Revelation 21:19,20

Revelation 21:19-20. The materials of the twelve courses of stones which formed the basement of the city are next mentioned (comp. on Revelation 21:14). They are not merely beautified with precious stones. The words garnished with all manner of precious stones might suggest such an idea, but the words that follow immediately correct it. Each course was composed of the particular jewel named.

The first foundation was jasper, the clear brilliant stone already mentioned in connection with the ‘light of the city' in Revelation 21:11, and with the ‘building of the wall' in Revelation 21:18. The second was sapphire, a stone of a clear sky-blue colour. The third was chalcedony, by which is generally understood a greenish blue emerald. The fourth was emerald, of a green colour peculiarly pleasing to the eye (comp. chap. Revelation 4:3). The fifth was sardonyx, a form of onyx stone, and of a palish-white. The sixth was sardius, a red stone (comp. chap. Revelation 4:3). The seventh was chrysolite, a stone highly esteemed among the ancients, of a colour that was golden yellow. The eighth was beryl, a green-coloured stone. The ninth was topaz, a stone the leading colour of which was green, but modified by yellow. The tenth was chrysoprasus, a stone of greenish hue. The eleventh was jacinth, a stone of a yellow amber colour. The twelfth was amethyst, a violet blue stone. Some uncertainty attaches to the identification of each of these stones, but to the interpreter who would catch the idea of the Seer this uncertainty is of little moment. Two things are especially noteworthy in regard to them when they are taken as a whole. (1) All are precious, fitly representing the splendour of the celestial city. (2) All are different from each other, though they blend into a harmonious unity. The glorious light of the Divine presence streams through many colours, and each course of precious stones retains beneath the common light which all give forth its own individual excellence and beauty.