AMBER ( chashmal , Ezekiel 1:4; Ezekiel 1:27; Ezekiel 8:2 ). The translation ‘amber’ is much questioned, a metallic substance being generally considered more probable. Prof. Ridgeway ( Encyc. Bibl., s.v .) has, however, shown that amber may well have been known to Ezekiel. The amber commonly seen is the opaque yellow variety from the Baltic, a resinous substance changed by long submersion in the sea. It is a favourite ornament, in necklaces and bracelets, in the Orient, especially among Jewesses, and is credited with medicinal virtues. E. W. G. Masterman.
Amber.This probably refers, not to the mineral now called 'amber, which is highly electric, as its Greek and Latin names imply — ἤλεκτρον, electrum; but to a mixed metal, such as the ancients described as composed of four parts of gold and one of silver. The Hebrew word is chashmal, and is associated with fire, and refers simply to its colour and brightness. Ezek. 1:4, 27; Ezek. 8:2.