Definition: The phrase "amber alert" originates from a biblical verse that speaks of the appearance of gold or silver on the horizon, often as a sign of bad news or danger. This particular verse is found in 2 Chronicles 23:4-5: "Then went the gold and silver out from before the house of David; there came to it the Lord; and He was very angry with Amalek, who had gone down to the brook Heman. The king said, 'What shall I do?' So Amalek cried against the king: for he went up to the brook Heman to seek a man in whose house he should stay, that he might find him and take his daughter and make her queen over his country." In this passage, "amber alert" is a metaphorical way of saying the presence or appearance of gold or silver on the horizon, indicating that something bad is about to happen.