The Gems in the High Priest's Breastplate

Introduction

Throughout history gemstones have been highly prized. The Tanakh is no exception in the appreciation of precious gems. One of the most remarkable artifacts described in the Bible is the Hoshen, the High Priest’s breastplate, which prominently featured gemstones.

According to the detailed description in the book of Exodus 28:15-30, the breastplate had four rows of gems embedded in gold settings, with the names of the twelve tribes engraved on their surface. The breastplate was to be attached to the Ephod worn by the High Priest by gold chains held by gold rings on the shoulder straps. The gems contributed by the ancient Israelites in the wilderness were used in the Tabernacle as described in Ex. 28:17-22.

The identity of the gems has remained ambivalent throughout history. However, we may glean some physical characteristics which help remove at least some of the uncertainties. The hardness of the gems, their availability in the ancient Near East, and the probable size of the gems all can provide some clues to determine their identification.

Size and Value

In the description of the breastplate the text specifies that the linen part, when folded, measured a span in length and a span in width (Ex. 28:16). A span is about 8-9 inches. Based on this, we can make a rough estimate that the maximum size of the gems was no more than 2x2 inches and probably even less, to allow for the gold setting and the decoration of the linen. It is not likely that in the period of the Tabernacle, Israelites recently escaping from Egypt would have been able to purchase precious gems such as sapphires, rubies and emeralds in these sizes. However, we read in Exodus (3:22, 12:35, 36) that the Israelites obtained precious items of gold and silver from their Egyptian neighbors which may have conceivably included some small gems.

Hardness and Engraving: The Mystery of Shamir

The description in Exodus specifies that the names of the twelve tribes were to be engraved in the gems in the breastplate. How could this be done with the available materials? This material had to be harder than the gems themselves. TB Sotah 48b states that the shamir was used for this purpose, described as a special worm that would pass over stones and they would be cut open. A less folkloric approach to the identification of shamir may be gleaned from the Prophets. The word shamir appears in three places in these books, Jeremiah 17:1, Ezekiel 3:9 and Zechariah 7:12. All three citations refer to a material of exceptional hardness. Zechariah refers to it in the context of a comparison, “They hardened their heart like shamir.” Ezekiel states “I will make your forehead like shamir, harder than flint.” In the citation by Jeremiah we have a reference to engraving with a shamir point. The JPS Tanakh consistently translates Shamir as “adamant”, a general term used to describe a very hard substance.

Although Ezekiel indicates that shamir is harder than flint, in Aramaic shamir actually means “like a flint stone.”¹ The similar Egyptian word asmer is translated as emery, an abrasive rock. Emery consists largely of the mineral corundum. Since flint pieces have been used as tools since the Stone Age, it would be a good option for the tool used to engrave the stones. If shamir is identified as emery, the engraving of all the names of the tribes would be possible except on a diamond.

Identification and Properties of the Gems

Odem. The name of this stone implies only that it is a red mineral or rock. Several gems of this color could have been present at the time of the Tabernacle, such as garnet, red jasper, ruby or carnelian. The Greek word for it is sardius. The Septuagint, Josephus² and Epiphanius³ all use sardius as a designation of the ancient carnelian. Carnelian has been found at several excavations in tombs of ancient Egyptian royalty as early as 3100 BC and at later times.⁴ It was used in Babylonian cylinders.⁵ By composition, carnelian is an orange-red variety of quartz, less difficult to engrave than ruby. Therefore, by hardness, cost, availability and history of the word, carnelian seems to be a probable identity.

Pitdah. The name of the gem seems to be derived from the Assyrian hipindu and the Sanskrit pita, meaning yellow.⁶ Topazios is described in Pliny’s writings as having a greenish and yellow hue,⁷ possibly green chrysolite, often called olivine and peridot, a soft green magnesium-iron silicate. However, topaz was not known in the time period the Book of Exodus was traditionally composed. Peridot, on the other hand, has been mined in Egypt since 3000 BCE, and also appears as part of some meteorites; its color is a vivid, transparent green, as opposed to topaz which is usually yellow. Peridot seems a good option. Saadia Gaon identified it as emerald, which is unlikely on account of its hardness and cost. The Septuagint identifies it as chalcedony, a form of quartz, used as a gem as far back as 1800 BCE in Minoan Crete.

Bareket. The name bareket may be derived from barak, meaning lightning or flash. Among other locations it was found in Tyre (Ezek. 28:13), a country which had long standing trade relations with Judea. Josephus translates bareket as smaragdus, a well known gem mined in the area of Nubia and used in the Graeco-Roman period. However, the word smaragdus can designate other green hued gems, and green feldspar — used frequently in ancient Egypt for amulets — is the better option, since beryl or emerald would be extremely difficult to engrave.

Nophek. Josephus identified this as carbuncle, meaning glowing coal, an expression used for some gems with a brilliant reddish hue. There is considerable disagreement regarding this color: Philo of Alexandria agrees with Josephus that it is a red gem, the Jerusalem Talmud favors the red color while the Babylonian Talmud is partial to a green gem, and Exodus Rabbah favors red while the Babylonian Targum favors green. The word may have also derived from the Egyptian mafeket, referring to malachite or turquoise, copper phosphates of greenish blue color; Theophrastus considers it malachite.⁸ The gem could possibly be garnet, which is also red.

