Sapphire,
sappir, sapfeiros. When Moses, and the elders, etc., went up into the mount to God "there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone." Exodus 24:10. In Ezekiel's vision, above the firmament, was seen the "likeness of a throne as the appearance of a sapphire stone." Ezekiel 1:26. It was one of the stones in the breastplate, and one that garnished the foundation of the holy Jerusalem. It is symbolical of heavenly glory. Exodus 28:18; Revelation 21:19. The word occurs in Job 28:6, Job 1:28; Song of Solomon 5:14; Isaiah 54:11; Lamentations 4:7; Ezekiel 10:1; Ezekiel 28:13. Probably an azure or sky-blue stone. Some suppose it was the Lapis-lazuli, others identify it with the modern sapphire.