Exodus 28:17
New International Version
Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. The first row shall be carnelian, chrysolite and beryl;

New Living Translation
Mount four rows of gemstones on it. The first row will contain a red carnelian, a pale-green peridot, and an emerald.

English Standard Version
You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row;

Berean Standard Bible
And mount on it a setting of gemstones, four rows of stones: In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald;

King James Bible
And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.

New King James Version
And you shall put settings of stones in it, four rows of stones: The first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald; this shall be the first row;

New American Standard Bible
And you shall mount on it four rows of stones; the first row shall be a row of ruby, topaz, and emerald;

NASB 1995
“You shall mount on it four rows of stones; the first row shall be a row of ruby, topaz and emerald;

NASB 1977
“And you shall mount on it four rows of stones; the first row shall be a row of ruby, topaz and emerald;

Legacy Standard Bible
You shall mount on it four rows of stones; the first row shall be a row of ruby, topaz, and emerald;

Amplified Bible
You shall mount on it four rows of stones: the first row shall be a row of ruby, topaz, and emerald;

Christian Standard Bible
Place a setting of gemstones on it, four rows of stones: The first row should be a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald;

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Place a setting of gemstones on it, four rows of stones: The first row should be a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald;

American Standard Version
And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: a row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And you shall set in it settings of stones, four rows of stone: the first row, ruby and topaz and lightning (diamond), row one.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And thou shalt interweave with it a texture of four rows of stone; there shall be a row of stones, a sardius, a topaz, and emerald, the first row.

Contemporary English Version
with four rows of three precious stones: In the first row put a carnelian, a chrysolite, and an emerald;

Douay-Rheims Bible
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:

English Revised Version
And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: a row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Fasten four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row put red quartz, topaz, and emerald.

Good News Translation
Mount four rows of precious stones on it; in the first row mount a ruby, a topaz, and a garnet;

International Standard Version
You are to mount on it a setting for four rows of stones. The first row is to contain carnelian, topaz, and emerald;

JPS Tanakh 1917
And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: a row of carnelian, topaz, and smaragd shall be the first row;

Literal Standard Version
And you have set settings of stone in it, four rows of stone: a row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle [is] the first row;

Majority Standard Bible
And mount on it a setting of gemstones, four rows of stones: In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald;

New American Bible
On it you shall mount four rows of precious stones: in the first row, a carnelian, a topaz, and an emerald;

NET Bible
You are to set in it a setting for stones, four rows of stones, a row with a ruby, a topaz, and a beryl--the first row;

New Revised Standard Version
You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of carnelian, chrysolite, and emerald shall be the first row;

New Heart English Bible
You shall set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: a row of ruby, topaz, and beryl shall be the first row;

Webster's Bible Translation
And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.

World English Bible
You shall set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: a row of ruby, topaz, and beryl shall be the first row;

Young's Literal Translation
And thou hast set in it settings of stone, four rows of stone; a row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle is the first row;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Breastpiece
16It must be square when folded over double, a span long and a span wide. 17And mount on it a setting of gemstones, four rows of stones: In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald; 18in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond;…

Cross References
Revelation 21:19
The foundations of the city walls were adorned with every kind of precious stone: The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,

Exodus 28:16
It must be square when folded over double, a span long and a span wide.

Exodus 28:18
in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond;

Exodus 39:10
And they mounted on it four rows of gemstones: The first row had a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald;

Ezekiel 28:13
You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation.


Treasury of Scripture

And you shall set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.

thou shalt

Exodus 28:9,11
And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: …

Exodus 39:10
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.

Malachi 3:17
And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

set in it settings of stones.

Ezekiel 28:13
Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

Revelation 21:19-21
And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; …

a sardius or ruby.

Job 28:18
No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.

Proverbs 3:15
She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

Proverbs 8:11
For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.

a topaz.

Job 28:19
The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

Revelation 21:20
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.

a carbuncle.

Isaiah 54:11,12
O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires…

Jump to Previous
Beryl Carbuncle Carnelian Chrysolite Emerald First Four Jewels Lines Mount Precious Row Rows Ruby Sardius Settings Smaragd Stones Topaz
Jump to Next
Beryl Carbuncle Carnelian Chrysolite Emerald First Four Jewels Lines Mount Precious Row Rows Ruby Sardius Settings Smaragd Stones Topaz
Exodus 28
1. Aaron and his sons are set apart for the priest's office
2. Holy garments are appointed
6. The ephod and girdle
15. The breast-plate with twelve precious stones
30. The Urim and Thummim
31. The robe of the ephod, with pomegranates and bells
36. The plate of the mitre
39. The embroidered coat
40. The garments for Aaron's sons














