How does God use emeralds? How is it linked to His eternal glory? What powers and abilities have been attributed to this gemstone? What do emeralds symbolize?
Description of Gem
Emeralds are considered one of the "big four" gemstones. The others in this set are diamonds, rubies and sapphires.
The emerald is the green variety of beryl which can be colored by trace amounts of chromium, vanadium or iron. The creation of these precious stones requires a rare geological coincidence where fluids bring these elements together. This is why fine examples of this stone are so scarce.
Emeralds are notorious for being brittle and almost always contain inclusions and internal fractures. It is far more fragile and prone to chipping than its Moh's hardness suggests.
Sources
Emeralds, in modern times, are found notably in Colombia, Zambia, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Russia and Ethiopia. Columbia is considered the source of the finest of these gems.
How Hard Is it?
Emeralds have a hardness of 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale where 10 is the hardest gemstone. They share the same hardness as other beryls.
Biblical Occurrences
This precious stone holds the distinction, along with jaspers and beryls, of being included in the High Priest's breastplate, a gemstone used to beautify Lucifer, and a gem used in the new Jerusalem!
Emeralds, in the King James Bible, are mentioned by name six times in six verses. They are recorded twice each in Exodus, Ezekiel and the book of Revelation.
Although this gem is recorded as being one of the stones in the High Priest's breastplate, it is not in the location delineated in the King James! The KJV translation places it as the first stone in the second row of the breastplate.
And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle (Hebrew bareqath, Strong's Concordance #H1304): this shall be the first row.
And the second row shall be an emerald (Hebrew nophek, Strong's Concordance #H5306), a sapphire, and a diamond. (Exodus 28:17 - 18, KJV throughout, see also 39:11).
The Hebrew word from which the word emerald is derived in the KJV, in both Exodus 28:18 and 39:11, is better translated as a carbuncle. That said, where the word carbuncle appears in Exodus 28:17 (and 39:10), the word bareqath is best translated as an emerald! This makes the gem the third stone in the breastplate's first row.
And you shall put settings of stones in it, four rows of stones: The first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald; this shall be the first row; (Exodus 28:17, NKJV)
Other Occurrences
Ezekiel 27 delineates the many trading partners enjoyed by ancient Tyre. This trading network proves the city, at one time, had great wealth and influence. One of these partners, Syria, provided the city with precious stones and other high-end goods.
Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate. (Ezekiel 27:16).
When God created the cherub named Lucifer, he adorned him with emeralds amongst many other gemstones.
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).
The Apostle John, in Revelation, is given a vision of God's throne. What he sees is the Lord surrounded by a rainbow which looks like an emerald!
And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. (Revelation 4:3).
The fourth foundation stone of the prophetic new Jerusalem, which God himself will make, will be composed of this gem.
And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God . . .
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 . . . (Revelation 21:10, 19).
Facts and Folklore
Most natural emeralds contain visible inclusions. These are traditionally called "jardin" (French for “garden”) and can help distinguish natural versions of the gem from synthetic material.
The ancient Egyptians mined emeralds near the Red Sea and Cleopatra was famously associated with the stone.
The Spanish conquest of South America in the 1500s A.D. brought Colombian emeralds to European markets. This act cemented them as a symbol of wealth and power.
This gem, at one time, was believed to represent youth. The corpse of those who died young sometimes had an ring with this stone placed on their index finger as a sign that their hope in life perished early.Emeralds were thought to predict future events, though the mechanism through which they conveyed this information is unknown.
In the Middle Ages this precious stone was attributed with the ability to heal a person's eyesight (1913 Catholic Encyclopedia article on precious gemstones).
Emeralds were also believed to improve the wearer's memory, make them wealthy, improve their thinking abilities and make them a better speaker.
Rabbinic legend states that God gave King Solomon four gemstones that gave him the power to rule over all creation. One of these stones is believed to have been an emerald (Curious Lore of Precious Stones, pages 31, 76 - 79).