BEADS

Small perforated ornaments made of such materials as glass, gems, gold and silver, usually worn as necklaces, have been found on Egyptian mummies, in Greek and Roman graves and in Assyrian temple ruins. The Royal Tombs at Ur, the city where Abraham once resided, have yielded many items of jewelry (evidently dating from patriarchal times) that once belonged to Queen Shub-ad and the court ladies buried with her. Beads formed part of the ornamentation on the queen’s diadem, her network cape, and garters. Glass beads also decked certain bracelets found on the mummy of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen.

Concerning the lovely Shulammite girl of The Song of Solomon it is said: “Your cheeks are comely among the hair braids, your neck in a string of beads.” (Song of Sol. 1:10) Clearly, then, strings of beads were among the articles of adornment used by Hebrew women of ancient times.—See ORNAMENTS.