(red) (Heb. odem) the stone which occupied the first place in the first row of the high priest’s
breastplate. (Exodus 28:27) The sard, which is probably the stone denoted by odem, is a superior
variety of agate, sometimes called camelian, and has long been a favorite stone for the engraver’s
art. Sardis differ in color: there is a bright-red variety, and perhaps the Hebrew odem from a root
means “to be red,” points to this kind.
Sardis
a city of Asia Minor and capital of Lydia, situated about two miles to the south of the river
Hermus, just below the range of Tmolus, on a spur of which its acropolis was built. It was 60 miles
northeast of Smyrna. It was the ancient residence of the kings of Lydia, among them Croesus,
proverbial for his immense wealth. Cyrus is said to have taken,000,000 worth of treasure form the
city when he captured it, B.C. 548. Sardis was in very early times, both from the extremely fertile
character of the neighboring region and from its convenient position, a commercial mart of
importance. The art of dyeing wool is said to have been invented there. In the year 214 B.C. it was
taken and sacked by the army of Antiochus the Great. Afterward it passed under the dominion of
the kings of Pergamos. Its productive soil must always have continued a source of wealth; but its
importance as a central mart appears to have diminished from the time of the invasion of Asia by
Alexander. The massive temple of Cybele still bears witness in its fragmentary remains to the
wealth and architectural skill of the people that raised it. On the north side of the acropolis,
overlooking the valley of the Hermus, is a theatre near 400 feet in diameter, attached to a stadium
of about 1000. There are still considerable remains of the ancient city at Sert-Kalessi. Travellers
describe the appearance of the locality as that of complete solitude. The only passage in which it
is mentioned in the Bible is (Revelation 3:1-6)
Sardites, The
descendants of Sered the son of Zebulun. (Numbers 26:26) (In the Revised Version of (Revelation
4:3) for sardine stone. The name is derived from Sardis, where the stone was first found.)
Sardonyx
a name compounded of sard and onyx, two precious stones, varieties of chalcedony or agate.
The sardonyx combines the qualities of both, whence its name. It is mentioned only in (Revelation
21:20) The sardonyx consists of “a white opaque layer, superimposed upon a red transparent stratum
of the true red sard.” It is, like the sard, merely a variety of agate, and is frequently employed by
engravers for signet-rings.
Sarepta
[Zarephath]
Sargon
(prince of the sea), one of the greatest of the Assyrian kings, is mentioned by name but once in
Scripture— (Isaiah 20:1) He was the successor of Shalmaneser, and was Sennacherib’s father and
his reigned from B.C. 721 to 702, and seems to have been a usurper. He was undoubtedly a great
and successful warrior. In his annals, which cover a space of fifteen years, from B.C. 721 to 706,
he gives an account of his warlike expeditions against Babylonia and Susiana on the south, Media
on the east, Armenia and Cappadocia toward the north, Syria, Palestine, Arabia and Egypt toward
the west and southwest. In B.C. 712 he took Ashdod, by one of his generals, which is the event
which causes the mention of his name in Scripture. It is not as a warrior only that Sargon deserves
special mention among the Assyrian kings. He was also the builder of useful works, and of one of
the most magnificent of the Assyrian palaces.
frankie
(Frankie)
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