Pearl

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Gabish .  Job 28:18. Literally, "ice"; "what is frozen", as in  Ezekiel 13:11;  Ezekiel 13:13;  Ezekiel 38:22 with "stones." So translated "crystal." In  Ezekiel 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" ( Matthew 13:45-46;  1 Timothy 2:9;  Revelation 17:4;  Revelation 18:12;  Revelation 18:16;  Revelation 21:21). In  Matthew 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 ( Proverbs 23:9;  Proverbs 9:8).

The godly love even the sharp rebuke which heals their souls ( Proverbs 15:31;  Psalms 141:5;  Job 13:23;  Isaiah 39:8, Hezekiah; the Virgin,  John 2:4-5;  Galatians 2:14;  2 Peter 3:16. Peter). He that is filthy must be filthy still. Pearls are accidental concretions within certain molluscs, especially the Αvicula 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.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( v. t.) To fringe; to border.

(2): ( v. i.) To resemble pearl or pearls.

(3): ( n.) A fringe or border.

(4): ( v. t.) To cause to resemble pearls; to make into small round grains; as, to pearl barley.

(5): ( n.) A capsule of gelatin or similar substance containing some liquid for medicinal application, as ether.

(6): ( n.) A whitish speck or film on the eye.

(7): ( n.) One of the circle of tubercles which form the bur on a deer's antler.

(8): ( n.) A light-colored tern.

(9): ( n.) A fish allied to the turbot; the brill.

(10): ( n.) Nacre, or mother-of-pearl.

(11): ( n.) Hence, figuratively, something resembling a pearl; something very precious.

(12): ( n.) A shelly concretion, usually rounded, and having a brilliant luster, with varying tints, found in the mantle, or between the mantle and shell, of certain bivalve mollusks, especially in the pearl oysters and river mussels, and sometimes in certain univalves. It is usually due to a secretion of shelly substance around some irritating foreign particle. Its substance is the same as nacre, or mother-of-pearl. Pearls which are round, or nearly round, and of fine luster, are highly esteemed as jewels, and compare in value with the precious stones.

(13): ( v. t.) To set or adorn with pearls, or with mother-of-pearl. Used also figuratively.

(14): ( n.) A size of type, between agate and diamond.

(15): ( a.) Of or pertaining to pearl or pearls; made of pearls, or of mother-of-pearl.

(16): ( v. i.) To give or hunt for pearls; as, to go pearling.

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

The pearl of great price, mentioned, ( Matthew 13:46) being a figurative expression to denote the preciousness of Jesus and his salvation, may serve, to explain wherefore it is that the glories of Christ's person, and the beauty of his church in him, are so often set forth in Scripture under the similitude of pearls, and rubies, and precious stones. The Hebrews called pearls peninim, ( Job 28:18 and  Proverbs 20:15) the same word is translated rubies. Some have considered them therefore as one and the same; but certainly they are very distinct things; however, the spiritual sense in that which relates to Christ and his church may be called both. Hence the description of the New Jerusalem. ( Revelation 21:21) And indeed it is very blessed to eye Jesus under all the loveliness of everything we meet with in the whole compass of creation, both in the kingdoms of nature, providence, grace, and glory. All that is lovely, or beautiful, or useful, or ornamental, all derive their exellency from him. Jesus and his salvation surpasseth the gold of Ophir, the topaz of Æthiopia, and all the pearls and rubies of the world. So Jesus hath said, and so all his redeemed know it to be true: "Riches and honour are with me; (saith Christ) yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver." ( Proverbs 8:18-19)

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Pearl. (Hebrew, gabish ). The Hebrew word in  Job 28:18, probably means "Crystal". Pearls, however, are frequently mentioned in the New Testament,  Matthew 13:45;  1 Timothy 2:9;  Revelation 17:4;  Revelation 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  Matthew 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. - Editor).

