CORAL kō’ răl (רָאמﯴת֒, H8029; coral all Eng. VSS; ASVmg.; jewels, costly stones, pearls, coral RSV. BDB prefers corals.)

There is general agreement that both Heb. words refer to precious or semi-precious stones of animal rather than mineral origin; i.e. they are coral and/or pearls rather than rubies. Ramoth, generally taken to be coral, could be either black or red, prob. the latter, which was better known and held in higher esteem. The word coral strictly refers to tiny lowly organisms of the Class Anthozoa (floweranimals) that live in dense colonies in seas not colder than about 68^oF, but in Biblical contexts it is the dead calcareous skeleton that is meant, often polished and prepared. There are some 2,500 species, varied in size and shape of the resultant structure; some are reef-builders and others form ornamental shapes, but few are used as precious stones, principally red and black. The former was highly prized in the ancient world long before the periods in which it finds Biblical mention, and its main source is the Mediterranean Sea, where it was once abundant in the shallow water and the object of regular, well-organized fisheries. About the beginning of the Christian era there was a big export trade to India, where the red coral was believed to have sacred properties. (See Job 28:18; Lam 4:7; Ezek 27:16.)

Regarding Peninîm it seems certain that the stone was reddish, but the context is of little help. (See NBD, 632, 633.)