Georgius Syncellus, Chronographical Selection

and the silver, and there is also bronze in capitals and bases of the silver pillars. And the enclosure of the sanctuary and the roof of the pillars and all the curtains and veils of hyacinthine and purple and scarlet 155 dyed fabrics and of the bright and naturally whitest fine linen skillfully interwoven. And in some cases, linen and hair and red skins were used for the appropriate need of each. In addition to these things, a priestly robe with an ephod of various colors, from which also the veil was embroidered, having more of the gold thread, and of the brooches on either side, which hold the ephod together, fastening it with emeralds set in gold round about, the green nature of the stones shining through, and the stones themselves having engraved the names of the patriarchs, six on each, and hanging from these, the little shields elegantly on the front part, and the interwoven chains let down from the brooch above on either side of the shields, plaited from gold in a net-like fashion over one another alternately in a certain rhythm and interwoven with colors. Next to these, the oracle of judgments of the breastpiece was constructed, placed before the high priest in the style of the ephod, of spun gold and hyacinth and purple and scarlet and fine linen, square, double, equilateral, a span in length and width, 12 stones arranged in four rows and interwoven thus. First row of three stones, carnelian, topaz, and emerald. second row, carbuncle, sapphire, jasper. third row, ligure, agate, amethyst. fourth row, chrysolite, beryl, onyx. these 12 stones, bearing the names of the 12 tribes of Israel engraved, one on each of them, set in gold and enclosed in pure gold, were on the oracle. And the oracle, with chain-like interwoven tassels of pure gold and with two gold rings, hung from the shoulders of the high priest, joined by tight devices to the two shoulder-pieces, so that it would lie on the middle of the high priest's chest during his entrances into the holy place; and upon the oracle of judgment, he says, you shall put the declaration and the truth, and it shall be upon Aaron's breast, whenever he goes into the holy place before the Lord, and Aaron shall bear before the Lord the judgments of the sons of Israel upon his breast continually. Concerning this oracle, Josephus says in the third book that the two sardonyx stones on the high priest's shoulders and the twelve stones on the breastpiece 156 were called the oracle because they signified good things by their shining and dreadful things by their dimming in wars and all other sorts of matters for Israel. And such a signification was called declaration and truth, appearing from God in the oracle, which, on account of the sins of the people, he says, ceased to be active two hundred years before the times of Josephus. After the oracle, it is commanded that a tunic reaching to the feet, all of woven hyacinth, be made, coming down from the neck to the feet under the ephod, gracefully adorned in the spaces between the tassels, and having its hem of woven embroidery and gold hangings beautified with bells and pomegranates alternately. then a golden plate marked with a certain holy and ineffable inscription to be placed on the forehead of the high priest, and a miter and a girdle. and the adornment of the hidden things and whatever else concerning the priestly office have been revealed through enigmas of virtue in the guise of a vestment. Having been initiated into all these things in 40 days and whatever else in detail concerning the construction of the tabernacle and the priesthood and sacrifices and atonements, and moreover having received from God two holy and God-made tablets as it were a gift not made by hands, written with the divine finger, he came down carrying these, God having said to him: Go, descend quickly from here, for your people have transgressed, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt. they have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. they have made for themselves a calf and

