EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries

Exodus 28:1-43

Exodus: *Israel becomes a nation

God’s instructions to Moses

Exodus Chapter s 19 to 40

Hilda Bright and Kitty Pride

Chapter 28 Clothes for the priests – verses 1-43

Introduction – verses 1-5

v1 The *LORD continued to speak to Moses. ‘Tell your brother, Aaron, to come to you with his sons. Their names are Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. I have chosen their family to serve me as priests. v2 Make special clothes for your brother, Aaron, and for his sons. Then people will respect him and they will give honour to him. v3 I have given special skill to particular workers so that they can do all this work. You must tell them to make these special clothes for Aaron and his sons. And these clothes will distinguish them from other people, so that they can serve me as priests. v4 The workers must make a *breast-piece, an *ephod and a special shirt. To wear underneath these, the workers must make other shirts. And they must sew them with patterns. And they must make special cloths for the priests’ heads. Also they must make belts for them. The workers must make all these clothes for Aaron and for his sons. Then Aaron and his sons can serve me as priests. v5 The workers must use *linen of good quality. And they must sew it with very thin gold wire and with blue, purple and bright red wool.’

Verses 1-5 Moses told the skilful workers to make the special clothes for Aaron and for his sons. Those clothes showed that God had chosen them. And they must serve him as priests. People would respect Aaron and his sons when they recognised the priests’ special function. Priests gave gifts to God on behalf of the people. The priests did exactly as God had ordered them (Hebrews 5:1). Also the priests had to read Moses’ law to the people every 7 years (Deuteronomy 31:9-13). People who did not know the right way, often behaved in the wrong way. And they made mistakes. The priests had to be gentle when they dealt with such people (Hebrews 5:2).

The *ephod – verses 6-14

v6 ‘Make the *ephod out of *linen of good quality. The worker must sew patterns on it. The worker must use thin gold wire, and blue, purple and bright red wool. A skilful worker should make it. v7 And the *ephod must have two pieces to support it from the shoulders. Attach these pieces to two of its corners to fasten it. v8 A skilful worker must make a belt as part of the *ephod. He must make it out of the same *linen of good quality. And he must sew it with thin gold wire, as well as blue, purple and bright red wool.’

v9 ‘Choose two of the stones called *onyx. And cut the names of Israel’s 12 sons on them. v10 Put their names in the order that the boys were born. Put 6 names on one stone and put 6 names on the other stone. v11 Cut their names on the stones. Do it in the same way that someone cuts other precious stones to make *seals. Then fix gold round the stones in a delicate pattern. v12 And fasten the stones onto the shoulder pieces of the *ephod. These stones *represent the 12 families of the *Israelites. Aaron must carry their names on his shoulders. Then I will remember all the families of the *Israelites for always.’

v13 ‘Make two delicate patterns of gold. v14 And make two thin chains out of pure gold. Use these to fasten the patterns of gold onto the shoulders of the *ephod.’

Verses 6-8 One of the special clothes was an *ephod. It was short and the workers made it out of *linen. It had no sleeves. Two pieces of cloth at the shoulders fastened together the back and the front. Part of the *ephod was a belt to go round the middle of the priest. This belt would hold the lower section firmly. A skilful worker sewed patterns with the gold wire. He mixed it with the blue, purple and bright red wool.

Verses 9-14 Skilful people cut letters, numbers or a design on stone or on metal. People made *seals in that way. They cut a name or a design on something that is hard, like a stone. Then they can mark things with it. This mark identifies and protects their property. *Onyx is a precious stone. Aaron carried those *onyx stones on his shoulders. They had the names of Israel’s 12 families, on them. That was Aaron’s duty in God’s special tent. It showed that Aaron *represented all of the *Israelites in front of God.

