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In the story of the "Exodus" Moses went into the mountain
more than once.
It was on his fourth visit that he received
what we now call "The Ten Commandments."
[first time]
Exodus 19:2 -- and they were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched
in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
And Moses went up into God,
and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying
[paraphrased: if Israel will obey my voice I will make them
priests above all people]"
[second time]
Ex.19:8 -- "[paraphrased: the people agreed]... and Moses
returned the words of the people unto the Lord."
[third time]
Ex.19:20 -- "and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount;
and Moses went up."
[fourth time]
Ex.20:1 -- [Moses and Aaron are the only ones allowed near the
mountain. This chapter begins as if they have now returned.
This begins the list of laws that we know as the
Ten Commandments, filling up three chapters.]
Ex.24:4 -- "And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord."
The "Ten Commandments" (so called) were written by Moses.
This subject is covered in more detail
in the Addendum.
The fifth time that Moses went to the mountain, he received the instructions
for the formation of what would be the practicing religion of the Israelites.
These were also referred to as "laws"
and "commandments."
It was these... that were written on tablets of stone...
and given to Moses.
[fifth time]
Exodus 24:12 -- "And the Lord said unto Moses, 'Come up to me
into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tablets of stone,
and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest
teach them."
These written commandments given to Moses were
the instructions for:
I decided to take a close look at these "commandments."
(Subsequently, I wrote a chapter in the Addendum for each
of them).
In time, I came to the breastpiece of the priest.
It was to hold twelve stones, each representing a son of Israel...
now a tribe of the nation of Israel.
There was a problem.
Over time, the names of the stones had been lost.
Depending on which Bible you read, the stones are named,
but each translation names them differently... with some
commonalities because of a reference to color or hardness.
Biblical commentaries note that the exact stones can
never be known... they are lost forever.
Below is an example of the various choices by different scholars.
Beginning with this verse:
Exodus 28:15-29 -- "And thou shall set in it settings of stones,
even four rows of stones:..."
King James
"... the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle:
the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond:
the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst:
the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper:"
New King James Version
"... the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a emerald:
the second row shall be a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond:
the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst:
the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper:"
New International Version
Footnote: "The precise identification of some
of these precious stones is uncertain."
"... the first row shall be a ruby, a topaz, a beryl.
The second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald.
The third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst.
The fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper."
The Douay-Challoner Text (Roman Catholic)
Footnote: "The translation of the Hebrew names
of some of these gems is quite conjectural."
"... the first row a carnelian, a topaz, and an emerald.
In the second row, a garnet, a sapphire, and a beryl.
In the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst.
In the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper."
28:21 -- "And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel,
twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet;"
Some of the stones named are: diamonds, rubies, sapphires, etc.
But, these small, hard gems could not be those stones... the stones
in the vest were to be signets, and were to have Jacob's sons' names
engraved on them. I decided to do some research to try to discover what the stones might originally have been.
To help me find clues to what these representative stones
might possibly be... I looked to Jacob's last blessing... where Jacob
describes his sons... and I studied the history of gems and stones.
Then, I placed all the clues together to see if anything might emerge.
I came upon a curious thing.
The fifth son to receive Jacob's blessing is Zebulun.
But Zebulun is the tenth son and not the fifth.
Zebulun was to "dwell at the haven of the sea..."
Gen.30:20 & Gen.49
The fifth stone on the vest, to represent the fifth son, was called
"sapphire" in all the biblical translations. Respecting the order of Jacob's
designation... Zebulun would be that fifth son... and a "blue" stone
would, indeed, be appropriate to represent Zebulun and the coastline.
Other references in the scriptures to the translated word
"sapphire" ensured that the stone was a blue stone...
and yet, the stone in the breastpiece could not be the hard
sapphire.
It must be a blue stone that could be engraved.
I searched through all possible stones and decided that it just must be
the turquoise that was meant. It fulfilled all the parameters, and it was
a stone native to that region. I began checking all references in the
scriptures to what had been called a "sapphire"... to see if
this choice held true.
I came to Exodus 24:10
The event is the elders of the tribes gathering on Moses' mountain.
It reads:
"And they saw the God of Israel, and there was under his feet
as it were
a paved work of sapphire stone,
and as it were
the body of heaven in his clearness."
It wasn't likely that the "sapphire stone" being described in
this verse was a flattened boulder or even tiles of the hard sapphire.
Sapphires do not shape... at least they didn't in the times when this
description was given. In ancient times, sapphire was so hard that it
was mainly used as emery... not decoration. And if this were to simply
represent a clear blue sky... it would not appear so puzzling, having
to use the phrase "as it were" repeatedly.
What the elders saw, more likely... had the appearance
"as it were"... of a turquoise stone.
Turquoise is light blue, like a clear sunlit sky or sea, and commonly
has veins of brownish materials running through it.
The stone appeared to be "paved" or "fashioned."
In Isaiah 66:1 it says: "The heaven is my
throne, and the earth is my footstool."
This verse is comparable to the vision of the elders in its imparting
of a picture of God... in the heavens... with something under his feet.
It could well be a clarifying prophecy of Isaiah, referring specifically
to the vision of the elders.
"The body of heaven in his clearness" under his feet, then...
would be Earth.
If these elders saw a vision of Earth from space... in their terms of
expression it might be quite similar to "a paved (or shaped)
work of turquoise stone."
The elders' vision surely was a view of Earth from
space...
... "the body of heaven in his clearness"
And so...
If you are brave enough... and, if you have the equanimity of mind...
let me show you something that you have never seen before...
the real story of the scriptures.
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