Exodus 28:20

and in the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. Mount these stones in gold filigree settings.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — God instructs Moses on Mount Sinai regarding the construction of the high priest’s breastplate. The directive specifies the exact placement and mounting of the fourth row of gemstones.

The words — תַּרְשִׁישׁ (tarshish) denotes chrysolite or beryl, while מְשׁוּבָּצִים (meshubbatzim) means set or inlaid. The text commands these stones to be mounted in gold settings.

The thread — The same stone appears in Ezekiel 1:16, Ezekiel 10:9 and Daniel 10:6 as a descriptor of divine radiance. Exodus 28:19 lists the preceding third row, and Exodus 28:21 clarifies all twelve stones correspond to the tribes of Israel.

Why it lands — The reader must note the precise architectural and liturgical specifications for the priestly vestments. The text demands exact material execution before any symbolic application is considered.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְהַטּוּר֙ve./ha./Turand/ the/ row הָרְבִיעִ֔יha./re.vi.'I<the>/ fourth תַּרְשִׁ֥ישׁtar.Shish[will be] a chrysolite וְשֹׁ֖הַםve./Sho.hamand/ an onyx וְיָשְׁפֵ֑הve./ya.she.Pehand/ a jasper מְשֻׁבָּצִ֥יםme.shu.ba.Tzimset זָהָ֛בza.Havgold יִהְי֖וּyih.Yuthey will be בְּמִלּוּאֹתָֽם׃be./mi.lu.'o.Ta/min/ settings/ their

King James Version

And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.

Cross-references

Ezekiel 1:16 The workmanship of the wheels looked like the gleam of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. Their workmanship looked like a wheel within a wheel.
Ezekiel 10:9 Then I looked and saw four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub. And the wheels gleamed like a beryl stone.
Daniel 10:6 His body was like beryl, his face like the brilliance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of polished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.
Revelation 4:3 The One seated there looked like jasper and carnelian, and a rainbow that gleamed like an emerald encircled the throne.
Revelation 21:11 shining with the glory of God. Its radiance was like a most precious jewel, like a jasper, as clear as crystal.
Revelation 21:18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city itself of pure gold, as pure as glass.