About the twelve stones that were on Aaron's garments

The treatise “On the Twelve Stones That Were on Aaron’s Clothes” was written by St. Epiphanius of Cyprus in 394 or 395 at the request of Bishop Diodorus of Tire, to whom it was dedicated. The work contains a symbolic explanation of the precious stones that adorned the vestments of the Old Testament high priest. The treatise is divided into 3 parts. Part 1 describes the origin, appearance, properties and healing power of 12 precious stones located on the breastplate of the high priest Aaron (Ex. 28.17-21). Part 2 provides an allegorical interpretation of the stones associated with the 12 tribes of Israel. In the 3rd part, the order of the stones is associated with the order of the 12 Israeli patriarchs listed in the Old and New Testaments. This publication presents a translation of the 1st part of the treatise. *The title of the work in Greek is Περ τῶν δώδεκα λίθων. *The title of the work in Latin is De XII gemmis. Stone I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII You asked me, most revered (Diodorus), to give you a brief message about the stones on the breastplate of the upper 1 robe of the high priest, which God commanded to be attached to the chest of Aaron (Ex. 28:15; 29:5; fn. Lev. 8:8), about the names, about the colors or types, about the places of these stones, about those speculations that from them lead to piety, also about what knee, every stone was placed there - about where they can be found, and where their fatherland is. The confidant is divided into four parts and is itself quadrangular, a span of equal length and width. In the first row his first stone is sardius, then topaz and then emerald. In the second row, the first stone is anfrax, then sapphire and then iaspis. In the third row, the first stone is ligirium, then agate and then amethyst. In the fourth row, the first is chrysolite, then beryl and then onychium (Ex. 28:17–20). This is the essence of the 12 stones that were hung on the upper robe of the high priest; the differences and their locations are as follows: The first stone of Sardia 2 is the so-called Babylonian. It has a fiery appearance and the color of blood, resembling salted sardius fish. That is why it is called sardium, receiving its nickname from its appearance. He is located in Babylon, in Assyria. This stone is transparent and shiny. It also has medicinal power: doctors use it for tumors and other lesions caused by iron. There is another stone (of the same kind), sardonyx, otherwise called malachite, which also softens tumors. It is the same type as sardius, only with a green tint. It is most important at the beginning of spring, when these diseases begin. Topaz stone is redder than anfrax. It is located in Topaz, a city in India, 3 having once been found by local stonemasons in the core of another stone. The stonemasons, seeing that it was brilliant, declared it to be alabaster to some Thebans and sold it for a small price. The Thebans brought it to the queen who ruled their city at that time; and she took it and placed it on the diadem in the middle of her forehead. The following experiment is done with this stone: when it is ground (into powder) on a medicinal whetstone, it forms a liquid that is no longer red, according to its color, but milky (milky in color). After that, the grinder fills as many vessels as he wants with this liquid and does not reduce the initial weight at all. This liquid formed from it helps in eye diseases. He who drinks it also protects himself from dropsy; She also heals those who are wasting away from eating sea grapes. Smaragd stone. It is also called prasin (green). It is greenish in appearance and presents some difference between its several types. Some call them Neronians, and others Domitians. Neronian is small in appearance, very green, transparent and shiny. They are called, they say, Neronian or Domitian for the following reason: they claim that Nero or Domitian poured oil into a sufficient number of vessels; This oil turned green over time due to mold and from this the stone, filled with oil in particular abundance, received a green color. Others say that a certain Nero, an ancient artist of the lowest rank, or a stonemason, made the first experiment in adapting emerald to everyday needs, and from this the very stone began to be called Neronian. Others call him Domitian. But there are also other emeralds. The first is in Judea and is exactly like Neronian; and the other in Ethiopia. They say about him that he will be born in the river Pishon. Pison is called the Indus by the Greeks, and the Ganges by the barbarians. They say that Anfrax is also located in the same river. For tamo, it is said, there is anphrax and a green stone 5 (Gen. 2:12). And the power of the stone, that is, emerald, they say, lies in the