XII. Yashpheh. [יָשְׁפֶה.] If, as appears almost certain, this name originally occupied the sixth place in the original Hebrew text, all the ancient versions agree in translating it “jasper.” An Assyrian form of the name was _yashpu_, as is shown by the Tell el Amarna letters in the cuneiform writing dating from not long before the Exodus. Of all the so-called jaspers none were so highly valued as those of a green color. The talismanic and therapeutic qualities of the “green jaspers” are often noted by ancient writers, and, according to Galen, these stones were recommended for remedial use by Egyptian writers on medicine. Abel Remusat, the great French Orientalist, writing in 1820, was one of the first to see in the _yashpheh_ of the Hebrews and in the green jasper of the Greeks and Romans, the material jade (nephrite or jadeite), the Chinese _yu_-stone. These minerals were used both in the Old and the New World, and were everywhere believed to possess wonderful virtues. Very likely the powers supposed to characterize jade were later attributed to green jasper, but there is every reason to suppose that the true jade was always more highly prized than its jasper substitute, for it was much rarer, and was easily distinguishable, by its translucency, from jasper of a similar color. Until quite recently only Turkestan, Burma and New Zealand have supplied jade and most of that used in other lands came from prehistoric relics or from sources unknown to us. It seems highly probable that the _yashpheh_ which adorned the breastplate made for Aaron was a piece of nephrite or jadeite; possibly in the later breastplate green jasper may have been employed. This stone was inscribed with the tribal name Assher. In the following lists of the precious and semi-precious stones contained in the earlier and later breastplates, the writer does not claim to have finally solved the problem presented by the Hebrew accounts of the high-priest’s adornment, but he hopes that the distinction established here between the Mosaic breastplate and that of the Second Temple, separated from each other by an interval of eight centuries, may serve to clear up some of the difficulties encountered in the treatment of this subject. The Breastplate of Aaron. The Breastplate of the Second Temple. I Red jasper Carnelian II Light-green serpentine Peridot III Green feldspar Emerald IV Almandine garnet Ruby V Lapis-lazuli Lapis-lazuli VI Onyx Onyx VII Brown agate Sapphire or jacinth VIII Banded agate Banded agate IX Amethyst Amethyst X Yellow jasper Topaz XI Malachite Beryl XII Green jasper, or jade Green jasper, or jade The following lists show the variations of the different ancient authorities in regard to the names of the gems in the breastplate: