![PikiWiki Israel 34561 Breastplate on the front of the central Sephardic](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/PikiWiki_Israel_34561_Breastplate_on_the_front_of_the_central_Sephardic.JPG)
The priestly breastplate or breastpiece of judgment ( he, חֹשֶׁן ''ḥōšen'') was a sacred breastplate worn by the
High Priest of the Israelites, according to the
Book of Exodus
The Book of Exodus (from grc, Ἔξοδος, translit=Éxodos; he, שְׁמוֹת ''Šəmōṯ'', "Names") is the second book of the Bible. It narrates the story of the Exodus, in which the Israelites leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through t ...
. In the biblical account, the breastplate is termed the ''breastplate of judgment'' ( he, חֹשֶׁן מִשְׁפָּט ''ḥōšen mišpāṭ'' - ), because the
Urim and Thummim ( he, הָאוּרִים וְהַתֻּמִּים ''hāʾūrīm wəhattummīm'') were placed upon it.(). These elements of the breastplate are said in the Exodus verse to carry the judgement ( he, מִשְׁפָּט ''mišpāṭ'') of God concerning the Israelites at all times.
Hebrew Bible
![Kohenbreastplate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Kohenbreastplate.jpg)
According to the description in Exodus, this breastplate was attached to the tunic-like garment known as an
ephod by gold chains/cords tied to the gold rings on the ephod's shoulder straps, and by blue ribbon tied to the gold rings at the belt of the ephod.
The biblical description states that the breastplate was also to be made from the same material as the Ephod—embroidery of 3 colors of dyed wool and linen—and was to be of a cubit squared, two layers thick, and with four rows of three engraved gems embedded in gold settings upon it, one setting for each stone.
The description states that the square breastplate was to be formed from one rectangular piece of cloth— of a cubit by of a cubit, folded so that it formed a pouch to contain the Urim and Thummim.
The Hebrew term for the breastplate, (''ḥōšen''), appears to be named from its appearance, The 19th-century German biblical scholar
August Dillmann thought that it was likely to be derived from the
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
word (''ḥōṣen''), meaning "fold", relating to its function.
[: " Di. rejects the probable derivation from the root ''ḥasuna'', 'to be beautiful', and would prefer to connect it with , '' sinus'' or 'fold' in which something is carried; cp. Ewald, ''.'' 390."]
According to the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
, the wearing of the Hoshen
atoned for the
sin
In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...
of errors in judgment on the part of the
Children of Israel
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
.
The jewels
![PLATE4DX](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/PLATE4DX.jpg)
The twelve jewels in the breastplate were each, according to the Biblical description, to be made from specific
mineral
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...
s, none of them the same as another, and each of them representative of a specific tribe, whose name was to be inscribed on the stone. According to a rabbinic tradition, the names of the twelve tribes were engraved upon the stones with what is called in Hebrew: שמיר = ''
shamir'', which, according to
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...
, was a small, rare creature which could cut through the toughest surfaces, but according to Rabbi
David Kimhi ''Cervera Bible'', David Qimhi's Grammar Treatise
David Kimhi ( he, ר׳ דָּוִד קִמְחִי, also Kimchi or Qimḥi) (1160–1235), also known by the Hebrew acronym as the RaDaK () (Rabbi David Kimhi), was a medieval rabbi, biblical commen ...
and Rabbi
Jonah ibn Janah
Jonah ibn Janah or ibn Janach, born Abu al-Walīd Marwān ibn Janāḥ ( ar, أبو الوليد مروان بن جناح, or Marwan ibn Ganaḥ Hebrew: ), (), was a Jewish rabbi, physician and Hebrew grammarian active in Al-Andalus, or Islamic ...
, was a stone stronger than iron (possibly
Naxian stone). The word has its equivalent in the Greek, σμήρις (''smeris'').
There are different views in
classical rabbinical literature
Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writ ...
as to the order of the names; the
Jerusalem Targum, for example, argued that the names appeared in the order according to which they were born.
Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
describes the jewel stones arranged in four rows, saying that on the first stone belonging to Reuben were also engraved the names of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, while on the last stone belonging to Benjamin were also engraved the words "the tribes of God";
kabbalistic
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...
writers such as
Hezekiah ben Manoah Hezekiah ben Manoah, or Hezekiah bar Manoah, was a French rabbi and Bible commentator of the 13th century. He is generally known by the title of his commentary, Chizkuni ( he, חזקוני).
In memory of his father, who lost his right hand through ...
and
Bahya ben Asher
Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa (, 1255–1340) was a rabbi and scholar of Judaism, best known as a commentator on the Hebrew Bible.
