Aaron and His Sons Are Set Apart for the Priest's Office

Continuing with a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 28:1) "And take unto you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me in the priest's office, Aaron and Aaron’s sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar."

In the last chapter, God had just given Moses instructions on how to make an altar and a court for the tabernacle.  In the last verse He told how Aaron and his sons were to tend to the lamps "from evening to morning before the LORD".  Now He continued by telling Moses to take Aaron and all his sons from among the children of Israel to be priests to minister to Him, the Lord, "in the priest's office".  Before this time the eldest in every family officiated as priest, perhaps because there was not just one place of public worship.  Now that they were building a tabernacle for the Lord, they were to have one set of priests and that was to be Aaron and his sons.

(2) “And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. (3) And you shall speak to all who are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me in the priest's office."

They were to make holy garments for Aaron because he was to minister in the holy place and perform holy service to the Lord.  The garments were to be made for glory and honor to the Lord, and were to be beautiful.  Only the wisest and most skillful of the children of Israel were to make Aaron's garments to put on him at the time of his consecration as priest.

(4) “And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, an embroidered coat, a turban, and a belt; and they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me in the priest's office."

They were to make specific pieces for Aaron and his sons to wear in the priest's office.  There was to be a breastplate, an ephod (a type of apron without sleeves), a robe, an embroidered coat, a turban, and a belt or sash.  These were to be holy garments necessary for Aaron and his sons to be able to minister to the Lord in the priest's office.

(5) "And they shall take gold, and blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. (6) And they shall make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine woven linen, with cunning work."

They were to take real gold made into thin flat wires or threads, and blue, purple, and scarlet threads, either woven into fine linen or embroidered onto fine woven linen.  Thus they were to make the ephod with the skilled work of a wise and skilful artisan.

(7) “It shall have two shoulder pieces joined at its two edges, and so it shall be joined together. (8) And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is on it, shall be of the same, according to its work of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine woven linen."

The ephod was made of two pieces of cloth of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet, on the front and the back, with shoulder straps joining the two pieces.  The "girdle", or belt or band of the ephod was to be made of the same skilled and artistic work with gold and blue, purple, and scarlet threads on fine woven linen.  Interesting "curious girdle" is the way the original word "chesheb" was translated.  It was not the same word used for girdle in other scriptures--"abnet".  This was a "curious" girdle!  Strong's defined it as being an interlaced belt or strap.  Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew Definitions defined it as a girdle of ingenious work.  Probably this was not a separate belt over the top of the ephod, but was a part of the ephod, ingeniously interwoven onto the ephod.

(9) "And you shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel: (10) Six of their names on one stone, and the names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. (11) With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel; you shall set them in ouches of gold."

They were to take two onyx stones and engrave the names of the sons of Israel, or Jacob, six on one stone and six on the other, in birth order.  The engraving was to be done by an engraver skilled in the art of engraving precious stones.  It was to be done with the same elegance and precision as signet rings were engraved at the time.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, wrote this about the engraving of signet rings:

"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 particularly among the ancient Greeks; such a pitch of perfection as has never been rivaled, and cannot now be even well imitated. And it is very likely that the Greeks themselves borrowed this art from the ancient Hebrews, as we know it flourished in Egypt and Palestine long before it was known in Greece."

The engraved stones were to be placed in "ouches" or settings of gold.  They were more than plain settings of solid pieces of metal, but the original word "mishbetsah" translated as "ouches" in the KJV meant more of a wrought, plaited, or filigreed setting.  It was said that Shakespeare used the word "ouches" in the general sense of "jewels".  Indeed even the dictionary meaning of ouch is "a brooch or clasp set with gems".

(12) “And you shall put the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders as a memorial."

The engraved stones were to be placed on the shoulder pieces, or straps, representing the twelve tribes of Israel.  Aaron, as high priest, was to represent the children of Israel before the Lord.  The names of their twelve tribes were to be upon his shoulders, the place of strength of a man, as indicated in other scriptures like that of Isaiah 9:6, which said the government would be upon Christ's shoulder.  In this way, Aaron illustrated a type of Christ, representing all his people, making intercession for them, and bearing their burdens, the care and government of them being upon his shoulders.

(13) "And you shall make ouches of gold, (14) And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work you shall make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches."

They were to make the ouches of gold into which the stones were to be set.  Two chains of pure gold were to be twisted or braided into cords and fastened to the ouches on the shoulder straps.

