King James Bible Dictionary

(Heb. gabish, Job 28:18; Gr. margarites, Matthew 7:6; 13:46; Revelation 21:21). The pearl oyster is found in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. Its shell is the "mother of pearl," which is of great value for ornamental purposes (1 Timothy 2:9; Revelation 17:4). Each shell contains eight or ten pearls of various sizes.

General references
Job 28:18; Revelation 17:4; Revelation 18:12; Revelation 18:16

Pearl of great price
Matthew 13:46

Ornaments made of
1 Timothy 2:9

Figurative
Matthew 7:6

Symbolic
Revelation 21:21

(Heb. gabish). The Hebrew word in (Job 28:18) probably means "crystal." Pearls, however are frequently mentioned in the New Testament, (Matthew 13:45; 1 Timothy 2:9; Revelation 17:4; 21:21) and were considered by the ancients among the most precious of gems, and were highly esteemed as ornaments. The kingdom of heaven is compared to a "pearl of great price." In (Matthew 7:6) pearls are used metaphorically for anything of value, or perhaps more especially for "wise sayings." (The finest specimens of the pearl are yielded by the pearl oyster (Avicula margaritifera), still found in abundance in the Persian Gulf and near the coasts of Ceylon, Java and Sumatra. The oysters grow in clusters on rocks in deep water, and the pearl is found inside the shell, and is the result of a diseased secretion caused by the introduction of foreign bodies, as sand, etc., between the mantle and the shell. They are obtained by divers trained to the business. March or April is the time for pearl fishing. A single shell sometimes yields eight to twelve pearls. The size of a good Oriental pearl varies from that of a pea to about three times that size. A handsome necklace of pearls the size of peas is worth ,000. Pearls have been valued as high as ,000 or ,000 apiece.

ED.)

PEARL, noun perl.

1. A white, hard, smooth, shining body, usually roundish, found in a testaceous fish of the oyster kind. The pearl-shell is called matrix perlarum, mother of pearl and the pearl is found only in the softer part of the animal. It is found in the Persian seas and in many parts of the ocean which washes the shores of Arabia and the continent and isles of Asia, and is taken by divers. Pearls are of different sizes and colors; the larger ones approach to the figure of a pear; some have been found more than an inch in length. They are valued according to their size, their roundness, and their luster or purity, which appears in a silvery brightness.

2. Poetically, something round and clear, as a drop of water or dew.

3. A white speck of film growing on the eye.

PEARL, verb intransitive perl. To set or adorn with pearls.

PEARL, verb intransitive perl. To resemble pearls.

PEARLED, adjective perl'ed. Set or adorned with pearls.

PEARL-EYED, adjective perl'-eyed. Having a speck in the eye.

PEARL-GRASS, noun A plant of the genus Sagina.

PEARL-SINTER, noun Fiorite; a variety of silicious sinter, the color gray and white.

PEARL-SPAR, noun perl'-spar. Brown spar.

PEARL-STONE, noun A mineral regarded as a volcanic production. It occurs in basaltic and porphyritic rocks, and is classed with pitch stone.

PEARL-STONE is a subspecies of indivisible quartz.

PEARL-WORT

PEARLASH, noun perl'ash. An alkali obtained from the ashes of wood; refined potash.

PEARLY, adjective perl'y. Containing pearl; abounding with pearls; as pearly shells; a pearly shore.

1. Resembling pearls; clear; pure; transparent; as the pearly flood; pearly dew.