In July, I started reading the Bible, and in Genesis, I came across a part that describes a breastpiece that the Hebrew priests wore:
You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod you shall make it - of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it. It shall be square and doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth. You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; and the second row and emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree. There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. You shall make for the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. And you shall make for the breastpiece two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. And you shall put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. The two ends of the two cords you shall attach to the two settings of filigree, and so attach it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. You shall make two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. And you shall make two rings of gold, and attach them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it may lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, so that the breastpiece shall not come loose from the ephod. (Exodus 28:15-28)I'd noticed that Belloq has some ceremonial-looking clothing during the part of Raiders of the Lost Ark when they open the ark, so I re-watched the movie in order to compare it to this Biblical description. Because it's dark (and because I'm not that acquainted with varieties of gems), I'm not sure if Belloq's breastpiece matches up exactly, but it has a least a few qualities in common with the Biblical description:
There's also:
You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, 'Holy to the LORD.' And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. ... You shall weave the coat in checker work of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash embroidered with needlework. (Exodus 28:36-37, 39)Again, some of the smaller details are hard to see in the movie, but in general it seems to correspond fairly closely.
More interesting than that, however, is the staff that Belloq is holding:
I think the animal on the staff is meant to be a calf, specifically a golden calf, like the one in Exodus 32. While Moses is on Mount Sinai getting the Ten Commandments, the Israelites have Aaron craft a golden calf, which they then worship. Both God and Moses become angry about this. God tells Moses, "'Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them....'" (Exodus 32:10). God's wrath about the golden calf seems to have some connection with Belloq's staff and the effect that the Ark of the Covenant has on the Nazis when they open it.
