Wall decoration – Metal Tablet with Breastplate of the High Priest, small

Description Metal Tablet with Breastplate of the High Priest wall decoration Size: 9cm x 5.5cm (3.5″ x 2″) Breastplate of the high priest A species of pouch, adorned with precious stones, worn by the high priest on his breast when he presented in the Holy Place the names of the children of Israel This breast piece was to be made in part of the same material as the EPHOD. The directions specify that it was to be made “of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen” (Exodus 28:15). “Foursquare it shall be, being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof”. On the front face of this square were set, in four rows, twelve precious stones, on each of which was engraved the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. These jewels in gold settings were (Exodus 28:17-19): in the first row, “a sardius [margin, “ruby”], a topaz, and a carbuncle [margin, “emerald”]”; in the second row, “an emerald [margin, “carbuncle”], a sapphire, and a diamond [margin, “sardonyx”]”; in the third row, “a jacinth [R. V.: margin, “amber”], an agate, and an amethyst”; and in the fourth row, “a beryl [margin, “chalcedony”], and an onyx [margin, “beryl”], and a jasper.” The exact identification and the order of these stones, as well as the tribe represented by each, are matters of speculation