Agate

Agate appears once in UPDV, set into the high priest's breastpiece among the twelve precious stones that name the tribes of Israel.

A Stone of the Breastpiece

In the description of Aaron's vesture, agate stands in the third row of the breastpiece of judgment: "and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst" (Ex 28:19). It belongs there with the other named gems — sardius, topaz, carbuncle, emerald, sapphire, diamond, beryl, onyx, jasper — each engraved with the name of one of the sons of Israel and worn on Aaron's heart when he goes in before Yahweh.

Other Stone Lists

Two other passages catalog precious stones — Tyre's trade in Eze 27:16 and the rebuilt Zion in Isa 54:12 — but in UPDV neither names agate. Tyre's Syrian merchants bring "emeralds, purple, and embroidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and rubies" (Eze 27:16); Zion's pinnacles are made of rubies, her gates of carbuncles, "and all your border of precious stones" (Isa 54:12). The breastpiece passage is the one place where agate is identified by name.