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The High Priest's Breastplate: Hebrew

VI. Yahalom. The sixth stone of the Septuagint version and of Josephus is the, probably green jasper, or jade, and this has been assumed to show that in the original Hebrew text yashpheh was the sixth stone, in place of yahalom. The twelfth stone of the Greek version is the or "onyx," and this seems to be the most probable equivalent of the Hebrew yahalom. Some Hebrew sources, however, render it "diamond," and Luther in his German version of the Bible, as well as our own Authorized Version, translates it thus. This rendering is based upon the derivation of the word yahalom from a verb meaning "to smite," thus making the name of the stone signify "the smiter," a designation not inappropriate for the diamond, which, because of its extreme hardness, has the power to cut, or "smite," all other stones. However, for this purpose the emery corundum, or smiris-point shamir, mentioned in Zechariah, was most likely used. The diamond was certainly not used in this way in very early times, a though it is possible that the stone was employed in engraving in the fifth century B.C. These considerations induce us to prefer the traditional interpretation of yahalom, and translate it "onyx." In this case "the smiter" could be explained as denoting the use of the engraved onyx for sealing, as the engraved figure or letters were struck upon some soft material to make an impression. Zebulun was the tribal name inscribed on the yahalom.