the etymological similarity between the words smiris, the Egyptian asmir, "emery", a species of corindon used to polish gemstones, and shmyr, the Hebrew word supposed to mean diamond; the conclusion to be drawn is that limpid corindon was intended. Aben-Esra and Abarbanel translate yhlm as "diamond"; but yhlm was demonstrated above to be beryl. Diamond is made up of pure carbon, mostly of a white transparent colour, but sometimes tinted. White diamond is often regarded as the most precious because of its beauty and rarity. Emerald Emerald, Heb. brqm; Sept. smaragdos; Vulg. smaragdus; the third stone of the rational (Ex., xxviii, 17; xxxix, 10), representing the tribe of Levi; it is the ninth stone in Ezech., xxviii,13, and the fourth foundation stone of the celestial Jerusalem (Apoc., xxi, 19). The same stone is also mentioned in Tob., xiii, 16 (Vulg. 21); Jud., x, 21 (Vulg. 19); and in the Greek text of Ecclus., xxxii, 8, but there is no indication of it in the Manuscript B. of the Hebrew text, found in the Genizah of Cairo in 1896. Practically all versions, including Josephus (Ant. Jud., III, vii, 5; Bell. Jud., V, v, 7) translate brhm as "emerald". The Hebrew root brq (to glitter"), from which it is probably derived, is agreed on by scholastic consensus. The word may also derive from the Sanskrit marakata which is certainly emerald nor is the Greek form smaragdos that different either. In Job, xiii, 21; Jud., x, 19; Ecclus., xxxii, 8; and Apoc., xxi, 19, the emerald is certainly the stone referred to. The word bphr also has sometimes been translated by smaragdus but this is a mistake as bphr signifies carbuncle. Emerald is a green variety of beryl and is composed of silicate of alumina and glucina. Structurally, it is a hexagonal crystal with a brilliant reflecting green colour. The emerald is highly polished and is found in metamorphic rocks, granites, and mica schist. Many of the finest specimens have been found in Muzo, Bogota, South America but the ancients obtained the stone from Egypt and India. Although claims have been made that the ancients knew nothing of the emerald - Pliny, Theophrastus and others clearly refute this even though the name may have been used possibly for other stones. In the Middle Ages miraculous healing powers were attributed to the emerald, among them; the power to preserve or heal visual problems. Jacinth