What is "Paz"?
Ibn Ezra: It is a gem.
Ibn Ezra: Some say that it is silver. "Zahav Mufaz 1 " (Melachim I, 10:18) refutes them.
Radak (Tehilim 19:11): It is good, clean gold.
Rid: They are pearls.
Yuma 44b: Zahav Mufaz is one of the seven kinds of gold. It resembles gold.
What is "ha'Mesula'im ba'Paz"?
Gitin 58a: Their beauty made Paz look bad 1 . (Mesula'im is from Solu, to withdraw).
Rav Sadya Gaon: They are compared to Paz.
Rashi: They are praised and appraised like fine gold. One who sees them says 'their appearance is like that of Paz.' The same applies to "Lo Sesuleh b'Chesem Ofir" (Iyov 28:16). Ibn Ezra - the Aleph is in place of the Hei at the end of the root.
Rid: They are valued like pearls.
58a: At first, esteemed Romans would have Bi'ah in front of the images on their signet rings (to bear children in that image). Once they took Bnei Tziyon, they would tie them to the bed and have Bi'ah in front of them. "Also every sickness and affliction that is not written in this Sefer Torah [Hashem will put upon you)" (Devarim 28:61) hints to this.
What are "Nivlei [Cheres]"?
Rav Sadya Gaon: They are like Kelim.
Rashi: They are earthenware flasks in which they put wine, like "v'Nevel Yayin" (Shmuel I, 1:24).
How are they like earthenware Kelim?
Ri Kara: [When they were on their land, they ate to satiation and sat serene. Their faces resembled red gold and good Kesem. When they were taken to Galus, hungry,] their faces resembled earthenware flasks of a potter.
Palgei Mayim: There is almost no ability to fix them. (If a glass or metal Kli breaks, one can melt it and make a new Kli. One cannot do so for Cheres. - PF)