He is one of two scholars now referred to as Rabbeinu Behaye, the other being philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda.
Biogra ...
argued that only six letters from each name were present on each stone, together with a few letters from the names of
Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...
,
Isaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...
, or
Jacob
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...
, or from the phrase "
hese arethe tribes of Jeshurun", so that there were 72 letters in total (72 being a very significant number in Kabbalistic thought).
Jewish Encyclopedia
'
There was also a different order for the names inscribed on the two "onyx" stones, carried on the High Priest's shoulders. One opinion suggests that the names of the twelve tribes were arranged in groups after their mothers: Leah's six sons aligned one after the other on one stone, with Judah heading this list, followed by Rachel's sons with the names of the concubines' sons interposed between the two sons of Rachel.
Unfortunately, the meanings of the Hebrew names for the minerals, given by the
masoretic text
The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...
, are not clear,
and though the
Greek names for them in the
Septuagint
The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...
are more clear, some scholars believe that they cannot be completely relied on for this matter because the breastplate had gone out of use by the time the Septuagint was created, and several Greek names for various gems have changed meaning between the classical era and modern times.
However, although classical rabbinical literature argues that the names were inscribed using a
Shamir worm because neither chisels nor paint nor ink were allowed to mark them out, a more
naturalistic approach suggests that the jewels must have had comparatively
low hardness in order to be engraved upon, and therefore this gives an additional clue to the identity of the minerals.
Others suggest that they were engraved with emery, having the similar property of a diamond used in cutting other stones and which was called in Greek σμήρις (''smeris'').
Explanation of the symbolic meaning of the jewels generated a great deal of both Jewish and Christian writing, and was a staple component of the tradition of
lapidaries
Lapidary (from the Latin ) is the practice of shaping stone, minerals, or gemstones into decorative items such as cabochons, engraved gems (including cameos), and faceted designs. A person who practices lapidary is known as a lapidarist. A la ...
or books on
gemology
Gemology or gemmology is the science dealing with natural and artificial gemstone materials. It is a geoscience and a branch of mineralogy. Some jewelers (and many non-jewelers) are academically trained gemologists and are qualified to identify a ...
.
The jewel stones are as follows (the first item in each row is probably the right hand side, as Hebrew is a
right to left
In a script (commonly shortened to right to left or abbreviated RTL, RL-TB or R2L), writing starts from the right of the page and continues to the left, proceeding from top to bottom for new lines. Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Pashto, Urdu, Kashmiri ...
script):
First row
*''Odem'' (, in the masoretic text) / ''Sardios'' (in the Septuagint) – both names mean ''red'' (''Odem'' is
cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
with ''
Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
''), and probably refers to
sard, a very common stone in classical cultures.
All authors agree that this stone was of a red colour. With due respect to the Septuagint, ''Odem'' might also refer to
carnelian, which was flesh-coloured, or to
jasper
Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...
, which was usually a deep blood-red, was valued as a charm against bleeding, and was common in the surrounding nations of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
,
Babylonia
Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...
, and
Assyria
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...
.
The
Chinese Union Version
The ''Chinese Union Version'' (CUV) () is the predominant translation of the Bible into Chinese used by Chinese Protestants, first published in 1919. The text is now available online.
The CUV is currently available in both traditional and simpl ...
refers to this stone as being a
ruby
A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sa ...
.
*''Pit'dah'' (
פִּטְדָה in the masoretic text) / ''Topazios'' (in the Septuagint) – despite the suggestion of the Septuagint that it was
topaz
Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al Si O( F, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural state is colorless, though trace element impurities can mak ...
, topaz was scarcely known at the time the Book of Exodus was written (according to both the traditional dating of the book and that by
critical scholars);
in the classical era, ''topazios'' referred to Topazos Island, on which a particular yellow mineral was mined (''topazios'' means ''to seek'', in reference to the difficulty in finding the island).
Others suggest that topaz was merely
peridot
Peridot ( /ˈpɛr.ɪˌdɒt, -ˌdoʊ/ ''PERR-ih-dot, -doh''), sometimes called chrysolite, is a deep yellowish-green transparent variety of olivine. Peridot is one of the few gemstones that only occurs in one color.
Peridot can be found in ...
, a light green semi-precious stone, and which stone in the ancient world was found primarily on Topazos Island as well as on St. John's Island (
Zabargad
Zabargad Island ( arz, جزيرة الزبرجد ', also known as St. John's Island in English) is the largest of a group of islands in Foul Bay, Egypt. It covers an area of . It is not a quaternary volcanic island, but rather is believed to be a ...
