Stones

Pieces of rock, used extensively for building.

Stones used in building

The temple in Jerusalem

1 Kings 5:17–18 See also 1 Kings 6:14–18, 1 Kings 6:36, 1 Kings 7:9–121CH 1 Kings 22:2, 1 Chronicles 22:14, 1 Chronicles 29:2 2 Kings 22:3–7 parallel 2 Chronicles 34:8–11 repairing the temple; Ezra 6:1–4 rebuilding the temple after the exile; Matthew 24:1–2 parallels Mark 13:1–2, Luke 21:5–6 Jesus Christ prophesies the temple's destruction.

And the king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones. So Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders, along with the Gebalites, quarried the stone and prepared the timber and stone for the construction of the temple.

Other references to building with stone

Genesis 11:1–3; Leviticus 14:39–45; 2 Chronicles 16:6; Nehemiah 4:1–3; Isaiah 9:10; Amos 5:11

Boundary stones

Deuteronomy 19:14 See also Deuteronomy 27:17; Job 24:2; Proverbs 22:28, Proverbs 23:10–11; Hosea 5:10

You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker, which was set up by your ancestors to mark the inheritance you shall receive in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

Stones covering openings

Wells

Genesis 29:1–10

The lions' den

Daniel 6:16–17

So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that nothing concerning Daniel could be changed.

Tombs

Mark 15:42–46 parallel Matthew 27:57–60 See also Matthew 27:62–28:4 parallels Mark 16:1–5, Luke 24:1–3; John 11:38–44, John 20:1

Now it was already evening. Since it was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath ), Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent Council member who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God, boldly went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus. Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, so he summoned the centurion to ask if this was so. When Pilate had confirmed it with the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought a linen cloth, took down the body of Jesus, wrapped it in the cloth, and placed it in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb.

Stone jars

Exodus 7:19 See also John 2:1–10

And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt— over their rivers and canals and ponds and all the reservoirs— that they may become blood.’ There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone.”

Stones as weapons

Judges 20:16 See also Numbers 35:17; 1 Samuel 17:38–50; 1 Chronicles 12:2; 2 Chronicles 26:15

Among all these soldiers there were 700 select left-handers, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair without missing.

Stones in religious use

Stone altars

Exodus 20:24–26 See also Deuteronomy 27:1–8; Joshua 8:30–32; 1 Kings 18:30–38

You are to make for Me an altar of earth, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats and cattle. In every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. Now if you make an altar of stones for Me, you must not build it with stones shaped by tools; for if you use a chisel on it, you will defile it. And you must not go up to My altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.’[’’]

Memorial stones

1 Samuel 7:12 See also Genesis 28:10–22, Genesis 31:43–53, Genesis 35:14–15; Exodus 24:3–4; Deuteronomy 27:1–8; Joshua 4:1–24, Joshua 24:26–27

Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”

Ten Commandments written on stone

Exodus 31:18 See also Exodus 24:12, Exodus 34:1–4; Deuteronomy 4:13, Deuteronomy 5:22, Deuteronomy 9:9–11, Deuteronomy 10:1–3; 1 Kings 8:9; Hebrews 9:3–4

When the LORD had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.

Sacred stones

1 Kings 14:22–23 Exodus 23:24, Exodus 34:13; Deuteronomy 7:5, Deuteronomy 12:3, Deuteronomy 16:22; 2 Kings 3:2, 2 Kings 10:26–27, 2 Kings 17:10, 2 Kings 18:4, 2 Kings 23:14; 2 Chronicles 31:1; Isaiah 27:9; Hosea 3:4, Hosea 10:1–2; Micah 5:13

And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and by the sins they committed they provoked Him to jealous anger more than all their fathers had done. They also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.

Stone idols

Habakkuk 2:19 See also Deuteronomy 4:28, Deuteronomy 28:36, Deuteronomy 28:64, Deuteronomy 29:17; 2 Kings 19:18 parallel Isaiah 37:19; Acts 17:29; Revelation 9:20

Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.”

Stonecutters and stonemasons

1 Kings 5:15 parallel 2 Chronicles 2:2 See also 2 Samuel 5:11; 2 Kings 12:11–12; 1 Chronicles 22:2, 1 Chronicles 22:15; 2 Chronicles 2:18

Solomon had 70,000 porters and 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains,

Death by stoning

Leviticus 24:10–16 See also Exodus 19:12–13, Exodus 21:28–32; Leviticus 20:2, Leviticus 20:27; Numbers 15:32–36; Deuteronomy 13:6–11, Deuteronomy 17:2–5, Deuteronomy 21:18–21; Joshua 7:25; 1 Kings 12:18 parallel 2 Chronicles 10:18; 1 Kings 21:1–13MAT 1 Kings 21:33–35, Matthew 23:37 parallel Luke 13:34ACT Luke 7:54–60, Acts 14:19; 2 Corinthians 11:25

Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse. So they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) They placed him in custody until the will of the LORD should be made clear to them. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and have all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then have the whole assembly stone him. And you are to tell the Israelites, ‘If anyone curses his God, he shall bear the consequences of his sin. Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD must surely be put to death; the whole assembly must surely stone him, whether he is a foreign resident or native; if he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.

Jesus Christ described as a stone

1 Peter 2:4–8 See also Psalm 118:22; Isaiah 8:14, Isaiah 28:16; Matthew 21:42–44 parallels Mark 12:10–11, Luke 20:17–18; Acts 4:8–12; Romans 9:33

As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.” To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word— and to this they were appointed.

Believers described as living stones

1 Peter 2:5

you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Metaphorical references to stones

Ezekiel 36:26 See also Exodus 15:5, Exodus 15:15–16; 1 Kings 10:27 parallels 2 Chronicles 1:15, 2 Chronicles 9:27; Nehemiah 9:11; Job 6:12, Job 38:29–30; Ezekiel 3:9, Ezekiel 11:19

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.