Names Carried on the Heart
15 “You shall make a breastplate of judgment, the work of the skillful workman; like the work of the ephod you shall make it; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, you shall make it. 16 It shall be square and folded double; a span shall be its length, and a span its width. 17 You shall set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: a row of ruby, topaz, and beryl shall be the first row; 18 and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald; 19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be enclosed in gold in their settings. 21 The stones shall be according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names; like the engravings of a signet, everyone according to his name, they shall be for the twelve tribes. 22 You shall make on the breastplate chains like cords, of braided work of pure gold. 23 You shall make on the breastplate two rings of gold, and shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. 24 You shall put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate. 25 The other two ends of the two braided chains you shall put on the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in its forepart. 26 You shall make two rings of gold, and you shall put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on its edge, which is toward the side of the ephod inward. 27 You shall make two rings of gold, and shall put them on the two shoulder straps of the ephod underneath, in its forepart, close by its coupling, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 28 They shall bind the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate may not swing out from the ephod. 29 Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment on his heart, when he goes in to the holy place, for a memorial before Yahweh continually. 30 You shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before Yahweh. Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel on his heart before Yahweh continually.
Twelve stones are set over the priest's heart and tied so they cannot swing loose, and the means of asking God a question is kept in the same pouch.
15 “You shall make a breastplate of judgment, the work of the skillful workman; like the work of the ephod you shall make it; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, you shall make it. 16 It shall be square and folded double; a span shall be its length, and a span its width.
A pouch about nine inches square, made of the same materials as the ephod, set with four rows of three stones. The stones shall be according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names; like the engravings of a signet, everyone according to his name Exodus 28:21.
The names appear twice on the same man. On the shoulders they are grouped six and six on two stones; here each tribe has a stone of its own, and no two stones are alike. Carried as a load, they are one people; carried on the heart, they are twelve distinct names, individually cut, individually set, none merged with another.
They shall bind the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate may not swing out from the ephod.
The fastening is specified at length, with four rings and two chains and a blue cord, and the reason is given in the last clause. It must not swing loose. Whatever the priest was doing — bending at the altar, turning, lifting — the names stayed against his chest. The design anticipates movement and refuses to let the attachment become approximate.
Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment on his heart, when he goes in to the holy place, for a memorial before Yahweh continually.
The same verb as on the shoulders, and the same continually. What the arrangement asserts is that Israel is represented before God permanently and by name, in a place chosen for its associations. Strength carries them in; affection keeps them there.
You shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before Yahweh. Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel on his heart before Yahweh continually.
They are introduced without description, as though everyone knew what they were, and Scripture never says. What can be gathered from the narratives is that they gave answers to questions put to God, that the answers could be yes, no, or nothing at all 1 Samuel 28:6, and that they were the priest's to use rather than the king's. Beyond that the text is silent, and the silence is not accidental: a nation surrounded by divination is given one sanctioned means of inquiry, kept inside the sanctuary, in the pouch that carries the names, and no instructions are recorded for making it work.
You shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before Yahweh. Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel on his heart before Yahweh continually.
The word for the pouch and the word for what he bears are the same. Their case and their verdict rest in the same place as their names.
held with reason What this mark means