) in the Egyptian Red Sea. The word ''pit'dah'' is thought by scholars to be connected with the
Assyria
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...
n word ''hipindu'', which refers to something that ''flashed'' (presumably meaning ''shimmered''), and thus the jewel in question would fit the description of
chrysolite
Chrysolite may refer to:
* Peridot, a gem-quality olivine
* Archaically, any of several green or yellow-green-coloured gemstones including
** Topaz, a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine
** Chrysoberyl, an aluminate of beryllium
** Zircon, ...
, a
translucent
In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale (one in which the dimensions a ...
greenish yellow mineral, common throughout the
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
,
and particularly found on Zabargad in the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...
, under the control of the Egyptian
Pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...
.
*''Bareḳet'' (
בָּרֶקֶת in the masoretic text, cf.
בָּרְקַת) / ''Smaragdos'' (in the
Septuagint
The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...
) – ''Bareketh'' etymologically means 'lightning flash', whence shimmering or shiny. ''Smaragdos'' is
cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
with ''
emerald
Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...
'', but is somewhat of a
false friend
In linguistics, a false friend is either of two words in different languages that look or sound similar, but differ significantly in meaning. Examples include English ''embarrassed'' and Spanish ''embarazada'' 'pregnant'; English ''parents'' ...
as the Greek term could apply to a number of different green gems, not just the emerald in particular. ''Smaragdos'' was often used in Greek literature to refer to an intensely bright crystal found in columnar formations.
Emerald in the stricter modern sense of green
beryl exists locally in Egypt. Items carved from emerald are known from as early as the
12th Dynasty
The Twelfth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty XII) is considered to be the apex of the Middle Kingdom by Egyptologists. It often is combined with the Eleventh, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth dynasties under the group title, Middle Kingdom. Some s ...
, 1900s BCE, during the Bronze Age. But these emeralds are random finds, and not actively mined until the
Ptolemaic period.
Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
, the last of the Ptolemies, is famous for her love for the Egyptian emerald. Other minerals resembling emerald are
heliodor
Beryl ( ) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2Si6O18. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and aquamarine. Naturally occurring, hexagonal crystals of beryl can be up to several met ...
(taking into account the implication of ''Smaragdos'' that it was green) and
rock crystal (ignoring the literal meaning of ''Smaragdos'', since the masoretic text does not appear to specify colour);
there is much to be said for ''Smaragdos'' being either of those.
Although "emerald" is the most common form used to describe the Hebrew word, ''bareḳet'', in other sources (e.g. the
Septuagint
The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...
on Ezekiel 28:13), the word ''bareḳet'' is rendered as "onyx".
Aquilas the proselyte (
Onkelos), in his Aramaic translation of the Pentateuch, writes בָרקָן = ''barḳan'', for this word. According to the
Midrash Rabba
Midrash Rabba or Midrash Rabbah can refer to part of or the collective whole of specific aggadic midrashim on the books of the Torah and the Five Megillot, generally having the term "Rabbah" (), meaning "great," as part of their name. These midras ...
(Numbers Rabba 2:7), the stone called ''bareḳet'' had veins or parallel bands of colours white, black and red running through it, suggesting that it may have actually been a kind of agate or onyx. This may explain why in some French translations the word is rendered as "agate". In the South Arabian dialect spoken in Yemen during the Middle Ages, ''baḳarani'' (believed to be a corruption of ''barḳan'') was an exceptionally beautiful and rare onyx stone mined on Mount Anis, in Yemen, one variety of which having a red surface with a vein of white over another of black running through it.
Symmachus, an ancient Jewish translator whose Greek translation of the Pentateuch appeared in
Origen
Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, ...
's ''
Hexapla
''Hexapla'' ( grc, Ἑξαπλᾶ, "sixfold") is the term for a critical edition of the Hebrew Bible in six versions, four of them translated into Greek, preserved only in fragments. It was an immense and complex word-for-word comparison of the ...
'', has also written κεραύνιος, literally meaning ‘of a thunderbolt’, and a more direct translation of the stone known in Hebrew as ''bareḳet'' relating to baraḳ ‘lightning’ in Exodus 28:17. Jerome, however, understood the Greek word to mean "onyx".
Second row
*''Nofekh'' (
נֹפֶךְ = in the masoretic text) / ''Anthrax'' (in the Septuagint) – while ''Anthrax'' simply means ''coal'' (presumably here referring to the colour of burning coal), the
Vulgate
The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible.
The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...
here has ''Carbunculus'', referring to the
carbuncle, which was red.
