Crystal

Crystal appears in scripture as a figure of clarity, costliness, and uncreated brightness. In the wisdom literature it stands among the precious stones that cannot purchase wisdom; in the prophets and the Apocalypse it names the look of what is set above the heavens, before the throne, and flowing from it.

Crystal among the precious things

The poem in Job locates wisdom by ruling out everything that might be exchanged for it. Crystal is one of the things named: "It can't be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire. Gold and glass can't equal it, Neither will it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. No mention will be made of coral or of crystal: Yes, the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia will not equal it, Neither will it be valued with pure gold" (Job 28:16-19). The list assumes that crystal already belongs to the highest register of value — gold, onyx, sapphire, coral, rubies, topaz — but stops short of wisdom's worth.

In the prophetic catalogue of Tyre's traffic, crystal is absent and coral takes its place beside the rest of the merchant inventory: "Syria was your merchant by reason of the multitude of your handiworks: they traded for your wares with emeralds, purple, and embroidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and rubies" (Eze 27:16). The Job passage and Ezekiel together set the baseline — these stones, crystal among them, name the world's highest priced things, and the prophets and apostles will go on to use them figuratively.

The crystal firmament above the cherubim

Ezekiel's inaugural vision locates a firmament of crystal directly above the four living creatures: "And over the head of the living creature there was the likeness of a firmament, like the awesome crystal to look at, stretched forth over their heads above" (Eze 1:22). The crystal here is a description of appearance — what is overhead is so transparent and bright that it looks like crystal — and the adjective "awesome" colors the figure with dread, not just beauty.

The sea of glass before the throne

The Apocalypse picks up the same image at the throne: "and before the throne, as it were a sea of glass like crystal; and among the throne, and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes before and behind" (Re 4:6). The four living creatures of Ezekiel reappear, and the crystalline expanse that was over their heads in the prophet's vision now spreads out before the throne as a sea. What was firmament in Ezekiel and sea in Revelation share the same descriptor — crystal.

The crystal city

When the new Jerusalem descends, the city itself is described in the same terms: "having the glory of God: her light was like a most precious stone, as it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal: / The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; / the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst" (Re 21:11). The light of the city is "clear as crystal." The same precious-stone vocabulary that priced out wisdom in Job now builds the foundations of the city, and crystal is the adjective for its glory.

The river bright as crystal

The vision closes with water: "And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, that proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Re 22:1). The river issues from the throne where the sea of glass had stood, and it carries forward the same brightness. Across the canon, where crystal appears it gathers the same elements — the throne, what is above the cherubim, the precious stones, and now the water of life — into one figure of unmixed clarity.