And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the children of Israel
God tells Moses to cut the names of Israel's twelve sons into two onyx stones. Those names would then rest on the high priest's shoulders every time he stood before God.
One writer starts with the word "onyx", then moves from the picture to what it points to:
The Hebrew word translated 'onyx' means "flashing forth in splendour." It was a flesh-coloured gem, called by Job "the precious onyx." Two of this precious gem had to be taken and the names of Israel's tribes deeply cut into them, "like the engravings of a signet" — unmistakable and permanent. That was the shadow — but what is the substance? With reverence we say that the names of the ransomed people of God are for ever engraved in the very flesh of the Lord Jesus. He uses the figure Himself about Israel. "Behold," He says, "I have engraved you on the palms of My hands." And on the evening of the resurrection day He appeared among His disciples. He showed them His hands, His side and His feet.
Writing can be wiped off; engraving cannot. One writer follows the names into the ephod, the priest's outer garment, and on to Christ:
Israel's names were engraved in the jewels of the breastplate and of the shoulder-pieces of the ephod. The stones would have to be broken before the names could be erased. Scripture states that the breastplate was joined to the ephod, the shoulder-pieces and the girdle, so it could not be removed. No priest in Israel, therefore, could go in before the Lord without those names upon his breast and shoulders. Transfer all that imagery to our blessed Lord. The very fact that He is a Priest and remains forever secures the eternal safety of His beloved people.
One writer explains what gave each tribe its place on the stones:
Their birth was their title. In God's dealings with each He might distinguish one from another, either in His sovereignty or His government. He set Ephraim before Manasseh, gave Judah the royal place and Levi the priesthood. Here all are borne, according to their birth, on the shoulders of the high priest for a memorial before the Lord.
Two stones and twelve stones tell two different stories, and the difference matters:
The names were borne upon the shoulders of the priest according to generation; in this all are alike. On the breastplate all are different.
The gems sat in settings of gold on the priest's shoulders. One writer reads gem and gold together:
The onyx stones were gems — precious stones, picturing the excellencies of Christ. Putting this together with their gold settings gives us two things. First, that the names of His people appear upon the shoulders of the Priest in all His beauty and excellency, and, as the gold symbolises, set in divine righteousness. The shoulder is the emblem of strength. Christ therefore, as pictured here, upholds His people in the presence of God in all His almighty strength. He has the title to do so, since they are set upon His shoulders in divine righteousness and clothed with all the radiance of His own beauty. What a comfort to us when we are conscious of our utter feebleness!
Why two shoulders and not one?
In Scripture the shoulder is the place of power. We read, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder." One shoulder is enough for the government of the world. But when it is a question of Christ maintaining His people in the presence of God, we have two shoulders mentioned.
The high priest did not only speak for the people. He stood in for them on the ground of propitiation — that is, of sacrifice:
The basic idea of the high priest is that he acted as the representative of the people before God, but as their representative on the ground of propitiation. If we read the picture here, we learn something of our blessed Lord. As the great High Priest, He bears up His people — on the ground of His sacrifice — before God with divine strength. He maintains them there according to His own claims, in all the perfection and power of His own acceptability to God. His claim to be there is also our claim.
- Engraved — the names were cut in like a signet, not written on. The stone would have to break before a name could be lost.
- By birth — birth alone set the order, so every tribe was carried on the same footing. Rank and role belong elsewhere.
- In gold — gold settings hold the names. They appear before God in divine righteousness and in the beauty of the Priest who carries them.
- On the shoulders — the shoulder is the place of strength. One shoulder carries the government of the world; two carry His people.
- For a memorial — the high priest could not enter God's presence without those names. His right to be there became theirs.
six of their names on the one stone, and the six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth.
Two onyx stones carried twelve names on the high priest's shoulders, six names on each stone. Rank and merit played no part in the order. The names followed the birth order of Jacob's sons. That leaves two questions: why the shoulders, and why birth?
The name of the ephod itself points to what the high priest carried.
The ephod was "the shoulder dress," the sign of the burden of the office of the wearer. On the shoulder pieces of the robe sat precious stones, engraved with the names of Israel's sons. Six names rested on either shoulder, and they did so "according to" the "birth" of those represented. The whole burden, the prosperity, and the future glory of Israel rested upon the strength of the high priest. He appeared in the Lord's presence for them.
Why six names on each stone, and not all twelve on one?
In Scripture the shoulder is the place of power. We read, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder" (Isa. 9:6). One shoulder is enough for the government of the world. But we read of two shoulders when it is a question of Christ maintaining His people in the presence of God. So God would teach us this: the Lord Jesus, in all His ascended power, can maintain each one of His own in the presence of God. "Christ … entered … into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf" (Heb. 9:24).
The stones themselves, and the gold they sat in, both carry meaning.
