Шмот 28:21 Комментарий: Rashi, Chizkuni, Sforno & Siftei Chakhamim

איש על שמו EVERY ONE WITH HIS NAME — As the order in which they were born shall be the order of the stones: a sardius for Reuben, a topaz for Simeon, and so in the case of all of them.

איש על שמו, each jewel symbolised the name of the tribe in whose row it was placed and engraved.. According to Rashi, the order in which these jewels have been named here corresponded to the order in which the names of the twelve tribes had been arranged on the breastplate, in order of their ages. If Rashi were correct, then the jewel leshem should not have been the one symbolising the tribe of Dan, as is clear from Joshua 19,47. We would have to say therefore that the order followed the ages of their respective mothers, i.e. Leah, Bilhah, Zilpah, Rachel. When we accept this then the jewel leshem corresponds to the position of Dan on the breastplate. There is an argument between Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish if the respective letters of the name of the tribe stood out, as for instance the letter ע of the name שמעון, and the letter ל in the name לוי, and no letter would move from its place to be joined to its counterpart, so that the whole name would not appear arranged consecutively, or that each name appeared on its jewel completely spelled out consecutively. [We must remember that according to tradition there were a total of 72 letters but seeing that they did not represent each letter in the alphabet, another verse had to be inscribed on the breastplate. [The significance of the number 72 is that it is the number of letters in the longest version of G-d’s name. Ed.]

והאבנים תהיין על שמות בני ישראל, as soon as the Israelites when donating these various materials had dedicated them to their sacred purpose, i.e. that their names be inscribed on these gemstones, they became sacred, so that the word תהיין, meaning “they will remain, etc.,” is fully justified.”