Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Exodus 28:5-12
The Ephod (Exodus 28:5).
The ephod was made of costly material worked with gold, bluey-violet, purpley-red and scarlet. It consisted of front and back pieces which reached from below the shoulders to the hips and was held in place by two shoulder bands, and was tied round the waist. Attached to it by gold fittings was the breastpouch of judgment (see below). It was put on over the priestly robe to be described in Exodus 28:31.
“And they shall take the gold, and the bluey-violet, and the purpley-red, and the scarlet, and the fine linen, and they shall make the ephod of gold, of bluey-violet, and purpley-red, scarlet and fine twined linen, the work of the skilled workman. It shall have two shoulder pieces joined to its two ends. And the skilfully patterned, cunningly woven band which is on it, to gird it on withal, shall be like its work, and of the same piece, of gold, of bluey-violet, and purpley-red, and scarlet and fine twined linen.”
The ephod was to be made by a skilled workman of the multicoloured materials used for the curtains. The gold was probably gold thread interwoven after the remainder had been done. The colours might be woven in a variety of patterns. While the Egyptians preferred white with a little colour the Semites preferred brighter colours.
The looms used would be Egyptian hand looms, which were not large and easily transportable. The weaving skills had been brought from Egypt.
The two shoulder pieces joined the separate pieces of the ephod over the shoulder, (and possibly was interwoven with the ephod all the way down to the band - see Exodus 28:27) while the skilfully-patterned woven band around the waist seems to have been attached to, or even woven into, the ephod and of a similar nature to the cloth.
“And you shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the children of Israel, six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, according to their birth. With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engraving of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones. You shall make them to be enclosed in settings of gold. And you shall put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before Yahweh on his two shoulders for a memorial.”
The actual type of stones has been much disputed with onyx, beryl, emerald and sardonyx all having been suggested. The onyx is black and white, the sardonyx black and white with a layer of red. A large sardonyx was very expensive. It was an excellent stone for engraving. Engraving was an art well known in Egypt. It is no argument against this to say that slaves would not have learned engraving and weaving. They were not always slaves in Egypt, and even when they were slaves those who were skilled in such things would have been treasured and encouraged in order to bring profit for their masters.
The stones were to be engraved with the names of the twelve sons of Jacob and placed in gold settings on the shoulder of the ephod so as to bring the names of the twelve tribes before Yahweh. When Aaron entered the Sanctuary the whole of Israel in effect went with him and were brought to Yahweh's attention.
“ According to their birth” may indicate order of age, or it may refer to the six sons of Leah on one stone and the remainder on the other (compare Genesis 37:2).