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Two polished red jasper stones, one teardrop-shaped and one heart-shaped, with thin white veins, on white fabric

Red Jasper

Opaque quartz colored red by iron, with a Hebrew name that made it all the way to Europe, and perhaps two places in the breastplate.

Jasper is opaque quartz. According to Wikipedia, it is made mostly of very fine grains of quartz or chalcedony, and other minerals give it its color and pattern. Its red color, the most common one, comes from iron. The photo shows two polished stones in brick red, one teardrop-shaped and one heart-shaped, and thin white veins run across one of them, like cracks someone filled with chalk.

The name is especially interesting in Hebrew. According to Wikipedia, the English word jasper came through French, Latin and the Greek iaspis, and from there to a Semitic language: Hebrew "yashpeh" and Akkadian "yashupu". So when English speakers say jasper, they are really saying yashpeh, just with an accent. According to Wikipedia, the name means "spotted or speckled stone".

Except that the jasper of the ancient world was not necessarily the stone we call jasper today. According to Wikipedia, the name is now reserved for opaque quartz, but the ancient iaspis was often translucent, and in many cases green. Ancient documents compare it to emerald. So the red jasper in the photo may not be the jasper of old at all.

Red jasper has stories of its own. According to Crystal Vaults, the ancient Egyptians linked it with the blood of the goddess Isis and carved it into amulets placed on the neck of the dead, and according to Viking and Germanic legends, the hilt of the sword of Siegfried, the dragon slayer, was inlaid with red jasper to give him courage.

And there is one more twist, from the breastplate. The yashpeh is the last stone of the High Priest's breastplate, but according to Wikipedia, the archaeologist Flinders Petrie suggested that the odem, the first stone, was a red jasper too. If he was right, red jasper opens the breastplate and closes it. The Jewish sources section explains why this is far from agreed.

Crystal traditions

In crystal tradition

According to Crystal Vaults, red jasper is known as "the Stone of Endurance", bringing physical strength, energy, stamina and determination. According to the site, it activates the base (root) chakra and is used for protection and calm.

Of jasper in general, the site writes that it is "an elemental Earth stone", and that it is not specific to any zodiac sign.

Sources: Red Jasper Meaning and Uses, Crystal Vaults; Jasper Healing Properties, Meanings, and Uses, Crystal Vaults

Scientific information

Properties

Composition: silicon dioxide (SiO₂). Microcrystalline quartz or chalcedony, with iron oxides giving the red color.

Opacity: fully opaque.

Specific gravity: 2.5 to 2.9.

Structure: according to Crystal Vaults, relatively coarse grains rather than the fibrous layers of chalcedony or agate.

Occurrence: in nodules or filling fissures, in many places around the world.

Sources: Jasper, Wikipedia; Red Jasper Meaning and Uses, Crystal Vaults

Jewish sources

Yashpeh, and perhaps odem too

DisputedSources or traditions disagree on this.

The yashpeh is the third stone in the fourth row of the High Priest's breastplate (Exodus 28:20; 39:13). Its identification with jasper rests mainly on the similar names, and it is not the only one: Targum Onkelos calls it "panterei". According to Rabbeinu Bahya, Bamidbar Rabbah (2:7) and Targum Jonathan, the yashpeh bore the name of Benjamin. The full details are on the polychrome jasper page.

The odem is the first stone in the first row (Exodus 28:17), and it bore the name of Reuben: so say Targum Jonathan, Rabbeinu Bahya and Bamidbar Rabbah. According to Bamidbar Rabbah, Reuben's banner was dyed red too, with mandrakes depicted on it. Targum Onkelos translates odem as "samkan", meaning red, without saying which stone.

This is where the dispute begins. According to Wikipedia, Flinders Petrie suggested that the odem was a red jasper, and Crystal Vaults also writes that it was "likely" so, based on the stones known at the time. But Rabbeinu Bahya identifies the odem with "rubin", another red stone, and says it was given to Reuben "because his face reddened" when he confessed his sin. So the odem was red, everyone agrees on that. Which red stone is another question.

Sources: Exodus 28:17; Exodus 28:20; Exodus 39:13; Targum Onkelos on Exodus 28:17; Targum Onkelos on Exodus 28:20; Targum Jonathan on Exodus 28:17; Targum Jonathan on Exodus 28:20; Rabbeinu Bahya on Exodus 28:15; Bamidbar Rabbah 2:7; Jasper, Wikipedia; Red Jasper Meaning and Uses, Crystal Vaults

Modern interpretations

Modern customs

According to Crystal Vaults, red jasper is not a traditional birthstone, but jasper is a historical birthstone for March.

Sources: Red Jasper Meaning and Uses, Crystal Vaults

Associations

Different traditions associate this stone with different things, and they sometimes conflict. Each association is shown with its tradition and sources.

Sources

  1. Jasper, WikipediaAccessed September 24, 2026
  2. Red Jasper Meaning and Uses, Crystal VaultsAccessed September 24, 2026
  3. Jasper Healing Properties, Meanings, and Uses, Crystal VaultsAccessed September 24, 2026
  4. Exodus 28:17
  5. Exodus 28:20
  6. Exodus 39:13
  7. Targum Onkelos on Exodus 28:17
  8. Targum Onkelos on Exodus 28:20
  9. Targum Jonathan on Exodus 28:17
  10. Targum Jonathan on Exodus 28:20
  11. Rabbeinu Bahya on Exodus 28:15
  12. Bamidbar Rabbah 2:7

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