Although Judah was the 4th son of Jacob, he personified leadership by accepting responsibility for his actions, eventually earning Firstborn status and his tribe achieved the ultimate honor of being the bloodline of the Messiah. The Priestly Breastplate featured a Garnet for Judah, as Jewish tradition teaches that his complexion changed to a tint of this color when his father held him responsible for the apparent death of his brother Joseph and when he publicly confessed to his crime with Tamar, but then shined radiantly when Jacob later commended him for saving Joseph’s life.