Exodus 28:17-21 and Ezekiel 28:13

In Exodus 28 the High Priest’s breastplate was decorated with twelve jewels each one  representing one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The stones were arranged in four rows of three as follows:

  1. sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle
  2. emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.
  3.  ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
  4. beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper:

In Ezekiel 28 the king of Tyre is reproved for mimicking the elements of the true Tabernacle/Temple and  claiming divine status. As part of this, verse 13 says

“… 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,

Note the missing row – row 3.  The order of specific stones is almost the same in rows 1,2 and 4 although carbuncle and diamond swap positions.  The similarities are too much for coincidence, so what is the significance of the missing row?

3 thoughts on “Exodus 28:17-21 and Ezekiel 28:13”

  1. Shalom, If any one reading is interested I can give the answer

    First of all the Septuagent has the missing row

    Also you have some translational problems, so you need to go back to Hebrew

    Also you need it identify what stone belongs to what tribe, and it is not according to the order of births, but the order in Numbers Chapter 2.

    1. Interesting discussion here so far, is there any simple cut to the chase on the missing row answer?

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