Philo of Alexandria, when writing about this stone, says that it was red. He seems to be in agreement with Josephus, the LXX, and the
Jerusalem Targum, the latter saying that it is כדכדנא, explained by
Saadia Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...
as meaning ''karkand'', a red variety of precious stone. ''Nofekh'' appears to be a
loan word; it may derive from the Egyptian term ''
mfkꜣt'', referring to
malachite
Malachite is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral, with the formula Cu2CO3(OH)2. This opaque, green-banded mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal, fibrous, or stalagmitic masses, in fractures ...
or
turquoise
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone and ornamental stone for thousands of yea ...
, both of which are a greenish blue;
it may instead derive from ''lupakku'', a term appearing in the
Amarna letters
The Amarna letters (; sometimes referred to as the Amarna correspondence or Amarna tablets, and cited with the abbreviation EA, for "El Amarna") are an archive, written on clay tablets, primarily consisting of diplomatic correspondence between t ...
, referring to a mineral of unknown colour which was sent in tribute to
Akhnaten from
Ashkalon
Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with ...
. In classical rabbinical literature there is some debate between whether ''Nofekh'' was red or greenish blue;
Exodus Rabbah and the second
Jerusalem Targum favour it being red, while the
Babylonian Targum and first Jerusalem Targum favour it being green.
*''Sapir'' (
סַפִּיר = in the masoretic text) / ''Sapphiros'' (in the Septuagint) – despite appearing to refer to
sapphire
Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sapphir ...
, sapphire was essentially unknown before the era of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
and its use in Greek texts is believed to be a mere transliteration of the Hebrew. Once it became more known, it was treated as merely being a form of
hyacinth
Hyacinth or Hyacinthus may refer to:
Nature Plants
* Hyacinth (plant), genus ''Hyacinthus''
** ''Hyacinthus orientalis'', common hyacinth
* Grape hyacinth, ''Muscari'', a genus of perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia
* Hyacinth bean, ''Labl ...
or of
jacinth
Jacinth (, ) or hyacinth () is a yellow-red to red-brown variety of zircon used as a gemstone.
In Exodus 28:19, one of the precious stones set into the ''hoshen'' (the breastplate worn by the High Priest of Israel) is called, in Hebrew, '' lesh ...
.
It is more likely that the term ''Sapir'' referred to a mineral of similar colour to sapphires, and that the name gradually came to refer to the latter mineral, on account of its colour; scholars think the most likely candidate is
lapis lazuli
Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color.
As early as the 7th millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mines, ...
, a stone with a deep, ocean-blue colour which was frequently sent as a gift to
Akhenaten
Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dy ...
from Babylon.
Theophrastus
Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routledge ...
mentions the stone ''sapphirus'' as being "dark" and having the "colour of
verdigris
Verdigris is the common name for blue-green, copper-based pigments that form a patina on copper, bronze, and brass. The technical literature is ambiguous as to its chemical composition. Some sources refer to "neutral verdigris" as copper(II) ac ...
", as well as being "speckled as of with gold". By all accounts, his description fits the
lapis-lazuli.
*''Yahalom'' (
יָהֲלֹם = in the masoretic text) / ''Iaspis'' ἴασπις (in the Septuagint) – in some other places the Septuagint instead has ''Beryllios'' where the masoretic reads ''Yahalom''.
The word ''Yahalom'' appears to be connected with the Hebrew meaning ''strike hard'', and possibly with the word ''hallamish'' meaning
flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
;
''hallamish'' is connected to the Assyrian word ''elmeshu'', referring to a precious stone which was
hard
Hard may refer to:
* Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture
* Hard water, water with high mineral content
Arts and entertainment
* ''Hard'' (TV series), a French TV series
* Hard (band), a Hungarian hard rock super ...
, and possibly white, or at least with an insignificant colour, and from which whole
rings were sometimes made.
A few scholars have suggested that ''Yahalom'' may refer to diamonds, owing to their hardness, though the skill of cutting diamonds had not been discovered before the classical era.
