Precious Stones
of Sacred Scripture

 

Priests of the Old Covenant wore a particularly spectacular garment, one festooned with embroidery and precious jewels. Exodus 28:15-21 describes it: And thou shalt make the rational of judgment with embroidered work of divers colours, according to the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen. It shall be four square and doubled: it shall be the measure of a span both in length and in breadth. And thou shalt set in it four rows of stones. In the first row shall be a sardius stone, and a topaz, and an emerald: In the second a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a jasper: In the third a ligurius, an agate, and an amethyst: In the fourth a chrysolite, an onyx, and a beryl. They shall be set in gold by their rows. And they shall have the names of the children of Israel: with twelve names shall they be engraved, each stone with the name of one according to the twelve tribes. The Jewish Encyclopedia describes it further: The vestments of the high priest were interpreted in three ways. The explanation of Philo is as follows ("Vita Mosis," iii. 209): His upper garment was the symbol of the ether, while the blossoms represented the earth, the pomegranates typified running water, and the bells denoted the music of the water. The ephod corresponded to heaven, and the stones on both shoulders to the two hemispheres, one above and the other below the earth. The six names on each of the stones were the six signs of the zodiac, which were denoted also by the twelve names on the breastplate. The miter was the sign of the crown which exalted the high priest above all earthly kings. Josephus' explanation is this ("Ant." iii. 7, § 7): The coat was the symbol of the earth, the upper garment emblemized heaven, while the bells and pomegranates represented thunder and lightning. The ephod typified the four elements, and the interwoven gold denoted the glory of God. The breastplate was in the center of the ephod, as the earth formed the center of the universe; the girdle symbolized the ocean, the stones on the shoulders the sun and moon, and the jewels in the breastplate the twelve signs of the zodiac, while the miter was a token of heaven. St. Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologica, also explores the symbolic meanings of the stones chosen to adorn the priests: According to some, the literal reason for these vestments was that they denoted the disposition of the terrestrial globe; as though the high-priest confessed himself to be the minister of the Creator of the world, wherefore it is written (Wis. 18:24): "In the robe" of Aaron "was the whole world" described. For the linen breeches signified the earth out of which the flax grows. The surrounding belt signified the ocean which surrounds the earth. The violet tunic denoted the air by its color: its little bells betoken the thunder; the pomegranates, the lightning. The ephod, by its many colors, signified the starry heaven; the two onyx stones denoted the two hemispheres, or the sun and moon. The twelve precious stones on the breast are the twelve signs of the zodiac: and they are said to have been placed on the rational because in heaven, are the types [rationes] of earthly things, according to Job 38:33: "Dost thou know the order of heaven, and canst thou set down the reason [rationem] thereof on the earth?" The turban or tiara signified the empyrean: the golden plate was a token of God, the governor of the universe. In St. John the Divine's vision of the Heavenly Jerusalem, the City stood on a foundation of twelve stones, each correlating with one of the stones of the breast plate. The stones, though, are in a different order -- with the last stone of the breastplate (the stone associated with the tribe of Benjamin) listed first. Apocalypse 21:19-21 And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned 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 are twelve pearls, one to each: and every several gate was of one several pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were, transparent glass. The true identity and symbolism of these stones is a fascinating matter. Sadly, it's one in much dispute due to the ancients' not having precise names for the various rocks and minerals. Below is a table which indicates the names of the stones as given in different texts, and "best guesses" as to their modern identities according to the Catholic and Jewish Encyclopediae.

Key:
BP: Breast Plate
FS: Foundation Stone
DR: Douay-Rheims
KJV: King James Version
NIV: New International Version
NASB: New American Standard Bible
CE: Catholic Encyclopedia, 1905-1917
JE: Jewish Encyclopedia, 1901-1906
 

Key:
After Tribes' names:
(R) born of Rachel
(L) born of Lia (Leah)
(B) born of Bala (Bilhah), Rachel's handmaid
(Z) born of Zelpha (Zilpah), Lia's handmaid

Back to Being Catholic
Index