41 And thou shalt clothe with them Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and hallow them, that they may serve me as priests.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil, and the bullock of the sin-offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened [bread]; and gather all the assembly together at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And Moses did as Jehovah had commanded him; and the assembly was collected at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And Moses said to the assembly, This is the thing which Jehovah has commanded to be done. And Moses brought Aaron near, and his sons, and bathed them with water. And he put upon him the vest and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the cloak, and put the ephod on him, and he girded him with the girdle of the ephod, and fastened the ephod on him. And he put the breastplate on it, and put on the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim; and he put the turban upon his head; and upon the turban, on the front of it, he put the golden plate, the holy diadem; as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and hallowed them. And he sprinkled thereof on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the laver and its stand, to hallow them. And he poured of the anointing oil on Aaron's head, and anointed him, to hallow him. And Moses brought Aaron's sons near and clothed them with the vests, and girded them with the girdles, and bound the high caps on them, as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And he brought near the bullock for the sin-offering; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bullock for the sin-offering; and he slaughtered [it], and Moses took the blood, and put [it] on the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and cleansed the altar from sin, and the blood he poured at the bottom of the altar, and hallowed it, making atonement for it. And he took all the fat that was on the inwards, and the net of the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned [them] on the altar. And the bullock, and its skin, and its flesh, and its dung he burned with fire outside the camp, as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And he presented the ram of the burnt-offering; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram; and he slaughtered [it]; and Moses sprinkled the blood on the altar round about. And the ram he cut up into its pieces; and Moses burned the head, and the pieces, and the fat; and the inwards and the legs he washed in water; and Moses burned the whole ram on the altar: it was a burnt-offering for a sweet odour, it was an offering by fire to Jehovah; as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And he presented the second ram, the ram of consecration; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram; and one slaughtered [it]; and Moses took of its blood, and put [it] on the tip of Aaron's right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot; and he brought Aaron's sons near, and Moses put of the blood on the tip of their right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. And he took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that was on the inwards, and the net of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat, and the right shoulder; and out of the basket of unleavened bread that was before Jehovah he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat and upon the right shoulder; and he gave all into Aaron's hands, and into his sons' hands, and waved them as a wave-offering before Jehovah. And Moses took them from off their hands, and burned [them] on the altar, over the burnt-offering: they were a consecration-offering for a sweet odour: it was an offering by fire to Jehovah. And Moses took the breast, and waved it as a wave-offering before Jehovah; of the ram of consecration it was Moses' part; as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood that was on the altar, and sprinkled [it] on Aaron, on his garments, and on his sons, and on his sons' garments with him; and hallowed Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him. And Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the entrance of the tent of meeting; and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of the consecration-offering, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it. And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire. And ye shall not go out from the entrance of the tent of meeting seven days, until the day when the days of your consecration are at an end: for seven days shall ye be consecrated. As he hath done this day, [so] Jehovah hath commanded to do, to make atonement for you. And ye shall abide at the entrance of the tent of meeting day and night seven days, and keep the charge of Jehovah, that ye die not; for so I am commanded. And Aaron and his sons did all things that Jehovah had commanded by the hand of Moses.
Now he that establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, [is] God, who also has sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
And thou, take best spices -- of liquid myrrh five hundred [shekels], and of sweet cinnamon the half -- two hundred and fifty, and of sweet myrtle two hundred and fifty, and of cassia five hundred, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin; and make of it an oil of holy ointment, a perfume of perfumery after the work of the perfumer: it shall be the holy anointing oil. And thou shalt anoint the tent of meeting with it, and the ark of the testimony, and the table and all its utensils, and the lamp-stand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt-offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its stand. And thou shalt hallow them, that they may be most holy: whatever toucheth them shall be holy. And Aaron and his sons thou shalt anoint, and shalt hallow them, that they may serve me as priests.
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Commentary on Exodus 28 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 28
Ex 28:1-43. Appointment to the Priesthood.
1. take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him—Moses had hitherto discharged the priestly functions (Ps 99:6), and he evinced the piety as well as humility of his character, in readily complying with the command to invest his brother with the sacred office, though it involved the perpetual exclusion of his own family. The appointment was a special act of God's sovereignty, so that there could be no ground for popular umbrage by the selection of Aaron's family, with whom the office was inalienably established and continued in unbroken succession till the introduction of the Christian era.