fact that the face is reflected in it. Fabulists also say that he is capable of communicating foreknowledge. Anfrax stone 6. It looks crimson in color. Its deposit is Carthage, which is in Libya, called Africa 7. Others say that this stone can be found this way: during the day it cannot be seen, but at night it sparkles from afar like a lamp or a burning coal 8 and is visible from afar. And knowing this, seekers easily find him. No matter what anyone wears it, they cannot hide it: because no matter what clothes it is covered with, its shine certainly shines through from under the clothes. That is why it is called anfrax (coal). The stone ceravnium 9 is somewhat similar to it, which some call οἰνωπ ό ν - dark red for its resemblance to the color of wine 10 . The stone called Carthaginian is also closely similar to it, since it is also located in the same place. The sapphire stone is purple in appearance, like a snail that produces purple dye, that is, black purple. There are many generations of it. There is a royal one decorated with gold spots. But this one is not as surprising as the one that is all purple. They say that this is found in India and Ethiopia. Therefore, they say that the Indians have a church to Dionysus 11, which has 365 steps made of sapphire stone, although this seems incredible to many. This stone is marvelous, very beautiful and pleasant to look at. That's why they put it in rings and necklaces, especially kings. It also has healing powers. For if it is ground into powder and mixed with milk, then it heals from ulcers that occur as a result of abscesses and nodules, if such a mixture is smeared on the treated areas. It is also written in the law that the vision revealed to Moses on the mountain and this law was imprinted on the sapphire stone (Ex. 24:10) 12. Kamen iaspis 13. It looks like emerald; they find it at the mouth of the Fermodon River 14 and near Amafunt, a city on the island of Cyprus. But there are many genera of the so-called Amafuntian jaspis. And the appearance of the stone is this: like emerald, it is greenish, but duller and darker than it. And within its mass it has a greenish color similar to the rust of copper and has veins in four rows. We have heard a lot of lies about him, told by fables. But there is also another kind of this stone, bluer than the sea, more dense in color and color. Another kind of stone is found in the caves on Mount Ida in Phrygia 15, in color, similar to the blood of a purple snail, but more transparent, as if likening wine, thicker than the color of amethyst, for it is not the same color and does not have the same strength: but there is jaspis, which is more delicate and white and not very shiny, but not without brilliance; and that is, similar to ice on water. Fable-makers say that it serves as a cure for ghosts. It is found among the Iberians 16 and the Hyrcanian Stukhi, living on the Caspian land. Another type of jaspis is not very shiny, green; it has lines in the middle. And there is another jaspis, the so-called ancient one, which is like either snow or sea foam. It is this, say the writers of fables, that both wild animals and ghosts are afraid of. Ligium stone 17. We have no information about its location either from naturalists or from any of the ancients who mentioned it. We find a stone called lancurium, which in common parlance some call lagurium. And I think that this is ligirium, since the Divine Scriptures change names, such as calling emerald prasin (green). On the other hand, when naming these stones, they do not mention hyacinth, although it is a very wonderful and precious stone; so it occurred to us that this is not the stone that Divine Scripture calls ligirium. Hyacinth has different types. The deeper the color of this stone, the better it is than others. Hyacinth looks like wool, somewhat tinted purple. That is why the Divine Scripture says that the priestly robes were decorated with hyacinth and purple (Ex. 28:5, 8, etc.). And the first stone is called sea, and the second is pink, the third is natural, the fourth is hanniy, 18 the fifth is perilevkom (whitish). They are located in the inner part of the barbarian Scythian country 19. Along with their great value, these stones also have the following effect: if they are thrown onto burning coals, they themselves do not deteriorate, but the coals are extinguished by them. But not only this, but even more: if someone takes such a stone, wraps it in linen and places it on burning coals, then the linen itself covering it does not ignite, but remains unharmed. This stone is also said to help laboring wives by facilitating childbearing. He also has the ability to drive away ghosts. Agate stone. Some take it for the so-called perileucus 20, which is understood to be hyacinth. It is amazing, darkish in color in appearance, the