Bible Dictionaries
Stone

Holman Bible Dictionary

Hardened mineral matter comprising much of the earth. Palestine is a stony country. Often it was necessary to clear a field of stone preparatory to its cultivation (Isaiah 5:2 ). An enemy's fields were marred by throwing stones on them, and his wells were choked with stones (2Kings 3:19,2 Kings 3:25 ). Stones were used for various purposes: city walls (Nehemiah 4:3 ), dwellings (Leviticus 14:38-40 ), palaces (1Kings 7:1,1 Kings 7:9 ), temples (1 Kings 6:7 ), pavement in courtyards and columns (Esther 1:6 ), and in Herodian times, at least, for paving streets. The Israelites used unhewn stones for building their altars. They often heaped stones to commemorate some great spiritual event or encounter with God (Genesis 31:46; Joshua 4:1 ). They marked the grave of notorious offenders with stones (Joshua 7:26 ). One of the most popular uses of stone was the building of the walls of the Temple and the building of the walls of the city of Jerusalem (1 Kings 7:9-12 ).

Single stones were used to close the mouth of cisterns, wells, and tombs (Genesis 29:2; Matthew 27:60; John 11:38 ). They were also used to mark boundaries (Deuteronomy 19:14 ). The Israelites sometimes consecrated a single stone as a memorial to God (Genesis 28:18-22; 1 Samuel 7:12 ).

The Old Testament and the New Testament refer to stones being used as lethal weapons. See 1 Samuel 17:49 ) and about the enemies of the Christian faith stoning Stephen (Acts 7:58 ).

Stones were often used for weights on scales. They were employed for writing documents. The most obvious example is the writing of the Ten Commandments on stone by the Spirit of God when Moses went up on Mount Sinai.

Symbolically, a stone denotes hardness or insensibility (1 Samuel 25:37; Ezekiel 36:26 ). It could also mean firmness and strength. The followers of Christ were called living stones who were built up into the spiritual temple of Christ. Christ himself became the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20-22; 1 Peter 2:4-8 ). See Minerals and Metals .

Gary Bonner