Hoshen
Encyclopedia
Kohen Gadol
The High Priest was the chief religious official of Israelite religion and of classical Judaism from the rise of the Israelite nation until the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem...
, according to the Book of Exodus. In the biblical account, the breastplate is sometimes termed the breastplate of judgement, because the Urim and Thummim
Urim and Thummim
In ancient Israelite religion and culture, Urim and Thummim is a phrase from the Hebrew Scriptures or Torah associated with the Hoshen , divination in general, and cleromancy in particular...
, which were used in divination
Divination
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
, were placed within it.
Hebrew Bible
According to the description in Exodus, this breastplate was attached to the ephodEphod
An ephod was an article of clothing, and a worship object, in ancient Israelite culture, and was closely connected with oracular practices....
, 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 lower parts of the ephod the biblical description states that the breastplate was also to be made from the same material as the Ephod - embroidered
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
linen
Linen
Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
- and was to be a square, a cubit
Cubit
The cubit is a traditional unit of length, based on the length of the forearm. Cubits of various lengths were employed in many parts of the world in Antiquity, in the Middle Ages and into Early Modern Times....
in width, two layers thick, and with four rows of three engraved gems each embedded upon it, each jewel being framed in gold. The description states that the square breastplate was to be formed from two equal rectangular pieces of cloth - suggesting that its appearance was similar to a backless waistcoat
Waistcoat
A waistcoat or vest is a sleeveless upper-body garment worn over a dress shirt and necktie and below a coat as a part of most men's formal wear, and as the third piece of the three-piece male business suit.-Characteristics and use:...
, with a pouch inside to contain the Urim and Thummim. The term for the breastplate, hoshen, appears to be connected either to its function or to its appearance; some scholars think that it is probably derived from Hebrew hasuna, meaning "beautiful," while others think that it is more likely to derive from Hebrew sinus, meaning "a fold for containing something."
According to the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, the wearing of the Hoshen atoned for the sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
of errors in judgement on the part of the Children of Israel (B.Zevachim 88b).
The Jewels
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
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. There is no consistent view in classical rabbinical literature as to the order of the names; the Jerusalem Targum
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan is a western targum of the Torah from the land of Israel . Its correct title is Targum Yerushalmi , which is how it was known in medieval times...
, for example, argued that the names appeared in the order of the birth of each tribe's patriarch according to the Book of Genesis; Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
argued that the names were all engraved on the first stone, with the words [these are] the tribes of Jeshurun
Jeshurun
Jeshurun, in the Hebrew Bible, is a poetic name for Israel. Derived from root word meaning upright, just, straight. Describes Israel when it does not stray away from the standards set by and upheld by God. Jeshurun appears four times in the Hebrew Bible — three times in Deuteronomy and...
being engraved on the last stone; kabbalistic writers such Hezekiah ben Manoah
Hezekiah ben Manoah
Hezekiah ben Manoah was a French rabbi and exegete.In memory of his father, who lost his right hand through his stead-fastness in the faith, Hezekiah wrote a commentary on the Pentateuch, under the title Ḥazzeḳuni. It was printed at Venice in 1524...
and Bahya ben Asher
Bahya ben Asher
Bahye ben Asher ibn Halawa also known as Rabbeinu Behaye was a rabbi and scholar of Judaism. He was a commentator on the Hebrew Bible and is noted for introducing Kabbalah into study of the Torah.He is considered by Jewish scholars to be one of the most distinguished of the Biblical exegetes of...
argued that only six letters from each name was present on each stone, together with a few letters from the names of Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
, Isaac
Isaac
Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible, was the only son Abraham had with his wife Sarah, and was the father of Jacob and Esau. Isaac was one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites...
, or Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
, or from the phrase [these are] the tribes of Jeshurun, so that there were seventy-two letters in total (72 being a very significant number in Kabbalistic thought).
Unfortunately, the meaning of the Hebrew names for the minerals, given by the masoretic text
Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible and is regarded as Judaism's official version of the Tanakh. While the Masoretic Text defines the books of the Jewish canon, it also defines the precise letter-text of these biblical books, with their vocalization and...
, are not clear, and though the Greek names for them in the Septuagint are more clear, scholars believe that it cannot be completely relied on for this matter because the breastplate had ceased to be in 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 magic worm because neither chisels nor paint nor ink were allowed to mark them out, a more naturalistic
Naturalism (philosophy)
Naturalism commonly refers to the philosophical viewpoint that the natural universe and its natural laws and forces operate in the universe, and that nothing exists beyond the natural universe or, if it does, it does not affect the natural universe that we know...
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.