(15) "And you shall make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; according to the work of the ephod you shall make it, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine woven linen, you shall make it."

The "breastplate of judgment" was to be made of the same skilled and artistic work as with the ephod, of gold and blue, purple, and scarlet threads, and fine woven linen.  The original word translated as "breastplate" was "choshen", suggesting more of an ornament with sparkle; it was called a breastplate merely because of its position on the chest.  It was called one of judgment because, in the words of Adam Clarke, "the high priest wore it upon his breast when he went to ask counsel of the Lord, to give judgment in any particular case; as also when he sat as judge to teach the law, and to determine controversies."

(16) "Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be its length, and a span shall be its width."

The fabric that made the breastplate was to be doubled, perhaps to give it more stability, but also to form a fold in which to hold something, like the Urim and Thummim perhaps, which will be studied when mentioned later.  When doubled, it was to be one span on each side.  A span was said to be the span of an outstretched hand, from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger, about nine inches.

(17) “And you shall put settings of stones in it, four rows of stones; the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald; this shall be the first row. (18) And the second row shall be a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond. (19) And the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. (20) And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper; they shall be set in gold settings."

On the breastplate of judgment were to be four rows of stones set in gold settings, three in each row representing each of the twelve sons of Israel or Jacob.  There was a different stone representing each of the sons of Israel.  What every one of the stones was may not be known exactly.  It was interesting that what the KJV called an emerald in the first row was called a carbuncle or beryl by other translations, and what was called an emerald was translated as turquoise.  There is so much discrepancy among experts and the theologians that I am not even going to try to determine exactly what each stone was.  At this point, I don't think that is what was most important.  I believe the point is that each one of the stones was a distinct separate stone representing each one of the sons of Israel. 

(21) “And the stones shall have the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes."

Each stone was to have engraved on it the name of the son of Israel that it represented.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, did as good or better a job at telling what each stone was and who it represented, and stated that it was "in this order the Jews in general agree to place them":

First Row:  Sardius or Ruby - representing Reuben / Topaz - Simeon / Carbuncle or Emerald - Levi
Second Row:  Emerald or Turquoise - Judah / Sapphire - Issachar / Diamond - Zebulun
Third Row:  Jacinth - Dan / Agate - Naphtali / Amethyst - Gad
Fourth Row:  Beryl - Asher / Onyx - Joseph / Jasper - Benjamin

(22) "And you shall make chains for the breastplate at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold."

I would assume that these are the same braided gold chains that were attached to the ouches on the shoulder straps, the other ends being attached to the breastplate.

(23) “And you shall make two rings of gold on the breastplate, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. (24) And you shall put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate. (25) And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains you shall fasten to the two ouches, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in the front."

Two gold rings were to be made and placed at the two upper corners of the breastplate.  The two braided gold rope chains were to be placed in the rings and fastened to the ouches on the shoulder straps of the ephod in the front.

(26) "And you shall make two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate on the edge of it, which is on the inner side of the ephod. (27) And two other rings of gold you shall make, and put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath toward its front, right at the seam above the the curious girdle of the ephod. (28) And they shall bind the breastplate by means of its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it is above the curious girdle of the ephod, and so that the breastplate does not come loose from the ephod."

I'm a little unclear about whether the two rings mentioned in verse 26 are additional rings, or if they are the same ones mentioned in verse 23, just a little more elaborated on, and exactly where all these rings were placed.  The old commentaries are mixed, but I am beginning to settle on the image that there was the one set of rings mentioned in verse 23 holding the breastplate up by means of the wreathen chains attached to the shoulder straps, and there were two sets of rings attaching the breastplate to the ephod underneath at the top and at the bottom.  The bottom pair of rings were placed right above the "curious girdle" of the ephod.  Again, I'm unclear exactly what rings and where attached to the breastplate, but scripture does say that the rings of the breastplate were bound to the rings of the ephod with a blue lace that kept the breastplate in place above the girdle of the ephod.

(29) "And Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goes into the holy place, as a memorial before the LORD continually."

Once again it is said that Aaron would bear the names of the sons of Israel engraved on the breastplate of judgment upon his heart whenever he went into the holy place.  The memorial may have been more for Aaron himself to remind him that he entered the holy place not in his own name, but in the name of all the children of Israel.  Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, reminded me that:  "The high priest had the names of the tribes both on his shoulders and on his breast, intimating both the power and the love with which our Lord Jesus intercedes for those that are his."  The priest was a type of Christ intercessor and mediator between the Lord and His people. 

