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Andreas of Caesarea freely recognizes his indebtedness to the much more ancient source, St. Epiphanius, bishop of Constantia in Cyprus, who died in 402 A.D., and who wrote a short but very valuable treatise on the stones of the breastplate, noting in several cases the therapeutic and talismanic virtues of these stones and giving his opinion as to the order in which the names of the tribes were inscribed upon them. (Sancti Patris Epiphanii episcopi Cypri ad Diodorum Tyri episcopum, "De XII. Gemmis, quae erant in veste Aaronis," ed. Gesner, Tiguri, 1565.) As the foundation stones of Revelation are rightly called "apostolic stones," so those of the breastplate merit the designation of "tribal stones," as well as that of astral stones; indeed, the Jews of medieval times definitely associated the tribes with the zodiacal signs in the following order:
Judah..............Aries Issachar...........Taurus Zebulun............Gemini Reuben.............Cancer Simeon.............Leo Gad................Virgo Ephraim............Libra Manasseh...........Scorpio Benjamin...........Sagittarius Dan................Capricorn Naphtali...........Aquarius Asher..............Pisces
For Rabanus Maurus the nine gems of the king of Tyre named in Ezekiel xxxviii, 13, are types of the nine orders of angels, just as the twelve foundation stones of Revelation signify the twelve apostles. (Rabani Mauri, "Opera Omnia," vol. v, col. 465; in Patrologiae Latinae, ed. Migne, vol. xvi, Paris, 1864.) |
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Precious Stones Guide Vol 9
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