Chapter 28
The Priestly Vestments. 1 “Have Aaron, your brother, and his sons approach you. Take them from among the children of Israel to be your priests: Aaron and Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, his sons. 2 You shall make sacred vestments for Aaron, your brother, for glory and beauty. 3 Speak to all the most expert artisans, those to whom I have given a spirit of wisdom, and they shall prepare vestments for Aaron, for his consecration, so that he might exercise his priesthood in my honor.
4 “These are the vestments that they shall make: the breastplate and the ephod,[a] a robe, a checkered colored coat, a turban, and a sash. They will make sacred vestments for Aaron your brother and for his sons so that they may exercise their priesthood in my honor. 5 They must use gold, blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and linen.
The Ephod. 6 “They shall make the ephod with gold, blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine linen, the work of skillful craftsmen. 7 It will have two shoulder pieces attached to its two ends so that it may be joined together. 8 The skillfully woven band to bind it together shall be placed over it and be of the same quality and materials: blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen.
9 “Take two pieces of onyx and engrave the names of the children of Israel on them. 10 Put six of their names on the first stone, and the other six names on the second piece, written in order of their birth. 11 Engrave the names of the children of Israel on the two stones as an engraver engraves a signet ring. Insert them into settings of gold filigree. 12 Set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the children of Israel. Thus, Aaron shall carry the names upon his shoulders[b] before the Lord, as a memorial. 13 Also make settings of gold filigree 14 and two chains of pure gold that are twisted like cords. Then attach the chains to the settings.
15 The Breastplate.“You shall make a breastplate of judgment with skilled craftsmanship, the same as was used on the ephod. Make it of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen. 16 It is to be square and doubled over, a span in length and a span in width. 17 Then cover it with settings of precious stones arranged in four rows. The first row shall have a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald. 18 The second row shall have a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond. 19 The third row shall have a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. 20 The fourth row shall have a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings. 21 The stones shall correspond to the names of the children of Israel. There are to be twelve, standing for their names, each with engravings like that of a signet ring, each of them corresponding to a name of one of the twelve tribes.
22 “On the breastplate make chains of pure gold in the shape of twisted cords. 23 On the breastplate also make two golden rings and place the two rings at the edges of the breastplate.
24 “Attach the two golden chains to the two golden rings on the edges of the breastplate. 25 As for the two other ends of the chains, attach them to two filigree settings and fasten them to the front part of the shoulder pieces of the ephod. 26 Make two golden rings and place them at the two edges of the breastplate, on the inside edge next to the ephod. 27 Make another two golden rings and place them on the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at their bottom on the front side, next to the place where it is attached to the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 28 Tie the rings of the breastplate to the rings on the ephod with a cord of blue material so that it may lie upon the skillfully woven band of the ephod and so that the breastplate may not pull away from the ephod.
29 “Thus Aaron shall carry the names of the children of Israel over his heart on the breastplate of judgment whenever he enters the sanctuary. This will serve as a memorial before the Lord forever. 30 Put the Urim and the Thummim inside the breastplate of judgment so that they will be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters into the presence of the Lord.[c] Aaron will forever bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart whenever he enters into the presence of the Lord.
31 Other Priestly Vestments.“Make the robe for the ephod all in blue 32 with an opening in the middle for the head, with a woven border around the opening, like the opening of a garment, so that it may not be torn. 33 On its hem you shall design pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet cloth, and fine twisted linen, all around its hem, with bells of gold between them 34 so that there shall be a golden bell[d] and a pomegranate alternating all around the hem of the robe. 35 Aaron must wear it when he ministers as priest, and one will hear the sound it makes when he enters the sanctuary, into the presence of the Lord, and when he leaves it, lest he die.
36 “You are to make a plate of pure gold and engrave ‘Holy to the Lord’ on it as one engraves a signet ring. 37 Attach it with a blue cord to the front part of the turban. 38 It will be on Aaron’s forehead, so that Aaron may carry the weight of whatever guilt the children of Israel may incur in the holy things, when they consecrate their holy offerings. He will always wear it on his forehead so that they may be pleasing to the Lord.
39 “Weave the checkered tunic of fine linen and make a turban of fine linen and a sash embroidered with needlework. 40 Make tunics and sashes for the sons of Aaron as well as caps for them to give them honor and renown. 41 Put these garments on Aaron, your brother, and his sons. Then anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, so that they may serve as priests in my honor.
42 “Make linen undergarments to cover their nakedness. They must reach from their hips to their thighs. 43 Aaron and his sons will put them on whenever they enter into the meeting tent or when they approach the altar to minister in the sanctuary, so that they may not incur guilt and die. This shall be a perpetual statute for him and his offspring forever.
Footnotes
- Exodus 28:4 The etymology of ephod is uncertain. The word signifies three different things: (a) the ephod worn in divination, that is, in consulting Yahweh (1 Sam 2:28); (b) the “ephod bad” (“linen ephod”), worn by ministers of worship (1 Sam 2:18); and (c) the “ephod of the high priest,” a kind of cloth mounted on a belt with shoulder straps and with the breastplate of decision attached to it (see Ex 28:15ff).
- Exodus 28:12 Carry the names upon his shoulders: this is to signify to all of Israel that Aaron as the high priest represents all the people before God (see also v. 29).
- Exodus 28:30 On the breastplate were two small objects used in divination, that is, in a primitive practice aimed at discovering the divine will (see 1 Sam 14:41). The detailed description has for its purpose to bring out the splendor of the temple liturgy.
- Exodus 28:34 A golden bell: the sound of the bells alerted the people that the high priest Aaron was present in the sanctuary. Although they could not enter into the Holy Place, worshipers could join their prayers with his.