Encyclopedia of The Bible – Malachite
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Malachite

MALACHITE măl’ a’ kīte, a bright green-colored valuable ore of copper (hydrated basic carbonate of copper). This mineral often shows different shades of color following a concentrically banded arrangement and is sometimes used for ornamental purposes (Esth 1:6, NEB). It is found together with other ores of copper in the zone of weathering or oxidation of copper deposits, with large amounts of ornamental quality in the Ural Mts. near Nizhni-Taglish. Malachite was an important ore in the copper deposits worked in Arabah (cf. Deut 8:9, NEB) and some may have been of ornamental quality (q.v. copper).