Peridot Sterling Silver Jewelry Etymology Part I - In The Beginning

Peridot Etymology In The Beginning...Ahlamah-----Amethystos-----Amethyst 10).
Used as an item of adornment from more thanTarshish----Chrysolithos-----Beryl 11).
2500 years, Peridot has been called amongstShoham-----Beryllion--------Onyx 12).
others: Pitdah, Topazion, Topazos, Topaz,Yashpheh---Onychion-------Jasper
Chrysolite, Olivine, Evening Emerald and Gem ofIn 300 B.C. the Septuagint had translated gem
the Sun. All these pseudonyms make the task ofnumber 2 of the original breastplate from the
finding Peridot's exact etymological roots almostHebrew: 'Pitdah' into 'Topazion', the Greek word
impossible. However, through a process offor Peridot. This, as we shall see in the next page
exploring these aliases and eliminating them one(Peridot Etymology Part II - Pitdah) seems very
by one, we can get closer to learning the truthunlikely, as Peridot wasn't known at the time of
behind Peridot's true origins.the Exodus. Then in the 1611 'King James Version,'
The first written references connected to Peridot,the Septuagint's 'Topazion' itself was wrongly
appear in the Septuagint's translation of thetranslated as 'Topaz.' In fact, both subsequent
Hebrew Bible into Greek dating from 300 B.C. Thetranslations of 'Pitdah' were wrong, but it's the
Septuagint, a group of seventy-two rabbis, was'King James Version' that was responsible for the
commissioned by the Pharaoh Ptolemy II tomodern confusion of the Old Testaments
translate the Hebrew Bible into Greek for inclusion'Topazion' gemstone being 'Topaz.'
into the library of Alexandria, these documentsStarting by disproving the 'King James Version' of
would come to be known as the christian Oldthe Old Testament, three major flaws become
Testament.very apparent in the interpretation of the 12
According to the Septuagint, the Hebrew wordgems, and Topaz in particular:
'Pitdah' in Exodus chapter 28 was translated to- Many of the gemstones appearing in the King
the Greek 'Topazion': this was Greek for Peridot.James list were unknown to the Septuagint in
This translation, as we shall see was wrong, but300B.C. So how could the impoverished Hebrew
before detailing the Septuagint's error, we mustslaves of the exodus 1000 years earlier have had
first get an overview of the events described inaccess to them?
the Exodus passage, their time and location:- The breastplate measured a span in each
Around 1444 B.C., Moses and the high priestsdirection (approx 8-9 inches), which meant that
were delivering the Hebrew slaves out ofthe gems might have measured up to as much
Egyptian captivity under Pharaoh Amunhotep II.as 2 to 2 ½ inches each. Where could the
One of the high priests called Aaron wasslaves have found gems such as these in such
commanded to make an ephod, a type of apron,sizes?
and to attach a breastplate to it. Aaron was- The 'Topaz' we know today was only officially
instructed to mount the breastplate, containingrecognized in the 17th century, at least 100
the mystical Urim and Thummim, with 12 gems inhundred years after the 'King James Version.' In
sequential order each one representing one of theaddition, at the time of the translation Topaz was
12 Israelite tribes. The gems in Hebrew and theirused to describe a multitude of yellow to
order were; 1). Odem 2). Pitdah 3). Bareketh 4).yellow-green transparent gemstones...including
Nophak 5). Sappir 6). Yahalom 7). Leshem 8).Peridot.