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

PEARL. —This jewel, specially esteemed and familiar in the East, is twice used by our Lord as an image of the preciousness of the Christian religion: once in the saying, ‘Cast not your pearls before swine’ ( Matthew 7:6), and again in the parable of the Pearl of Great Price ( Matthew 13:46). A distinction should be observed in the choice of this jewel as a metaphorical expression. In the case of coined money such as talents or pounds, the side of religion emphasized is the active life of good works, and the lesson conveyed is that of duty. The value of the pearl is not primarily a commercial value; it is something which appeals to its possessor as a unique and priceless possession, precious for its own inherent qualities of beauty and rarity, something for which all that a man has may be sold, itself to be jealously treasured, not to be cast at the feet of those to whom it has no meaning. The pearl is not, from the purchaser’s point of view, merely a counter of commerce, it has a beauty which is its own, and which can be appreciated only by him who knows. It stands not for any utilitarian aspect of religion, but for the secret shared between the soul and God, which loses its beauty and its value if it is paraded before those who do not understand its sanctity. The main points of the two passages would seem to be the transcendent beauty and preciousness of personal religion, and the need of reticent reverence to guard it.

M. R. Newbolt.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Matthew 7:6 (b) This represents the precious truths of GOD and the beautiful revelations of His Word which should not be presented to militant atheists nor to hostile, ungodly men.

 Matthew 13:45 (b) This gem is a type of the church which is hidden in the world, and sought out by our Lord Jesus Christ who paid the great price at Calvary to purchase us with His own Blood.

 Revelation 21:21 (b) These gems are probably descriptive of the life experience of the twelve patriarchs. Their names appear on these twelve pearls. (See vvs  12,21). In the Old Testament (  Exodus 28:21), the names of these same men were on stones. Having lived their lives, and the twelve tribes having gone through the terrible experiences of the centuries, these stones were changed into pearls, for pearls are the product of long suffering. The tiny stone in the shell becomes covered with the pearl substance by the oyster because of suffering.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

In  Job 28:18 the word is gabish, which signifies 'ice' and hence 'crystal.' In the N.T. παργαρίτης 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.  Revelation 17:4;  Revelation 18:12,16 . They were worn as an ornament by women.  1 Timothy 2:9 . Metaphorically the term applies to anything costly: things which should not be cast before swine.  Matthew 7:6 . The gates of the heavenly Jerusalem were each of one pearl.  Revelation 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.  Matthew 13:45,46 . It implies the unique character of the church in the eyes of Christ.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

PEARL. References in OT are uncertain. In   Job 28:10 gâbîsh is in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] tr. [Note: translate or translation.] ‘pearls,’ but in RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘ crystal ,’ while pÄ•nînîm in same verse is in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] tr. [Note: translate or translation.] ‘rubies,’ hut in RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ‘pearls.’ In   Esther 1:6 dar should perhaps he rendered ‘pearl’ or ‘mother-of-pearl.’ In NT pearls (Gr. margaritai ) are mentioned in   Matthew 7:8; Mat 13:45 f.,   1 Timothy 2:9 ,   Revelation 21:21 . The last ref. must be to mother-of-pearl. Pearls are a pathological production of the mollusc Avicula. margaritifera .

E. W. G. Masterman.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: Μαργαρίτης (Strong'S #3135 — Noun Masculine — margarites — mar-gar-ee'-tace )

"a pearl" (Eng., Margaret), occurs in  Matthew 7:6 (proverbially and figuratively); 13:45,46;   1—Timothy 2:9;  Revelation 17:4;  18:12,16;  21:21 (twice).

King James Dictionary

PEARL, n. perl.

1. A white, hard, smooth, shining body, usually roundish, found in a testaceous fish of the oyster kind. The pearl-shell is called matrix perlarum, mother of pearl, and the pearl is found only in the softer part of the animal. It is found in the Persian seas and in many parts of the ocean which washes the shores of Arabia and the continent and isles of Asia, and is taken by divers. Pearls are of different sizes and colors the larger ones approach to the figure of a pear some have been found more than an inch in length. They are valued according to their size, their roundness, and their luster or purity, which appears in a silvery brightness. 2. Poetically, something round and clear, as a drop of water or dew. 3. A white speck of film growing on the eye.

PEARL,v.t. perl. To set or adorn with pearls.

PEARL, perl. To resemble pearls.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Job 28:18 Matthew 7:6 13:46 Revelation 21:21 1 Timothy 2:9 Revelation 17:4

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

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.

Holman Bible Dictionary

Minerals And Metals

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Bibliography Information McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Pearl'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/p/pearl.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.