Leviticus 8:7-9

(b) vesting; cp. Exodus 29:5-6. The garments are mentioned in a different order in Exodus 28:4, and some of them are there described more fully in Leviticus 8:6 ff. The reader may refer to the notes in Driver's commentary. The -linen breeches" (Exodus 28:42) are not mentioned here.

the coat the tunic, Heb. kuttonethor kĕthoneth. A long tunic with sleeves, secured by a girdle, or sash, somewhat like a dressing gown. It was the principal garment of ordinary life, and made of cotton, linen, or wool. The high priest's coat, or tunic, was made of fine linen (shçsh) and ornamented with a pattern. Cp. Exodus 28:4, where it is described as -a coat of chequer work" (a broidered coat, A.V.), and in Exodus 28:39 as woven -in chequer work of fine linen"; the exact meaning of the Heb. is uncertain, but it not improbably denotes something of the nature of a check.

the girdle sash, the work of the embroiderer (Exodus 28:39), made in the same way as the screen (hangingA.V.) for the entrance to the Tent (Exodus 26:36) and to the Court (Leviticus 27:16). It was of considerable length (according to the Talmud about 48 ft.) and was passed round the body several times (Jos. Ant.iii. 7. 2). It seems to have been accidentally omitted in Exodus 29:5. It must be distinguished from the -cunningly woven band of the ephod" (cp. Exodus 28:8, etc.), translated in A.V. -curious girdle."

the robe called -the robe of the ephod," Exodus 28:31; Exodus 29:5; Exodus 39:22 f. A garment all blue with a hole for the head, and a binding of woven work round the whole to prevent its being rent. The Heb. word mě-îlis applied to the robe (A.V. coat) made by Hannah for her son Samuel (1 Samuel 2:19), and to the robe (A.V. mantle) of Samuel which was rent by Saul (1 Samuel 15:27). The clothing of the High Priest, though of costly material, is so far like that of other people, and similar to that worn by the Arabs of the present day; an under garment bound with a sash, and an outer robe reaching nearly to the ground, but this outer garment is now worn open in front. According to Josephus (Ant.iii. 7. 4, B.J.8:5. 7) the robe of the ephod reached to the feet, but some writers describe it as shorter than the tunic. Its fringe of pomegranates and bells is described Exodus 28:33-35; Exodus 39:24-26 note the addition of -pure" to -gold" in the second passage), but being a part of the robe is not mentioned here or in Exodus 29.

the ephod This garment (described Exodus 28:6 ff; Exodus 39:2-5) was made of fine twined linen with blue purple and scarlet threads, and fine gold wire. Its exact shape cannot be determined. There were two shoulder straps, on each of which was an engraved onyx stone, and a band made of the same material as the ephod and woven with it in one piece, which served to gird the ephod over the other garments. This band is called -the cunningly woven band" (the curious girdleA.V.) of the ephod; the Heb. ḥçshĕbdenotes textile work of the highest grade, employed only for the curtains of the Dwelling, the veil, the ephod, and the pouch for the Urim and Thummim. See note on Exodus 26:1, where terms used for the different kinds of woven work are distinguished. The words -cunning," -cunningly" were in Old English used to denote what is now termed -skilful," -skilfully." If the ephod consisted of front and back pieces, then the whole garment with its band would form a kind of waistcoat; if it consisted of a front piece only, it would resemble an apron. See Driver on Exodus 28:5-12 and p. 312.