The word thus translated in the common version is in Hebrew Achlamah and is the name of the precious stone mentioned in Scripture as the ninth in the breastplate of the high-priest (Exodus 28:19; Exodus 39:12): in the New Testament the precise word amethyst (which is Greek) designates the twelfth stone in the foundations of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:20).
The transparent gems called amethysts are of a color which seems composed of a strong blue and deep red; and according as either of these prevails, exhibit different tinges of purple, sometimes approaching to violet, and sometimes declining even to a rose color. All the varieties of it are comprehended under two species, the Oriental Amethyst and the Occidental Amethyst. The Oriental amethyst is very scarce, and of great hardness, luster, and beauty. It is in fact a rare variety of the adamantine spar, or corundum. Next to the diamond, it is the hardest substance known. It contains about 90 per cent, of alumine, a little iron, and a little silica. Of this species, emery, used in cutting and polishing glass, etc. is a granular variety. To this species also belongs the sapphire, the most valuable of gems next to the diamond; and of which the Oriental amethyst is merely a violet variety. Like other sapphires, it loses its color in the fire, and comes out with so much of the luster and color of the diamond, that the most experienced jeweler may be deceived by it.
The more common, or Occidental amethyst, is a variety of quartz, or rock crystal, and is found in various forms in many parts of the world, as India, Siberia, Sweden, Germany, Spain; and even in England very beautiful specimens of tolerable hardness have been discovered. This also loses its color in the fire.
Amethysts were much used by the ancients for rings and cameos; and the reason given by Pliny—because they were easily cut—shows that the Occidental species is to be understood. The ancients believed that the amethyst possessed the power of dispelling drunkenness in those who wore or touched it, and hence its Greek name. In like manner, the Rabbins derive its Jewish name from its supposed power of procuring dreams to the wearer.
This Encyclopedia of Biblical Literature is a 6 volume set in 1 book. It has over 2Read More
John Kitto was an English biblical scholar of Cornish descent.Born in Plymouth, John Kitto was a sickly child, son of a Cornish stonemason. The drunkenness of his father and the poverty of his family meant that much of his childhood was spent in the workhouse. He had no more than three years of erratic and interrupted education. At the age of twelve John Kitto fell on his head from a rooftop, and became totally and permanently deaf. As a young man he suffered further tragedies, disappointments and much loneliness. His height was 4 ft 8 in, and his accident left him with an impaired sense of balance. He found consolation in browsing at bookstalls and reading any books that came his way.
From these hardships he was rescued by friends who became aware of his mental abilities and encouraged him to write topical articles for local newspapers, arranging eventually for him to work as an assistant in a local library. Here he continued to educate himself.
One of his benefactors was the Exeter dentist Anthony Norris Groves, who in 1824 offered him employment as a dental assistant. Living with the Groves family, Kitto was profoundly influenced by the practical Christian faith of his employer. In 1829 he accompanied Groves on his pioneering mission to Baghdad and served as tutor to Groves's two sons. In 1833 Kitto returned to England via Constantinople, accompanied by another member of the Groves mission, Francis William Newman. Shortly afterwards he married, and in due course had several children.
A London publisher asked Kitto to write up his travel journals for a series of articles in the Penny Magazine, a publication read at that time by a million people in Britain, reprinted in America and translated into French, German and Dutch. Other writing projects followed as readers enquired about his experiences in the East amidst people living in circumstances closely resembling those of Bible times.
Wikipedia