Now in Musée de Cluny, Paris. The cross proper is set with fine
sapphires cut en cabochon and eight large pearls. Natural size.]
V. Sappir. [סַפִּיר] This is rendered _sapphirus_ in all the old
versions.[423] The stone cannot have been our sapphire, for both
Theophrastus and Pliny describe the _sapphirus_ as a stone with golden
spots, thus showing that they meant the lapis-lazuli, which is often
spotted with particles of pyrites having a golden sheen. This stone
was named _chesbet_ by the Egyptians, and was highly prized by them, a
quantity of lapis-lazuli often appearing as an important item in the
lists of tribute paid to Egypt and among the gifts sent by Babylonia
to the Egyptian monarchs, and obtained from the oldest mines in the
world. These were worked at a period 4000 B.C. and still are worked
to this day. From this material amulets and figures were made, many
of which have been preserved for us, and the Egyptian high-priest
is said to have worn, suspended from his neck, an image of Mat, the
Goddess of Truth, made of lapis-lazuli. The name is composed of the
Latin _lapis_, “a stone,” and _lajuward_, the name of the stone in
Persian. From this latter word is also derived our “azure.” In ancient
times the lapis-lazuli was the blue stone _par excellence_, because
of its beautiful color and the valuable ultramarine dye derived from
it. Although Pliny writes (xxxvii, 39) that this stone was too soft
for engraving, this fact need not have prevented its use in the
breastplate, since the stones set therein were not intended for use as
seals and hence were not subjected to any wear. In this connection,
however, it is somewhat strange that the Hebrew word _sappir_ appears
to indicate a stone especially adapted to receive inscriptions. The
fact that the lapis-lazuli was greatly esteemed in ancient Egypt,
and was still much used as an ornamental stone in Greek and Roman
times, renders it probable that it was set not only in the original
breastplate, but also in that of a later age. Upon this fifth stone the
name Issachar was inscribed.
VI. Yahalom. [יַהֲלֹם] The sixth stone of the Septuagint version and
of Josephus is the ἴασπις, probably green jasper, or jade, and this
has been assumed to show that in the original Hebrew text _yashpheh_
was the sixth stone, in place of _yahalom_. The twelfth stone of the
Greek version is the ὀνύχιον or “onyx,” and this seems to be the most
probable equivalent of the Hebrew _yahalom_. Some Hebrew sources,
however, render it “diamond,” and Luther in his German version of the
Bible, as well as our own Authorized Version, translates it thus. This
rendering is based upon the derivation of the word _yahalom_ from a
verb meaning “to smite,” thus making the name of the stone signify
“the smiter,” a designation not inappropriate for the diamond, which,
because of its extreme hardness, has the power to cut, or “smite,”
all other stones. However, for this purpose the emery corundum, or
smiris-point _shamir_, mentioned in Zechariah, was most likely used.
The diamond was certainly not used in this way in very early times,
although it is possible that the stone was employed in engraving in
the fifth century B.C. These considerations induce us to prefer the
traditional interpretation of _yahalom_, and translate it “onyx.” In
this case “the smiter” could be explained as denoting the use of the
engraved onyx for sealing, as the engraved figure or letters were
struck upon some soft material to make an impression. Zebulun was the
tribal name inscribed on the _yahalom_.
