Description and usage
The breastpiece was a piece of embroidered cloth worn by the High Priest over the center of his chest. It formed a bridge between the shoulder straps of the ephod and its belt (see the description of its attachment to the ephod at Ephod).
The breastpiece was rectangular, twice as long as it was wide, but it was doubled so that it was square. Its dimensions are given as two spans by one span. When it was folded it was a square, one span on each side. (The span is usually considered to have been about half a cubit [compare EZK 43:13, EZK 43:17 ], which equals about 25 centimeters [10 inches].) The fold was at the bottom, and this formed a kind of pocket. In this pocket were kept the Urim and Thummim (see Urim and Thummim).
Mounted on the breastpiece in gold settings were four rows of three (or three rows of four) precious stones each. On each of the twelve different stones was engraved a name of one of the tribes of Israel.
Translation
It may not be easy to find a single term appropriate to translate the Hebrew word choshen. The English word “breastplate” gives the mistaken impression that it was made of metal or other hard substance. Die Bibel: Einheitsübersetzung (BE) has “lot pouch,” which focuses on the function of the breastpiece in holding the Urim and Thummim. It may also be translated “sacred pouch” (Mft), “chest covering” (NCV), or “pocket over the heart.” The Hebrew phrase choshen mishpat (“breastpiece of judgment” in RSV) in EXO 28:15 is rendered “pouch of judgment” (TOT), “judicial pouch” (Mft), “breastpiece of decision” (NJPSV, NAB), and “breastpiece for making decisions” (NIV). CEV has “breastpiece for the high priest to use in learning what I want my people to do.”