Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 28:11
With the work of an engraver in stone, [like] the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold.
11. the engravings of a signet ] Seal engraving of precious stones was an art practised from very remote times in both Babylonia and Egypt.
ouches ] filigree settings, or, in one word, rosettes. (LXX. in v. 13 , ‘little shields’). ‘Ouch’ (‘an ouch’ for ‘a nouch,’ by a mistaken division of words [cf. an apron for a napron, an adder for a nadder, umpire for numpire; and conversely newt for ewt, notch for otch ], Fr. nouche, a buckle or clasp) is an old word for the frame in which precious stones were set, used also for the jewels themselves; cf. 2 Henry IV. ii. 4. 53 ‘Your brooches, pearls, and ouches ’ (Aldis Wright, Bible Word-Book, s.v.). The Heb. root means to chequer or plait (see on v. 39): hence what is probably meant is ‘settings of filigree work’: the gold was first beaten out into thin sheets, which were afterwards cut up into narrow strips (see Exo 39:3); these were then formed into filigree work by a delicate process of soldering, and used as a setting for jewels (Kennedy, DB. iii. 636). Rosettes would probably express the general meaning with sufficient accuracy.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 11. Like the engravings of a signet] So signets or seals were in use at this time, and engraving on precious stones was then an art, and this art, which was one of the most elegant and ornamental, was carried in ancient times to a very high pitch of perfection, and particularly among the ancient Greeks; such a pitch of perfection as has never been rivalled, and cannot now be even well imitated. And it is very likely that the Greeks themselves borrowed this art from the ancient Hebrews, as we know it flourished in Egypt and Palestine long before it was known in Greece.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Hollow places, such as are made in golden rings to receive and hold the precious stones which are put in them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
With the work of an engraver in stone,…. Not in common but precious stones: Moses was not to do this himself, as it could not be supposed he should, but he was to employ an engraver, whose business it was, and one that was capable of doing it in a professional manner:
[like] the engravings of a signet shall thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: as in signets or seals, by which impressions are made on wax, the letters or figures are cut deep, that they might on the wax stand out; so it seems the letters of the names of the children of Israel were cut in these stones: this shows that engraving on precious stones is very old, and the ancients indeed are said to excel in this art:
thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold; in beazils or sockets, such as precious stones in rings are set in; these with the stones in them served as buttons to fasten together the hinder and fore part of the ephod on the shoulder pieces of it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(11) The engravings of a signet.Compare Note 2 on Exo. 28:9. Signets had been already mentioned in Gen. 38:18; Gen. 38:25; Gen. 41:42. Those of Egypt were for the most part rings, with cylindrical bezels turning upon an axis. Those of Babylonia were cylinders, which were commonly worn by a string round the wrist. The engraving of the Babylonian cylinders is frequently of a very fine quality.
Thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold.The setting intended seems to have been a sort of open or filigree work, such as is very common in Egyptian ornaments of the time. The term ouchemore properly nouchis derived from the old French nouche,a buckle or clasp (see Skeats Etymol. Dict., 5).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
ouches = sockets for precious stones.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
engravings of a signet: Exo 28:21, Exo 28:36, Jer 22:24, Zec 3:9, Eph 1:13, Eph 4:30, 2Ti 2:19, Rev 7:2
ouches of gold: Exo 28:13, Exo 28:14, Exo 28:25, Exo 39:6, Exo 39:13, Exo 39:18
Reciprocal: Exo 28:17 – thou shalt Exo 32:4 – a graving 2Ki 22:6 – carpenters Job 19:24 – graven
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 28:11. Ouches Hollow places, such as are made in gold rings, to receive and hold the precious stones.