VII. Leshem. [לֶשֶׁם] No stone in the breastplate is more difficult
to determine than this one. The Septuagint, Josephus, and the Vulgate
all translate _ligurius_, an appellation sometimes applied to amber,
a substance quite unfitted for use in the breastplate among the other
engraved stones. Probably the original significance of _ligurius_ was
amber, this name being used because Liguria, in northern Italy, was
the chief source of supply for Greece and the Orient; amber which had
been gathered on the shores of the Baltic being brought by traders to
Liguria and forwarded thence to other lands. As, however, the Greeks
had another name for amber, _electron_, the name _ligurion_ appears to
have been applied later to a variety of the jacinth somewhat resembling
amber in color, and then to other varieties of the same stone. The
original form of the name was evidently _ligurion_, which was later
changed to _lyncurion_, and was then explained as meaning the urine
of the lynx (from λύγξ, and οὖρον, urine). This fanciful etymology
gave rise to the story that the _ligurios_, or rather _lyncurius_,
was the solidified urine of the lynx. The term _lyncurion_, as used
by Theophrastus, may possibly have included the sapphire as well
as the jacinth, since he lays especial stress upon the coldness of
this substance, a quality characteristic of the sapphire, and also
of the still denser jacinth. Hence, it appears that we have, even in
the name _ligurius_, some justification for accepting the rendering
_hyacinthus_, suggested by the list of foundation stones in Revelation
xxi, 20, and already proposed by Epiphanius, Bishop of Constantia,
about 400 A.D. Whether _hyacinthus_ should be rendered “sapphire”
or “jacinth” is not easy to determine, as this name seems to have
been used indifferently for both stones; with the Arabs, under the
form _yakut_, it became a generic term for all the varieties of the
corundum gems. The sapphire was engraved in Greek and Roman times and
is, perhaps, the _leshem_ stone of the Second Temple. For the Mosaic
breastplate we are forced to seek for some stone known in ancient
Egypt, where the sapphire does not seem to have been introduced at
an early date. If we could accept the suggestion of Brugsch that the
Egyptian _neshem_ stone, reputed to have wonderful magic virtues, was
the same as the Hebrew _leshem_, a brown agate would have been the
seventh stone in the original breastplate, as Wendel gives very strong
reasons for rendering _neshem_ in this way. The color designations were
very freely used in Egyptian, and therefore a reddish or a yellowish
brown agate may have been used. The _leshem_ bore the tribal name
Joseph.
VIII. Shebo. [שְׁבוֹ.] This is uniformly rendered in the ancient
versions and in Josephus by “agate,” a composite stone highly esteemed
in very ancient times, and hence worthy of a place among the stones of
the breastplate; at a later period, as Pliny notes (xxxvii, 54), it
became so common that it was but little regarded. Nevertheless the fact
that the various kinds of agates were believed to have many talismanic
and therapeutic virtues, the great variety of coloration observable in
these stones, and the curious figures and markings displayed by many of
them, served to make them favorite objects. The etymology of the word
_shebo_ suggests that it designated more especially a banded agate,
and that set in the proto-breastplate was most probably one with gray
and white bands, as this variety often appears in Egyptian work. There
would have been no lack of contrast between this stone and the reddish
or yellowish-brown agate, of uniform color, which may have occupied the
seventh place. For the later breastplate we may choose any one of the
many kinds of banded agate. This stone had engraved upon it the name
Benjamin.
IX. Aḥlamah. [אַחְלָמָה.] As to this stone also, all the authorities
are in agreement, and render _aḥlamah_ by “amethyst.” This was not,
however, the Oriental amethyst, a variety of corundum, but a dark
blue or purple variety of quartz. Both Arabia and Syria furnished
a supply of amethysts. The Hebrew name shows that this stone was
believed to possess the virtue of inducing dreams and visions
(cf. _halom_—“dream”), while, as is well known, the Greek name
characterizes it as an enemy or preventive of inebriety. The amethyst
was known in ancient Egypt and probably was named _hemag_. In the
Book of the Dead a heart made of _hemag_ is mentioned, and two such
heart-shaped amulets of amethyst are preserved in the Boulaq Museum. As
the amethyst retained its repute as a stone of beauty and power through
the Greek and Roman periods, we may safely assert that it was set in
both the first and second breastplates. Upon the _aḥlamah_ was engraved
the name Dan.