Sappir. The word is translated as sapphirus, but the description does not correspond to sapphire as we know it today; this gem was not known before the Roman time period and first appears in rabbinical works from that era.⁹ Both Theophrastus and Pliny describe this mineral as a deep blue gem with gold spots, a characterization that fits lapis lazuli better than sapphire. Lapis lazuli was called chesbet in ancient Egypt and was sent as a gift to the Pharaoh Akhnaten from Babylonia. This gem has been mined in the Near East since 4000 BCE and remained esteemed in ancient Egypt into the Graeco-Roman period, making it a likely candidate for sappir.

Yahalom. The identity of this gem is one of the most difficult. Ibn Ezra translated it as diamond, but suggests that it might have been white onyx; onyx was not mined before the Classical period of Greece.⁴ From the economic point of view, diamonds have always been very costly, and it is not likely that Israelites wandering in the desert would have a 2x2 inch piece of good quality diamond, nor is there clear indication that diamonds were available in the ancient Near East. Since diamond has the highest hardness of all the candidate materials, no other stone in the breastplate would have been able to accomplish the engraving of a diamond. This gem could be onyx, for it was available at the time and engraved onyx was used for creating seals.

Leshem. This is also difficult to identify, and discussion of its identity relies on the etymology of the name rather than any physical property. Ligurius was often translated as amber by both Theophrastus and Dioscorides,¹⁰ but amber is a fairly soft fossil, unusual for placement among the harder gems in the breastplate. Later texts identify ligurion as jacinth, a variety of zircon, and Theophrastus mentions that this mineral is very cold to the touch, applying to sapphire or jacinth. Brugsch and Wendel suggested the name was misspelled and was Neshem, an Egyptian word for a yellowish or reddish brown agate, while Numbers Rabbah 2:7 states it is black. This gem is probably a type of agate.

Shevo. Ancient and modern authorities all agree that this gem belongs to the agate family, a form of chalcedony. The word agate is of Greek origin, associated with a river in Sicily where large quantities were mined as early as 3000 BCE. Josephus and Pliny (37:54) also call it agate.² Numbers Rabbah 2:7 calls it grey, and a grey-white variety was known to appear in Egyptian amulets.

Achlamah. The scholarly authorities agree that it is a purple gem and identify it with amethyst, though it may have been the purple variant of quartz now identified as fluorite. This gem was available in the ancient Near East; Numbers Rabbah 2:7 says that it had a red wine color.

Tarshish. The name is most probably the name of a place (Gen. 10:4; I Kgs. 10:22; I Chron. 1:7, Psalms 48:7; Isa. 2:16; Jer. 10:9; Ezek. 27:13,25; Jonah 1:3,4:2) where the gem came from — Tartessus, a Phoenician colony in the south of Spain with extensive trade relations with Tyre since the times of King David and King Solomon. The identity of the gem has been disputed: topaz, chrysolite, or aquamarine; beryl is unlikely on account of its hardness. Symmachus renders it yakinthos, meaning jacinth.¹¹ The ancient chrysolite is what we now designate as topaz, and this is the most likely identity.

Shoham. This gem is referred to as one of the minerals in the land of Havilah, the locality of the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:11,12). Beryl, onyx and even the mysterious bedolah are identified with shoham. Josephus translates it as onyx,² though even its color is ambiguous: Ibn Ezra says it is white, while the Midrash calls it black. Ezekiel 28:13 states that it was a valuable gem in the Garden of Eden, and Job 28:16-17 describes it as a symbol of wealth. As onyx is a type of silica found in many colors, this is a good candidate for its identity; malachite or turquoise, mined in the Sinai Peninsula, are other options.

Yashpheh. According to Ezekiel 28:13 this is also one of the gems found in the locality of the Garden of Eden. Translators agree that it is the mineral jasper, a variety of silica; an Assyrian form of the word, yashpu, appears in the Tell-el-Amarna letters in cuneiform writing. It also may have been nephrite or jadeite, known and used since prehistoric times. Numbers Rabbah 2:7 calls it a multicolored gem, while Josephus thought it was beryl.

Conclusion

As a critical scientist, I wish to begin my conclusions with some reservations and a feeling of humility in working on this topic. There is no explicit continuity between the description of the gems by Josephus Flavius, Saadia Gaon, Ibn Ezra or later translators. We can make some intelligent guesses and attempt to remove some degree of uncertainty in view of their properties, value and geographic availability, but we cannot make explicit positive identifications. In ancient society, the gems were not classified by composition or crystal structure — these represent modern developments. Their names were often given by color, place of origin, prior use and folkloristic legends. Since the 1800s, scientists have begun to identify gems by their chemical composition, physical characteristics and their crystal structures.

However, we do know that most of the gems discussed were considered precious in Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia. During the period of the Tabernacle, Judean traders could have obtained gems from merchant caravans. As we obtain more information due to archaeological excavations and by studying the writings of ancient historians we may be able to make a more definite identification of these minerals.

Table 1: Hardness of Selected Minerals and Rocks (Moh’s Scale)

Table 2: Summary of Probable Gems in the High Priest’s Breastplate

* These two are inverted in some sources.

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank the University of Chicago Libraries for finding me all the unusual materials I requested. This paper is dedicated to my husband, Dr. George Meschel, for his endless patience and understanding toward my interests and his encouragement all my life.