Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
JAS'PER, the last stone in the breastplate of the high priest, and the first in the foundations of the new Jerusalem. Ex 28:20; Rev 21:19. Jasper is an opaque species of quartz, of different colors, often banded or spotted, and susceptible of a high polish. The darkgreen kind is supposed to be the variety of the Bible. From the apparent inconsistency of Rev 4:3; Rev 21:11 with the opaque character of this stone, it has been suggested that some
transparent gem was denoted by jasper in the N.T. — perhaps the diamond or the translucent chalcedony. See Stones, Precious.