(17-19) Set in it settings of stones . . . There is always considerable difficulty in identifying ancient with modern gems, the etymologies of the words being frequently uncertain, the names (where they have survived) having sometimes changed their meaning, and the opinions of early commentators, who might seem to speak with some authority, being discrepant. In the present case, scarcely one of the twelve stones can be said to be determined with certainty. 1. The odem, identified by the LXX. and the Vulg. With the "sard," has been regarded as the ruby, the carbuncle, and the carnelian. Etymologically the word means "red," or "the red stone." The ruby is certainly wrong, since ancient engravers could not cut it. Either "sard" or "carnelian" is probably intended, both being common in Egypt. 2. The pitdah is certainly not the topaz, which could no more be cut than the ruby. If the word is derived, as supposed, from a root meaning "pale," the chrysolite, which resembles a pale topaz, but is far softer, may be meant. 3. The bar?keth is rendered smaragdus, "emerald," by the LXX. and Vulg.; but neither could the emerald be cut by the ancient engravers. The word means "brightly flashing," which tells us next to nothing. "Beryl" and "a kind of corundum" have been suggested; but neither is particularly sparkling. 4. The nophek, translated ?????? by the LXX. and Josehus, may well be the "carbuncle," as is now generally supposed. It cannot, any more than the odem, be the ruby. 5. The sappir one might have supposed by its name to be certainly the "sapphire;" but this, again, is a gem which ancient engravers could not cut. It would seem that here we have one of the cases where the name has been transferred from one stone to another, the modern "lapis lazuli" being the gem which was called "sapphire" by the ancients. 6. The yah?lom is certainly not the "diamond," which is the hardest of all gems. The LXX. and Vulg. translate by "jasper" (??????, jaspis); but this seems really to have been the twelfth stone. Other renderings are mere conjectures, and the yah?lom must be regarded as unknown. 7. The leshem, rendered "ligure" by the LXX., the Vulgate, Josephus, and our translators, is probably the stone known to the ancients as lapis ligurius, but what that stone was is a matter of great uncertainty. It has been regarded as amber, as jacinth, and as tourmaline; but amber does not admit of engraving, while jacinth and tourmaline are pure conjectures. This stone, then, must also be regarded as unknown. 8. The shevo, rendered achates, "agate," by the LXX. and the Vulg., is generally allowed to have been that stone, which was well known to the ancients, and widely used for engraving. 9. The akhlamah was regarded as the amethyst by the LXX., the Vulgate, and Josephus; but it has been suggested that it may have been "malachite" (Knobel); and there is no disproving the suggestion. Still the amethyst, which is easily engraved, and was well known in Egypt, should find a place in the present list, and may well have been intended by the akhlamah. 10. The tarshish, by its name, should be a stone brought from Tarshish, which is either Tarsus or Tartessus. Some suppose it to have been the beryl, some the chrysolite, others the turquoise. There are really no sufficient grounds for identifying it with any known gem. 11. The shoham has been already discussed (see Note on Exodus 28:9), and identified with the onyx, or the sardonyx. 12. The yash'peh should, by its name, be the "jasper," which was one of the stones most used in Egypt, and which could scarcely have been absent from the present list. The LXX., however, translate "onyx," Josephus and the Vulgate "beryl;" so that here again there is uncertainty. The views of the present writer may be best presented to the reader by means of a table:--

1st Row of Gems . . .

2nd Row . . .

3rd Row . . .

4th Row . . .

Odern

(the Sard)

Nophck

(the Carbuncle)

Leshem . . .

Verse 17. - Settings of stones. These were similar to those of the two shoulder stones - i.e. of filagree or cloisonne work - as appears from Exodus 39:13. The first row of the stones is said to have been composed of a sardius, or sard, a topaz, and a carbuncle. Of these names the first only would seem to be tolerably certain. The second cannot be right, since the topaz was too hard a stone to be engraved by the ancient engravers. We may conjecture that the chrysolite, a pale stone not unlike the topaz, but far less hard, was the Genesis intended. The "carbuncle" is also thought to be wrong; and the "beryl" is suggested by some; by others "a sort of precious corundum." Emerald, to which the "smaragdus" of the LXX. and Josephus would seem to point, cannot be right, since that stone is fully as hard as the topaz.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
And mount
וּמִלֵּאתָ֥ (ū·mil·lê·ṯā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 4390: To fill, be full of

on it
בוֹ֙ (ḇōw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew

a setting
מִלֻּ֣אַת (mil·lu·’aṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 4396: Setting (of jewels)

of gemstones,
אֶ֔בֶן (’e·ḇen)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 68: A stone

four
אַרְבָּעָ֖ה (’ar·bā·‘āh)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 702: Four

rows
טוּרִ֣ים (ṭū·rîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 2905: A row, a wall

of stones:
אָ֑בֶן (’ā·ḇen)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 68: A stone

In the first
הָאֶחָֽד׃ (hā·’e·ḥāḏ)
Article | Number - masculine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

row there shall be
ט֗וּר (ṭūr)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2905: A row, a wall

a ruby,
אֹ֤דֶם (’ō·ḏem)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 124: Redness, the ruby, garnet, some other red gem

a topaz,
פִּטְדָה֙ (piṭ·ḏāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 6357: (a precious stone) perhaps topaz

and an emerald;
וּבָרֶ֔קֶת (ū·ḇā·re·qeṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 1304: A gem, the emerald


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OT Law: Exodus 28:17 You shall set in it settings (Exo. Ex)
Exodus 28:16
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