kris´tal : In English Versions of the Bible the word is probably intended to signify rock-crystal, crystallized quartz. This the Greeks called κρύσταλλος , krústallos , "ice," believing it to have been formed from water by intense cold. Thus in Revelation 4:6; Revelation 21:11; Revelation 22:1 , either "crystal" (EV) or "ice" (Greek, krustallos ) suits the context. The word rendered "crystal" in Ezekiel 1:22 ( קרח , ḳeraḥ ) is ambiguous in precisely the same way (the Revised Version, margin "ice"). In Job 28:17 the context favors the King James Version "crystal," rather than the Revised Version (British and American) "glass" ( זכוּכית , zekhūkhı̄th ). Finally, in Job 28:18 the Revised Version (British and American) reads "crystal" for the King James Version "pearls" (Hebrew gābhı̄sh ; the weight of evidence favors the Revised Version (British and American) in spite of the parallelism suggested by the King James Version). See also STONES , PRECIOUS .
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) was edited by James Orr, John Nuelsen, Edgar Mullins, Morris Evans, and Melvin Grove Kyle and was published complete in 1939. This web site includes the complete text.
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