Shebo 9). Ahlamah 10). Tarshish 11). ShohamRelative to points 1 and 2 the 'King James Version'
12).Yashpheh.brings up the subject of expense. On this, the
In 300B.C., 1000 years after the Exodus, the16th Century Jesuit priest and philosopher Cornelis
'Septuagint' translated the 12 gems from HebrewCornelissen Van Den Steen surmises that the
into Greek as these: 1). Odem = Sardion, 2).price of gems such as these would have been in
*Pitdah = *Topazion, 3). Bareketh = Smaragdos,excess of 100,000 gold crowns. Cornelis bids the
4). Nophak = Anthrax, 5). Sappir = Sappheiros, 6).question: " Whence could the poor Hebrews have
Yahalom = Iaspis, 7). Leshem = Ligurion, 8). Sheboobtained such a sum of money, and where could
= Achates, 9). Ahlamah = Amethystos, 10).they have found such a diamond?" Cornelis gives
Tarshish = Chrysolithos, 11). Shoham = Beryllionanother possible reason as to why such gems as
and 12). Yashpheh = Onychion.these did not fit the circumstances: The tribes
In 1611 A.D., 2000 years after the Septuagint'sassigned such rare gems as diamond, ruby and
Greek interpretation, the 12 gems were translatedsapphire in these sizes would have been the
again, this time into English in 'The King Jamescenter of envy of the other tribes assigned less
Version.' Executed at the behest of King James Ivaluable gems. This he says may have caused
of England, this is the modern translation by whichdispute and dissension among the newly unified
we know the Old Testament. The 12 gemstonestribes, which could surley not have been God's
in Exodus chapter 28 in the 'King James Version'intention.
were translated as such: 1). Sardion = Sardius 2).However, of all the above it's point 3 that is the
*Topazion = *Topaz 3). Smaragdos = Carbuncleclincher to the misnomer of Topaz. Before the
4). Anthrax = Emerald 5). Sappheiros = Sapphiremore exacting influences of modern science,
6). Iaspis = Diamond 7). Ligurion = Ligure 8).most gemstones were not classed by specific
Achates = Agate 9). Amethystos = Amethystproperties like gravity, refractive indexes etc., but
10). Chrysolithos = Beryl 11). Beryllion = Onyx 12).by their color. Therefore, the term Topaz was
Onychion = Jasper.generic, used at the time to denote many
"And thou shalt make the breastplate ofdifferent colored gems. In addition to this, there is
judgment...the fact that the official Topaz gem type of
And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, eventoday wasn't recognized by that name until the
four rows of stones: The first row shall be a (1)1700's. From these points alone, the 'King James'
sardius, a (2) *topaz, and a (3) carbuncle: this shalltranslation of Topaz being one of the 12 gems of
be the first row.the breastplate can be largely refuted as
And the second row shall be an (4) emerald, a (5)conjecture, and was probably based on revered
sapphire and a (6) diamond.jewels available at the time of translation in 1611,
And the third row a (7) ligure, an (8) agate, andand totally unrelated to the gems known and
an (9) amethyst.sourced in ancient Egypt at the time of the
And the fourth row a (10) beryl, and an (11)Hebrew exodus.
onyx, and (12) jasper: they shall be set in gold inHaving dispelled the 'King James Version' as
their inclosings."erroneous, there remains the question of the
The chart below details each of the 12identity of 'Topazion' and it's inclusion in the
gemstones changing identity through more thanbreastplate according to the earlier translation of
3000 years: from the time of the Hebrew exodusthe Septuagint in 300 B.C. And furthermore, the
in 1444B.C to the time of the Septuagintmysterious identity of the Pitdah of the original
translation in 300 B.C., and finally to the Kingbreastplate in the exodus circa 1444 B.C.
James version in 1611 A.D.Peridot Sterling Silver Jewelry Etymology Part II -
-------1444 B.C.-----300 B.C.-----1611 A.D.The Pitdah Of The First Temples Breastplate
1). Odem-------Sardion--------SardiusRead Peridot Sterling Silver Jewelry Etymology
2).*Pitdah-----*Topazion-----*Topaz 3).Part III - The Topazion Of The Second Temples
Bareketh-----Smaragdos----Carbuncle 4).Breastplate
Nophak-------Anthrax-------Emerald 5).Read Peridot Sterling Silver Jewelry Etymology
Sappir--------Sappheiros----Sapphire 6).Part IV - The Origins Of The Word Peridot
Yahalom------Iaspis---------Diamond 7).Copyright © SilverShake Corporation. All
Leshem-------Ligurion-------Ligure 8).Rights Reserved.
Shebo--------Achates-------Agate 9).