How hard is this gem compared to others? How do beryls fulfill Bible prophecy? What makes these gemstones unique in God's word? What is the folklore surrounding this stone?
Description of Gem
Beryl is a beryllium aluminum silicate that forms in granite pegmatites (dikes and veins) and certain rocks formed by pressure and heat. They often grow in hexagonal crystals.
Pure beryl is colorless, while trace elements create its different colors and varieties.
Beryls are actually a mineral family that includes gemstones such as emeralds, morganite, aquamarine, goshenite and others.
At the time of Pliny the Elder, a Roman nobleman in the first century A.D., eight varieties of beryls were recognized. He wrote the following about this gemstone.
"of the same nature as the smaragdus, or at least closely analogous. India produces them, and they are rarely to be found elsewhere.
"The lapidaries (someone who cuts, polishes and engraves precious stones) cut all beryls of a hexagonal form because the color which is deadened by a dull uniformity of surface is heightened by the reflections resulting from the angles.
"If they are cut in any other way, these stones have no brilliancy whatever. The most esteemed beryls are those which in color resemble the pure green of the sea. Some are of opinion that beryls are naturally angular." (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia article on precious stones).
Sources
Beryls, in modern times, are found in places such as Colombia, Zambia, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Madagascar and other locations.
How Hard Is it?
Beryls and emeralds have a hardness of 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale. They are among the hardest gemstones mentioned in the Bible.
Biblical Occurrences
The gemstone known as beryl is recorded, by name, eight times in eight King James Bible verses. It is found the most in Ezekiel (3 times) followed by Exodus (2) and then once each in the Song of Solomon, Daniel and Revelation.
Beryls are the third most recorded gem, by name, in the King James Bible. Only sapphires and the onyx stone (both listed 12 times) and pearls (10) are found more frequently.
Beryls, along with the onyx stone and emeralds, share a unique relationship in the Bible. They are the only three gems included not only in the High Priest's breastplate, but also as a stone used to beautify Lucifer and a gem used in the prophetic New Jerusalem!
This precious stone, as stated above, was embedded in the High Priest's breastplate. It was located in the fourth of four rows of stones, which each row having three precious gems.
And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it . . .
And the fourth row a beryl (Hebrew tarshiysh, Strong's Concordance #H8658), and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings. (Exodus 28:15, 20, see also 39:13, KJV throughout).
The word tarshiysh, according to Strong's Concordance, comes from a foreign derivation that refers to a beryl. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Definitions states the word likely refers to a chrysolite, yellow jasper or other yellow colored stone.
King Solomon's future bride used beryls as a metaphor to describe his hand.
His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.
His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. (Song of Solomon 5:13 - 14).
In Ezekiel's well-known "wheel in a wheel" vision of God's glory and throne, he describes the color of the prophetic wheels he sees.
The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the color of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel . . .
And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the cherubims, one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: and the appearance of the wheels was as the color of a beryl stone. (Ezekiel 1:16, 10:9).
When God created the cherub named Lucifer, he adorned him with beryl gemstones among many others.
Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold . . . (Ezekiel 28:13).
Daniel, in his last recorded vision, is visited by the archangel Gabriel. The angel is sent by God to reveal information about the prophetic end times including the events leading up to Jesus' return (Daniel 10:14). His glorious appearance is described by Daniel using this gemstone.
Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. (Daniel 10:5 - 6).
The eighth foundation stone of the New Jerusalem, built by God for his new spiritual family, is made of this gem!
And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl (Greek berullos, Strong's Concordance #G969); the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. (Revelation 21:19 - 20).
Other Uses
Beryls are used for jewelry such as rings, necklaces and earrings.
Folklore and Myth
According to "Diamonds, Pearls and Precious Stones" (page 66), in the Middle Ages, beryls were thought to induce cheerfulness upon the wearer. It was commonly referred to as the "sweet-tempered" stone.
Beryls were also believed to protect a person in battle, cure them of being lazy, and reawaken a married couple's love (Curious Lore of Precious Stones, pages 59 - 60).