John Gill Commentary Exodus 35:27

"And the rulers brought the onyx stones, and the stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;" — Exodus 35:27 (ASV)

And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set ,
&c.] Or "stones of fillings" ^F4 , to be set in ouches, and fill them up, as stones set in rings do:

for the ephod, and for the breastplate ;
the onyx stones were for the shoulder pieces of the ephod; and the other stones were for the breastplate of judgment, and both to be borne by the high priest, for a memorial of the children of Israel before the Lord, whose names were engraved on these stones:

the rulers are mentioned last, as bringing their offerings: the reason of which may not be, because they were backward to it, for they might offer earlier, though recorded last; or if they offered last, it might be because they brought things that others could not; namely, the precious stones here mentioned, and other things in the next verse, the common people had not; though some of the Jewish writers tax them with dilatoriness, and observe that a letter is missing in the word for "rulers", which it usually has; omitted to denote, as they think, that they were slow and backward in offering; so Jarchi notes from R. Nathan.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F4: (Myalmh ynba) "lapides plenitudinum", Pagninus, Montanus; "repletionum", Vatablus; "impletionum", Drusius.