Exodus 28:9

28:9 “You are to take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, ¹ 

Exodus 28:11

28:11 You are to engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel with the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a seal; ²  you are to have them set ³  in gold filigree ⁴  settings.

Exodus 39:10-21

39:10 They set on it ⁵  four rows of stones: a row with a ruby, a topaz, and a beryl – the first row; 39:11 and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald; 39:12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 39:13 and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in gold filigree settings. 39:14 The stones were for the names of the sons of Israel, twelve, corresponding to the number of ⁶  their names. Each name corresponding to one of the twelve tribes was like the engravings of a seal.

39:15 They made for the breastpiece braided chains like cords of pure gold, 39:16 and they made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and they attached the two rings to the upper ⁷  two ends of the breastpiece. 39:17 They attached the two gold chains to the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece; 39:18 the other ⁸  two ends of the two chains they attached to the two settings, and they attached them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it. 39:19 They made two rings of gold and put them on the other ⁹  two ends of the breastpiece on its edge, which is on the inner side of the ephod. ¹⁰  39:20 They made two more ¹¹  gold rings and attached them to the bottom of the two shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the juncture above the waistband of the ephod. 39:21 They tied the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod by blue cord, so that it was above the waistband of the ephod, so that the breastpiece would not be loose from the ephod, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Malachi 3:17

3:17 “They will belong to me,” says the Lord who rules over all, “in the day when I prepare my own special property. ¹²  I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

¹ tn Although this is normally translated “Israelites,” here a more literal translation is clearer because it refers to the names of the twelve tribes – the actual sons of Israel.

² sn Expert stone or gem engravers were used to engrave designs and names in identification seals of various sizes. It was work that skilled artisans did.

³ tn Or “you will mount them” (NRSV similar).

⁴ tn Or “rosettes,” shield-like frames for the stones. The Hebrew word means “to plait, checker.”

⁵ tn That is, they set in mountings.

⁶ tn The phrase “the number of” has been supplied.

⁷ tn Here “upper” has been supplied.

⁸ tn Here “other” has been supplied.

⁹ tn Here “other” has been supplied.

¹⁰ tn Heb “homeward side.”

¹¹ tn Here “more” has been supplied.

¹² sn The Hebrew word סְגֻלָּה (sÿgullah, “special property”) is a technical term referring to all the recipients of God’s redemptive grace, especially Israel (Exod 19:5; Deut 7:6; 14:2; 26:18). The Lord says here that he will not forget even one individual in the day of judgment and reward.