X. Tarshish. [תַרשִׁישׁ.] The Septuagint renders this word
“chrysolite,” where it is used in the description of the breastplate,
as does Josephus also. In the Authorized Version, “beryl” is the
rendering. We have already stated that the topaz of the ancients was
usually our chrysolite, or peridot, and the name “chrysolite” appears
to have been used to designate our topaz. This is indeed indicated
by the literal meaning of the word, “golden-stone.” The _tarshish_
received its name from Tartessus, in Spain, an important commercial
station of the Phœnicians. The stone derived from this source was not,
of course, our Oriental topaz, a variety of corundum, nor was it
the true topaz; neither is it at all likely that the name _tarshish_
signified, at least originally, the genuine topaz; most probably it
denoted a variety of quartz which occurs in Spain. This is originally
black, but is decolorized by heating to a deep brown, and if the
heating be prolonged the stone becomes paler and eventually entirely
transparent. The ancients were familiar with this property. In ancient
Egyptian records a stone called _thehen_ is frequently mentioned as a
material from which amulets were made. This Egyptian name signified
primarily a “yellow stone,” and might designate either the topaz or
the yellow jasper, known and used in Egypt at a very early date; the
topaz was probably not known there earlier than 500 or 600 B.C. Hence,
in spite of the unquestionable difficulty offered by the geographical
name _tarshish_, which might seem to confine us to a Spanish origin for
the stone, the probabilities favor the selection of the yellow jasper
as the tenth gem in Aaron’s breastplate. For that made with pious zeal
by those who labored to renew the glories of the Old Jerusalem, we
choose the topaz,—possibly, indeed, a fine specimen of the genuine
topaz,—for whatever the quality of the yellow stone originally brought
from Tartessus, the name may well have been applied to the genuine
topaz when that stone became known to the Jews, either in Babylonia, or
after their return to Palestine. The _tarshish_ was engraved with the
name Naphtali.
XI. Shoham. [שֹׁהַם.] The Septuagint translates “beryl,” but in our
Authorized Version and in that used by Roman Catholics, the so-called
Douai Version, the word is invariably rendered “onyx.” Diodorus
Siculus and Dionysius Periegetes, writing in the first century B.C.,
are the first classical authors who use the name beryl. While this
name does not appear in the treatise of Theophrastus, he evidently
includes the beryl among his _smaragdi_; indeed, the true emerald is
simply a variety of the beryl, and owes its beautiful coloration to
a slight admixture of chromium. The finest beryls were brought from
India. Besides the specimen set in the breastplate, the high-priest
wore on his shoulders two _shoham_ stones, each engraved with the
names of six of the tribes. After carefully weighing the evidence, we
believe that the stones worn by the high-priest of the Second Temple
were aquamarines (beryls). In our endeavor to determine the _shoham_
stones used in Mosaic times, we have no very definite information to
guide us; on the whole, the conjecture of J. L. Myers, that they were
malachites, seems to have much in its favor, for this material was
known to the ancient Egyptians and appears to have been often used
for amulets. The Egyptian name for malachite, as well as for other
green stones, was _mafek_, and a ring of _mafek_ is mentioned in an
Egyptian text; undoubtedly, at a later period in Egyptian history,
_mafek_ may also have denoted the beryl. In view of the fact that the
turquoise was unquestionably known to the Egyptians at a very early
date, the supply being derived from mines in the Sinai Peninsula,
which were rediscovered by Macdonald, we might be tempted to suggest
that the _shoham_ stones were turquoises. The light blue or blue-green
of the specimens of this stone found on Mt. Sinai would make an even
better contrast with the neighboring jade than would the bright green
malachite. On the shoham of the breastplate the name Gad was engraved.
XII. Yashpheh. [יָשְׁפֶה.] If, as appears almost certain, this name
originally occupied the sixth place in the original Hebrew text, all
the ancient versions agree in translating it “jasper.” An Assyrian
form of the name was _yashpu_, as is shown by the Tell el Amarna
letters in the cuneiform writing dating from not long before the
Exodus. Of all the so-called jaspers none were so highly valued as
those of a green color. The talismanic and therapeutic qualities of
the “green jaspers” are often noted by ancient writers, and, according
to Galen, these stones were recommended for remedial use by Egyptian
writers on medicine. Abel Remusat, the great French Orientalist,
writing in 1820, was one of the first to see in the _yashpheh_ of
the Hebrews and in the green jasper of the Greeks and Romans, the
material jade (nephrite or jadeite), the Chinese _yu_-stone. These
minerals were used both in the Old and the New World, and were
everywhere believed to possess wonderful virtues. Very likely the
powers supposed to characterize jade were later attributed to green
jasper, but there is every reason to suppose that the true jade was
always more highly prized than its jasper substitute, for it was much
rarer, and was easily distinguishable, by its translucency, from jasper
of a similar color. Until quite recently only Turkestan, Burma and
New Zealand have supplied jade and most of that used in other lands
came from prehistoric relics or from sources unknown to us. It seems
highly probable that the _yashpheh_ which adorned the breastplate
made for Aaron was a piece of nephrite or jadeite; possibly in the
later breastplate green jasper may have been employed. This stone was
inscribed with the tribal name Assher.
