CHAPTER XXVIII Aaron _and his_ sons _are set apart for the priest's office_, 1. Garments _to be provided for them_, 2, 3. _What these garments were_, 4, _and of what made_, 5. _The_ ephod, _its shoulder-pieces, and girdle_, 6-8. _The two_ onyx stones, _on which the names of the twelve tribes_... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 28:2. _FOR GLORY AND FOR BEAUTY._] Four articles of dress were prescribed for the priests in ordinary, and four more for the high-priest. Those for the priests in general were a _coat_, _drawers_, a _girdle_, and a _bonnet_. Besides these the high-priest had a _robe_, an _ephod_, a _bre... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 28:3. _WHOM I HAVE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM_] So we find that _ingenuity_ in arts and sciences, even those of the _ornamental_ kind, comes from God. It is not intimated here that these persons were filled with the spirit of wisdom for _this_ _purpose only_; for the direction to... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 28:4. _BREASTPLATE_] חשן _choshen_. Exodus 25:7. _EPHOD_] אפד. Exodus 25:7. _ROBE_] מעיל _meil_, from עלה _alah, to go up, go upon_; hence the _meil_ may be considered as an upper coat, a _surtout_. It is described by Josephus as a garment that reaches down to the feet, not made of tw... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 28:8. _THE CURIOUS GIRDLE OF THE EPHOD_] The word חשב _chesheb_, rendered here _curious girdle_, signifies merely a kind of _diaper_, or _embroidered_ work; (Exodus 26:1;) and it is widely different from אבנט _abnet_, which is properly translated _girdle_, Exodus 28:4. The meaning ther... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 28:9. _TWO ONYX STONES_] Exodus 25:7, Exodus 25:7.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 28:11. _LIKE THE ENGRAVINGS OF A SIGNET_] So _signets_ or _seals_ were in use at this time, and _engraving on precious stones_ was then an art, and this art, which was one of the most elegant and ornamental, was carried in ancient times to a very high pitch of perfection, and particular... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 28:12. _AARON SHALL BEAR THEIR NAMES BEFORE THE LORD_] He was to consider that he was the _representative_ of the children of Israel; and the stones on the ephod and the stones on the breastplate were for a memorial to put Aaron in remembrance that he was the priest and mediator of the... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 28:13. _OUCHES OF GOLD_] משבצת _mishbetsoth, strait places,_ sockets to insert the stones in, from שבץ _shabats, to close,_ _inclose, straiten_. _Socket_, in this place, would be a more proper translation, as _ouch_ cannot be traced up to any legitimate authority. It appears sometimes t... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 28:15. _THE BREASTPLATE OF JUDGMENT_] חשן משפט _choshen_ _mishpat_, the same as the חשן _choshen_, see Exodus 25:7, but here called the _breastplate of judgment_, because the high priest wore it upon his breast when he went to ask counsel of the Lord, to give judgment in any particular... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 28:16. _FOUR-SQUARE IT SHALL BE_] Here we have the exact dimensions of this breastplate, or more properly _breast-piece_ or _stomacher_. It was a _span_ in length and breadth when _doubled_, and consequently two spans long one way before it was doubled. Between these doublings, it is su... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 28:17. _FOUR ROWS OF STONES_] With a name on each stone, making in all the twelve names of the twelve tribes. And as these were disposed according to their birth, Exodus 28:10, we may suppose they stood in this order, the stones being placed also in the order in which they are produced,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 28:30. _THOU SHALT PUT IN THE BREASTPLATE - THE URIM AND THE_ _THUMMIM_] What these were has, I believe, never yet been discovered. 1. They are nowhere described. 2. There is no direction given to Moses or any other _how to make them_. 3. Whatever they were, they do not appear to hav... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 28:31. _THE ROBE OF THE EPHOD_] Exodus 28:4, Exodus 28:4. From this description, and from what Josephus says, who must have been well acquainted with its form, we find that this _meil_, or robe, was one long straight piece of blue cloth, with a hole or opening in the centre for the head... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 28:35. _HIS SOUND SHALL BE HEARD_] The bells were doubtless intended to keep up the people's attention to the very solemn and important office which the priest was then performing, that they might all have their hearts engaged in the work; and at the same time to keep Aaron himself in r... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 28:36. _THOU SHALT MAKE A PLATE OF PURE GOLD_] The word ציץ _tsits_, which we render _plate_, means a _flower_, or any appearance of this kind, The Septuagint translate it by πεταλον, a _leaf_; hence we might be led to infer that this plate resembled a wreath of _flowers_ or _leaves_; a... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 28:38. _MAY BEAR THE INIQUITY OF THE HOLY THINGS_] ונשא אהרן את עון הקדשים _venasa Aharon eth avon hakkodashim_. _And Aaron_ _shall bear_ (in a vicarious and typical manner) _the sin of the holy_ or _separated things - offerings_ or _sacrifices_. Aaron was, as the high priest of the Je... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 28:40. _FOR GLORY AND FOR BEAUTY._] Exodus 28:2, Exodus 28:2.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 42. _LINEN BREECHES_] This command had in view the necessity of _purity_ and _decency_ in every part of the Divine worship, in opposition to the shocking indecency of the pagan worship in general, in which the priests often ministered _naked_, as in the sacrifices to Bacchus, c. ON the garme... [ Continue Reading ]