Common misinterpretations detach this verse from its priestly context, viewing the onyx stones as mere jewelry or endowing them with superstitious powers like luck or healing in contemporary gemstone practices, or applying it individualistically by urging personal engraving of names for divine favor, thus missing the communal symbolism of Israel's tribes and the foreshadowing of Christ's intercessory ministry.
Exodus 28:9
King James Version (1769)
9 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel:
Exodus 28:9 instructs the preparation of two onyx stones engraved with the names of Israel's twelve sons, placed on the shoulders of the high priest's ephod to symbolize bearing the nation's identity and burdens before God, highlighting the priest's representative role in intercession, unity of the tribes, and God's covenant faithfulness in remembering His people.