1. Reuben the Defiler Taurus 2. Simeon and Levi the Slayers Gemini 3. Levi “Held to” (_i. e._, Cancer to the altar) 4. Judah the Lion’s Whelp Leo 5. Zebulon the Haven Virgo (Argo, the ship, is in the constellation Virgo). 6. Issachar the Bender Libra 7. Dan the Adder Scorpio 8. Gad the Victor Sagittarius 9. Assher the Producer Capricorn 10. Naphthali the Comforter Aquarius 11. Joseph the Redeemer Pisces 12. Benjamin the Devourer Aries The sign Cancer is that of the tribe of Levi as servants and guardians of the Tabernacle, the name indicating “held to,” i. e., held to the altar. CHAPTER V INTERPRETATION OF THE BREASTPLATE ACCORDING TO ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY It is apparent that the identification of the stones in the Breastplate must present many difficulties. Lord Arthur C. Hervey in his Dictionary of the Bible, says: “Whether the order followed the ages of the sons of Israel or, as seems most probable, the order of the encampment, may be doubted; but unless any appropriate distinct symbolism of the different tribes be found in the names of the precious stones, the question can scarcely be decided.” Dr. C. Keil in “Biblical Archaeology” says: “The order of the rows of the precious stones is given in Exodus 28:17-20 and 39:10-13, but owing to the vacillating manner in which the early writers designate and describe the stones we are at a loss to know how it should be explained.” Dr. Deane is of the opinion that in many cases it is a difficult task to identify the Hebrew and Greek names used in these passages with the names of modern mineralogy. The Rev. J. R. Dummelow comments on the difficulties of identifying the stones, the meaning of the Hebrew words being doubtful. Josephus saw the Breastplate frequently in his day, and in his description the position of certain stones is changed. The Hebrew Bible translation also presents differences. Rosenmuller, the Orientalist, argues as to the position of the 6th and 12th stones, placing the 12th in the 6th and the 6th in the 12th. It may easily be assumed that in its wanderings stones were lost from the Breastplate and that the replacing of these stones was not always carried out by men with a knowledge of the quabalistical import of Urim and Thummim or even of the stones themselves.