Jacinth is a reddish-orange stone, quite different from the bluish-green “turquoise” in Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, and Translator’s Old Testament. The hyacinth (New Jerusalem Bible) is similar in color but not as bright as the jacinth. The Hebrew word, found only here and in 39.12, offers no help.

The agate is a translucent quartz with white and brown concentric bands. There is general agreement that this is the meaning of the Hebrew word, but this word also is found only here and in 39.12.

The amethyst is a deep purple quartz frequently used in beads in ancient Egypt and Palestine. Some believe the Hebrew word, found only here and in 39.12, is related to the Egyptian word for red or brown jasper.

Beryl is usually sea-green or bluish-green in color, but it may also be yellow or pink. The emerald is a superior kind of beryl. The word used in the Septuagint suggests that it was a yellow stone, possibly yellow jasper or yellow topaz, like chrysolite.

Onyx is the same stone mentioned in verse 9, two of which were to be attached to the shoulder straps of the ephod. (See also 25.7.) Onyx is the traditional translation of the Hebrew word, but scholars today are divided as to whether it refers to the onyx or the “carnelian” (Good News Translation), which is a red stone. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh identifies this as lapis lazuli.

Jasper is usually a greenish-colored stone.

They shall be set in gold filigree is literally “they shall be woven [in] gold in their settings.” The word for “woven” is the basis for filigree, as explained at verse 11, and the word for “settings” comes from a word meaning “to fill.” It refers to the frame or bed into which a jewel is mounted. (The same word is used in 25.7.)

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .