The second appearance of the twelve tribes' names was on the High Priest’s breastplate, where each tribe was represented by a unique precious gemstone, [2] such as topaz, sapphire, emerald, and ...

There were a total of eight articles of clothing for the high priest [Kohen Gadol]; perhaps the holiest of those eight were the breastplate [choshen] and the apron-girdle, [ephod].

Only the high priest wore the breastplate, in Hebrew called choshen. This was no ordinary breastplate. It functioned as an active intermediary between the Kohen Hagadol and the Holy Blessed One. The ...