Jacinth (, ) or hyacinth () is a yellow-red to red-brown variety of

zircon Zircon () is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates and is a source of the metal zirconium. Its chemical name is zirconium(IV) silicate, and its corresponding chemical formula is Zr SiO4. An empirical formula showing some of th ...

used as a

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...

. In Exodus 28:19, one of the precious stones set into the ''

hoshen The priestly breastplate or breastpiece of judgment ( ''ḥōšen'') was a sacred breastplate worn by the High Priest of the Israelites, according to the Book of Exodus. In the biblical account, the breastplate is termed the ''breastplate of jud ...

'' (the breastplate worn by the

High Priest of Israel In Judaism, the High Priest of Israel (, lit. ‘great priest’; Aramaic: ''Kahana Rabba'') was the head of the Israelite priesthood. He played a unique role in the worship conducted in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple in Jerusalem, ...

) is called, in Hebrew, '' leshem'', which is often translated into English as "jacinth". The true identity of this stone has been a source of confusion since at least the first century; the modern identification of ''leshem'' with jacinth seems to have been popularised by

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

, who may in turn have been following a fourth-century tradition. In

Revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...

21:20, one of the foundation stones of the

New Jerusalem In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem (, ''YHWH šāmmā'', YHWH sthere") is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be the capital of the ...

is hyacinth (Greek: ''hyakinthos''). However, ''

Strong's Concordance ''The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible'', generally known as Strong's Concordance, is a Bible concordance, an index of every word in the King James Version (KJV), constructed under the direction of American theologian James Strong. Strong fi ...

'' and ''Thayer's Greek Lexicon'' describe this as a stone of the colour of the hyacinth plant, i.e. dark blue. The stone intended may be the

sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...

. In Revelation 9:17, the word appears in adjective form (''hyakinthinous'', "hyacinthine"); this, again, is thought to be descriptive of a blue or purple colour, with no reference to the modern jacinth stone. The primary issue with the idea that jacinth (''hyakinthinous'', "hyacinthine") could have been referring to the sapphire, is the conflict that we see in Revelation 21:19-20, which lists both sapphire ("sapphiros") and jacinth (''hyakinthinous'', "hyacinthine") as completely different stones.

References

Zirconium minerals Gemstones {{gemology-stub