καὶ ὁ ἄργυρος, ἔστι δέ που καὶ ὁ χαλκὸς ἐν κεφαλαῖς καὶ βάσεσι τῶν ἀργυρῶν κιόνων. ὁ δὲ περίβολος τοῦ ναοῦ καὶ ὁ τῶν κιόνων ὄροφος τά τε παραπετάσματα καὶ καταπετάσματα πάντα δι' ὑφασμάτων ὑακινθίνων καὶ πορφυρῶν καὶ κοκ 155 κίνων βαπτῶν καὶ τοῦ λαμπροῦ καὶ αὐτοφυοῦς λευκοτάτου βύσσου ἐμ πείρως καθυφασμένων. ἔν τισι δὲ καὶ λίνον καὶ τρίχες καὶ ἐρυθρὰ δέρματα παρελήφθη πρὸς τὴν κατάλληλον ἑκάστου χρείαν. Ἐφ' οἷς ἱερατικὴ στολὴ δι' ἐπωμίδων ἐκ διαφόρων βαφῶν, ἐξ ὧν ἦν καὶ τὸ καταπέτασμα πεποικιλμένον, πλέον ἐχουσῶν τοῦ χρυσοῦ νήματος, τῶν τε πορπῶν καθ' ἕτερον μέρος, αἳ συνέχουσι τὰς ἐπωμίδας σμαράγδοις ἐν κύκλῳ διαχρύσοις περισφίγγουσαι, τῇ χλοερᾷ φύσει τῶν λίθων διαλαμ πουσῶν, αὐτῶν τε τῶν λίθων ἐγγεγλυμμένα τὰ τῶν πατριαρχῶν ἀνὰ ἓξ ἐχόντων ὀνόματα, καὶ τὰ τούτων ἀπηρτημένα κοσμίως ἀσπίδια κατὰ τὸ ἔμπροσθεν μέρος, αἵ τε καθ' ἑκάτερον μέρος ἀπὸ τῆς πόρπης ἄνωθεν καθιέμεναι τῶν ἀσπίδων διάπλοκοι σειραὶ ἐπ' ἀλλήλων διαλλὰξ κατά τινα ῥυθμὸν ἐκ χρυσοῦ δικτυοειδῶς πεπλεγμέναι καὶ βαφαῖς συνηνθισμέναι. Τούτοις ἑξῆς τὸ λόγιον τῶν κρίσεων τοῦ στήθους προβεβλημένον τοῦ ἀρχιερέως κατὰ ῥυθμὸν τῆς ἐπωμίδος ἐκ χρυσίου καὶ ὑακίνθου καὶ πορ φύρας καὶ κοκκίνου κεκλωσμένον κατεσκεύαστο καὶ βύσσου, τετράγωνον, διπλοῦν, ἰσόπλευρον, σπιθαμῆς μῆκος καὶ πλάτος ιβʹ, λίθοις ἐν τέτρασι στίχοις κειμένοις καὶ ἐγκαθυφασμένοις οὕτως. Πρῶτος στίχος λίθων τριῶν, σάρδιον, τοπάζιον καὶ σμάραγδος. δεύ τερος στίχος ἄνθραξ, σάπφειρος, ἴασπις. τρίτος στίχος λιγύριον, ἀχάτης, ἀμέθυστος. τέταρτος στίχος χρυσόλιθος, βηρύλλιον, ὀνύχιον. οὗτοι οἱ ιβʹ λίθοι, φέροντες τὰ τῶν ιβʹ φυλῶν ὀνόματα τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἐγγεγλυμμένα καθ' ἕνα αὐτῶν, περικεχρυσωμένοι καὶ ἐνδεδυμένοι χρυσίῳ καθαρῷ ἐπὶ τοῦ λογίου ἦσαν. τὸ δὲ λόγιον κροσσοῖς συμπεπλεγμένοις ἀλυσιδέτοις ἐκ χρυσίου καθαροῦ καὶ δυσὶ δακτύλοις χρυσοῖς ἀπεκρέματο τῶν ὤμων τοῦ ἀρχιερέως συμβεβλημένοις μηχανήμασι σφιγκτοῖς πρὸς τὰς δύο ἐπω μίδας, ὡς κεῖσθαι αὐτὸ κατὰ μέσον τοῦ στήθους τοῦ ἀρχιερέως ἐν ταῖς εἰσόδοις ταῖς εἰς τὸ ἅγιον· ἐπὶ δὲ τὸ λόγιον, φησί, τῆς κρίσεως ἐπιθήσεις τὴν δήλωσιν καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν, καὶ ἔσται ἐπὶ τοῦ στήθους Ἀαρών, ὅταν εἰσπορεύηται εἰς τὸ ἅγιον ἔναντι κυρίου, καὶ οἴσει Ἀαρὼν ἔναντι κυρίου τὰς κρίσεις τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ ἐπὶ τοῦ στήθους διὰ παντός. Περὶ τούτου τοῦ λογίου φησὶν ὁ Ἰώσηππος ἐν τρίτῳ ὅτι οἱ δύο σαρδώ νυχοι οἱ ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων τοῦ ἀρχιερέως καὶ οἱ ἐπὶ τοῦ στήθους δωδεκάλιθοι 156 λόγιον ἐκαλοῦντο διὰ τὸ σημαίνειν ἔκ τε τῆς αὐγῆς τὰ χρηστὰ καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἐπισκοτήσεως τὰ δεινὰ ἐν πολέμοις καὶ ἄλλοις παντοίοις πράγμασι τῷ Ἰσραήλ. ἡ δὲ τοιαύτη σημασία δήλωσις ἐλέγετο καὶ ἀλήθεια ἐν τῷ λογίῳ θεόθεν ἀναφαινομένη, ἥτις κατὰ ἁμαρτίας τοῦ λαοῦ, φησίν, ἐπαύσατο ἐνεργοῦσα τῶν Ἰωσήππου χρόνων πρότερον ἔτεσι διακοσίοις. Μετὰ τὸ λόγιον ὑποδύτην ποδήρη ὅλον ὑακίνθινον ὑφαντὸν ἔνδον τῶν ἐπωμίδων ἐξ αὐχένος εἰς πόδας κατιόντα προστέτακται, τοῖς τῶν κοσυμ βῶν διαστήμασιν εὐπρεπῶς κεκοσμημένον, τὸ κράσπεδόν τε ἐξ ὑφαντικῆς ποικιλίας καὶ χρυσῶν ἀπαρτημάτων ἔχοντα κώδωσι καὶ ῥοΐσκοις ἐκ παραλ λήλου κεκαλλωπισμένον τεκτήνασθαι. εἶτα πέταλον χρυσοῦν ἁγίῳ τινὶ καὶ ἀρρήτῳ χαράγματι κατασεσημασμένον ἐπιτίθεσθαι τῷ μετώπῳ τοῦ ἀρχιερέως, καὶ κίδαριν καὶ ζώνην. καὶ ὁ τῶν κρυφίων κόσμος καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα περὶ ἱερατικῆς ἐκπέφανται δι' αἰνιγμάτων ἀρετῆς ἐν περιβολῇ σχή ματος. Ταῦτα πάντα ἐν ἡμέραις μʹ μυηθεὶς καὶ ὅσα λοιπὰ κατὰ μέρος περὶ κατα σκευῆς τῆς σκηνῆς καὶ ἱερωσύνης καὶ θυσιῶν καὶ ἐξιλασμῶν, ἔτι τε δύο πλάκας ἱερὰς καὶ θεοτεύκτους οἷόν τι δῶρον ἀχειροποίητον ἐκ θεοῦ λαβὼν θείῳ δακτύλῳ γεγραμμένας κατῄει ταύτας ἐπιφερόμενος, εἰπόντος πρὸς αὐτὸν τοῦ θεοῦ· βάδιζε, κατάβηθι τὸ τάχος ἐντεῦθεν, ἠνόμησε γὰρ ὁ λαός σου, οὓς ἐξήγαγες ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου. παρέβησαν ταχὺ ἐκ τῆς ὁδοῦ ἧς ἐνετεί λω αὐτοῖς. ἐποίησαν ἑαυτοῖς μόσχον καὶ