What makes lapis lazuli unique in the world? What color was derived by crushing up the stone? What is the gemstone's link to the patriarch Abraham? What is the folklore that surrounds lapis lazuli?
Description of Gem
Lapis lazuli is a rock rather than a single mineral. It is composed primarily of lazurite along with minerals such as calcite and pyrite. Lapis lazuli forms through metamorphism of limestone. Small golden pyrite inclusions can create attractive metallic flecks, while white calcite produces streaks or patches.
This gem, since ancient times, has been prized for its intense blue color. It can also appear as a royal blue color and sometimes it possesses violet or greenish tones.
Sources
In modern times, Afghanistan is a major (and famous) source of Lapis lazuli. It is the premier source for this gemstone. Other places it can be found include Chile, Russia, Pakistan, and the United States.
How Hard Is it?
Lapis luzuli, with a hardness of 5 to 5.5 on the Mohs scale, is one of the softest precious stones recorded in the Bible. Only coral (3 to 4) and pearls (2.5 to 4.5) are softer.
Biblical Occurrences
Lapis lazuli is one of seven gemstones not recorded, by name, in the King James Bible. The others are carnelians, chrysoprase, peridot, red garnet, rock crystal and turquoise. They all, however, are hidden in Scripture by being mislabeled as another gem!
The fifth stone listed in the High Priest's breastplate, found in the second row, is translated as "sapphire" in the King James.
And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire (Hebrew sappiyr), and a diamond. (Exodus 28:18, KJV).
Sapphires, a variety of corundum stones, have a Mohs hardness scale value of nine. This is the same hardness as rubies and second only to diamonds as the hardest minerals known to man.
Because of the difficulty in attempting to engrave a hard stone like the sapphire, the gem in the second row of the breastplate was likely a lapis lazuli. This gem, with a Mohs hardness of 5.5, is much easier to engrave than a sapphire.
"The ancients gave the name of sapphire also to our lapis lazuli, which is likewise a blue stone, often speckled with shining pyrites which give it the appearance of being sprinkled with gold dust . . . it is an opaque substance easily engraved" (Catholic Encyclopedia article on Precious Stones in the Bible).
The argument that the fifth stone in the breastplate was a lapis lazuli is also confirmed by the following.
"The stone (in the High Priest's breastplate) cannot have been our sapphire, for both Theophrastus and Pliny describe the sapphirus as a stone with golden spots, thus showing that they meant the lapis lazuli, which is often spotted with particles of pyrites having a golden sheen.
"This stone was named chesbet by the Egyptians, and was highly prized by them . . ." (Curious Lore of Precious Stones, page 293).
Other Uses
Precious and semi-precious gemstones like lapis lazuli were commonly used for carvings, ornamental purposes and for jewelry that included beadwork.
"Beads, commonly made of rock crystal, amber, shells, and agates of two or three colors, were widely owned and used by women.
"They could also be more handsomely put together of more expensive semiprecious stones, such as lapis lazuli . . . carnelian, onyx, and jasper. Amethyst beads would be very luxurious." (Harper's Encyclopedia of Bible Life, section on jewelry).
Lapis lazuli was also ground into powder to make ultramarine, the brilliant blue pigment used by Renaissance painters (including for the Virgin Mary's robes) before synthetic alternatives were developed in the 1800s.
This gemstone was often paid in tribute to ancient Egypt, being obtained from some of the oldest mines in the world. This precious stone, made in the image of the pagan goddess of truth, was also worn around the neck by the Egyptian high priest (Curious Lore of Precious Stones, pages 119, 229, 293).
Link to Abraham
The Mesopotamian city of Ur (also known as Ur of the Chaldees) was the patriarch Abraham's hometown. He lived in the city for seventy years, from 1960 to 1890 B.C., until God told him to leave in order to inherit the Promised Land (land of Canaan).
The ancient tombs of Ur were discovered in 1922 by Leonard Woolley who was the head archaeologist on the site. His work uncovered a cache of skeletons dating back at least to the time of Abraham. Among the skeletons were found headdresses made of carnelian and lapis lazuli stones (Bible Lands: An Illustrated Guide to Scriptural Places, pg. 12).
Facts and Folklore
Marco Polo, in 1271 A.D., is believed to have visited the Asiatic mines that produced the lapis lazuli (Diamonds, Pearls and Precious Stones, page 92).
Lapis lazuli has one of the longest documented histories of any gem. It was used in ancient Egypt (King Tut's burial mask has lapis inlays), Mesopotamia, and prized throughout the ancient world since it was rare and had to be traded over long distances from Afghanistan.
Lapis lazuli, by the end of the Middle Ages, was imported into Europe to make the pigment called ultramarine. The expense of obtaining the stone meant only the wealthiest patrons could afford artwork that utilized ultramarine. Artists such as Titian, Vermeer and others used the gem's color in their paintings.
Lapis lazuli is generally much less expensive than diamonds, sapphires, or emeralds. Deep, relatively uniform blue material with minimal visible calcite is typically more desirable.
The cure for feeling melancholy, and for a reoccurring fever, was thought to come through a lapis lazuli stone. The grinding up and injesting of this gem to treat melancholy is further supported by the following.
"Precious stones were often employed as amulets, and some, not content to wear them externally, adopted the means of reducing them to powder, and taking them as internal remedies . . .
". . . Lapis lazuli (azure stone) are extolled by Alexander, Aetius, Avicenna and Actuarius as sovereign remedies for melancholy when taken internally." (On Superstitions Connected with the History and Practice of Medicine and Surgery, page 69 - 70).
Ancient Romans and Greeks believed the lapis lazuli gemstone had medicinal applications. They were known to pulverize it and use it to make a tonic (Curious Lore of Precious Stones, pages 92 - 93, 370).