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Lapis lazuli is often speckled with shining pyrites giving it the appearance of being sprinkled with gold dust. It is composed of silica, alumina, and alkali and is an opaque substance easily engraved. Lapis lazuli seems more probable as its qualities are better suited for the purposes of engraving (Lam., iv, 7; Ex., xxviii, 17; xxxix, 13).
Many Torah scholars, however, have opined that the biblical sapir was, in fact, lapis lazuli (see Exodus 24:10, lapis lazuli is a possible alternate rendering of "sapphire" the stone pavement under God's feet when the intention to craft the tablets of the covenant is disclosed Exodus 24:12). [2]
Lapis lazuli (UK: / ˌ l æ p ɪ s ˈ l æ z (j) ʊ l i, ˈ l æ ʒ ʊ-,-ˌ l i /; US: / ˈ l æ z (j) ə l i, ˈ l æ ʒ ə-,-ˌ l i /), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color.
The name of "Stone" or lapis itself is informed by early Christian allegory, such as Priscillian (4th century), who stated, Unicornis est Deus, nobis petra Christus, nobis lapis angularis Jesus, nobis hominum homo Christus (One-horned is God, Christ the rock to us, Jesus the cornerstone to us, Christ the man of men to us.) [25]
It is more likely that the term sappir referred to a mineral of similar color to sapphires and that the name gradually came to refer to the latter mineral on account of its color; scholars think the most likely candidate is lapis lazuli, a stone with a deep, ocean-blue color which was frequently sent as a gift to Akhenaten from Babylon.
The myth of Inanna's descent to the nether world describes how the goddess dresses and prepares herself: "She held the lapis-lazuli measuring rod and measuring line in her hand." [6] In tablet IV of the Enuma Elish, the rod and ring symbol is referenced as: "They rejoiced, and they did homage unto him, saying, "Marduk is King!"
His name is generally translated as "Medicine Guru, King of Lapis Lazuli Light". "Vaiḍūrya" is a precious stone which most translators have rendered as lapis lazuli .
A more practical explanation for the use of this color is that in Medieval and Renaissance Europe, the blue pigment was derived from the rock lapis lazuli, a stone imported from Afghanistan of greater value than gold. Beyond a painter's retainer, patrons were expected to purchase any gold or lapis lazuli to be used in the painting.