שיש , 1 Chronicles 29:2; Esther 1:6; Song of Solomon 5:15; a valuable kind of stone, of a texture so hard and compact, and of a grain so fine, as readily to take a beautiful polish. It is dug out of quarries in large masses, and is much used in buildings, ornamental pillars, &c. Marble is of different colours, black, white, &c; and is sometimes elegantly clouded and variegated. The stone mentioned in the places cited above is called the stone of sis or sish: the LXX and Vulgate render it "Parian stone," which was remarkable for its bright white colour. Probably the cliff Ziz, 2 Chronicles 20:16 , was so called from being a marble crag: the place was afterward called Petra. The variety of stones, בהט , שיש , דר , סחרת , mentioned in the pavement of Ahasuerus, might be marble of different colours. The ancients sometimes made pavements wherein were set very valuable stones.