In the following lists of the precious and semi-precious stones
contained in the earlier and later breastplates, the writer does not
claim to have finally solved the problem presented by the Hebrew
accounts of the high-priest’s adornment, but he hopes that the
distinction established here between the Mosaic breastplate and that
of the Second Temple, separated from each other by an interval of eight
centuries, may serve to clear up some of the difficulties encountered
in the treatment of this subject.
The Breastplate of Aaron. The Breastplate of the Second Temple.
I Red jasper Carnelian
II Light-green serpentine Peridot
III Green feldspar Emerald
IV Almandine garnet Ruby
V Lapis-lazuli Lapis-lazuli
VI Onyx Onyx
VII Brown agate Sapphire or jacinth
VIII Banded agate Banded agate
IX Amethyst Amethyst
X Yellow jasper Topaz
XI Malachite Beryl
XII Green jasper, or jade Green jasper, or jade
The following lists show the variations of the different ancient
authorities in regard to the names of the gems in the breastplate:
Septuagint. Josephus Vulgate Authorized Revised
Hebrew. (Greek) (Greek) (Latin) Version Version
About About About 1611 A.D. 1884 A.D.
250 B.C. 90 A.D. 400 A.D.
1 Odem Sardion Sardonyx Sardius Sardius Sardius
(or Ruby)
2 Piṭdah Topazion Topazos Topazius Topaz Topaz
3 Bareḳeth Smaragdos Smaragdos Smaragdus Carbuncle Carbuncle
(or Emerald)
4 Nophak Anthrax Anthrax Carbunculus Emerald Emerald
(or Carbuncle)
5 Sappir Sappheiros Iaspis Sapphirius Sapphire Sapphire
6 Yahalom Iaspis Sappheiros Jaspis Diamond Diamond
(or Sardonyx)
7 Leshem Ligurion Liguros Ligurius Ligure Jacinth
(or Amber)
8 Shebo Achatês Amethystos Achatês Agate Agate
9 Aḥlamah Amethystos Achatês Amethystus Amethyst Amethyst
10 Tarshish Chrysolithos Chrysolithos Chrysolithus Beryl Beryl
(or Chalcedony)
11 Shoham Bêryllion Onyx Onychinus Onyx Onyx
(or Beryl)
12 Yashpheh Onychion Bêryllos Bêryllus Jasper Jasper
The high-priest’s breastplate, as described in Hebrew tradition, was
regarded by the Jews with peculiar reverence, and the stones set in
it were believed to be emblematic of many things. It is, therefore,
quite natural that these stones are described in the book of Revelation
as the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem. The names are in some
cases not identical with those given in Exodus, but this may arise from
various renderings of the Hebrew names in the Targums or in the Greek
versions.
The text in Revelation (xxi, 9-21) is as follows:
And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven
vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come
hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife:
And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain,
and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of
heaven from God.
Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most
precious, even like a jasper-stone, clear as crystal;
And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates
twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the
twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
On the east, three gates; on the north, three gates; on the south,
three gates; and on the west, three gates.
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names
of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and
the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the
breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand
furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four
cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was
pure gold, like unto clear glass.
And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all
manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the
second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the
eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the
eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of
one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were
transparent glass.
It is easy to trace in this description the substitution of the
twelve apostles for the twelve tribes in connection with the precious
stones enumerated, and, besides this, we also have the twelve angels,
associated at a later date with the months and the signs of the zodiac.