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 script):
First row
- Odem (in the masoretic text) / Sardios (in the Septuagint) - both names mean red (Odem is cognateCognateIn linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...
with AdamAdam and EveAdam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
), and probably refers to SardSARDis a Japanese tuning company and racing team from Toyota, Aichi, mainly competing in the Super GT series and specialising in Toyota tuning parts.-History:...
, an immensely common stone in classical cultures. Ignoring the Septuagint, Odem might also refer to CarnelianCarnelianCarnelian is a brownish-red mineral which is commonly used as a semi-precious gemstone. Similar to carnelian is sard, which is generally harder and darker...
, which was flesh-coloured, or to JasperJasperJasper, a form of chalcedony, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. This mineral breaks with a smooth surface, and is used for ornamentation or as a gemstone. It can be highly polished and is used for vases, seals, and at one time for...
, which was usually a deep blood-red, was valued as a charm against bleeding, and was common in the surrounding nations of EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, BabyloniaBabyloniaBabylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
, and AssyriaAssyriaAssyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
. The Chinese Union VersionChinese Union VersionThe Chinese Union Version is the predominant Chinese language translation of the Bible used by Chinese Protestants. It is considered by many to be the Chinese Protestant’s Bible....
refers to this stone as being a rubyRubyA ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum . The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires...
.
- Pit'dah (in the masoretic text) / Topazios (in the Septuagint) - despite the suggestion of the Septuagint that it was TopazTopazTopaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al2SiO42. Topaz crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and its crystals are mostly prismatic terminated by pyramidal and other faces.-Color and varieties:...
, Topaz was barely known at the time the Book of Exodus was written (according to both the traditional dating of the book and that by textual scholarsTextual criticismTextual criticism is a branch of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the texts of manuscripts...
); in the classical era, topazios referred to an island on which a particular yellow mineral was mined (topazios means to seek, in reference to the difficulty in finding the island). The word pit'dah is thought by scholars to be connected with the AssyriaAssyriaAssyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n word hipindu, which refers to something that flashed (presumably meaning shimmered), and thus the jewel in question would fit the description of ChrysoliteOlivineThe mineral olivine is a magnesium iron silicate with the formula 2SiO4. It is a common mineral in the Earth's subsurface but weathers quickly on the surface....
, a translucent greenish yellow mineral, common throughout the LevantLevantThe Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
, and particularly found on a particular island in the Red SeaRed SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
, under the control of the Egyptian PharaohPharaohPharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
.
- Bareket (in the masoretic text) / Smaragdos (in the Septuagint) - Bareketh etymologically means shimmering/shiny; Smaragdos is cognateCognateIn linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...
with EmeraldEmeraldEmerald is a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness...
, and literally means green stone, but is somewhat of a false friendFalse friendFalse friends are pairs of words or phrases in two languages or dialects that look or sound similar, but differ in meaning....
as it was used to refer to a number of different green gems, not just the Emerald in particular. Bareket doesn't refer to any particular colour, while Smaragdos was often used in Greek literature to refer to an intensely bright crystal found in columnar formations. The only minerals fitting these details are heliodor (taking into account the implication of Smaragdos that it was green) and rock crystal (ignoring the literal meaning of Smaragdos, since the masoretic text doesn't appear to specify colour); there is much to be said for Smaragdos being either of those.
Second row
- Nofekh (in the masoretic text) / Anthrax (in the Septuagint) - while Anthrax simply means coal (presumably here referring to the colour of burning coal), the VulgateVulgateThe Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
here has Carbunculus, referring to the CarbuncleCarbuncle (gemstone)A carbuncle is an archaic name given to any red cabochon cut gemstone. The name applied particularly to red garnet. The word occurs in four places in most English translations of the Bible...
, which was red. Nofekh appears to be a loan word; it may derive from the Egyptian term m-f-k-t, referring to MalachiteMalachiteMalachite is a copper carbonate mineral, with the formula Cu2CO32. This green-colored mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal, fibrous, or stalagmitic masses. Individual crystals are rare but do occur as slender to acicular prisms...
or TurquoiseTurquoiseTurquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula CuAl648·4. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gem and ornamental stone for thousands of years owing to its unique hue...
, both of which are a greenish blue; it may instead derive from lupakku, a term appearing in the Amarna lettersAmarna lettersThe Amarna letters are an archive of correspondence on clay tablets, mostly diplomatic, between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru during the New Kingdom...
