Jewel

Precious stones appear throughout Scripture as items of great value, symbols of beauty and divine glory, and components of priestly regalia. The high priest's breastplate contained twelve gems, one for each tribe of Israel, set in four rows of three (Ex. 28:17–20): sardius, topaz, carbuncle; emerald, sapphire, diamond; jacinth, agate, amethyst; beryl, onyx, and jasper. The precise identification of these Hebrew gem names with modern stones is often uncertain.

Precious stones appear in the description of the garden of Eden (Ezek. 28:13), in descriptions of divine glory (the sapphire throne in Ezek. 1:26), and extensively in the New Jerusalem of Revelation (Rev. 21:18–21), where the city's foundations are adorned with twelve precious stones corresponding to the apostles. The metaphorical use is also prominent: Proverbs compares a good wife to rubies (Prov. 31:10), and Malachi describes the faithful remnant as God's treasured jewels (Mal. 3:17).