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( ὑÜêéíèïò , Ital. giacinto)
Jacinth, or hyacinth, is the colour of the eleventh foundation-stone of the New Jerusalem (Rev_21:20). The cuirasses of apocalyptic horsemen are partly hyacinthine (Rev_9:17). The ὑÜêéíèïò of the ancients was probably our sapphire (Rev_21:20 [Revised Version margin]). The modern hyacinth, a variety of zircon, of yellowish red colour, may have been the stone known in Gr. as ëïãýñéïí and in Heb. as leshem (the Revised Version of Exo_28:19; Exo_39:12 has ‘jacinth’ where the Authorized Version has ‘ligure’); but Flinders Petrie (Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) iv. 620) suggests that the latter was yellow quartz or agate. Many Greek and Roman ‘hyacinths,’ used for intaglios and cameos, were probably only garnets.
James Strahan.