Although the Septuagint's ''Onychion'' is the Greek term for
onyx, onyx was not mined prior to the era of classical Greece. "Onyx" is derived from the Greek for fingernail, due to the pink-white veining. In the Syriac
Peshitta
The Peshitta ( syc, ܦܫܺܝܛܬܳܐ ''or'' ') is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition, including the Maronite Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church, the ...
of the sixth or seventh century (MS. B.21, Inferiore of the Ambrosian Library in Milan, Italy), the word used to describe this stone is ܢܩܥܬܐ = ''naq'atha'', a word which is sometimes transliterated into Arabic as it is pronounced in Aramaic, mainly by Arabic-speaking Christians. Bar-Ali, a 9th-century Arab author, brings down two opinions about this stone, the ''naq'atha'', saying, by one opinion, that it is "honey-coloured", and by the other opinion that it is "turquoise, a blue-coloured stone". In some versions of the Peshitta, the Aramaic word rendered for the same stone is ''shabzez'', translated as "diamond". This may account for today's understanding of this word, although in ancient times ''yahalom'' may have meant something else. Of the well-known honey-coloured gemstones, we find
citrine and
hessonite garnet (both from Sri Lanka), while in Africa (Tanzania) we find
imperial zircon, a honey-coloured stone with extreme brilliance. Spanish Jewish scholar
Abraham ibn Ezra says the ''yahalom'' was a white stone.
Third row
*''Lešem'' (
לֶשֶׁם = in the masoretic text) / ''Ligurios'' (in the Septuagint) – the names here seem to refer to places:
Leshem and
Liguria
Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
, respectively.
Theophrastus
Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routledge ...
mentions the fossilized pine resin, amber, called in Greek ''liggourrion'' or
lyngurium
Lyngurium or Ligurium is the name of a mythical gemstone believed to be formed of the solidified urine of the lynx (the best ones coming from wild males). It was included in classical and "almost every medieval lapidary" or book of gems until it gr ...
, as does
Dioscorides
Pedanius Dioscorides ( grc-gre, Πεδάνιος Διοσκουρίδης, ; 40–90 AD), “the father of pharmacognosy”, was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of ''De materia medica'' (, On Medical Material) —a 5-vol ...
and
Aëtius. In Greek antiquity, this stone was believed to have been the solidified
urine
Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excretion, excreted from the body through the urethra.
Cel ...
of
lynx
A lynx is a type of wild cat.
Lynx may also refer to:
Astronomy
* Lynx (constellation)
* Lynx (Chinese astronomy)
* Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory
Places Canada
* Lynx, Ontar ...
es, and its name a mere corruption of ''lykos ouron'',
meaning ''white
urine
Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excretion, excreted from the body through the urethra.
Cel ...
'', presumably in reference to its colour.
Pliny (who did not believe the stone existed) described the ''ligurios'' as having certain electrical properties, which a number of scholars have taken to imply that it referred to
amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...
.
Amber was one of the first items to have been discovered to have electrical properties (see
Thales
Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...
); the English
stem
Stem or STEM may refer to:
Plant structures
* Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang
* Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure
* Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...
''electric-'' derives from the Latin word for amber (''elektrum''). In the Latin
Vulgate
The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible.
The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...
the name was given as ''ligure'', a Latinization apparently invented by
Flavius Josephus, and equated with
lyngurium
Lyngurium or Ligurium is the name of a mythical gemstone believed to be formed of the solidified urine of the lynx (the best ones coming from wild males). It was included in classical and "almost every medieval lapidary" or book of gems until it gr ...
, but
Luther
Luther may refer to:
People
* Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation
* Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement
* Luther (give ...
used ''hyacinth'' (
jacinth
Jacinth (, ) or hyacinth () is a yellow-red to red-brown variety of zircon used as a gemstone.
In Exodus 28:19, one of the precious stones set into the ''hoshen'' (the breastplate worn by the High Priest of Israel) is called, in Hebrew, '' lesh ...
), and during the Renaissance belief in lyngurium died away. Modern scholars are inclined to think that the stone must have been similar to the pale colour of natural gold (as opposed to the colour known as ''
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
'');
The
Midrash Rabba
Midrash Rabba or Midrash Rabbah can refer to part of or the collective whole of specific aggadic midrashim on the books of the Torah and the Five Megillot, generally having the term "Rabbah" (), meaning "great," as part of their name. These midras ...
(Numbers Rabba 2:7) states that the mineral had a black colour, and is there named כוחלין, meaning the
antimony
Antimony is a chemical element with the symbol Sb (from la, stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous gray metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient time ...
known as stibium. Rabbi
Saadia Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...
, and other medieval rabbinical commentators, argued that the gem itself was an onyx (Judeo-Arabic: גזע = جَزَع ), although
Abraham ibn Ezra casts doubt on the accuracy of Rabbi Saadia's tradition. Modern English translations use either
amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...
or
jacinth
Jacinth (, ) or hyacinth () is a yellow-red to red-brown variety of zircon used as a gemstone.
