Texts in Conversation
Exodus 28 describes the stones on the high priest as a memorial for the sons of Israel. The Aramaic translation in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan expands this to explain that the stones were also used to remind the people of the merit of the ancestors.
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Exodus 28:12
Hebrew Bible
11 You are to engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel with the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a seal; you are to have them set in gold filigree settings. 12 You are to put the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod, stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, and Aaron will bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for a memorial. 13 You are to make filigree settings of gold
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Pseudo Jonathan Exodus 28:12
Targum
The engraved gems shall be the work of the artificer, engraven, and the engraving be distinct as the engraving of a ring; thou shalt engrave the two gems according to the names of the sons of Israel in their work round about; inset in gold shalt thou make them. And thou shalt fix the two gems upon the shoulders of the ephod, to be set for a memorial of righteousness for the sons, of Israel; and Aharon shall bear the names of the sons of Israel upon his two shoulders for a memorial. And thou shalt make the sockets of gold. And two chains of pure gold, measured shalt thou make them, of twisted work, and insert the twisted chains in the sockets.
Date: 300-1200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... There is a theological belief that has brought comfort to many people who have been unable to find merit in their own lives, called zekhut avot, 'ancestral merit.' It suggests that rewards are rendered to otherwise undeserving men and women because of the stored up merits of others. Thus, in Exodus 28:12, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan states that in order to uplift the spirits of the Israelites, the high priest Aaron wore certain gems to remind the people of the merit of their ancestors. Our targumist does not include this or other theological principles anywhere in his translation ..."
Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner
Onkelos on the Torah, Exodus: Understanding the Bible Text
(p. 196) Gefen, 2006
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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