The allusion in Revelation 2:17 may be to the practice at the Olympic games of giving the successful competitor a white stone, inscribed with his name and the value of his prize; or to the mode of balloting with black and white stones on the question of the acquittal of an accused person, or his admission to certain privileges; if the stones deposited in the urn by the judges were all white, the decision was favorable. In early ages, flint-stone knives were in common use, instead of steel, Exodus 4:25 Joshua 5:2 .
It was also customary to raise a heap or mound of stones in commemoration of any remarkable event, Genesis 31:46 Joshua 4:5-7 7:26 8:29 2 Samuel 18:17 . The same custom still prevails in Syria, and passing travellers are wont to add each one a stone to the heap. See CORNER STONE.