In Exodus 28:19, one of the precious stones set into the ''hoshen'' (the breastplate worn by the High Priest of Israel) is called, in Hebrew, '' lesh ...
.
*''Ševo'' (
שְׁבוֹ = in the masoretic text) / ''Achates'' (in the Septuagint) – ''achates'' definitely refers to
agate, and ''ševo'' may be cognate with the Assyrian term ''subu'', meaning agate.
Agates were common in Egypt and Assyria, and were regarded as a potent
talismans.
Isidore of Seville
Isidore of Seville ( la, Isidorus Hispalensis; c. 560 – 4 April 636) was a Spanish scholar, theologian, and archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of 19th-century historian Montalembert, as "the last scholar of ...
lists agate as being among the black gems. The
Midrash Rabba
Midrash Rabba or Midrash Rabbah can refer to part of or the collective whole of specific aggadic midrashim on the books of the Torah and the Five Megillot, generally having the term "Rabbah" (), meaning "great," as part of their name. These midras ...
(Numbers 2:7) appears to argue for the jewel in question having been a grey variety.
Conversely, in Rabbi
Saadia Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...
's (882–942 CE) Judeo-Arabic translation of the Pentateuch, as well as in the medieval Samaritan Arabic translation, the stone is rendered as سبج, meaning obsidian.
*''Aḥlamah'' (
אַחְלָמָה = in the masoretic text) / ''Amethystos'' (in the Septuagint) – ''amethystos'' refers to
amethyst
Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek αμέθυστος ''amethystos'' from α- ''a-'', "not" and μεθύσκω (Ancient Greek) / μεθώ (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that t ...
, a purple mineral which was believed to protect against
getting drunk from
alcohol
Alcohol most commonly refers to:
* Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom
* Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks
Alcohol may also refer to:
Chemicals
* Ethanol, one of sev ...
(amethyst's name refers to this belief, and literally translates as "not intoxicating"),
and was commonly used in Egypt.
''Aḥlamah'' appears to be derived from a term meaning ''strong'', though it may equally be derived from
Ahlamu
Ahlamu or Aḫlamū, were a group or designation of Semitic semi-nomads. Their habitat was west of the Euphrates, between the mouth of the Khabur and Palmyra.
In the 18th century BC, they were first mentioned in the sources since Rim-Anum, a kin ...
, a place where amethysts were found;
in the Babylonian Targum, ''aḥlamah'' is translated into a term meaning ''strong drinking'', which appears to reference beliefs about amethyst, but in the Jerusalem Targum, it is translated into a term meaning ''calf's eye''.
The
Midrash Rabba
Midrash Rabba or Midrash Rabbah can refer to part of or the collective whole of specific aggadic midrashim on the books of the Torah and the Five Megillot, generally having the term "Rabbah" (), meaning "great," as part of their name. These midras ...
(Numbers Rabba 2:7), while describing the stone's colour, says: "
t issimilar to clear wine whose redness is not too strong."
Fourth row
*''Taršīš'' (
תַּרְשִׁישִׁ = in the masoretic text) / ''Chrysolithos'' (in the Septuagint) – in some other places the Septuagint instead has ''anthrax'' (meaning coal) where the masoretic reads ''tarshish''.
''taršīš'' is thought by scholars to refer to
tarshish, in reference to the main source of the mineral being tarshish.
''Chrysolithos'' does not refer specifically to
chrysolite
Chrysolite may refer to:
* Peridot, a gem-quality olivine
* Archaically, any of several green or yellow-green-coloured gemstones including
** Topaz, a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine
** Chrysoberyl, an aluminate of beryllium
** Zircon, ...
, which was named much later, but is an adjective which translates as "gold-stone", meaning either that it was golden, as in the
Libyan desert glass, or that it contained flecks of gold.
With golden flecks it could refer to
lapis lazuli
Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color.
As early as the 7th millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mines, ...
,
which would fit the Targums' description of the gem being "the colour of the sea".
As a golden material if translucent, it could refer to
topaz
Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al Si O( F, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural state is colorless, though trace element impurities can mak ...
or to amber,
and since ''chrysolithos'' came to mean topaz in particular by the classical era, some scholars favour this as being the most likely use, though it would be jarring for there to be two different translucent yellow
gemstone
A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, ...
s so close to one another on the breastplate.
If an opaque golden material, it could refer to a yellow form of jasper or of
serpentine
Serpentine may refer to:
Shapes
* Serpentine shape, a shape resembling a serpent
* Serpentine curve, a mathematical curve
* Serpentine, a type of riding figure
Science and nature
* Serpentine subgroup, a group of minerals
* Serpentinite, a ...
