The Significance of Jewelry in Jewish History

Jewelry has a significant place in the Torah (Jewish Bible) and in Jewish history, so in essence, purchasing Jewish jewelry for family and loved ones is actually part of a long Jewish tradition. Throughout Jewish scripture, jewelry is used to depict the favor of God toward his people. This is never as clearly illustrated as during the exodus from Egypt following the first Passover (Redemption from Egypt).

Gold and silver as a sign of God’s promise

While the Hebrews remained in slavery to the Egyptians, God spoke to Moses about his plan to rescue them. Going beyond a promise of freedom, God tells Moses that his people will plunder the Egyptians, taking their gold and silver with them.
It took ten terrible plagues before Pharaoh (King) would allow the Hebrew people to leave, but after God displayed His power and might through the final plague that killed the firstborns of the Egyptian people and livestock, Pharaoh relented.
Just as God promised, the Jewish women asked their Egyptian neighbors for jewelry and clothing, and the Egyptians gave them gold, silver, and fine clothing for their journey. As they began their long journey from Egypt to the Land of Promise, they bore the glimmering proof of God’s promise.

The Golden Calf as a depiction of doubt

Moses took the people to the Mountain of God, where he had promised they would worship him. As God spoke to Moses for forty days, the people began to struggle with doubt. Out of a desire to serve a visible god, they turned over some the gold jewelry that God had provided for them.

Shining symbols of God’s presence

Even before the people committed idolatry, God was presenting Moses with a plan to build a marvelous tent-like structure in which his presence would dwell. Filled with gold, silver, bronze, and precious stones, the Tabernacle would be a weighty and precious reminder of God’s personal presence with his chosen people.
In addition to the Tabernacle, God also presented Moses with plans to create priestly garments for the priests and high priests to wear as they served in the Tabernacle. The high priest’s breast piece would contain twelve gemstones, each representing one of the tribes of Israel. On his shoulders, the high priest would carry onyx stones engraved with the names of the tribes. Additionally, the high priest’s turban would have a gold medallion with the words, “Holy to the Lord” engraved upon it.
The gold and precious stones on the high priest’s garments were heavy, pure, and easily noticeable. They indicated his holiness and reminded him of the people he was to represent. They were a physical burden and a thing of utter beauty.

Precious images of the nation’s glory

When Solomon completed the temple according to King David’s design later in the history of Israel, precious metals and stones played a major role. Gold, silver, and precious stones represented the significance of Israel from the nation’s beginning and throughout the epic days of King David and King Solomon.
In Jewish history, gold, silver, and precious stones have represented more than beautiful adornment. These are symbols of the glory and beauty of a nation that God himself considers precious.
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