, it is granular, crystalline, and of a color varying from pure white to gray and yellowish. It is sometimes found in irregular masses, or beds, or large nodules, with little or no appearance of stratification; more generally, however, it is regularly stratified, and these strata alternate with other rocks, and are of all varieties of thickness. The texture varies from a highly crystalline, of a larger or finer grain, to a compact and even earthy. Other substances are sometimes combined with the simple rock, which modify its appearance and texture, such as mica, quartz, hornblende. It is never found in veins, except in the form of regular crystals, and, in this respect, it exactly resembles quartz. There is considerable difficulty in drawing the line of distinction between the primary and secondary limestones, where the latter do not happen to contain organic remains. In the primary limestone, strictly speaking, no organic remains have yet been discovered. With one or two exceptions, and as a general rule, it may be said, they, like the primary schists, are almost destitute of organic bodies. Like the strata which it accompanies, beds of limestone are often bent and contorted, evidently from disturbance below. The colors vary from a pure white, which constitutes the statuary marble, to various shades of gray, brown, black, and green. These tints are derived from a carbonaceoas matter or oxide of iron, or an admixture of other minerals.

Several other terms occur in  Esther 1:6, as the names of stones in the pavement of the magnificent hall in which Ahasuerus feasted the princes of his empire. That rendered "white" marble, is דִּר , Dar, which some take to signify Parian marble, others white marble; but nothing certain is known about it. In Arabic, the word dar signifies a large pearl. Now pearls were certainly employed by the ancients in decorating the walls of apartments in royal palaces, but that pearls were also used in the pavements of even regal dining-rooms is improbable in itself, and unsupported by any known example. The Septuagint refers the Hebrew word to a stone resembling pearls ( Πίννινος Λίθος ), by which, as J. D. Michaelis conjectures, it intends to denote the Alabastrites of Pliny (Hist. Nat. 36:7, 8), which is a kind of alabaster with the gloss of mother-of-pearl. (See Alabaster).

The בָּהִט (Bahat'; Sept. Σμαραγδίτης , "red" marble) of the same passage was, Gesenius thinks, the Verdeantique, or half-porphyry of Egypt. The סֹחֶרֶת . (Soche'Reth; Sept. Πάρινος Λίθος , "black" marble) is likewise there mentioned with the other kinds of marble for forming a pavement. Gesenius says, perhaps tortoiseshell. Others, from the rendering of the Syriac, think it refers to black marble. It was probably some spotted variety of marble. (See Mineralogy).

The pavement in the palace of Ahasuerus was no doubt of mosaic work, the floors of the apartments being laid with painted tiles or slabs of marble, in the same way as Dr. Russell describes the houses of the wealthy in modern times. In these a portion of the pavement of the courts is of mosaic, and it is usually that part which lies between the fountain and the arched alcove on the south side that is thus beautified. (See House).

"The marble pillars and tesserae of various colors of the palace at Susa came doubtless from Persia itself, where marble of various colors is found, especially in the province of Hamadan, Susiana (Marco Polo, Travels, p. 78, ed. Bohn; Chardin, Voy. 3:280, 308, 358, and 8:253; P. della Valle, Viagg i, 2:250). The so-called marble of Solomon's architectural works, which Josephus calls Λίθος Λευκός , may thus have been limestone — ( A ) from near Jerusalem; ( B ) from Lebanon (Jura limestone), identical with the material of the Sun Temple at Baalbek; or ( C ) white marble from Arabia or elsewhere (Josephus, Ant. 8:3, 2; Diod. Sic. 2:52; Pliny, ''H. N 3 6:12; Jamieson, Mineralogy, p. 41; Raiumer, Pal. p. 28; Volney, Trav. 2:241; Kitto, Plays. Geogr. Of Pal. p. 73, 88; Robinson, 2:493; 3:508; Stanley, S. And P. p. 307, 424; Wellsted. Trav. 1:426; 2:143). That this stone was not marble seems probable from the remark of Josephus, that whereas Solomon constructed his buildings of ‘ white stone,' he caused the roads which led to Jerusalem to be made of ‘ black stone,' probably the black basalt of the Hauran; and also from his account of the porticoes of Herod's temple, which he says were Μονόλιθοι Λευκοτήτης Μαρμάρου (Josephus, Ant. 1. c., and War, v. 5, 1, 6; Kitto, ut sup. p. 74, 75, 80, 89). But whether the ‘ costly stone' employed in Solomon's buildings was marble or not, it seems clear, from the expressions both of Scripture and Josephus, that some, at least, of the ‘ great stones,' whose weight can scarcely have been less than forty tons, must have come from Lebanon ( 1 Kings 5:14-18;  1 Kings 7:10; Josephus, Ant. 8:2, 9). There can be no doubt that Herod, both in the Temple and elsewhere, employed Parian or other marble. Remains of marble columns still exist in abundance at Jerusalem (Josephus, Ant. 15:9, 4, 6, and 11,3, 5; Williams, Holy City, 2:330; Sandys, p. 190; Robinson, 1:301, 305)." (See Stone).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

mar´b ' 50 ( שׁישׁ , shayish , שׁשׁ , shēsh , שׁישׁ אבני , 'abhnē shayish , "stones of marble" (  1 Chronicles 29:2 ); וסחרת ודר ושׁשׁ בּהט רצפּת , ricpath bahaṭ wā - shēsh we - dhar we - ṣōḥā̄reth , "a pavement of red, and white, and yellow, and black marble," or, according to the margin, "a pavement of porphyry, and white marble, and alabaster, and stone of blue color" ( Esther 1:6 ); שׁשׁ עמּוּדי , ‛ammūdhē shēsh , "pillars of marble" ( Esther 1:6;  Song of Solomon 5:15 ); compare שׁשׁ , shēsh , the King James Version margin "silk" or the Revised Version (British and American) "fine linen" ( Genesis 41:42;  Exodus 25:4 , etc.); שׁושׁנּים , shōshannı̄m , "lilies" ( Song of Solomon 2:16 , etc.), apparently from a root signifying "white"; μάρμαρος , mármaros , "marble" ( Revelation 18:12 )): Marble is properly crystalline limestone, usually pure white or veined with black, the former being in demand for statuary, while the latter is used in architecture, especially for floors and pillars. True marble is not found in Palestine, but is obtained from Greece or Italy. Much of the stone described as marble is non-crystalline limestone capable of being smoothed and polished. White or yellow stone of this character is abundant in Palestine. Non-crystalline rocks of other colors are also sometimes called marble. In the passage from Esther cited above (compare margin), it is a question whether the reference is to marble and other stones or to marble of different colors. In  1 Chronicles 29:2 , "marble stones" are mentioned among the materials brought together by David for the building of the temple. In  Esther 1:6 , pillars and a pavement of marble are features of the palace of Ahasuerus. In  Song of Solomon 5:15 , the various parts of the body of the "beloved" are likened to gold, beryl, ivory, sapphire, and marble. In  Revelation 18:12 , marble occurs in the list of the merchandise of Babylon. All these references imply a costly stone, and therefore probably one imported from other countries, and make it likely that true crystalline marble is meant.