1 And of the blue and purple and scarlet they made garments of service, for service in the sanctuary, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
2 And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus.
3 And they beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it [into] wires, to work it artistically into the blue, and into the purple, and into the scarlet, and into the byssus.
4 They made shoulder-pieces for it, joining it: at its two ends was it joined together.
5 And the girdle of his ephod, which was on it, was of the same, according to its work, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
6 And they wrought the onyx stones mounted in enclosures of gold, engraved with the engravings of a seal, according to the names of the sons of Israel.
7 And he put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, [as] stones of memorial for the children of Israel; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
8 And he made the breastplate of artistic work, like the work of the ephod, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus.
9 It was square; double did they make the breastplate, a span the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, doubled.
10 And they set in it four rows of stones: [one] row, a sardoin, a topaz, and an emerald -- the first row;
11 and the second row, a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a diamond;
12 and the third row, an opal, an agate, and an amethyst;
13 and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper; mounted in enclosures of gold in their settings.
14 And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, engraved as a seal, every one according to his name, for the twelve tribes.
15 And they made on the breastplate chains of laced work of wreathen work, of pure gold.
16 And they made two settings of gold, and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.
17 And they put the two wreathen [cords] of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate;
18 and the two ends of the two wreathen [cords] they fastened to the two settings, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, on the front thereof.
19 And they made two rings of gold, and put [them] on the two ends of the breastplate, on the border thereof, which faceth the ephod inwards.
20 And they made two rings of gold, and put them upon the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod underneath, to the front thereof, just by the coupling thereof, above the girdle of the ephod.
21 And they bound the breastplate with its rings to the rings of the ephod with lace of blue, that it might be above the girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
22 And he made the cloak of the ephod of woven work, all of blue;
23 and the opening of the cloak in its middle, as the opening of a coat of mail; a binding was round about the opening, that it should not rend.
24 And they made on the skirts of the cloak pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet, twined.
25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates, in the skirts of the cloak, round about, between the pomegranates:
26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, in the skirts of the cloak round about, for service; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
27 And they made the vests of byssus of woven work, for Aaron, and for his sons;
28 and the turban of byssus; and the ornamental caps, of byssus; and the linen trousers, of twined byssus;
29 and the girdle, of twined byssus, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of embroidery; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
30 And they made the thin plate, the holy diadem, of pure gold, and wrote on it with the writing of the engravings of a seal, Holiness to Jehovah!
31 And they fastened to it a lace of blue, to fasten [it] on the turban above; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Exodus 39
Commentary on Exodus 39 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 39
Ex 39:1-43. Garments of the Priests.
1, 2. cloths of service—official robes. The ephod of the high priest, the robe of the ephod, the girdle of needlework, and the embroidered coat were all of fine linen; for on no material less delicate could such elaborate symbolical figures have been portrayed in embroidery, and all beautified with the same brilliant colors. (See on Ex 28:1-43).
3. cut the gold into wires to work it—that is, the metal was beaten with a hammer into thin plates, cut with scissors or some other instrument into long slips, then rounded into filaments or threads. "Cloth of golden tissue is not uncommon on the monuments, and specimens of it have been found rolled about mummies; but it is not easy to determine whether the gold thread was originally interwoven or subsequently inserted by the embroiderer" [Taylor].
30. a writing, like to the engravings of a signet—The seal-ring worn both by ancient and modern Egyptians on the little finger of the right hand, contained, inscribed on a cornelian or other precious stone, along with the owner's name, a religious sentiment or sacred symbol, intimating that he was the servant of God, or expressive of trust in Him. And it was to this practice the inscription on the high priest alludes (compare Joh 3:33).
34. the covering of rams' skin dyed red—(See on Ex 25:5). It was probably red morocco leather and "badgers' skins," rather "the skins of the tahash, supposed to be the dugong, or dolphin of the Red Sea, the skin of which is still used by the Arabs under the same appellation" [Goss].
43. Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the Lord had commanded—A formal inspection was made on the completion of the tabernacle, not only with a view to have the work transferred from the charge of the workmen, but to ascertain whether it corresponded with "the pattern." The result of a careful and minute survey showed that every plank, curtain, altar, and vase had been most accurately made of the form, and in the place designed by the Divine Architect—and Moses, in accepting it of their hands, thanked God for them, and begged Him to bless them.