Exodus 28:11

11 Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a jeweler engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in settings of filigreed gold.

Exodus 28:11 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 28:11

With the work of an engraver in stone
Not in common but precious stones: Moses was not to do this himself, as it could not be supposed he should, but he was to employ an engraver, whose business it was, and one that was capable of doing it in a professional manner:

[like] the engravings of a signet shall thou engrave the two stones
with the names of the children of Israel:
as in signets or seals, by which impressions are made on wax, the letters or figures are cut deep, that they might on the wax stand out; so it seems the letters of the names of the children of Israel were cut in these stones: this shows that engraving on precious stones is very old, and the ancients indeed are said to excel in this art:

thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold;
in beazils or sockets, such as precious stones in rings are set in; these with the stones in them served as buttons to fasten together the hinder and fore part of the ephod on the shoulder pieces of it.

Exodus 28:11 In-Context

9 Next take two onyx stones and engrave the names of the sons of Israel on them in the order of their birth,
10 six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other.
11 Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a jeweler engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in settings of filigreed gold.
12 Fasten the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the Ephod - they are memorial stones for the Israelites. Aaron will wear these names on his shoulders as a memorial before God.
13 Make the settings of gold filigree.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.