V. Sappir. [סַפִּיר] This is rendered _sapphirus_ in all the old versions.[423] The stone cannot have been our sapphire, for both Theophrastus and Pliny describe the _sapphirus_ as a stone with golden spots, thus showing that they meant the lapis-lazuli, which is often spotted with particles of pyrites having a golden sheen. This stone was named _chesbet_ by the Egyptians, and was highly prized by them, a quantity of lapis-lazuli often appearing as an important item in the lists of tribute paid to Egypt and among the gifts sent by Babylonia to the Egyptian monarchs, and obtained from the oldest mines in the world. These were worked at a period 4000 B.C. and still are worked to this day. From this material amulets and figures were made, many of which have been preserved for us, and the Egyptian high-priest is said to have worn, suspended from his neck, an image of Mat, the Goddess of Truth, made of lapis-lazuli. The name is composed of the Latin _lapis_, “a stone,” and _lajuward_, the name of the stone in Persian. From this latter word is also derived our “azure.” In ancient times the lapis-lazuli was the blue stone _par excellence_, because of its beautiful color and the valuable ultramarine dye derived from it. Although Pliny writes (xxxvii, 39) that this stone was too soft for engraving, this fact need not have prevented its use in the breastplate, since the stones set therein were not intended for use as seals and hence were not subjected to any wear. In this connection, however, it is somewhat strange that the Hebrew word _sappir_ appears to indicate a stone especially adapted to receive inscriptions. The fact that the lapis-lazuli was greatly esteemed in ancient Egypt, and was still much used as an ornamental stone in Greek and Roman times, renders it probable that it was set not only in the original breastplate, but also in that of a later age. Upon this fifth stone the name Issachar was inscribed.