outside circle is white, like marble or ivory. It is also found near Scythia. Among the stones of this kind there is also agate, which has the color of a lion's skin. Being ground into powder and mixed with water, it prevents the harmful effects of the poison of scorpions, snakes and similar animals, if this mixture is anointed on the place where the animal has bitten. Amethyst stone. This stone has a bright fiery color in its circumference. The same circle is whiter towards the middle, emitting a dark blue color. Its appearance is different. It is also located in the mountains of Libya. Some of this kind of stones are very similar to pure hyacinth, and some to purple. It is located on the coastal hills of the same Libya. Chrysolite stone. Some have called it chrysophyll 21. It has a golden shimmer. They find it in a crevice between two rocks near the wall of Achaemenitis of Babylonia. Babylon and this chasm are called Achaemenitis, they say, because the father of King Cyrus was called Achaemeneus. There is also chrysopaste 22, which, when ground into powder and drunk with water, serves as a remedy for diseases of the stomach and abdomen. Beryl stone, bluish in color, like the sea, or like the weaker color of hyacinth. It is located near the top of the mountain called Taurus 23. If anyone wants to look at it against the sun, then it is like glass, having transparent grains inside. There is another beryl, very similar to the pupils of the eyes of a snake. There is also beryl, which is similar to wax and is found at the source of the Euphrates River. Onychia stone. This stone is completely yellow in color. They say that young wives of kings and rich people especially enjoy this stone, who even make glasses from it. There are other onychites, equally named, which are similar to milky wax. Some say they appear to come out of water and harden. They are called onychites because of their natural resemblance to nails 24, since the nails of noble people are like marble, combined with the color of blood. Others falsely call marble itself, in view of testing it with nails, onychite, due to the purity of its whiteness. Λ ό γιον - in Slavic: the word does not accurately convey the meaning of the Hebrew word corresponding to them: ןשֶ ח, which, coming from the verb ןש ח - to emit rays, means: a radiant, luminous breastplate, with the help of which, through the Urim and Thummim, the high priest asked the Lord and gave answers, communicated revelations The Lord's people (from here: λ ό γιον - word, saying). Compare Number 27:21. 1 Sam. 23:9, etc. Some suggest that the very radiance of the breastplate from the stones before the seventh canopy made it possible for the high priest to recognize the will of God. In everyday usage it is better known as carnelian. In ancient times, one of the Indian islands, not cities, was known with this name. See Stephen Byzant. Pishon is the famous river of paradise, described in Gen. 2:11–12. There is disagreement about its location. Josephus, for example, believes that this river was the Phasis of the ancients. The rabbis considered it to be one of the tributaries of Shat El-Arab, near the Persian Gulf. The latter opinion is supported by many and the latest scientists. The ancients imagined the entire northwestern part of Africa, starting from Egypt, as a continuation of Libya, and only in the form of a more precise designation were the westernmost parts called Africa. Coal in Greek is also called: ἄνθραξ. Keraunium - from κεραυνος - lightning, sparkling with sparks, like lightning. Otherwise called keravnite. Οἴνωφ, like οἰνωπός and means similar to wine in color, dark red. In St. Scripture actually says that the place where the God of Israel stood, after the first legislation on Mount Sinai, was like a sapphire stone. In Asia Minor, Cappadocia. There was also a small river of the same name in Boeotia, on mainland Greece. Residents of Iveria. In ancient times, both Spain and Georgia were called Iberia. Here, most likely, Georgia is of course, since the further mentioned Hyrcania also lay near the Caspian Sea. According to some, it is a type of amber, and according to others, hyacinth. The latter agrees with the assumption of St. himself. Epiphany. Similar to hanna - a genus of sea fish with a huge mouth. Ancient Scythia occupied the southern regions of Russia from the Danube to the Don. Unknown type of gem. Name: chrysophyllum not found. Probably you should read: Babylonian chrysoberyl, which will also be consistent with its location, which is indicated by St. Epiphanius. But in both cases, the distinctive feature of the stone is its golden (χρύσεος) tint. That is, dotted with gold specks. Mountain in Judea, near Jericho. Onychius, onychite and onyx, according to word production, have the same root (ονυχ) with the Greek name for the nail.