Exodus 28:33

_AND THERE SHALL BE AN HOLE IN THE TOP OF IT, IN THE MIDST THEREOF: IT SHALL HAVE A BINDING OF WOVEN WORK ROUND ABOUT THE HOLE OF IT, AS IT WERE THE HOLE OF AN HABERGEON, THAT IT BE NOT RENT._ No JFB commentary on these verses....

31-39 The robe of the ephod was under the ephod, and reached down to the knees, without sleeves. Aaron must minister in the garments appointed. We must serve the Lord with holy fear, as those who know they deserve to die. A golden plate was fixed on Aaron's forehead, engraven with "Holiness to the Lord." Aaron was hereby reminded that God is holy, and that his priests must be holy, devoted to the Lord. This must appear in their forehead, in open profession of their relation to God. It must be engraven like the engravings of a signet; deep and durable; not painted so as to be washed off, but firm and lasting; such must our holiness to the Lord be. Christ is our High Priest; through him sins are forgiven to us, and not laid to our charge. Our persons, our doings, are pleasing to God upon the account of Christ, and not otherwise....

(Compare Exodus 39:1.) Moses is now commanded to commit all that pertains to the offerings made to the Lord in the sanctuary to the exclusive charge of the members of a single family, who were to hold their office from generation to generation. In the patriarchal times, the external rites of worship had generally been conducted by the head of the tribe or family, in accordance with the principle involved in the dedication of the firstborn Exodus 13:2; Numbers 3:12. Moses, as the divinely-appointed and acknowledged leader of the nation, had, on a special occasion, appointed those who were to offer sacrifice, and had himself sprinkled the consecrating blood of the victims on the people...

EXPOSITION THE ROBE OF THE EPHOD. Underneath the ephod and breast-plate the high priest was to wear a robe, or frock, wholly of blue. This robe was to have a hole for the head at the top, and was to be woven without seam (Exodus 39:22). It was put on over the head, like a habergeon or coat of mail, and probably reached below the knee. Josephus says that it had no sleeves. EXODUS 28:31 ALL OF BLUE. This plainness and uniformity offered a strong contrast to the variegated hues of the breast-plate and ephod, and threw those portions of the attire into greater prominence. If the blue used was indigo, the effect of the contrast must have been heightened...

AND BENEATH UPON THE HEM OF IT,.... Or the skirts of it, at the bottom of the robe: THOU SHALT MAKE POMEGRANATES OF BLUE, AND OF PURPLE, AND OF SCARLET, ROUND ABOUT THE HEM THEREOF; these were figures made of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, in the form of pomegranates: Jarchi says they were round and hollow, and made like hens' eggs, about the size of them, and of an oval form: AND BELLS OF GOLD BETWEEN THEM ROUND ABOUT; according to some, the bells were put into the pomegranates, which is supposed to be the meaning of the phrase "between them", or, "in the midst of them"; and so Aben Ezra observes, that some say the bells did not appear, they were only in the midst of the pomegranates, and there they caused their sound to be heard: but according to our version and others, the bells were placed between the pomegranates, between every pomegranate and pomegranate there was a golden bell;...

CHAPTER 28 THE PRIESTHOOD _ 1. Aaron and his sons (Exodus 28:1)_ 2. The garments mentioned (Exodus 28:2) 3. The ephod (Exodus 28:5) 4. The breastplate (Exodus 28:15) 5. The robe of the ephod (Exodus 28:31) 6. The mitre (Exodus 28:35) 7. The ordinary garments (Exodus 28:39) This chapter is still richer in typical lessons, a ver

EXODUS 28. P (Exodus 28:26; Exodus 28:41 later). PRIESTLY VESTMENTS. After the sanctuary and its fittings have been ordered, the vestments for the priesthood come up for mention. For the strange story of the development of the priest-hood in Israel, _see_ pp. 106f. Here we find, no doubt, a simple assumption that Aaron and his sons wore the same vestments as were worn by the Zadokite High Priest and his assistants in the Temple of Zerub- babel. Sir_45:9-22; Sir_50:1-21 are a complete proof that the splendour of the Temple ritual and its religious value were fully appreciated by the Hebrew sages, cultivated men of the world who cared deeply for religion as well as for morality. Of Aaron's four sons, Nadab and Abihu are named in...

HEM. skirts. POMEGRANATES. See note on Numbers 13:23....

The skirt was to be adorned with a border of pomegranates (i.e. balls shaped like pomegranates), made of the richly coloured materials mentioned in Exodus 25:4; and a small golden bell was to be attached to the hem between each two of the pomegranates. The pomegranate tree was common in Palestine (cf. Numbers 13:23; Deuteronomy 8:8, _al._); its fruit, when ripe, is of a bright red colour, about the size of an orange. In _v._33 Sam. LXX. add, _and fine twined linen_: cf. Exodus 38:24....

THE TEXT OF EXODUS TRANSLATION 28 And bring thou near unto thee Aar-on thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Is-ra-el, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aar-on, Na-dab and A-bi-hu, E-le-a-zar and Ith-a-mar, Aaron's sons. (2) And thou shalt make holy garments for Aar-on thy brother, for glory and for beauty. (3) And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aar-on's garments to sanctify him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. (4) And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an eph-od, and a robe, and a coat of checker work, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aar-on thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. (5) And they shall take the gold, and the blue, and the purple,...