Dan is described in the Book of Genesis as “a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horses’ heels” (the sign following Scorpio, Sagittarius—the sign of Gad) “so that his rider shall fall backward.” The tribe was a mystical tribe possessing the knowledge of white magic and of black (Judges XVIII. 30). The wisdom of the serpent is symbolized in it—“Dan shall judge his people.”
The eighth stone of the Breastplate was the Banded Agate, and on it was engraved the tribe of Gad.
The Ninth Stone of the Breastplate
The ninth stone of the Breastplate is Achlamah which, with few exceptions, is identified as the Amethyst—beyond doubt the correct identification.
The Midrash Bemidbah gives the colour as purple which is the dominant shade of this beautiful gem. Purple is also one of the chief colours associated with the planet Jupiter which in astrology is termed the Lord of Sagittarius, the ninth sign of the Zodiac. This sign is connected with rulers and people in authority from very early times; Josephus mentions that Joseph wore “purple and drove in his chariot through all the land of Egypt.” The Amethyst was a royal stone and purple a royal colour the right to wear which was bestowed by the King on inspired men who, like Joseph, were revealers of dreams. In the Book of Daniel also Belshazzar promises that the man who reads for him the “writing on the wall” shall be clothed with purple, shall have a chain of gold about his neck and shall rule as the third in the kingdom. This promise he fulfills when Daniel, “the prince of astrologers,” told him what he would know. A similar promise is made by Darius, the son of Hystaspes, as a reward for the solving of his questions regarding the strength of Wine, Kings and Women. It is related in the Book of Esther that the same honour is bestowed on Mordecai by the King Artaxerxes.
In old Hebraic philosophy it was held that whoso honoureth the prophet honoureth God. Purple is the colour signifying royal dignity and imperial power: “to be born in the purple” is to be born essentially fortunate and, under the elevating influence of the planet Jupiter, Aclamah—according to Dr. Hirsch—seems etymologically to imply the idea of being strong. Lord Arthur Hervey and several other writers hold that the Hebrew word is a verbal one from the root HALOM, to dream. In astrological deductions Sagittarius is the sign of dreams, prophecy and philosophy, and in its divine aspect it is referred to the wise centaur Chiron who tended the young hero Achilles. Sagittarius is the sign of the Horse and of Horsemen, and its connection with the tribe of Gad is not hard to understand. Aben Ezra writes on Targum authority that Jupiter is best expressed by the name Gad, and Dr. Alfred Pearce remarks that in modern Hebrew TZEDEK, justice, was also translated as Jupiter “because of the just character of persons born under his influence.” Gad, David’s seer, is mentioned in 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Chronicles, and the prophetic nature of this son of Jupiter may well stand as a living symbol. Gad is heralded by Leah thus: “A troop cometh,” and “she called his name Gad.”
The Amethyst has ever been a gem symbolizing spirituality in its highest degree, and by the virtue of its power it opposed evils, drunkenness, and the sin of distorted appetites. Indeed, the Amethyst was considered a sign of such holiness that evil was always courted by one wearing it whilst overindulging in eating and drinking. It was cut into sacred scarabei by the Egyptians and Etruscans and is frequently found engraved. Pliny writes of its fitness as a sealstone, and Mr. King mentions a large pale Amethyst, signed, in the Pulsky collection, on which is engraved the head of a Syrian King.
The Amethyst has been frequently quoted as a stone of the celestial Aries, even ancient writers commenting on its sympathetic Aries vibration. The mistake arose from confounding the Babylonian Mars with the Mars of the Greeks and Romans. The Babylonian Mars of Centaur form is clearly identified with the sign Sagittarius.
The Amethyst was the ninth stone of the Breastplate, and on it was engraved the name of the tribe of Asher.
The Tenth Stone of the Breastplate