The Second Row of Judah, Dan, and Naphtali

Midrash Aggadah Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus 28:18 View source

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published January 11, 2025

The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus 28:18 names the second row of the high priest's breastplate: smaragd, and sapphire and chalcedony. On them were engraved Judah, Dan, and Naphtali. The choice of stones is not random. Sapphire, the Sages taught, is the color of the throne of God glimpsed in Exodus 24:10 — and there was under His feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone. Placing Judah's name on sapphire seated the future kingship directly against the divine throne itself.

Dan and Naphtali flank Judah on this row, and the arrangement rewards attention. Judah was the tribe of leadership. Dan was the tribe of judgment, whose name itself means to judge. Naphtali was the tribe of swift words — Jacob had blessed him as a hind let loose who giveth goodly words (Genesis 49:21). Leadership, judgment, and eloquence stood together in a single row, set in gold, resting on Aaron's chest.

The takeaway is that the tribes on the breastplate were not alphabetized. They were arranged so their virtues reinforced one another, a living diagram of what a functioning nation requires.

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Biblical References

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