Body ornaments, usually made of metal and/or precious stones. Items of jewelry specifically mentioned include the necklace (Song 4:9), ring (Hos 2:13), strings of jewels (Song 1:10), and gold and pearls (Rev 17:4; Rev 18:16). Specific materials from which jewelry was made include silver and gold (Gen 24:53), including fine gold (Job 28:17). See also (Exod 28:17-21; Exod 35:22; Num 31:50; Ezek 16:11-12; Ezek 28:13). There are also figurative applications: “lips informed by knowledge are a precious jewel” in parallel with “costly stones” (Prov 20:15); the “imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit” (1Pet 3:4; RS); wisdom is “more precious than jewels” (Prov 3:15); a good wife is “far more precious than jewels” (Prov 31:10); and the beloved’s “rounded thighs” are “like jewels, the work of a master hand” (Song 7:1). Eschatological visions see the holy city of Jerusalem embellished with precious metals and stones (Isa 54:12; Rev 21:19-21) and often involve highly imaginative speculations (a city gate of a single pearl, Rev 21:21).