, referring to a mineral of unknown colour which was sent in tribute to Akhnaten from Ashkalon. In classical rabbinical literature there is some debate between whether Nofekh was red or greenish blue; Exodus RabbahExodus RabbahExodus Rabbah is the midrash to Exodus, containing in the printed editions 52 parashiyyot. It is not uniform in its composition.- Structure :In parashiyyot i.-xiv...
and the second Jerusalem TargumTargum Pseudo-JonathanTargum Pseudo-Jonathan is a western targum of the Torah from the land of Israel . Its correct title is Targum Yerushalmi , which is how it was known in medieval times...
favour it being red, while the Babylonian TargumTargum Onkelosright|thumb|Interlinear text of [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6.3–10 with [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] Targum Onkelos from the [[British Library]]....
and first Jerusalem Targum favour it being green.
- Sapir (in the masoretic text) / Sapphiros (in the Septuagint) - despite appearing to refer to SapphireSapphireSapphire is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide , when it is a color other than red or dark pink; in which case the gem would instead be called a ruby, considered to be a different gemstone. Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give...
, Sapphire was essentially unknown before the era of the Roman EmpireRoman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, and even once it became more known was treated as merely being a form of hyacinthZirconZircon is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates. Its chemical name is zirconium silicate and its corresponding chemical formula is ZrSiO4. A common empirical formula showing some of the range of substitution in zircon is 1–x4x–y...
or of jacinthJacinthJacinth is a red transparent variety of zircon used as a gemstone. Jacinth is also a flower of a reddish blue or deep purple , and hence a precious stone of that colour ....
. 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 lazuliLapis lazuliLapis lazuli is a relatively rare semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense blue color....
, which was frequently sent as a gift to Akhnaten from Babylon.
- Yahalom (in the masoretic text) / Onychion (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 flintFlintFlint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
; hallamish is connected to the Assyrian word elmeshu, referring to a precious stone which was hard, and possibly white, or at least with an insignificant colour, and from which whole ringsRing (finger)A finger ring is a circular band worn as a type of ornamental jewelry around a finger; it is the most common current meaning of the word ring. Other types of metal bands worn as ornaments are also called rings, such as arm rings and neck 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, OnyxOnyxOnyx is a banded variety of chalcedony. The colors of its bands range from white to almost every color . Commonly, specimens of onyx contain bands of black and/or white.-Etymology:...
was not mined prior to the era of classical Greece; however, Onyx derives from the Assyrian word unku, meaning ring, and it has been suggested that the Septuagint here is not referring to Onyx, but to some other kind of ring stone - the same mineral as the term elmeshu refers to.
Third row
- Leshem (in the masoretic text) / Ligurios (in the Septuagint) - the names here seem to refer to places - LeshemLeshemLeshem is one of the Hoshen jewels.The name Leshem is a Hebrew name, meaning "precious gem".Notable people with the surname Leshem include:* Giora Leshem - Israeli poet and translator...
and LiguriaLiguriaLiguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
, respectively. PlinyPliny the ElderGaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
described the Ligurios as having certain electrical properties, which a number of scholars have taken to imply that it referred to amberAmberAmber is fossilized tree resin , which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Amber is used as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folk medicine, and as jewelry. There are five classes of amber, defined on the basis of their chemical constituents...
, which was one of the first items to have been discovered to have electrical properties; the English stemWord stemIn linguistics, a stem is a part of a word. The term is used with slightly different meanings.In one usage, a stem is a form to which affixes can be attached. Thus, in this usage, the English word friendships contains the stem friend, to which the derivational suffix -ship is attached to form a new...
electric- derives from the Greek word for amber (elektron). TheophrastusTheophrastusTheophrastus , a Greek native of Eresos in Lesbos, was the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He came to Athens at a young age, and initially studied in Plato's school. After Plato's death he attached himself to Aristotle. Aristotle bequeathed to Theophrastus his writings, and...
mentions a mineral named liggourrion, indicating that the name is a corruption of lykos ouron, meaning white urineUrineUrine is a typically sterile liquid by-product of the body that is secreted by the kidneys through a process called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous by-products, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream...
, presumably in reference to its colour, and the MidrashMidrashThe Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
suggests that the mineral had a colour similar to the white of antimonyAntimonyAntimony is a toxic chemical element with the symbol Sb and an atomic number of 51. A lustrous grey metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite...
. Putting these details together, scholars draw the conclusion that it must have been similar to the pale colour of natural gold (as opposed to the colour known as gold); Saadia GaonSaadia GaonSaʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon was a prominent rabbi, Jewish philosopher, and exegete of the Geonic period.The first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Arabic, he is considered the founder of Judeo-Arabic literature...
