Ligure

The stone older translations call ligure appears in the high priest's breastplate, the first stone of the third row. UPDV renders it "jacinth." It belongs to the twelve gems set in gold filigree on the breastplate of judgment, one stone for each tribe of Israel.

In the Breastplate of Judgment

The instructions for the breastplate name twelve stones in four rows. The third row is given as "a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst" (Ex 28:19). The full setting reads as a single composition — sardius, topaz, and carbuncle in the first row; emerald, sapphire, and diamond in the second; jacinth, agate, and amethyst in the third; beryl, onyx, and jasper in the fourth — all "enclosed in gold in their settings" (Ex 28:20).

In the Workmanship Carried Out

When Bezalel and his craftsmen actually make the breastplate, the same stones are set in the same order, with the third row again opened by the jacinth: "and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst" (Ex 39:12). The execution matches the command stone for stone, "enclosed in enclosings of gold in their settings" (Ex 39:13). The stone has no narrative beyond this — it is one of the twelve, named twice in the same place, carrying its tribe on Aaron's heart whenever he goes in before Yahweh.