(30) “And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be upon Aaron's heart when he goes in before the LORD; and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually."

The fabric of the breastplate was doubled over creating a fold and a pocket to place the Urim and Thummin that would rest upon Aaron's heart when he went in before the Lord.  "Urim" means "light" and "Thummim" means "perfection".  According to some of the greatest Biblical scholars and theologians that I study, it has never been determined exactly what the Urim and Thummim were.  However, we know that they were physical material things because they were kept inside the fold of the breastplate.  They appear to have been used perhaps as a sort of lots or dice in which the Lord would make known His will through them.  These symbols of light and perfect truth and judgment were to be upon Aaron's heart continually when he was before the Lord.

(31) "And you shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. (32) And there shall be a hole in the top of it, in the middle of it; it shall have a woven binding all around the hole, like the opening in a habergeon, so that it does not tear."

The robe of the ephod has been described as a simple loose fitting tunic style of garment with no sleeves and only a head hole in the top, worn under the ephod.  It was to be made of blue cloth and the head hole was to be reinforced with a woven binding so that it would not tear.  The habergeon has been described as a linen corslet or a light sleeveless coat of mail.  Whatever it was exactly, it was used here as an example of how the head opening of the robe of the ephod was to be reinforced.

(33) “And upon its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, all around its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: (34) A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe all around."

Along the hem of the robe they were to make blue, purple, and scarlet pom-pom style decorations, or in the form of pomegranates.  The pomegranates were to alternate with gold bells all around the hem of the blue robe.

(35)  “And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he goes into the holy place before the LORD and when he comes out, that he may not die."

The sound of the bells would be heard whenever Aaron went into the holy place before the Lord, undoubtedly to make the people aware of the solemn and important duty the priest was then performing, but it is also said they would prevent Aaron from dying.  Great care and respect was to be taken with how the priests approached the Lord.  Albert Barnes put it this way, "An infraction of the laws for the service of the sanctuary was not merely an act of disobedience; it was a direct insult to the presence of Yahweh from His ordained minister, and justly incurred a sentence of capital punishment."

(36) "And you shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. (37) And you shall put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. (38) And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD."

The people were to make a plate of pure gold engraved with the words "HOLINESS TO THE LORD".  The plate was to be placed on a blue lace or band and fastened on the turban so as to be placed in the front of the turban.  This would position the plate on Aaron's forehead to bear in his mind that he "bore the iniquity of the holy things..."  The meaning here is a little unclear to me, but Aaron was acting as a type of Christ.  "Bearing the iniquity" applied to one who suffered the penalty of sin or to one who took away the sin of others.  Therefore, the people's imperfect gifts and offerings were made acceptable to the Lord because of the One who took away their sins.

(39) "And you shall embroider the coat of fine linen, and you shall make the turban of fine linen, and you shall make the sash of woven work."

The coat of fine linen appears to be a garment distinct from the ephod and the robe of the ephod, and was probably the innermost of all the priestly garments.  It was to be embroidered or woven in fine linen and was bound to the body with a needlework sash.  The turban was also to be made from fine linen.

(40) "And for Aaron’s sons you shall make coats, and you shall make sashes for them, and bonnets you shall make for them, for glory and beauty."

They were also to make coats, sashes, and caps for Aaron's sons.  They were to be made for glory and for beauty, that is, both to point out the dignity and honor of the office they held as ministers of the Most High God, and to be beautiful.

(41) "And you shall put them on Aaron your brother and his sons with him; and shall anoint them, consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to Me in the priest's office."

All these garments before described were to be put on Aaron and his sons, and they were to be anointed (probably with oil), consecrated, and sanctified, investing them with their garments and setting them apart, devoting them to the office of priesthood.

(42) “And you shall make for them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; they shall reach from the waist to the thighs. (43) And they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they come into the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near to the altar to minister in the holy place, that they do not bear iniquity and die; it shall be a statute forever to him and his descendants after him."

Linen breeches were to be made for Aaron and his sons, reaching from their waists to their thighs, to cover their nakedness.  For decency and purity in holiness, the breeches must be worn by Aaron and his sons whenever they came into the tabernacle or when they came near the altar to minister in the holy place, again a necessary act of respect and obedience that prevented immediate death.  This was to be a statute forever, or as long as the priesthood continued, as these things foreshadowed the coming of Christ.