Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
MAR'BLE, limestone of a compact texture and capable of receiving a high polish. Rev 18:12. The Bible word seems to be used, however, for almost any shining stone, and much of the material of Solomon's architectural work may have been common limestone. Some of it was doubtless true marble, as was certainly much of the stone used in Herod's temple. This substance was probably used in very early times for building material, 1 Kgs 6:7, 1 Kgs 6:36; 1 Kgs 7:9-12; 1 Chr 29:2, and for many kinds of vessels.
The colors of marble are various and beautiful, and pieces of all sizes may be so wrought together as to resemble a beautiful painting. Such was probably the pavement and columns of the Persian palace described in Esth 1:6.