Of the twelve foundation stones the Revelation of St. John expressly
states that they had “in them the names of the twelve apostles of the
Lamb.” The assignment of each stone to the respective apostle was
made in later times according to the order given in the lists of the
apostles contained in the so-called Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark,
and Luke. These lists are not quite identical—Andrew, for instance,
being placed second in Matthew and Luke, but fourth in Mark—and the
same stone was not always assigned to a given apostle. Frequently
the list was modified by the addition of the apostle Paul, really
the thirteenth apostle. In this case he was usually given the second
place immediately after St. Peter, and to the brothers James and John,
the “Sons of Thunder,” was assigned a single stone; in some later
arrangements St. Paul occupies the last place, after St. Matthias, who
was chosen to take the place of Judas Iscariot, and whose name as an
apostle first appears in the Acts.
LISTS OF THE APOSTLES.
Gospel of Gospel of Gospel of
St. Matthew St. Mark St. Luke
x, 2-4. iii, 16-19. vi, 14-16.
Peter Peter Peter
Andrew James Andrew
James John James
John Andrew John
Philip Philip Philip
Bartholomew Bartholomew Bartholomew
Thomas Matthew Matthew
Matthew Thomas Thomas
James the Less James the Less James the Less
Thaddeus Thaddeus Simon Zelotes
Simon Zelotes Simon Zelotes Judas
Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot
The passage in Revelation xxi, 19, 20, is not the only one in that book
treating of precious stones, for we read in chapter iv, 2, 3:
And immediately I was in the Spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in
heaven, and _one_ sat on the throne.
And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone:
and _there was_ a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto
an emerald.
The commentators, both ancient and modern, have given many different
explanations of the symbolic meaning of the similes employed here. Some
have seen in the two stones a type of the two judgments of the world,
by fire and by water; others find that they signify the holiness of
God and his justice. Of the rainbow “like unto an emerald,” Alford
says we should not think it strange that the bow is green, instead of
prismatic: “the _form_ is that of the covenant bow, the color even more
refreshing and more directly symbolizing grace and mercy.”[424]
The significance of the twelve Apocalyptic gems is given by Rabanus
Maurus, Archbishop of Mainz (786-856), in the following words:[425]
In the jasper is figured the truth of faith; in the sapphire, the
height of celestial hope; in the chalcedony, the flame of inner
charity. In the emerald is expressed the strength of faith in
adversity; in the sardonyx, the humility of the saints in spite of
their virtues; in the sard, the venerable blood of the martyrs. In
the chrysolite, indeed, is shown true spiritual preaching accompanied
by miracles; in the beryl, the perfect operation of prophecy; in the
topaz, the ardent contemplation of the prophecies. Lastly, in the
chrysoprase is demonstrated the work of the blessed martyrs and their
reward; in the hyacinth, the celestial rapture of the learned in their
high thoughts and their humble descent to human things out of regard
for the weak; in the amethyst, the constant thought of the heavenly
kingdom in humble souls.
The origin of the foundation stones named in Revelation xxi, 19, 20,
may be found in the text, Isaiah liv, 11, 12, where we read:
O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, _and_ not comforted, behold, I
will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with
sapphires.
And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles,
and all thy borders of pleasant stones.
As we see, only three stones are mentioned by name: the sapphire, the
carbuncle, and “agates.” This last rendering is quite doubtful, as the
Hebrew word (_kodkodim_) signifies shining or gleaming stones, and
their use for windows indicates that they must have been transparent.
It is easy to understand that in later times the twelve stones of the
breastplate, dedicated to the twelve tribes of Israel, were used to
fill out and complete the picture, following the indication given by
the general terms “stones with fair colours” and “pleasant stones.”
In commenting on this text Rabbi Johanan is quoted in the Babylonian
Talmud as saying that God would bring jewels and pearls thirty ells
square (twenty ells in height and ten in width) and would place them
on the gates of Jerusalem. There may be in this some reminiscence of
the Apocalyptic foundation stones. A sceptical disciple said to the
Rabbi, “We do not ever find a jewel as large as the egg of a dove.”
But not long afterward, when this same disciple was sailing in a boat
on the sea, he saw angels sawing stones as immense as those described
by Rabbi Johanan, and when he asked for what they were designed, the
reply was, “The Holy One, blessed be He, will place them on the gates
of Jerusalem.”[426]
IX
Birth-Stones