The onyx stones were gems — precious stones, figurative of the excellencies of Christ. They were also set in gold. Put the two together and you get two things. First, the names of His people appear upon the shoulders of the Priest in all His beauty and excellency. Second, as the gold symbolises, those names are set in divine righteousness. The shoulder is the emblem of strength. Christ, as portrayed here, upholds His people in the presence of God in all His almighty strength. He has the title to do so, for they are set upon His shoulders in divine righteousness. They are clothed with all the radiance of His own beauty. What a comfort to us when we feel our utter feebleness! Our memorial is always before Him, for Christ cannot be in the presence of God without our names being seen upon His shoulders.
God did make distinctions among the tribes elsewhere. On these two stones He made none.
Their birth was their title. In His dealings with each of them God might distinguish one from another, either in His sovereignty or in His government. He set Ephraim before Manasseh. He gave Judah the royal place, and Levi the priesthood. Here the high priest bears all of them, according to their birth, on his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord.
The first name in that order belonged to a man who had failed badly.
The Great High Priest remembers every saint and sustains him by His power. That power is victorious over all the might of Satan and of death. Merit has nothing to do with this; it is all of grace alone. The names of Israel's tribes were engraved "according to their birth." So Reuben stood first, and Joseph and Benjamin came last. God did not let Reuben's appalling failure affect His thoughts of grace. But the failure did bring Reuben under His holy hand in discipline (Gen. 49:3-4). If Christ only took an interest in those who were worthy of His interest, where would even the best of us stand?
The same names appeared again on the breastplate. One writer sets the two lists side by side.
The priest bore the names upon his shoulders according to generation; in this all are alike. On the breastplate all are different.
Another writer draws a different contrast from the same two lists.
Names on the shoulders, according to their birth, would suggest their place of responsibility before God. Names on the breastplate, according to their tribes, would suggest the thought of privilege. God set them in that order around the tabernacle. Each time Aaron moved Godward in these garments, he represented the whole twelve tribes in the presence of God.
- Birth — the right to be on the stone came from being born into the family, not from conduct; birth was the title.
- Grace — Reuben's name stood first despite his failure. Merit has nothing to do with being carried; it is all of grace.
- Strength — the shoulder is the place of power. The whole burden of the nation rested on the priest who appeared before God for them.
- Beauty — gems set in gold. The names are held in divine righteousness, and in all the beauty of the One who wears them.
- Always — the priest could not enter God's presence without the names on his shoulders; so Christ cannot appear there without ours.
According to the work of an engraver in stone, as the engravings of a seal, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel; surrounded by enclosures of gold shalt thou make them.
God tells Moses exactly how to cut the names of Israel's twelve tribes into the two onyx stones. A skilled worker must engrave them like a signet, then set them in gold. Commentators see more than craftsmanship here. How the names are cut, and what holds them, carries the message.
A signet was not a decoration. It was a working tool of the ancient world.
Stones on which words, letters, or symbols are engraved. In ancient times people pierced them and hung them from the arm or the neck on a cord or chain. Some set them in rings and wore them on the finger. The design left its mark in pieces of clay attached to official documents. In the East such a document counts as genuine only when sealed. The seal was also used to make something secure, or to guard the sanctity of things not to be revealed.
You can wipe a name off a surface. You cannot wipe a name out of stone.
Engraving came next on the precious stones, both on the shoulder plates and on the breastplate. God said of Zion, "Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me" (Isaiah 49:16). Engraving means something permanent: it cannot be erased, and it lasts. How these engraved stones move us! They speak of the deep and lasting place believers have in the heart of Christ.
The same comparison appears three times in this chapter. Each time it marks a different part of the high priest's clothing. One writer reads the three together as one picture of what Christ is for us.
"Like the engravings of a signet." This phrase occurs three times in our chapter (Exodus 28). That chapter describes the garments of the high priest in Israel. Once for the shoulders, once for the breast and once for the brow. The shoulders for strength, the breast for love, and the brow for wisdom... it is not here what we can be for the Lord in the world, but what He is for us in heaven.
The engraving had to be deep and unmistakable, cut in a precious gem. One writer then asks what this shadow points to.
The Hebrew word translated "onyx" means "flashing out in splendour" (Soltau). It was a flesh-coloured gem, called by Job "the precious onyx" (chapter 28). Two of these precious gems had to be taken, and the names of Israel's tribes cut deep into them, "like the engravings of a signet" — unmistakable and impossible to erase. That was the shadow — but what is the substance? With reverence we say that the names of the ransomed people of God are for ever engraved in the very flesh of the Lord Jesus... On the evening of the resurrection day He appeared among His disciples. He showed them His hands, His side and His feet.
The verse does not stop at the engraving. The stones are also enclosed in gold.
