יַהֲלֹם (yahalom) — diamond
Etymology
The word יַהֲלֹם appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of twelve gemstones set in the High Priest's breastplate (חֹשֶׁן, Exodus 28:17–20). The twelve stones are: אֹדֶם, פִּטְדָה, בָּרֶקֶת, נֹפֶךְ, סַפִּיר, יָהֲלֹם, לֶשֶׁם, שְׁבוֹ, אַחְלָמָה, תַּרְשִׁישׁ, שֹׁהַם, and יָשְׁפֵה. Because the Bible provides no identifying information, scholars rely on ancient translations — primarily the Septuagint — to determine which stone each name referred to. However, the Greek ordering differs from the Hebrew, and Greek gemstone names shifted referents over time, making definitive identification impossible. The same difficulties apply to the Aramaic and Latin translations.
The identification of יַהֲלֹם with the diamond traces back to Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra (12th century), who cited "a great Spanish sage" saying that יַהֲלֹם is what the Arabs call אַלְמַס — the Arabic word for diamond — because it "breaks all stones and pierces crystal." Following this interpretation, Martin Luther translated יַהֲלֹם as Diamant in his German Bible (1534), and the same identification appeared in Yehoshua Boaz's Shalitei ha-Giborim that same year. The King James Bible later followed suit.
During the Haskalah period, writers seeking a Hebrew word for diamond competed over several candidates. Baruch Linda (1788) simply used the foreign word דִּיאָמַנְט. Judah Leib Ben-Ze'ev (1808) proposed שֹׁהַם; Shimon Bloch (1822) used אַבְנֵי בְּדוֹלַח; and an 1891 article in Ha-Tzfira argued that שָׁמִיר (the legendary engraving agent of the breastplate) was in fact the diamond, since only the hardest stone could engrave the others. Joseph Sheinhaak, in his 1859 book Toldot ha-Aretz, was the first to use יַהֲלֹם explicitly as the Hebrew equivalent of Diamant, citing the Shalitei ha-Giborim identification while noting the uncertainty.
Through the 19th century all these terms competed, but by the early 20th century every major lexicographer adopted יַהֲלֹם, and it became the accepted standard. Of the twelve breastplate gems, only five have been adopted into modern Hebrew with specific mineralogical meanings: אֹדֶם (ruby), בָּרֶקֶת (emerald), סַפִּיר (sapphire), אַחְלָמָה (amethyst) — all following the Septuagint — and יַהֲלֹם (diamond), following medieval rabbinic interpretation.
Key Quotes
"חכם גדול ספרדי אמר כי יהלום הוא הנקרא ׳אלמס׳ שהוא שובר כל האבנים ונוקב הבדולח" — Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra, commentary on Exodus 28, 12th century
"המובחר והיותר משובח ויקר הוא הנקרא דיאמאנט" — Baruch Linda, Reshit Limudim, 1788
Timeline
- Biblical period: יַהֲלֹם listed among the 12 breastplate gemstones; identity unknown
- 12th century: Ibn Ezra identifies יַהֲלֹם with the Arabic אַלְמַס (diamond)
- 1534: Luther translates יַהֲלֹם as Diamant; Shalitei ha-Giborim makes the same identification
- 1611: King James Bible renders יַהֲלֹם as "diamond"
- 1788: Baruch Linda uses the loanword דִּיאָמַנְט in Reshit Limudim
- 1808: Ben-Ze'ev proposes שֹׁהַם for diamond in Otzar ha-Shorashim
- 1822: Shimon Bloch uses אַבְנֵי בְּדוֹלַח in Shvilei Olam
- 1859: Joseph Sheinhaak uses יַהֲלֹם as Hebrew for diamond in Toldot ha-Aretz
- 1891: Dr. Ludwig Karfeles argues שָׁמִיר is the diamond in Ha-Tzfira
- Early 20th century: יַהֲלֹם adopted by all major lexicographers; becomes standard
Related Words
- אֹדֶם — ruby (from same breastplate list, via Septuagint)
- בָּרֶקֶת — emerald (from same breastplate list, via Septuagint)
- סַפִּיר — sapphire (from same breastplate list)
- אַחְלָמָה — amethyst (from same breastplate list, via Septuagint)
- שֹׁהַם — onyx; competing Haskalah-era candidate for "diamond"
- שָׁמִיר — the legendary engraving substance; another proposed Hebrew for diamond