Original Word: זְכוּכִית
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: zkuwkiyth
Pronunciation: ze-ko-KEETH
Phonetic Spelling: (zek-oo-keeth)
KJV: crystal
NASB: glass
Word Origin: [from H2135 (זָכָה - blameless)]

1. (properly) transparency, i.e. glass

crystal

From zakah; properly, transparency, i.e. Glass -- crystal.

see HEBREW zakah

Word Origin
from zakak
Definition
glass
NASB Translation
glass (1).

זְכוֺכִית noun [feminine] glass (ᵑ7 זכוכיתא; but see Frä⁶⁴); as precious ("" זָהָב), yet of less value than wisdom Job 28:17. (Baer as above; זְכוּכִית van d. H and others)

Term and Occurrence

One Hebrew word, zĕkûkîth, rendered “glass” or “crystal,” appears once in the Old Testament: “Gold or glass cannot compare with it, nor can it be exchanged for vessels of fine gold” (Job 28:17).

Historical Background of Glass in the Ancient Near East

Glassworking was known in Egypt and Mesopotamia by the second millennium BC, yet production was limited and costly. Translucent beads, small flasks, and inlays served royalty and temples, making the material a symbol of luxury long before widespread Greco-Roman glassblowing. Job’s mention of glass beside gold testifies to its rarity and value in the patriarchal age.

Contextual Significance in Job 28

Job 28 is a hymn exalting divine wisdom beyond earth’s richest commodities. Humanity can tunnel mountains and smelt metals, but its finest treasures—silver, gold, sapphires, crystal-clear glass—still cannot purchase wisdom. The image of gleaming glass intensifies wisdom’s worth while evoking purity and clarity: what is most transparent in creation remains opaque to human grasp without God’s revelation (Job 28:23).

Symbolic and Theological Themes

• Purity and Transparency: Glass allows light to pass unhindered, paralleling the moral clarity God demands (Psalm 24:3-4; Matthew 5:8).
• Inestimable Value: The rarity of ancient glass reinforces the doctrine that spiritual riches eclipse material wealth (Proverbs 3:13-15; Matthew 6:19-21).
• Divine Illumination: Glass refracts and magnifies light, picturing wisdom that “gives light to the eyes” (Psalm 19:8) and Christ who enlightens the heart (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Connections within the Canon

Old Testament imagery of crystal or sparkling structures—Ezekiel 1:22 (“a vault… shining like crystal”), Daniel 10:6 (“like burnished bronze”)—anticipates New Testament scenes where glass becomes an emblem of heavenly perfection. John envisions “a sea of glass, clear as crystal” before God’s throne (Revelation 4:6; 15:2) and a New Jerusalem whose street is “pure gold, transparent as glass” (Revelation 21:21). Job’s solitary Hebrew term thus seeds a motif fulfilled in eschatological glory.

Ministry and Devotional Applications

1. Pursuit of Wisdom: Believers are urged to seek the wisdom that surpasses gold or glass (James 1:5).
2. Transparent Integrity: The clarity of glass calls Christians to “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7), living visibly righteous lives.
3. Heavenly Hope: Crystal imagery directs faith toward the final unveiling when the redeemed will see God “face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Homiletical Pathways

• Compare the exhaustive skill of miners in Job 28 with humanity’s inability to mine wisdom apart from God, using glass as the sermon’s visual anchor.
• Trace the theme of transparency from Job to Revelation, culminating in a challenge to cultivate pure hearts that reflect divine glory.
• Contrast earthly treasures with the priceless wisdom of God, warning against material substitutes and urging investment in eternal realities.

Though occurring only once in Hebrew Scripture, זְכוּכִית radiates a biblical theology of purity, value, and unveiled glory, ultimately drawing readers from the depths of Job’s quarry to the crystal expanses before the heavenly throne.

וּזְכוֹכִ֑ית וזכוכית ū·zə·ḵō·w·ḵîṯ uzechoChit ūzəḵōwḵîṯInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts