Marble

(Rev. 18:12)—a mineral belonging to the hard limestones, notable for its hardness and its capacity for fine polishing. There is no doubt that marble has been used since the most ancient times as a building material for the construction of buildings (Rev. 18:12, 1 Chron. 29:2) and for the making of various vessels. The color of marble varies and is often very beautiful; pieces of various colors and sizes can be joined together, so as to form a fine mosaic. Such, in all likelihood, were the pavement and the columns of the Persian palace at Susa, described in the Book of Esther (1:6).

Besides this, in the Song of Songs it is said of the mysterious bridegroom that his legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold (5:15). Pieces of red and white marble among the ruins of Gerasa, or Gadara, and Rabbath-ammon show that in Roman times marble was often used for the construction of the magnificent buildings of the most notable cities on the eastern and western sides of the Jordan. At present marble is quarried in Europe (especially in Greece, Italy, and Russia) and in Asia, on Mount Lebanon.