It is supposed to provide deep and pure love. Drinkers would wear an amulet of amethyst for this reason. This stone was thought to prevent intoxication. It appears in the breastplate, the wall foundations, and among the king's treasure. Red agate was meant to improve eyesight.Īmethyst represents the Issachar tribe. Agate was considered to have medicinal powers into the Middle Ages, supposedly countering poisons, contagious diseases, and fever. It was brought to Palestine by merchants from places such as Babylonia, Persia, Saba, and Reema in their caravans (Ezekiel 27:22). The stone was associated with health, longevity, and wealth. Let's now turn to the major individual precious stones mentioned in these three important biblical references and the significance of each gem.Īgate was the second stone in the third row of the breastplate and thought to represent the Aser tribe of the Israelites. Tyre was the center of a large trading empire which traded with Egypt, Arabia, and Mesopotamia and the king became quite rich. In reference to the treasures of Hiram I, 10th century king of Tyre, Ezekiel (28:13) describes the Garden of Eden as having "every precious stone", including beryl, carbuncle, diamond, emerald, gold, jasper, onyx, sapphire, sardius, and topaz, and that "the workmanship of thy tablets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou was created". The stones are very similar to those worn by Aaron and successive high priests. From the first foundation to the twelfth foundation, stones used were jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolyte, beryl, topaz, chrysoprasus, jacinth, and amethyst respectively.The wall itself was made of jasper. Successive foundations of the wall of New Jerusalem were garnished with various precious stones. After Solomon's temple was destroyed and the Jews were taken captive to Babylon in the 6th century BCE, they always hoped for Jerusalem's restoration. The priests' bells and pomegranates represented thunder and lighting, and their headdress signified heaven. He took the twelve stones to be the months or Zodiac signs. Josephus felt that the breastplate represented the earth, and the priest's girdle as the ocean that went around it. The priests wore these garments whenever they were communicating with God over the course the Israelites should take. Each stone was set with an ouch, or clasp or buckle, of gold.įrom the time of Aaron in the 13th century BC, high priests wore a breastplate or gorget of cloth similar to that worn by Aaron. The stones were set in four rows: a sardius, topaz, and carbuncle in the first row an emerald, sapphire and diamond in the second a ligure, agate, and amethyst in the third and a beryl, onyx, and jasper in the fourth row. It had twelve precious gems, one for each of the Israelite tribes, and was inscribed with their names. It is described in the Bible as the breastplate of judgment or decision. His breastplate is one of the earliest accounts of an array of gemstones as decoration and symbols. There are many biblical references to gemstones but the most important are considered to be Aaron's breastplate (Exodus 28: 15-20 and 39:10-13), the stones in the foundations of the wall of New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:18-21), and the precious stones that were among the King of Tyre's treasures (Ezekiel 28:13).Īaron was Moses' brother and led the tribe of the high priests. Each of the saints was assigned their own gemstone and all twelve gems match up exactly with those mentioned in the Revelations passage. One of the earliest writers to tie in the apostles with the symbolism of the twelve gems is Andreas, Bishop of Caesurae. Many also believe that there is a clear association between the twelve apostles and the twelve gems from the walls of Jerusalem. The twelve sacred gemstones of Revelations are Jasper, Sapphire, Chalcedony, Emerald, Sardonyx, Sardius, Chrysolite, Beryl, Topaz, Chrysoprasus, Jacinth, and Amethyst. Despite the confusion surrounding the various names and translations of them, many believe that the gems listed in Revelation, Chapter 21 are the same twelve sacred gemstones from the Mountain of GOD, "The Stones of Fire", that were in Aaron's BreastPlate of Judgement. There are also twelve gemstones listed in Revelation, Chapter 21. Said to have the power to summon angels, the book of Ezekiel calls them "The Stones Of Fire" Ezekiel, Chapter 28:13-16). Many of these same gemstones are listed in Ezekiel, Chapter 28 in reference to the King of Tyrus. They were given to Moses, whose blueprint for a sacred breastplate for his brother, the high priest Aaron, is given in Exodus, 28:15-30. Way back at the beginning of the Old Testament, there were twelve sacred gemstones that came from the Mountain of God, where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Foundation Stones, Gemstones of the Bible
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