Choschen
As Choschen ( Hebrew חֹשֶׁן ḥoshen ) is the name given to a breast pocket that belonged to the vestments of the Jewish high priest.
Biblical description
The Choschen was made for Aaron , the brother of Moses , according to the biblical description ( Ex 28.15-30 EU ).
The basic material of the Choschen was a textile material, more precisely defined as "Kunstweber-Machart". What is meant is a weaving technique. The high priest wore a purple robe, to which the brightly patterned textiles Efod and Choschen formed a contrast. In terms of color, the robes corresponded to the color scheme of the sanctuary ( mishcan ), which made Aaron's and his successors' affiliation to the divine sphere obvious.
The choschen only fulfilled its function when it was attached to the efod , another piece of the high priest's regalia.
The text is very interested in the fact that the Choschen is tight. That is why gold rings are attached to the four corners of the bag. Golden chains go through the two upper rings, because the Choschen is relatively heavy due to its twelve gemstones. In contrast, purple cords are provided for attachment to the two lower rings. They should prevent the Choschen from slipping.
The robes of the high priest, as described here, correspond to the conditions of the Second Temple , even if individual elements may be older. Some exegetes assume that the Choschen in the complicated form of Ex 28 is a creative achievement of the priestly scriptures, which thus has several purposes:
- Loose bag for the Urim and Thummim . By the time of the Second Temple, the Los oracle was long out of use. The lots, the shape of which is unknown (perhaps rods), are symbolically interesting because of their names (Luther translated: "Light and Law"). The high priest brought the just world order to YHWH in a ritual. Something similar is known of the Ma'at from Ptolemaic Egypt.
- Fixed connection of the loose bag with the efod: The utensils for the oracle are literally bound to the high priest.
- The high priest carries the names of the twelve tribes “above his heart” during his service at the sanctuary - a kind of silent prayer for the whole community (after Benno Jacob ).
Attempts to identify the gemstones
For each of the twelve tribes of Israel, a gemstone was attached to the breast pocket (three stones in four rows), on which the name of the tribe was engraved. There are different models of how the logs are distributed to the individual gemstones; after Rashi and Ramban they were arranged according to age.
Name of the tribe | Masoretic text | Septuagint | Septuagint German | Identification of the stones according to the Jewish tradition ( Ludwig Philippson ) | Zurich Bible | Standard translation 2016 | Luther Bible 2017 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ruben | Edema אֹדֶם | σάρδιον Sárdion | Sarders | A red stone. | ruby | ruby | Sarders |
Simeon | Pitda פִּטְדָה | τοπάζιον Topazion | topaz | Since the topaz was called golden yellow or green in ancient times, this stone is identified with the greenish chrysolite from Egypt. | Chrysolite | topaz | topaz |
Levi | Bareqet בָּרֶקֶת | σμάραγδος Smáragdos | emerald | Emerald: grass green, shiny and transparent. | emerald | emerald | emerald |
Judah | Nofech נֹפֶךְ | ἄνθραξ Ánthrax | carbuncle | In ancient times a stone like a glowing coal, therefore identified with ruby or garnet. | malachite | Carbuncle | ruby |
Dan | Sappir סַפִּיר | σάπφειρος Sáppheiros | sapphire | A sky blue stone. | Lapis lazuli | sapphire | sapphire |
Naftali | Yahalom יָהֳלֹם | ἴασπις Íaspis | jasper | Completely uncertain, perhaps a variety of chalcedony: flesh-colored with milk-white stripes. | jasper | jasper | diamond |
Gad | Leschem לֶשֶׁם | λιγύριον Ligýrion | Ligyrion | Hyacinth: "ponceauroth" and transparent. | Hyacinth | agate | Lynkurer |
Ashtray | Schvo שְׁבוֹ | ἀχάτης Achátes | agate | Agate: with all primary colors and stripes. | agate | Hyacinth | agate |
Isachar | Achlama אַחְלָמָה | ἀμέθυστος Amethystos | amethyst | Amethyst: purple blue and transparent. | amethyst | amethyst | amethyst |
Zebulun | Tarshish תַּרְשִׁישִׁ | χρυσόλιθος Chrysólythos | Chrysolyth | Chrysolyth: pale green or yellow. According to Pliny in Spain to find what fits the Hebrew name (cf. the city of Tarschisch). | topaz | Chrysolite | turquoise |
Joseph | Shame שֹׁהַם | βηρύλλιον Berýllion | small beryl | Schohamstein: beryl or onyx . | Carnelian | Carnelian | onyx |
Benjamin | Jaschfe יָשְׁפֵה | ὀνύχιον Onýxion | onyx | Jasper: different colors, opaque. Egyptian jasper is brown. | onyx | onyx | jasper |
reception
Choschen ha-Mischpat, "Breast pocket of the right decision", is the name of the fourth part of the Shulchan Aruch .
The Vulgate translates the Choschen as rationale : "Rationale quoque judicii facies opere polymito juxta texturam superhumeralis ..." (Ex 28.15a). "The B (rustschild) of the high priest apparently depends on an episcopal breast ornament, which from the 11th to the 13th century is mentioned several times in the written sources as a rationale and depicted on monuments, but is not preserved in a single example."
literature
- Claudia Bender: The language of textiles. Studies of clothing and textiles in the Old Testament. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-17-020102-6 .
- Othmar Keel : The high priest's breast pocket as an element of priestly theology. In: Frank-Lothar Hossfeld , Ludger Schwienhorst-Schönberger (ed.): The manna still falls today. Contributions to the history and theology of the First Testament (FS Erich Zenger ). Freiburg 2004, pp. 379-391.
- Thomas Staubli : Dresses in Biblical Times. Bible & Orient Museum Friborg, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-940743-77-0 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Claudia Bender: The language of the textile . ISBN 978-3-17-020102-6 , pp. 66 .
- ↑ Claudia Bender: The language of the textile . ISBN 978-3-17-020102-6 , pp. 239 .
- ↑ a b c Thomas Staubli: Dresses in Biblical Times . S. 71 .
- ↑ Claudia Bender: The language of the textile . ISBN 978-3-17-020102-6 , pp. 241 .
- ^ Benno Jacob: The Pentateuch . Leipzig 1905, p. 315 .
- ↑ Ludwig Philippson (ed.): The Israelite Bible . Contains: the holy original text, the German translation, the general detailed explanation with more than 500 English woodcuts. tape 1 . Leipzig 1844, p. 479 .
- ↑ Wolfgang Kraus, Martin Karrer (Ed.): Septuaginta German . The Greek Old Testament in German translation. Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-438-05122-6 , pp. 84 .
- ↑ Ludwig Philippson: The Israelite Bible . tape 1 , p. 478-479 .
- ↑ Otto Schmitt: Breastplate (Rationale). In: RDK Labor. Retrieved August 19, 2018 .