Onyx

Onyx is one of the named precious stones the UPDV traces from a Pishon-circled land at the edge of Eden, through the high-priestly garments of the wilderness sanctuary, into David's stockpile for the temple, and on into the prophets' Eden-king lament. It is named at origin as a prized regional resource, designated by name as the lead-off stone of the tabernacle's offering inventory, set both on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod and into the fourth row of the breastplate of judgment, and counted among the gems Job ranks below the price of wisdom and Ezekiel lists in the Eden-covering of the Tyre-king figure.

Onyx at the Edge of Eden

The first onyx the UPDV names lies far upstream of the sanctuary. The Pishon, the first of the four rivers that flow out of Eden, "compasses the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold," and there, alongside the gold, "the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone" (Gen 2:12). Onyx is registered at origin as one of the prized resources of the river-circled land — paired with bdellium, set beside Havilah's good-quality gold, and so listed at creation-day among the named treasures of the world's first geographic catalog.

Stones for the Ephod and the Breastplate

When the wilderness sanctuary is provisioned, onyx stones head the gem-list of the offering Israel brings. At the close of the opening tabernacle-offering inventory, Yahweh names "onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate" (Ex 25:7) — and the same pair recurs at the close of the renewed offering after the golden-calf interruption: "and onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate" (Ex 35:9). In both lists onyx is the only stone named. The destination-pair — the ephod and the breastplate — fixes the onyx as a stone of the high-priestly vesture, gathered first among the raw materials of the sanctuary supply.

The Two Shoulder-Stones of Memorial

The ephod's onyx-work is the first use of the stones. Two onyx stones are taken and engraved with the names of the twelve tribes: "you will take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel: six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the six that remain on the other stone, according to their birth. With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you will engrave the two stones, according to the names of the sons of Israel: you will make them to be enclosed in settings of gold. And you will put the two stones on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the sons of Israel: and Aaron will bear their names before Yahweh on his two shoulders for a memorial" (Ex 28:9-12).

The execution report at the building of the priestly garments confirms the command was carried out exactly: "And they wrought the onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold, engraved with the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the sons of Israel" (Ex 39:6). Onyx is here the signet-engraved, gold-enclosed shoulder-stone on which the high priest carries the names of the tribes before Yahweh — a stone whose function is memorial, set on Aaron's shoulders.

Onyx in the Fourth Row of the Breastplate

Onyx is also worked into the breastplate of judgment itself. The chest-piece is constructed of "gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen" (Ex 28:15) and set with four rows of stones. The first row is "sardius, topaz, and carbuncle" (Ex 28:17); the second, "an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond" (Ex 28:18); the third, "a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst" (Ex 28:19); and the fourth row closes the grid with onyx between two other stones: "and the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they will be enclosed in gold in their settings" (Ex 28:20). The execution-rows in Exodus 39 match the command row for row, with the same fourth-row trio: "and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jaspar: they were enclosed in enclosings of gold in their settings" (Ex 39:13).

So onyx is doubly placed on the high-priestly vesture: as one of the two large engraved shoulder-stones of the ephod (Ex 28:9-12; Ex 39:6) and as one of the twelve smaller named gems of the breastplate of judgment (Ex 28:20; Ex 39:13). The breastplate itself is named at its installation on Aaron and at its filling with the oracle-lots: "he placed the breastplate on him: and in the breastplate he put the Urim and the Thummim" (Lev 8:8). Sirach summarizes the same vestments in the encomium of Aaron, "the breastplate of judgement, and the ephod and belt" (Sir 45:10), grading the breastplate as the judgement-bearing chest-piece mounted on the ephod.

Onyx in the Temple Stockpile

Onyx reappears by name when David lays up materials for the house of God. In David's preparation-inventory, onyx heads the precious-stone list: "I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God ... onyx stones, and [stones] to be set, stones for inlaid work, and of diverse colors, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance" (1 Chr 29:2). Onyx is the only specific stone-name given in David's contribution-list — the lead-off item at the head of the stockpile, with the rest of the gem-classes swept up under "all manner of precious stones."

Onyx Among the Gems Wisdom Outranks

Job's wisdom-valuation poem stacks onyx into a six-stone catalog of named gems against which the price of wisdom is measured: "It can't be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire. Gold and glass can't equal it, Neither will it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. No mention will be made of coral or of crystal: Yes, the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia will not equal it, Neither will it be valued with pure gold" (Job 28:16-19). Onyx is named here in the lead pair — "the precious onyx, or the sapphire" — at the head of a gem-enumeration whose whole force is to show that even the best-named stones, the high-priestly stones included, fall short of the wisdom-price.

Onyx in the Eden-Covering of the Tyre-King

Ezekiel's lament over the king of Tyre lists onyx by name in the gem-roster covering the figure in his Eden-day glory: "You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, the sardius, the topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of your tabrets and of your pipes was in you; in the day that you were created they were prepared" (Ezek 28:13). Onyx stands fifth in the nine-stone roster, between beryl and jasper — the same three-stone neighborhood in which it appears in the breastplate's fourth row (Ex 28:20; Ex 39:13) — and the whole gem-set is exhibited as the divinely-prepared Eden-vesture of the addressed king.

Onyx in the Foundations of the New Jerusalem

The named gem-list of the holy city's wall-foundations does not reuse onyx by itself, but its compound form sardonyx stands fifth among the twelve foundation-stones. The seer's roster runs: "The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst" (Rev 21:11, 21:19-20). Onyx in its sardonyx form is graded here as one of the twelve named foundation-gems of the new Jerusalem, and the city's whole light is figured by the same precious-stone class: "her light was like a most precious stone, as it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal" (Rev 21:11).