, and other medieval rabbinical commentators, argued that the gem itself was an Agate (presumably of a golden colour). Some have supposed that this stone was the same as the jacinthJacinthJacinth is a red transparent variety of zircon used as a gemstone. Jacinth is also a flower of a reddish blue or deep purple , and hence a precious stone of that colour ....
, others believe that it was the opalOpalOpal is an amorphous form of silica related to quartz, a mineraloid form, not a mineral. 3% to 21% of the total weight is water, but the content is usually between 6% to 10%. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most...
or amethystAmethystAmethyst is a violet variety of quartz often used in jewelry. The name comes from the Ancient Greek ἀ a- and μέθυστος methustos , a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness; the ancient Greeks and Romans wore amethyst and made drinking vessels of it in the belief...
.
- Sebo (in the masoretic text) / Achates (in the Septuagint) - Achates definitely refers to agateAgateAgate is a microcrystalline variety of silica, chiefly chalcedony, characterised by its fineness of grain and brightness of color. Although agates may be found in various kinds of rock, they are classically associated with volcanic rocks and can be common in certain metamorphic rocks.-Etymology...
, and Sebo may be cognate with the Assyrian term Subu, meaning agate. Agates were common in Egypt and Assyria, and were regarded as a potent talismanAmuletAn amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...
s. The Exodus Rabbah appears to argue for the jewel in question having been a sky blue variety.
- Ahlamah (in the masoretic text) / Amethystos (in the Septuagint) - Amethystos refers to AmethystAmethystAmethyst is a violet variety of quartz often used in jewelry. The name comes from the Ancient Greek ἀ a- and μέθυστος methustos , a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness; the ancient Greeks and Romans wore amethyst and made drinking vessels of it in the belief...
, a purple mineral which was believed to protect against getting drunkDrunkennessAlcohol intoxication is a physiological state that occurs when a person has a high level of ethanol in his or her blood....
from alcoholAlcoholIn chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
(Amethyst's name refers to this belief, and literally translates as not intoxicating), and was commonly used in Egypt. Ahlamah appears to be derived from a term meaning strong, though it may equally be derived from Ahlamu, a place where Amethysts were found; in the Babylonian Targum, Ahlamah is translated into a term meaning strong drinking, which appears to reference beliefs about the Amethyst, but in the Jerusalem Targum, it is translated into a term meaning calf's eye.
Fourth row
- Tarshish (in the masoretic text) / Chrysolithos (in the Septuagint) - in some other places the Septuagint instead has Anthrax (meaning Coal) where the masoretic reads Tarshish. Tarshish is thought by scholars to refer to TarshishTarshishTarshish תַּרְשִׁישׁ occurs in the Hebrew Bible with several uncertain meanings:*One of the sons of Javan .* In the Bible Solomon set up a trade with Tarshish and received ivory, apes, and peacocks from Tarshish which are all native to the jungles in India. India's state bird for example is the...
, in reference to the main source of the mineral being Tarshish. Chrysolithos does not refer specifically to ChrysoliteOlivineThe mineral olivine is a magnesium iron silicate with the formula 2SiO4. It is a common mineral in the Earth's subsurface but weathers quickly on the surface....
, which was named much later, but is an adjective which translates as gold-stone, meaning either that it was golden, or that it contained flecks of gold. With golden flecks it could refer to lapis lazuliLapis lazuliLapis lazuli is a relatively rare semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense blue color....
, 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 TopazTopazTopaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al2SiO42. Topaz crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and its crystals are mostly prismatic terminated by pyramidal and other faces.-Color and varieties:...
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 gemstoneGemstoneA gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...
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, which were commonly used in Egypt and Babylon. It may even be the case that the Septuagint is mistaken, and the masoretic text's Tarsis is a corruption of Asshur (they are similar when spelt using the Hebrew alphabet), referring to AssyriaAssyriaAssyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
's quintessential exported mineral - flintFlintFlint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
. There is little certainty among scholars in regard to which of these is the most likely to be the jewel in question.
- Shoham (in the masoretic text) / Beryllios (in the Septuagint) - in some other places the Septuagint instead has Onychion, or Smaragdos, or the phrase leekLeekThe leek, Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum , also sometimes known as Allium porrum, is a vegetable which belongs, along with the onion and garlic, to family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Allioideae...
-green stone, where the masoretic reads Shoham; Beryllios refers to BerylBerylThe mineral beryl is a beryllium aluminium cyclosilicate with the chemical formula Be3Al26. The hexagonal crystals of beryl may be very small or range to several meters in size. Terminated crystals are relatively rare...
but earlier to the blue-green colour of the sea, Onychion refers to OnyxOnyxOnyx is a banded variety of chalcedony. The colors of its bands range from white to almost every color . Commonly, specimens of onyx contain bands of black and/or white.-Etymology:...
