Marble

"As a mineral, consists of carbonate of lime, its texture varying" from the highly crystalline to the compact. In Esther 1:6 there "are four Hebrew words which are rendered marble:, (1.) Shesh," pillars of marble. But this word probably designates dark-blue "limestone rather than marble. (2.) Dar, some regard as Parian" "marble. It is here rendered "white marble." But nothing is" "certainly known of it. (3.) Bahat, "red marble," probably the" "verd-antique or half-porphyry of Egypt. (4.) Sohareth, "black" "marble," probably some spotted variety of marble. "The marble" pillars and tesserae of various colours of the palace at Susa "came doubtless from Persia itself, where marble of various" "colours is found, especially in the province of Hamadan" "Susiana." The marble of Solomon's architectural works may have" "been limestone from near Jerusalem, or from Lebanon, or possibly" white marble from Arabia. Herod employed Parian marble in the "temple, and marble columns still exist in great abundance at" Jerusalem.