, which were commonly used in Egypt and Babylon.
The 2nd century Jewish translator,
Symmachus, renders the word as ''yakinthos'', meaning "jacinth", or "hyacinth". There is little certainty among scholars in regard to which of these is the most likely to be the jewel in question.
*''Šoham'' (
שֹׁהַם = in the masoretic text) / ''Beryllios'' (in the Septuagint) – in some other places the Septuagint instead has ''onychion'', or ''smaragdos'', or the phrase ''
leek
The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...
-green stone'', where the masoretic reads ''šoham'';
''beryllios'' refers to
beryl but earlier to the blue-green colour of the sea, ''onychion'' refers to
onyx, and ''smaragdos'' literally means ''green stone'' and refers to a bright columnar crystal (either beryl or rock crystal). Onyx is an opaque and banded stone, while ''smaragdos'' is translucent, and beryl is cloudy, and all these come in several colours. ''Šoham'' could be derived from the Assyrian word ''samtu'', meaning ''dark'' or ''cloudy'';
it could be derived from the Arabic word meaning ''pale'', in which case it fits more with onyx and certain forms of beryl, excluding the emerald,
with
Heliodor
Beryl ( ) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2Si6O18. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and aquamarine. Naturally occurring, hexagonal crystals of beryl can be up to several met ...
being the form of beryl fitting the ''leek green'' description; it could be derived from the Arabic word ''musahham'', meaning ''striped garment'', and therefore very definitely describing something like onyx;
or it could be a place name, for example there is a place in
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
named ''Soheim''.
Jewish tradition generally favours leek-green beryl (heliodor) as the likely meaning of ''šoham'', though scholars think it is more likely to be
malachite
Malachite is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral, with the formula Cu2CO3(OH)2. This opaque, green-banded mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal, fibrous, or stalagmitic masses, in fractures ...
, which can be green enough to be compared to ''smaragdos'' and the blue-green colour of the sea (the original meaning of ''beryllios''), is cloudy enough to be compared to a cloudy form of beryl, and is striped and opaque enough to be confused with a form of onyx.
According to
Epiphanius’ ''Treatise on the Twelve Stones'' (''Epiphanius de Gemmis''), the beryl was "white like a cloud". Scholars point out that the Syriac form of the word is ''berūlā'' and/or ''belūra'', the latter evidently going back to a Pahlevi form (the old Persian tongue), and all in turn to the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
वैडूर्य = ''vaiḍūrya'' (Pali: ''veḷuriyaṁ''), the gemstone which is called in English, "cat's eye, beryl", a variety of chalcedonic quartz that has a chatoyant lustre resembling the eye of a cat when cut.
*''Yāšǝfêh'' (
יָשְׁפֵה = in the masoretic text) / ''Iaspis'' (in the Septuagint and
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
). Although ''yāšǝfêh'' and ''iaspis'' are cognate to ''jasper'', they do not quite have the same meaning; while jasper is usually red, the mineral which the Greeks called ''iaspis'' was generally a richly green one (the most prized form of jasper), and scholars think this is most likely to be the colour referred to by ''yāšǝfêh'';
the ambiguity of the term is present in the
Targum
A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the ...
s, where the jewel is variously identified as a
ruby
A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sa ...
(which is red), as a
hyacinth
Hyacinth or Hyacinthus may refer to:
Nature Plants
* Hyacinth (plant), genus ''Hyacinthus''
** ''Hyacinthus orientalis'', common hyacinth
* Grape hyacinth, ''Muscari'', a genus of perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia
* Hyacinth bean, ''Labl ...
(which is yellow), or as an
emerald
Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...
(which is green).
In the Babylonian Talmud, one opinion states that the gemstone was the same as ''kadkhod'', a stone described by Bar-Ali as being ''al-karkahan'' = الكركھن (the Baghdadi onyx), "a kind of gemstone from which they cut
maller
Benjamin "Big Ben" Maller (born April 29, 1975) is an American sports radio host who hosts a weekday radio show on Fox Sports Radio, which airs 11pm-3am PT/2am-6am ET. Maller is considered one of the first influential sports bloggers, because of ...
stones for setting in ouches". Rabbi
Saadia Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...
, however, in his Judeo-Arabic translation of Isaiah, translates ''kadkhod'' as ''karkand'', a red variety of precious stone.
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
, quoting from one version of the Septuagint, says that it was a beryl.
Numbers Rabba
Numbers Rabbah (or Bamidbar Rabbah in Hebrew) is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletic interpretations of the book of Numbers (''Bamidbar'' in Hebrew).
