THE GOLD OF THAT LAND: Biblical Minerals & Rocks  

33.     gravel

Hebrew:

    1. châtsâts, something sharp and gritty. Proverbs 20:17, Lamentations 3:16.

    2. mê'âh, Isaiah 48:19.

Mineralogy:

    Gravel is a loose mixture of small, more or less rounded stones or pebbles ranging in diameter from 4 to 76 mm (0.2 to 3 in). Coarse gravels are known as shingle. The term "gravel" does not imply any single mineral, although gravels are usually mixtures of quartz, quartzite, flint, chert, and chalcedony fragments with pieces of tough rock. They represent the resistant fraction of older, weathered rocks of all kinds.

    Many gravels contain economically-important deposits of minerals. These "placer" deposits include resistant grains of dense minerals such as cassiterite, corundum, diamond, garnet, gold, or zircon. Gravels are also vital industrial resources as sources of aggregate for concrete and building roads. Aggregate adds bulk and strength to concrete and asphalt by bonding firmly with cement or bituminous binders. Once bonded, aggregate must remain stable, without shrinking, swelling, cracking, or decomposing.

Biblical Background:

    David's five smooth stones (1 Samuel 17:40) were water worn pebbles from gravels in a streambed in the valley of Elah. His choice serves as a prophetic model for Christian dependence on divine resources in accordance with Ephesians 6:10.