MARBLE

MARBLE

Calcareous stone of great hardness, naturally crystallized, and capable of being polished. Because of its luster, in Heb. It is called “shayish” and “shêsh”; in gr. “marmaros.”

Columns and luxurious paving were made with this material (Est. 1:6; Song 5:15). Solomon used it abundantly for the construction of the Temple (1 Chron. 29:2).

Josephus, in describing the walls of this building, states that they were of white stone, but without mentioning their variety (Ant. 8:3, 2). The white, yellow and red marbles came from Lebanon; Arabia supplied select varieties.

In the regions of Palestine east and west of the Jordan, the red and white variety was used for palaces of the Greco-Roman era. The columns of the porches of Herod’s temple were monoliths of white marble, 25 cubits high (Wars 5:5, 2).

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