, 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. Shoham 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 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 the YemenYemenThe Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
named Soheim. Jewish tradition generally favours leek-green Beryl (Heliodor) as the likely meaning of Shoham, though scholars think it is more likely to be MalachiteMalachiteMalachite is a copper carbonate mineral, with the formula Cu2CO32. This green-colored mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal, fibrous, or stalagmitic masses. Individual crystals are rare but do occur as slender to acicular prisms...
, 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 for a form of Onyx.
- Yashfeh (in the masoretic text) / Iaspis (in the Septuagint) - in reference to the Septuagint and JosephusJosephusTitus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
, scholars suspect that Yasepheh may be the original reading. Although Yasepheh and Iaspis are cognate to Jasper, they don't 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 Yasepheh; the ambiguity of the term is present in the TargumTargumTaekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
s, where the jewel is variously identified as a rubyRubyA ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum . The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires...
(which is red), as a hyacinthZirconZircon is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates. Its chemical name is zirconium silicate and its corresponding chemical formula is ZrSiO4. A common empirical formula showing some of the range of substitution in zircon is 1–x4x–y...
(which is yellow), or as an emeraldEmeraldEmerald is a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness...
(which is green).
12 Jewels in the Christian New Testament
In the New Testament Book of RevelationBook of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
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 Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
, the layers are given as iaspis, sapphiros, chalcedon, smaragdos, sardonyx, sardion, chrysolithos, beryllos, topazion, chrysoprason, yacinthos, amethystos. 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 ChalcedonyChalcedonyChalcedony is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, composed of very fine intergrowths of the minerals quartz and moganite. These are both silica minerals, but they differ in that quartz has a trigonal crystal structure, while moganite is monoclinic...
, of which the red varietyCarnelianCarnelian is a brownish-red mineral which is commonly used as a semi-precious gemstone. Similar to carnelian is sard, which is generally harder and darker...
is the most common). Anthrax literally means coal, presumably meaning the red colour of burning coal, while Chalcedon literally means ChalcedonyChalcedonyChalcedony is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, composed of very fine intergrowths of the minerals quartz and moganite. These are both silica minerals, but they differ in that quartz has a trigonal crystal structure, while moganite is monoclinic...
, of which the red varietyCarnelianCarnelian is a brownish-red mineral which is commonly used as a semi-precious gemstone. Similar to carnelian is sard, which is generally harder and darker...
is the most common. - Ligurios has become Chrysoprason. Scholars suspect that Ligurios was a pale yellowish mineral, and although Chrysoprase now refers to a specific gemstone - ChrysopraseChrysopraseChrysoprase, chrysophrase or chrysoprasus is a gemstone variety of chalcedony that contains small quantities of nickel. Its color is normally apple-green, but varies to deep green. The darker varieties of chrysoprase are also referred to as prase...
- which is generally apple-green in colour, in earlier times it referred to gems of a yellowish leek-greenSpring budSpring bud is the color that used to be called spring green before the X11 web color spring green was formulated in 1987 when the X11 colors were first promulgated...
, such as PeridotPeridot-Chemistry:The chemical composition of peridot is 2SiO4, with Mg in greater quantities than Fe.-Etymology:The origin of the name "peridot" is uncertain...
; 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 now refers to a red-tinted clear gem - the JacinthJacinthJacinth is a red transparent variety of zircon used as a gemstone. Jacinth is also a flower of a reddish blue or deep purple , and hence a precious stone of that colour ....
- this wasn't 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.
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
Ganglion cell layer
The ganglion cell layer is a layer of the retina that consists of retinal ganglion cells.In the macula lutea, the layer forms several strata....
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). The colour scheme generally corresponds with the colour scheme of the Amarna letters
Amarna letters
The Amarna letters are an archive of correspondence on clay tablets, mostly diplomatic, between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru during the New Kingdom...
.
See also
- List of artifacts significant to the Bible
- Priestly undergarments
- Priestly tunic
- Priestly sash
- Priestly turban
- Priestly robe (Judaism)
- EphodEphodAn ephod was an article of clothing, and a worship object, in ancient Israelite culture, and was closely connected with oracular practices....
- Priestly frontletTzitzThe priestly crown or frontlet was the golden plate or tiara worn by the Jewish High Priest on his mitre or turban whenever he would minister in the Tabernacle or the Temple in Jerusalem.-Etymology:...