The onyx stones were gems — precious stones, picturing the excellencies of Christ. Put that together with their gold setting, and we get two things. First, the names of His people appear on the shoulders of the Priest in all His beauty and excellence. The gold shows that they are set in divine righteousness. The shoulder is the emblem of strength... Christ therefore, as pictured here, upholds His people before God in all His almighty strength. He has the right to do so, because they are set on His shoulders in divine righteousness, clothed with all the radiance of His own beauty. Note too that gold chains fastened the settings which held the onyx stones, binding them on His shoulders.
One writer answers from the way a gem behaves in strong light.
Here is the special excellence of a precious stone: the stronger the light on it, the brighter it shines. Light can never make a precious stone look dim; it only increases and develops its lustre... Every tribe alike, the smallest as well as the greatest, Aaron carried continually on his breast and shoulders before the Lord. Whatever their weaknesses, errors, or failures, their names still shone on the breastplate with unfailing brilliance. The Lord had set them there, and who could pluck them from it?... Who could get into the holy place to snatch from Aaron's breast the name of one of Israel's tribes?
- Engraved — the names are cut like a signet: deep, unmistakable, impossible to erase.
- Sealed — a signet made a document genuine and secure; it was also used to guard what was not to be touched.
- Set — the gold around the stones speaks of divine righteousness; gold chains hold them fast.
- Borne — the shoulder is the emblem of strength; Christ carries His people before God in almighty strength.
- Shining — a gem only grows brighter in strong light, and no one can reach into the holy place to remove a single name.
And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulder-pieces of the ephod [as] stones of memorial for the children of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah upon his two shoulders for a memorial.
The ephod was the high priest's outer garment, and two engraved onyx stones sat on its shoulder pieces. They were not decoration. They carried the names of a whole nation into God's presence on one man's shoulders. Everything here turns on who bears the names and what it means to be remembered before God.
The stones sat on the shoulders. One writer compares that with Isaiah, where government rests on one shoulder.
These were to be set in settings of gold and placed one on each shoulder of the ephod. They are called "memorial stones" (v. 12). This shows that all Israel was to be kept in memory, upheld on the shoulders of the high priest. In the same way today, all believers are established in Christ, the Son of God (the gold settings), and sustained on His capable shoulders at all times. Wonderful grace! Wonderful strength! Compare Isaiah 9:6, "the government shall be upon his shoulder." The strength of one of His shoulders is enough to govern all the nations. But believers are sustained on both of His shoulders!
The names were not fixed to the cloth. They were cut into precious stones, and gold held those stones in place.
The onyx stones were gems — precious stones, picturing the excellencies of Christ. Join this with the gold they were set in, and we get two things. First, the names of His people appear on the shoulders of the Priest in all His beauty and excellency. They are set in divine righteousness, as the gold symbolises. The shoulder is the emblem of strength. Christ therefore, as pictured here, upholds His people in the presence of God in all His almighty strength. And He has the title to do so, since they are set on His shoulders in divine righteousness and clothed with all the radiance of His own beauty. What a comfort to us when we feel how weak we are! Our memorial is always before Him, because Christ cannot be in the presence of God without our names being seen on His shoulders.
The order of the names matters. One writer sets the shoulders beside the breastplate.
The priest carried the names on his shoulders in order of birth; in this all are alike. On the breastplate all are different.
The memorial rests on what gives the high priest his place: propitiation, the sacrifice that deals with sin.
The basic idea of the high priest is that he acted as the representative of the people before God. But he was their representative by means of propitiation. So Christ entered once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption. He entered into heaven itself, to appear now in the presence of God for us. If then we interpret the picture given here, we learn this. Our blessed Lord, as the great High Priest, bears up His people before God with divine strength — by means of His sacrifice. He maintains them there according to His own claims, in all the perfection and power of His own acceptability to God. In this office Christ is a representative Person, and so His claim to be there is also our claim.
One writer notices what the stones did for the garment itself.
If the stones had not been on Aaron's shoulders, the ephod would have fallen. The names of the children of Israel fastened it. If Christ is Priest we are on His shoulders, borne as a memorial before God. He bears the burden and the government; He does all. Effectiveness depends entirely on Him, even in what we do for the Church.
The names stay on the shoulders. That decides what this priesthood is for.
The priesthood of Christ is not there to meet us when we sin. It is there to keep us from sinning. Our names are always on His shoulders, and He has an abiding, unchangeable priesthood. "Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them." What a contrast this is to putting ourselves under law, or taking a pledge, to save ourselves from sin!
- Engraved — the names are cut into precious stones, not written on cloth; on the shoulders all are alike.
- Set — the stones rest in gold. The people appear before God in divine righteousness and in the Priest's own beauty.
- Borne — the shoulder is the emblem of strength; the whole nation is upheld by another's power, not its own.
- Remembered — the memorial rests on sacrifice. The Priest's claim to stand there is His people's claim too.
- Kept — the names never come off His shoulders. This priesthood keeps us from sin, not just meets us after it.