BREASTPLATE. A splendid piece of ornamental em• broidered cloth, of the same material of which the ephod was made, ten inches square, and worn by the Jewish High Priest on his breast, when dressed in' ull sacerdotal ments. The front was set with twelve precious stones, in golden sockets, arranged in four rows, three in each row, on each of which was engraved the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. On the first row a sardius, red, for Judah; a topaz, pale green, for Issachar; an emerald, green, for Zeb ulon; on the second row a carbuncle, deep red, for Reuben; a sapphire, deep blue, for Simeon; a jasper, green, clouded with white, for Gad; on the third row, a ligure, dull red, for Ephraim; an agate, gray, spotted with different colors, for Manasseh; an amethyst, purple, for Benjamin; on the fourth row a chrysolite, pale green, for Dan; an onyx, bluish white, for Asher; a beryl, bluish green, for Naphtali. The breast plate was double, or composed of two pieces, forming a kind of purse or bag, in which, according to the learned rabbins, the Urim and Thummim (Light and Truth), were inclosed.
It was fastened at the four corners, those at the top to each shoulder, and a golden ring at the end of a wreathed chain; those below, to the girdle of the ephod, by four blue ribbons, two at each corner. This ornament was never to be severed from the priestly garments; and it was called the "Memo rial," being designed to remind the priest how dear those tribes should be to him whose names he bore upon his heart. It was also named "the Breastplate of Judgment, because it was believed that by it was discovered the judg ment and the will of God, or because the high-priest who wore it was revered as the fountain of justice, and put it on when he exercised his judicial capacity in matters of great importance, which concerned the whole nation.