The Hoshen or Breastplate of Aaron was an item worn by the Jewish high priests during ceremonies in ancient times. Details of its construction are given in the Hebrew religious text the Book of Exodus. It was said to have been made of gold and had twelve stones arranged in four rows of three, each stone had the name of one of the tribes of Israel engraved upon it. Though there is some dispute on the original stones this chart is based on the most commonly accepted list and configuration. The stones are arranged starting in March, presumably due to changes in our calendars and differences in geographical location. This list is included because the erroneous myth that birthstones began with the Breastplate of Aaron. A much more likely candidate for our modern birthstones would be the foundation stones mentioned in the Christian religious text the Book of Revelations, which is identical to the list proposed by St. Isidore in 619 A.D. It appears that most people have merely copied prior works in regards to the stones in the breastplate, relied on prior translations, or simply had little understanding of precious stones or how they related to the region and the Hebraic language.