Sakuteiki is the first systematic record on gardening that shows how to set stones. In traditional Japanese gardens, the usage of stones has been considered important. This paper examines the usage of stone in the Old Testament, which was written before Sakuteiki. If we find the way stones were used, it may be beneficial for people associated with landscape design. Every section of the Bible (cooperative translated version of the Japan Bible Society) is examined and parts where stones were used in different manners are identified. In several cases, it shows setting stones. The following were observed: (1) Jacob, Moses, and Joshua set up stones from their own will on the place as a memorial where they could hear God’s voice. Jacob set a stone twic e, while both Moses and Joshua set twelve stones one time. It was not God’s command. (2) God ordered to set stones for a memorial for Him to make miraculous things. God asked Joshua to take twelve stones from the Jordan River and set them up on one mountain. (3) Moses commanded the Israelis to set great stones with law after crossing the Jordan River. (4) When people made the important contract for each other, they set up a stone there as memorial. They believed God would watch and guard people from the stone. (5) God asked his alter to be made not with cut stones but natural stones. This paper describes that stones were set when God’s existence needed to be proved.