2-5. holy garments—No inherent holiness belonged either to the material or the workmanship. But they are called "holy" simply because they were not worn on ordinary occasions, but assumed in the discharge of the sacred functions (Eze 44:19).
for glory and for beauty—It was a grand and sumptuous attire. In material, elaborate embroidery, and color, it had an imposing splendor. The tabernacle being adapted to the infantine aid of the church, it was right and necessary that the priests' garments should be of such superb and dazzling appearance, that the people might be inspired with a due respect for the ministers as well as the rites of religion. But they had also a further meaning; for being all made of linen, they were symbolical of the truth, purity, and other qualities in Christ that rendered Him such a high priest as became us.
6-14. ephod—It was a very gorgeous robe made of byssus, curiously embroidered, and dyed with variegated colors, and further enriched with golden tissue, the threads of gold being either originally interwoven or afterwards inserted by the embroiderer. It was short—reaching from the breast to a little below the loins—and though destitute of sleeves, retained its position by the support of straps thrown over each shoulder. These straps or braces, connecting the one with the back, the other with the front piece of which the tunic was composed, were united on the shoulder by two onyx stones, serving as buttons, and on which the names of the twelve tribes were engraved, and set in golden encasements. The symbolical design of this was, that the high priest, who bore the names along with him in all his ministrations before the Lord, might be kept in remembrance of his duty to plead their cause, and supplicate the accomplishment of the divine promises in their favor. The ephod was fastened by a girdle of the same costly materials, that is, dyed, embroidered, and wrought with threads of gold. It was about a handbreadth wide and wound twice round the upper part of the waist; it fastened in front, the ends hanging down at great length (Re 1:13).
15-29. thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work—a very splendid and richly embroidered piece of brocade, a span square, and doubled, to enable it the better to bear the weight of the precious stones in it. There were twelve different stones, containing each the name of a tribe, and arranged in four rows, three in each. The Israelites had acquired a knowledge of the lapidary's art in Egypt, and the amount of their skill in cutting, polishing, and setting precious stones, may be judged of by the diamond forming one of the engraved ornaments on this breastplate. A ring was attached to each corner, through which the golden chains were passed to fasten this brilliant piece of jewelry at the top and bottom tightly on the breast of the ephod.
30. thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and Thummim—The words signify "lights" and "perfections"; and nothing more is meant than the precious stones of the breastplate already described (compare Ex 39:8-21; Le 8:8). They received the name because the bearing of them qualified the high priest to consult the divine oracle on all public or national emergencies, by going into the holy place—standing close before the veil and putting his hand upon the Urim and Thummim, he conveyed a petition from the people and asked counsel of God, who, as the Sovereign of Israel, gave response from the midst of His glory. Little, however, is known about them. But it may be remarked that Egyptian judges wore on the breast of their official robes a representation of Justice, and the high priest in Israel long officiated also as a judge; so that some think the Urim and Thummim had a reference to his judicial functions.
31-33. the robe of the ephod all of blue—It was the middle garment, under the ephod and above the coat. It had a hole through which the head was thrust, and was formed carefully of one piece, such as was the robe of Christ (Joh 19:23). The high priest's was of a sky-blue color. The binding at the neck was strongly woven, and it terminated below in a fringe, made of blue, purple, and scarlet tassels, in the form of a pomegranate, interspersed with small bells of gold, which tinkled as the wearer was in motion.
34. a golden bell and a pomegranate—The bells were hung between the pomegranates, which were said to have amounted to seventy-two, and the use of them seems to have been to announce to the people when the high priest entered the most holy place, that they might accompany him with their prayers, and also to remind himself to be attired in his official dress, to minister without which was death.
36-38. plate—literally, a petal of a flower, which seems to have been the figure of this golden plate, which was tied with a ribbon of blue on the front of the mitre, so that every one facing him could read the inscription.
37. mitre—crown-like cap for the head, not covering the entire head, but adhering closely to it, composed of fine linen. The Scripture has not described its form, but from Josephus we may gather that it was conical in shape, as he distinguishes the mitres of the common priests by saying that they were not conical—that it was encircled with swathes of blue embroidered, and that it was covered by one piece of fine linen to hide the seams.
39. coat of fine linen—a garment fastened at the neck, and reaching far down the person, with the sleeves terminating at the elbow.
girdle of needlework—a piece of fine twined linen, richly embroidered, and variously dyed. It is said to have been very long, and being many times wound round the body, it was fastened in front and the ends hung down, which, being an impediment to a priest in active duty, were usually thrown across the shoulders. This was the outer garment of the common priests.
40. bonnets—turbans.
42. linen breeches—drawers, which encompassed the loins and reached half way down the thighs. They are seen very frequently represented in Egyptian figures.