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However, in the Midrash Rabbah1 it states the colors of the stones:
1. Odem- red (Reuvain).
2. Pitida - green (Shimeon).
3. Barekes - one third white, one third black and one third red (Levi).
4. Nofech - sky blue (Yehudah).
5. Sapir - bluish black (Yisaschar).
6. Yahalom - white (Zevulun).
7. Leshem - same color as Sapir (Dan).
8. Shevo - a mixture of black and white (Naftali).
9. Achlama - wine red (Gad).
10. Tarshish - same color as Yahalom (Asher).
11. Shoham - black (Yosef).
12. Yashfeh - was a multicolored stone (Binyamin).
The stones were in the following order:
3 2 1
6 5 4
9 8 7
12 11 10
[There is an opinion2 that the stones were in this order:
10 7 4 1
11 8 5 2
12 9 6 3]
**The Urim V'Tumim were a a part of the breastplate and allowed the Jewish people to receive prophetic answers when questions were asked. The Urim V'Tumim were not present in the breastplate - or were not able to be used for prophecy - since the destruction the First Temple. There is a difference of opnion as to what the Urim V'Tumim were. According to Rashi they were G-d's Ineffable Name that was imbedded into the breastplate. According to Maimonides, they were the stones of the breastplate itself.
Footnotes
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Editor's Comment
The Torah tells us the Hebrew names of the stones on the breastplate -- and they are not Urim and Thummim. This article is referring to the English names of these stones, which are not known with certainty.
According to most opinions, the Urim and Tumim was the name of the parchment which contained G-d's ineffable name which was placed in the fold of the breastplate.
Issachar had a black flag but a saphire stone, which I don't think are usually black.
Mitzvot » Holy Temple MitzvotHistory » The Holy Temples » Holy Temple MitzvotHistory » The Holy Temples » Its Vessels