In the first prin ...
2:7 says that the stone was varicolored, meaning, all of the colors combined were to be found in the ''yāšǝfêh''.
12 jewels in the New Testament
In the New Testament
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...
is the description of a ''city wall'', with each layer of stones in the wall being from a different material; in the original
Koine Greek
Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...
, the layers are given as ''iaspis'', ''sapphiros'', ''chalcedon'', ''smaragdos'', ''sardonyx'', ''sardion'', ''chrysolithos'', ''beryllos'', ''topazion'', ''chrysoprason'', ''yacinthos'', ''amethystos''.
[ ( Nestle-Aland edition)] This list appears to be based on the Septuagint's version of the list of jewels in the Breastplate – if the top half of the breastplate was rotated by 180 degrees, and the bottom half turned upside down, with ''Onchion'' additionally swapping places with ''Topazion'', the lists become extremely similar; there are only four differences:
* ''Onchion'' (literally ''onyx'') has become
sardonyx (red onyx)
* ''Anthrax'' has become ''chalcedon'' (literally meaning ''
chalcedony'', of which
the red variety is the most common). ''Anthrax'' literally means ''coal'', presumably meaning the red colour of burning coal.
* ''Ligurios'' has become ''chrysoprason''. Scholars suspect that ''ligurios'' was a pale yellowish mineral, and although ''
chrysoprase
Chrysoprase, chrysophrase or chrysoprasus is a gemstone variety of chalcedony (a cryptocrystalline form of silica) that contains small quantities of nickel. Its color is normally apple-green, but varies to deep green. The darker varieties of chry ...
'' now refers to a specific gemstone which is generally apple-green in colour, in earlier times it referred to gems of a yellowish
leek-green, such as
peridot
Peridot ( /ˈpɛr.ɪˌdɒt, -ˌdoʊ/ ''PERR-ih-dot, -doh''), sometimes called chrysolite, is a deep yellowish-green transparent variety of olivine. Peridot is one of the few gemstones that only occurs in one color.
Peridot can be found in ...
; ''chrysoprase'' literally means ''golden leek''.
* ''Achates'' (''agate'') has been replaced by ''yacinthos'' (''jacinth''). According to classical rabbinical literature, the specific agate was of a sky-blue colour, and though ''
jacinth
Jacinth (, ) or hyacinth () is a yellow-red to red-brown variety of zircon used as a gemstone.
In Exodus 28:19, one of the precious stones set into the ''hoshen'' (the breastplate worn by the High Priest of Israel) is called, in Hebrew, '' lesh ...
'' now refers to a red-tinted clear gem, this was not the case at the time the Book of Revelation was written, and at that time ''jacinth'' appears to have referred to a bluish gem; Pliny describes ''jacinth'' as a dull and blueish amethyst, while
Solinus describes it as a clear blue tinted gem – the modern sapphire.
Pattern
Whether there is any pattern to the choice of gemstones depends on their identity. Taking the majority view of scholars in regard to the identity of the gems, and including the implication from the Book of Revelation that the ''onyx'' at the end of the fourth row was a ''sardonyx'', there are four colours – red, green, yellow, and blue – each represented by a clear gem (red – carbuncle, green – heliodor, yellow – chrysolite, blue – amethyst), an opaque gem (red – carnelian/red jasper, green – green jasper, yellow – yellow jasper/yellow serpentine, blue – lapis lazuli), and a striped gem (red – sardonyx, green – malachite, yellow – pale golden agate, blue – sky-blue agate).
The four colours of red, green, yellow, and blue, are the first four colours (apart from black and white) distinguished by languages, and are distinguished in all cultures with at least six colour distinctions (the other two being black and white).
These colours roughly correspond to the sensitivities of the
retinal ganglion cells. (The
retinal ganglia process colour by positioning it within a blue to yellow range, and separately positioning it within a red to green range.)
See also
*
Priestly golden head plate
*
Priestly robe (Judaism)
*
Priestly sash
*
Priestly tunic
*
Priestly turban
*
Priestly undergarments
*
Ephod
Other
*
List of artifacts in biblical archaeology
The following is a list of inscribed artifacts, items made or given shape by humans, that are significant to biblical archaeology.
Selected artifacts significant to biblical chronology
These table lists inscriptions which are of particular sign ...
*
Birthstone
A birthstone is a gemstone
A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rock ...
: concept that originated from the interpretation of the stones in the plates
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
{{commonscatinline, Priestly breastplate
Book of Exodus
Jewish religious clothing
Hardstone carving
Gemstones in religion
Breastplate