THE STONES OF The Twelve Tribes of Israel

Created by pastorbuddy on 3/11/2009

High Priest Breastplate Gemstones

Many gem scholars agree that the tradition of birthstones arose from the Breastplate of Aaron: a ceremonial religious garment set with twelve gemstones that represented the twelve tribes of Israel and also corresponded with the twelve signs of the zodiac and the twelve months of the year. “It was square — a span [22 centimeters] long and a span wide — and folded double. Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it.

“In the first row there was a ruby, a topaz and a beryl; in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald; in the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. They were mounted in gold filigree settings.”

Authorized version (King James’ Bible) 1611

It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being doubled. And they set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this was the first row. And the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they were inclosed in pouches of gold in their enclosings. And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, every one with his name, according to the twelve tribes.
I have assumed that the list should read from right to left, since this is the way that the original list was written.

Breastplate Layout 1

Garnet

Carbuncle

Topaz

Topaz

Sard

Sardius

Diamond

Diamond

Sapphire

Sapphire

Emerald

Emerald

Amethyst

Amethyst

Agate

Agate

?

Ligure

Jasper

Jasper

Onyx

Onyx

Beryl

Beryl

The King James’ translation of the Bible is nearly 400 years old. Some of the stones may have been mistranslated, or the names used for different stones. There are doubts as to what ‘ligure’ means. Diamond seems unlikely, since the stone must be big enough to carve a tribe of Israel on! The New English Bible gives a different translation (see below).

New English Bible – 1970

“They made the breast-plate square, folded, a span long and a span wide.
They set in it four rows of precious stones: the first row, sardin, chrysolite and green feldspar;
the second row, purple garnet, lapis lazuli and jade;
the third row, turquoise, agate and jasper;
the fourth row, topaz, cornelian and green jasper, all set in gold rosettes.
The stones corresponded to the twelve sons of Israel, name by name, each bearing the name of one of the twelve tribes engraved as on a seal.”

Again I have made the assumption of right to left listing.

Breastplate Layout 2

Amazonite

Green Feldspar

Peridot

Chrysolite

Sard

Sardin

Jade

Jade

Lapis Lazuli

Lapis Lazuli

Garnet

Garnet

Jasper

Red Jasper

Agate

Agate

Turquoise

Turquoise

Bloodstone

Green Jasper

Cornelian

Carnelian

Topaz

Topaz

You can see that several of the stones are different from the King James’ version. The New English Bible used modern scholars ideas for what the likely stones were, but there is still disagreement. “Ligure” may be amber, rather than turquoise. There are other versions of the minerals of the High Priest’s breast-plate. I have restricted myself to two conventional translations of the Bible.

The Twelve Tribes of Israel

There were twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.” (Old Testament, New International Version, Exodus, Chapter 39, vs. 9-14)

In Exodus 28:17-21, specific gemstones were associated with the twelve tribes of Israel. People of Jewish heritage may wish to select their birthstones based on tribal names. Historians have compiled several lists of which stone goes with each name. This list varies, depending on how the old gemstone names are interpreted. Paul E. Desautels (1920-1991), the curator of minerals at the U. S. National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution), author of “The Gem Kingdom”, offers the following list, which uses modern gemstone names:

Reuben…..
Simeon……
Levi……
Judah……
Issachar……
Zebulun……
Joseph……
Benjamin……
Dan……
Naphtali……
Gad……
Assher……
Carnelian
Peridot
Emerald
Garnet
Lapis lazuli
Rock crystal
Zircon
Agate
Amethyst
Citrine
Onyx
Jasper
The Twelve Apostles

Christianity influenced the symbolism of gemstones. George Kunz, in his book “The Curious Lore of Precious Stones”, says specific gemstones were also associated with the twelve apostles.

Simon Peter……
Andrew ……

James/John ……
Philip ……
Bartholomew ……
Thomas……
Matthew ……
James ……
Thaddeus ……
Simon ……
Matthias ……
Paul ……

Jasper
Ruby
Emerald
Carnelian
Peridot
Aquamarine
Topaz
Sardonyx
Chrysoprase
Zircon
Amethyst
Sapphire

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