Precious Stones Mentioned in the Bible Quiz

Answer: Ireland

Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle due to its lush, green country side. For the record two islands in North America are officially known as Emerald Isle. The first Emerald Isle is in the Northwest Territories of Canada while the second Emerald Islle is in North Carolina, USA.

References to emeralds are made in Exodus 28:17, 39:10, Ezekiel 27:16, 28:13 and Revelation 4:3 and 21:19.

The precious stone is green due to trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium.

Answer: pearls

The correct answer is 'pearls'. The statement 'do not cast your pearls before swine' was made by Jesus during his famous Sermon on the Mount. Notes in the NKJV Study Bible state 'dogs' and 'swine' refer to people who are enemies of the Gospel as opposed to those who are merely unbelievers. In other words, such enemies are to be left alone.

For the record, using the NKJV, pearls are mentioned eight times with all the occurrences in the New Testament. One of the occurrences includes the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price, as per Matthew 13:45-46.

Answer: A virtuous wife

According to Proverbs 31:10 in the NKJV, a virtuous wife is more valuable than rubies. (The NIV uses the term 'a wife of noble character' while the KJV states 'a vrtuous woman'.) The last twenty-one verses of Chapter 31 of Proverbs provides details about a virtuous wife.

A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, according to Wikipedia. It is a variety of the mineral corundum (aluminium oxide).

Answer: Sapphire and Sapphira

Sapphire and Sapphira are the correct answers. The story of Sapphira and her husband Ananias is found in Acts 5:1-11. Both were struck dead after telling Peter they had turned over all the proceeds from the sale of land to the early church.

According to various Websites, Sapphira is a Greek variation of the precious stone Sapphire.

Using the NKJV, sapphires are mentioned twelve different times with eleven of the occurrences in the Old Testament. The lone occurrence in the New Testament is Revelation 21:19-21, a passage telling of the many of precious stones that will adorn the walls of the New Jerusalem.

Answer: Daniel

The verse containing the word 'beryl' is from Daniel 10:6. The verse is part of a passage in which Daniel has a vision in which he is addressed by a man clothed in linen, "whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz". The chapters goes on to tell of prophecies pertaining to Greece and Persia.

For the record, using the NKJV, beryl is mentioned eight different times with seven of the occurrences in the Old Testament. Beryl is mentioned three different times in the Book of Ezekiel -- 1:16, 10:9 and 28:13.

According to Wikipedia, beryl is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium cyclosilicate. Possible colors are green, blue, yellow, red and white.

Answer: True

True. According to Revelations 21:14-21, amethyst is one of twelve precious stones that will form the wall of the New Jerusalem. For the record, the other precious stones are jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase and jacinth.

Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. According to Wikipeida, the name comes from Greek for 'not' and 'intoxicate', a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness.

Answer: turquoise

In addition to being a precious stone, turquoise is a word that is sometimes used to describe an object that is greenish-blue in color. As a precious stone, turquoise bears the same color. According to Wikipedia, turquoise is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium.

There is no mention of turquoise in the New Testament. One of the mentions of turquoise in the Old Testament is Exodus 28:18, a verse providing instructions to the Israelites for garments to be worn by priests.

Answer: Jasper

Jasper is the correct answer. As a precious stone, jasper is mentioned three times in the Old Testament and four times in the New Testament.

Jasper is mentioned on four different occasions in Revelation: 4:3 and 21:11, 18 and 19.

The following information is from Wikipedia: "Jasper is an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or chalcedony and other mineral phases. It is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue."

It must be pointed out Jasper National Park is not named after the precious stone. Rather, it is named after Jasper Hawes, the colorful operator of a trading post in the region. Jasper, the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, is noted for spectacular scenery, as well as the Columbia Icefield and hot springs. According to Wikipedia, Jasper National Park attracted more than 2.1 million visitors in 2014.

Answer: Crystal

The precious stone 'crystal' is mentioned six times in the Bible, using the NKJV. In Job 28, Job talks glowingly about wisdom and its extremely high value. In Verse 17, Job states this about wisdom in the NKJV: "Neither gold nor crystal can equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold."

According to Wikipedia, Crystal Gale had no less than twenty No. 1 songs during the 1970s and '80s, with six albums certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. She is perhaps best known for the hit song 'Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue'. Incidentally, Crystal Gale is not her real name. Her name at birth was Brenda Gail Gatzimos.

Answer: True

True. Onyx stones are mentioned eleven times in the Old Testament, using Bible versions such as the KJV, NKJV and NIV. However, there is no mention of onyx stones in the New Testament.

It's interesting to note onyx stones are one of the first precious stones mentioned in the Old Testament. Genesis 2:10-12 tells of a river flowing out of the Garden of Eden and then parting to form four riverheads. The passage states the first river was called Pishon, which skirts the land of Havilah were there is gold. The passage goes on to state, "And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there."

According to Wikipedia, onyx stones have a long history of use for hardstone carving and jewelry, where it is usually cut as a cabochon or into beads.