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Pitdah
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In 300B.C., the Septuagint rabbis translated the ancient
Hebrew gem ‘ Pitdah’ featured in Aaron’s breastplate
as ‘ Topazion,’ the
Greek word for Peridot. However, after considering that
the ‘ Pitdah’ denoted a gem in existence at
the time of the exodus in 1444B.C., and that the Peridot was unknown prior to 300B.C., there can be little doubt
that the Septuagint rabbis’ identification of the ‘ Pitdah’
in Aaron’s breastplate as Peridot was mistaken.
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Aramaic,
Hebrew, Greek, Latin and subsequent modern language
strains such as French and English all share the same
etymological roots coming from the first language: Proto-Indo-European
(P.I.E.). This precursory language, dating back to the
Neolithic Era circa 3,500 B.C., was the root of all
languages from Europe to India. Aside from the European
and western Asian languages, P.I.E. influenced the Indian
language of Sanskrit. Sanskrit, although not as old as Aramaic and Hebrew, existed at the time
of the Septuagint
translation of the Old Testament.
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The
ancient Hebrew word ‘ Pitdah’, the second gemstone appropriated to the Israelite tribe of Simeon in Aaron’s
breastplate, shares the same (P.I.E.) roots as the Sanskrit
word ‘Pita’: which means ‘Yellow’. From this common
denominator, the Tiffany mineralogist G.F.Kunz surmises
that the Septuagint’s 300 B.C. translation of the original ‘ Pitdah’
in the breastplate being ‘Topazion’ ( Peridot)
was inaccurate. Kunz, in his book on precious gems,
states that the ‘ Pitdah’ of Aaron’s original
breastplate was probably a yellow serpentine,
a gem in common usage in ancient Egypt at the time of
the exodus called ‘ Meh’.
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In his book the ‘Curious Lore Of Precious Stones,’
written in 1913, Kunz proffers a more credible
translation of all 12 gemstones in the first breastplate
in relation to gems in use and known in Egypt at the time of the
exodus:
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As you can see in the chart above,
Kunz also believed that the ‘ Pitdah’ made its
first appearance as Peridot sometime after the ‘Second
Temple’ produced it’s version of Aaron’s breastplate,
between 500B.C and 70 A.D. This period also correlates
with the 300B.C. Septuagint translation of ‘Pitdah’
as ‘Topazion’ ( Peridot).
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According to the Old Testament, after the exodus in
1444B.C., Aaron’s original breastplate made its way
to Jerusalem. It was here, along with the Urim and Thummim,
the Ark of the Covenant and the Ten Commandments that
the breastplate was housed in Solomon's Temple: also
known as Jerusalem’s ‘First Temple’. The temple was
destroyed and plundered by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar
in 586 B.C., and its relics lost to history.
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Later, in the 500 B.C. the ‘Second Temple’,
a reconstruction of the first, was built in Jerusalem.
Sometime after that a second breastplate was also made,
and it is believed that the gems included in this were
of greater value and durability than those of the original
breastplate made at the time of the exodus.
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In
70 A.D., 600 years after the creation of the ‘Second
Temple,’ the Romans like the Babylonians before them
destroyed Jerusalem after quelling the Jewish revolt.
The Romans, led by Titus and Vespasian, plundered the
‘Second Temple’, taking its treasures including the
second breastplate back to Rome. This fact is attested
to in the writings of one of the captured Jewish leaders in the
revolt: the historian Josephus. Josephus, also known as Flavius
Josephus, was a 1st century Jewish historian descended from a line of high priests, who in 90 A.D. attests to seeing ‘Topazion’
in the second breastplate, housed at the
Temple of Concord built by Vespasian after the pillaging. |
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At
the time of Josephus there lived a Roman scholar
called Pliny. Pliny was the author of the world’s first
encyclopedia entitled ‘Natural History.’ In his encyclopedia
(Book 37 Chapter 32) Pliny describes the gem ‘Topazion’
as seen by Josephus: “Topazion is a stone that
is still held in very high estimation for its green
tints: indeed, when it was first discovered, it was
preferred to every other kind of precious stone.” In
the passage, Pliny clearly states ‘Topazion’
as being green, and not the yellow color associated with the ''Pitdah'. |
In the same passage, Pliny makes a key statement relating
to ‘Topazion’: “…When it was first discovered…”
this is a key statement that unlocks two doors. Firstly, proving
that the Septuagint rabbis’ 300 B.C. translation of ‘Pitdah,’
in the original breastplate of 1444 B.C., as ‘Topazion’
was mistaken. And secondly, giving the real identity
of the ‘Topazion’ gemstone...
CONTINUE>
It is important to state that the etymological theories
on these pages are speculative, and should not be
taken as gospel.
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