יַהֲלֹם

# Yahalom (יַהֲלֹם): An Ancient Precious Stone The Hebrew word *yahalom* refers to jasper, a precious gemstone that appears three times in the biblical text. Based on the limited attestations, this term designates a specific mineral substance valued in ancient Near Eastern contexts, though the exact identification remains bound to how ancient peoples classified stones rather than modern geological categories. The rarity of this word's occurrence in the biblical corpus—appearing only three times—suggests it held particular significance when mentioned, likely in contexts involving sacred or valuable materials. Without additional lexical data on the specific passages where it appears, we can note that its inclusion in biblical vocabulary indicates jasper was known to ancient Hebrew speakers and sufficiently important to warrant its own distinct term rather than being subsumed under a generic word for stones. The presence of a dedicated lemma for this stone underscores its recognized place in the material culture and valuables of the biblical world.