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EARLY BELIEF
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By DR. NOAH SHAPIRO
Writing in Hebrew
Medical Journal
The unique properties and the
high value of the rare metals, as
well as the radiance and beauty
of the precious stones inspired the
ancient Babylonian belief that they
had their origin in some other world
and had been blessed by the sun,
the moon and the stars. The sparkle
and luster of the precious stones
made them appear as something
aglow with life, set apart from the
world of inert matter and endowed
with a dynamic mysterious power
that enabled them to affect man’s
fate, his life and his health. An
ancient Babylonian scroll names
twelve precious healing stones cor
responding to the twelve constella
tions. This belief was transmitted
to Egyptian astrology and through
it to other nations of antiquity.
Even Plato regards the precious
stones as influenced by the stars.
As to early Hebrew sources, they
contain no clear reference to a
connection between precious stones
and heavenly bodies. However,
there are some allusions to the un
earthly origin of precious stones.
Crystal (bdolakh) and onyx are
mentioned as found in the Garden
of Eden. Ezekiel refers to pre
cious stones found in “Eden, the
Garden of God”; he also names
nine of the twelve stones of the
breastplate of the High Priest. The
Septuaginta gives the full list of
twelve. The Book of Lamentations
calls them “sacred stones.” Accord
ing to Enoch, they had been brought
to our earth from the beyond by
the angel Azazeel — to captivate
the souls of the daughters of man.
A cosmic interpretation of the
twelve breastplate stones runs
through Hebrew literature. Thus
we read in Josephus: “He who re
gards the twelve stones as repre
senting the twelve months of the
year or the twelve constellations
called by the Greeks the Zodiacal
circle, will not err as to what the
great law-giver (Moses) had in
mind.”
Philo Judaeus also believed that
the garments and adornments of
the High Priest were designed as
symbols of the foundations of the
world. The Midrash Tanhuma in-
a similar interpretation. The con
nection between the stones, the
stars and the cosmic order offered
vast scope to the speculations of
the Cabbalists. Thus, Rabbi Bahye
of Saragossa (about 1300) asserts
in his commentary to the Bible that
each breastplate stone bore six en
graved letters to indicate that the
six days of Creation were linked
with the twelve tribes; and by
multiplying twelve by six we get
72, the number of hours in which
the world was created (12 hours a
day), equal to the number of let
ters in the Hebrew names of the
tribes!
There can be little doubt that
our forefathers shared the ancient
oriental belief in the curative
powers of the precious stones.
There are hints to this effect in
Proverbs (XVII, 8) and in Zachar-
iah (IV, 7) Josephus relates that
the Essenes were well aware of
the power of precious stones to
cure disease. According to a Tal
mudic legend, a precious stone was
hung around Abraham’s neck, and
any sick person who looked at it got
well; after Abraham’s death, the
Lord hung it upon the sphere of
the sun. Another legend has it that
a precious stone brought slaugh
tered fowl back to life.
Medieval Hebrew literature
stresses the healing powers of vari
ous precious stones. Rashi and Ibn-
Ezra quote concrete examples. Ac
cording to Rashi, a pearl in a leath
er case, fastened to the neck of
sick cattle, is able to cure it. Ibn-
Ezra believes that the amethyst
prevents evil dreams, since there is
a similarity between the words
“ahlama” (amethyst) and “al- hal-
ma" (dreamlessness).
What is remarkable in the He
brew literature of the Middle Ages
is the extent to which in this matter
it draws on non-Jewish sources,
both ancient, such as Theophrastus,
Pliny, Selenus, and contemporary.
The belief in the healing powers of
precious stones found strong sup
port in the writings of a most in
cludes the twelve breastplate stones
among the other foundations of the
cosmic order — such as the twelve
hours of the day, the twelve hours
of the night, twelve months, twelve
tribes of Israel. The Zohar gives
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The Southern Israelite
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