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Topazion
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What is the true identity of the ‘ Topazion’ gem, translated from the word 'Pitdah,' in the Septuagint's version of the Old Testament written in 300 B.C. In his encyclopedia 'Natural History,'
written in the first
century A.D., the Roman historian Pliny gives us a detailed account of
‘ Topazion's’ physical
appearance,
history, origins and most importantly its time of discovery. In fact, Pliny's documentation and dating, gives quite conclusive proof that Septuagint's translation of the ‘Pitdah' of Aaron's original breastplate being ' Topazion' (Peridot) was almost certainly incorrect. |
Pliny
details the origins and time of discovery of ‘Topazion’ in this passage:
“Philon, the king's prefect, was the first to bring
these stones (Topazion) from this island; that, on his
presenting them to Queen Berenice, the mother of
the second Ptolemæus, she was wonderfully pleased
with them; and that, at a later period, a statue, four
cubits in height, was made of this stone, in honour of Arsinoë, the wife of Ptolemæus Philadelphus,
it being consecrated in the temple known as the "Golden
Temple." Pliny states that the green ‘Topazion’
was first discovered under the reign of Queen Berenice.
Berenice was the mother of Ptolemy II and wife of Ptolemy
I Soter, the first Greek Hellenistic pharaoh of Egypt, and previously a
general in Alexander the Great’s army.
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Pliny's excerpt gives the time of ‘ Topazion's' discovery coinciding with the time of Ptolemy II, the same pharaoh who
coincidentally
requested the Septuagint’s translation of the Hebrew Bible. This dates the discovery of ‘ Topazion' taking
place at approximatley 300 B.C. So how could ‘ Topazion’ have been the ‘ Pitdah’ gemstone known to Aaron
and the Hebrew slaves in 1444 B.C.? According to Pliny's passage the
Septuagint’s translation of ‘ Pitdah’ as ‘ Topazion' was false, as well as all the subsequent versions
related to it. Perhaps 'Topazion' was included in the prestigious list under the influence of the Pharaoh. The answer to this remains a mystery, but what can be proved is the real
identity of the green ‘ Topazion’ brought
back from Pliny’s island. |
The identity behind the green ‘ Topazion,’ in
the Septuagint's version of the breastplate, is
of course our Peridot. Peridot received its ‘ Topazion’
alias at the start of the Greek Hellenistic period in ancient
Egypt circa 300 B.C. In his book Natural History Pliny
writes: “ Juba says that there is an island in the
Red Sea called ‘Topazion,’ at a distance of three hundred
stadia from the main land; that it is surrounded by
fogs, and is often sought by navigators in consequence;
and that, owing to this, it received its present name,
the word ‘Topazion’ meaning ‘To seek’.” Today, Pliny’s
island of ‘ Topazion’ is known as Zabargad meaning Peridot in Egyptian Arabic. Zabargad is the largest
of a group of islands in Foul Bay off the southeastern
coast of Egypt in the Red Sea. |
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‘Topazion,’ meaning 'To Seek' or 'Conjecture' in Greek, received its name from its dangerous inaccessibility.
Indeed, the fog-entwined island must have been truly
perilous for the ancient mariners: For if they wrecked on its
surrounding reefs, managing
not to drown in the tumultuous currents between them, they then had to swim through swarms of
sharks that teamed in the waters. If that wasn’t enough,
once ashore they then had to circumnavigate the millions of pit vipers: prior to Pliny the island was called the ‘ Serpent Isle '. These tasks completed the shipwrecked mariners
would then have to avoid Ptolemy II’s royal soldiers
posted on ‘Topazion’ with strict orders to kill,
or put to work any uninvited visitors in the gem mines for
the rest of their lives. |
The captured slaves were forced to dig for the green
‘Topazion’ gems, which were then delivered
to, and cut by the royal gem cutters. Mining was done
by day, but also by night, as it was apparently difficult
to distinguish the lustrous green gems by daylight.
The workers would go out at dusk, mark the location
of the gemstones, and return the next day to work the
area. It is perhaps from this nocturnal brilliance that
came ‘Topazion’s’ scintillating pseudonym:
‘The Evening Emerald’.
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Pliny describes the green ‘Topazion’ further: “Topazion is the largest of all the precious stones..." Today, it is quite easy to find transparent
green Peridot in sizes above 10 Carats; some Peridots
have even been found in sizes over 300 Carats. Pliny also mentions the softness of ‘Topazion', stating "... and is the only one among those of high value that yields to the action of the file, the rest being polished by the aid of stone of Naxos. It admits, too, of being worn by use.”
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The stone of Naxos
is what we refer to today as emery, derived at Pliny’s
time from corundum stones on the Greek Island of Naxos
in the Aegean Sea. Corundum is the base mineral of Ruby
and Sapphire and possesses a hardness of 9 out of 10
on the Moh’s hardness scale. Therefore, the ‘Topazion’ of Pliny must have been a lot softer. He also states, “It
admits, too, of being worn by use.” This would
make ‘Topazion’ considerably softer than most
gems, and Peridot possessing a hardness of 6.5 on the
Moh’s scale, between soft microline and quartz, fits
the description. If all this corroborative evidence
wasn’t enough to identify Peridot as the ancient ‘Topazion’ gemstone, there still remains one last piece for the
puzzle: Peridot, is found in fewer locales than either diamond or sapphire, relying on specific mineralogical conditions for its formation.
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Peridot is a transparent gem variety of the Olivine
group, Olivine is one of the most common mineral types on the Earth’s
surface and is found in soldified volcanic magma. However, Peridot is the transparent gem species
of Forsterite-Olivine (Mg2SiO4) a rare sub-group within
the Olivine family. So, although Olivine is an abundant
mineral, Forsterite or Peridot only occurs in a few worldwide locations with specific geological attributes. Pliny's island of 'Topazion' is one of these rare combinations of occurences. |
Zabargad, like Hawaii, was once an oceanic volcano, forming sometime within the two million year long quaternary period, the period which also witnessed the appearance of mankind. Zabargad became visible above sea level, as a result of Africa and Asia's tectonic plates colliding. The convergence caused rocks in the lower crust to be lifted up to the surface clearing the way for magnesium rich magma flows from below the Earth's surface forming the island. Olivine often crystallizes from mafic, magnesium rich and low in silica, volcanic magma. As a result of these unique mineral forming conditions the Island of Zabargad is rich in Olivine, and possesses deposits of the gem Forsterite-Olivine: Peridot. |
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To conclude, the discovery and subsequent naming of ‘ Topazion' (Peridot) seems to have only occured around 300 B.C., making the Septuagint's translation and inclusion of it as the 'Pitdah' in Aaron's original breastplate of 1444 B.C. practically impossible. Furthermore,
‘ Topazion' correlated by Pliny’s documentation and Zabargad's specific geological conditions, is without doubt
our Peridot and not Topaz as stated in the 1611 A.D. 'King James' translation of the Old Testament...But what of the word Peridot itself, and its historical
etymology?
CONTINUE>
It is important to state that the etymological theories
on these pages are speculative, and should not be
taken as gospel.
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