41 and thou hast clothed Aaron thy brother with them, and his sons with him, and hast anointed them, and hast consecrated their hand, and hast sanctified them, and they have been priests to Me.
And Jehovah speaketh unto 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 things, and all the company assemble thou unto the opening of the tent of meeting.' And Moses doth as Jehovah hath commanded him, and the company is assembled unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and Moses saith unto the company, `This `is' the thing which Jehovah hath commanded to do.' And Moses bringeth near Aaron and his sons, and doth bathe them with water, and doth put on him the coat, and doth gird him with the girdle, and doth clothe him with the upper robe, and doth put on him the ephod, and doth gird him with the girdle of the ephod, and doth bind `it' to him with it, and doth put on him the breastplate, and doth put unto the breastplate the Lights and the Perfections, and doth put the mitre on his head, and doth put on the mitre, over-against its front, the golden flower of the holy crown, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And Moses taketh the anointing oil, and anointeth the tabernacle, and all that `is' in it, and sanctifieth them; and he sprinkleth of it on the altar seven times, and anointeth the altar, and all its vessels, and the laver, and its base, to sanctify them; and he poureth of the anointing oil on the head of Aaron, and anointeth him to sanctify him. And Moses bringeth near the sons of Aaron, and doth clothe them `with' coats, and girdeth them `with' girdles, and bindeth for them turbans, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And he bringeth nigh the bullock of the sin-offering, and Aaron layeth -- his sons also -- their hands on the head of the bullock of the sin-offering, and `one' slaughtereth, and Moses taketh the blood, and putteth on the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and cleanseth the altar, and the blood he hath poured out at the foundation of the altar, and sanctifieth it, to make atonement upon it. And he taketh all the fat that `is' on the inwards, and the redundance above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses maketh Perfume on the altar, and the bullock, and its skin, and its flesh, and its dung, he hath burnt with fire, at the outside of the camp, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And he bringeth near the ram of the burnt-offering, and Aaron and his sons lay their hands on the head of the ram, and `one' slaughtereth, and Moses sprinkleth the blood on the altar round about; and the ram he hath cut into its pieces, and Moses maketh perfume with the head, and the pieces, and the fat, and the inwards and the legs he hath washed with water, and Moses maketh perfume with the whole ram on the altar; it `is' a burnt-offering, for sweet fragrance; it `is' a fire-offering to Jehovah, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And he bringeth near the second ram, a ram of the consecrations, and Aaron and his sons lay their hands on the head of the ram, and `one' slaughtereth, and Moses taketh of its blood, and putteth on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot; and he bringeth near the sons of Aaron, and Moses putteth 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 sprinkleth the blood on the altar round about, and taketh the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that `is' on the inwards, and the redundance above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right leg; and out of the basket of unleavened things, which `is' before Jehovah, he hath taken one unleavened cake, and one cake of oiled bread, and one thin cake, and putteth `them' on the fat, and on the right leg; and putteth the whole on the hands of Aaron, and on the hands of his sons, and waveth them -- a wave-offering before Jehovah. And Moses taketh them from off their hands, and maketh perfume on the altar, on the burnt-offering, they `are' consecrations for sweet fragrance; it `is' a fire-offering to Jehovah; and Moses taketh the breast, and waveth it -- a wave-offering before Jehovah; of the ram of the consecrations it hath been to Moses for a portion, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And Moses taketh of the anointing oil, and of the blood which `is' on the altar, and sprinkleth on Aaron, on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him, and he sanctifieth Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him. And Moses saith unto Aaron, and unto his sons, `Boil ye the flesh at the opening of the tent of meeting, and there ye do eat it and the bread which `is' in the basket of the consecrations, as I have commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons do eat it. `And the remnant of the flesh and of the bread with fire ye burn; and from the opening of the tent of meeting ye go not out seven days, till the day of the fulness, the days of your consecration -- for seven days he doth consecrate your hand; as he hath done on this day, Jehovah hath commanded to do, to make atonement for you; and at the opening of the tent of meeting ye abide, by day and by night seven days, and ye have kept the charge of Jehovah, and die not, for so I have been commanded.' And Aaron doth -- his sons also -- all the things which Jehovah hath commanded by the hand of Moses.
and He who is confirming you with us into Christ, and did anoint us, `is' God, who also sealed us, and gave the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
`And thou, take to thyself principal spices, wild honey five hundred `shekels'; and spice-cinnamon, the half of that, two hundred and fifty; and spice-cane two hundred and fifty; and cassia five hundred, by the shekel of the sanctuary, and olive oil a hin; and thou hast made it a holy anointing oil, a compound mixture, work of a compounder; it is a holy anointing oil. `And thou hast anointed with it the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the table and all its vessels, and the candlestick and its vessels, and the altar of perfume, and the altar of burnt-offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its base; and thou hast sanctified them, and they have been most holy; all that is coming against them is holy; and Aaron and his sons thou dost anoint, and hast sanctified them for being priests to Me.
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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.