Isaiah 5:22 Kings 3:25Nehemiah 4:3Leviticus 14:38-401 Kings 7:91 Kings 6:7Esther 1:6Genesis 31:46Joshua 4:1Joshua 7:261 Kings 7:9-12

Single stones were used to close the mouth of cisterns, wells, and tombs (Genesis 29:2; Matthew 27:60; John 11:38 ). They were also used to mark boundaries (Deuteronomy 19:14 ). The Israelites sometimes consecrated a single stone as a memorial to God (Genesis 28:18-22; 1 Samuel 7:12 ).

The Old Testament and the New Testament refer to stones being used as lethal weapons. See 1 Samuel 17:49 ) and about the enemies of the Christian faith stoning Stephen (Acts 7:58 ).

Stones were often used for weights on scales. They were employed for writing documents. The most obvious example is the writing of the Ten Commandments on stone by the Spirit of God when Moses went up on Mount Sinai.

Symbolically, a stone denotes hardness or insensibility (1 Samuel 25:37; Ezekiel 36:26 ). It could also mean firmness and strength. The followers of Christ were called living stones who were built up into the spiritual temple of Christ. Christ himself became the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20-22; 1 Peter 2:4-8 ). See Minerals and Metals .

Gary Bonner