The *breast-piece – verses 15-30

v15 ‘A skilful worker must make a *breast-piece. The most important priest will use it to learn my decisions. Make it like the *ephod. Make it out of *linen of good quality. And sew it in the same way. Use thin gold wire, and blue, purple and bright red wool. v16 It must be a square that is 9 inches (22 centimetres) long and 9 inches (22 centimetres) wide. Fold it double. v17 Then put 12 precious stones on it. Put 3 stones in each of 4 rows. In the first row put 3 stones called a ruby, a topaz and a beryl. v18 In the second row put 3 stones called a turquoise, a *sapphire and an emerald. v19 In the third row put 3 stones called a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst. v20 And in the 4^th row put 3 more stones called a chrysolite, an *onyx and a jasper. Put each stone in a delicate gold pattern. v21 There will be 12 stones, and each stone will *represent 1 of *Israel’s 12 sons. Cut 1 family’s name on each precious stone. Cut it in the manner that people cut stones for *seals.’

v22 ‘Make two gold chains like strings for the *breast-piece. v23 Make two gold rings for these chains. Fasten the rings to the two top corners of the *breast-piece. v24 Fasten the two gold chains to these gold rings. v25 And fasten the other ends of the gold chains to the two gold patterns on the shoulders. You must attach them to the pieces on the shoulder of the *ephod. Attach them at the front. v26 Make two gold rings. Attach them to the two lower corners of the *breast-piece. Attach them on the inside edge next to the *ephod. v27 Then make two gold rings. Attach them to the *ephod above the belt. v28 You must tie these rings on the *breast-piece. Tie them to the *ephod’s rings with blue string. Then the *breast-piece will remain in place on the *ephod.’

v29 ‘So whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will carry the names of all *Israel’s families. They will be on the *breast-piece over his heart. They will always remind me about the *Israelites. And the most important priest will use the *breast-piece to learn my decisions. v30 So you must put those small objects called *Urim and Thummim in the *breast-piece too. They will be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes to me. Then Aaron will always carry the means to learn my decisions for the *Israelites. He will carry them over his heart when he comes to me.’

Verses 15-28 The upper part of the front of a person is called the breast. So the *breast-piece covered that part of the priest. The workers made it out of *linen of good quality. It had 12 precious stones on it that were many colours. Here is a list of the names of the stones and their colours:

ruby is red;
jacinth is orange;
topaz and jasper are yellow;
emerald and chrysolite are green;
beryl, *sapphire and turquoise are different shades of blue;
amethyst is purple;
agate and *onyx are stripes of different colours.

The stones were all beautiful and they were all precious. That was how the *LORD saw his people. They were his precious people and he gave honour to them (Isaiah 43:4). The workers cut 1 family’s name into each stone. This would remind the *LORD about his people always. When Aaron went to serve the *LORD in the Holy Place, he *represented all the *Israelites. He prayed to God on their behalf. The *breast-piece had all their family names on them. And the pieces on the shoulders had all their family names on them too.

Verses 29-30 The *breast-piece also contained the two small objects called *Urim and Thummim. These words begin with the first and last letters of the *Hebrew alphabet. They may mean ‘lights’ and ‘to be perfect’. With those small objects, the priest asked for God’s answer when the *Israelites needed to make a difficult decision. Probably one object meant yes and the other one meant no. The priest would take out one of those objects. And the one that he took out was God’s answer (1 Samuel 14:41). Moses gave the *breast-piece to Aaron (Leviticus 8:8). Then after Aaron’s death, Moses gave it to Aaron’s son, Eleazar (Numbers 20:28). Joshua also received God’s help from Eleazar by means of the *Urim and Thummim (Numbers 27:21).

The special shirt under the *ephod – verses 31-35

v31 ‘Make a special shirt out of blue cloth for Aaron. He must wear under the *ephod. v32 It should be long like a dress. And it must have a hole for his head in its centre. Put an edge like a collar round this hole. Then the hole will not tear. v33 Put designs of fruit all round the lower edge of the shirt. Make them like the fruit called *pomegranate. And sew them with blue, purple and bright red wool. Attach gold bells between the *pomegranates. v34 There will be a gold bell, then a *pomegranate, another gold bell and another *pomegranate. They will go all round the lower edge. v35 Aaron will wear this shirt when he serves me as priest. I am the *LORD. And these bells will sound when he goes into the Holy Place to meet me. The bells will sound again when he comes out. Then he will not die.’

Verses 31-32 There were many colours of the designs on the *ephod. And the blue material provided a background for those colours. The shirt had an extra piece of material round the hole in the centre. The priest put his head through the hole. The extra material made the hole stronger. Then the priest would not tear it as he pulled the shirt over his head.

Verses 33-35 A *pomegranate is a round fruit with a hard skin. It has very many seeds inside it. It was often a *sign. It *represented growth and things that are alive. The gold bells between the *pomegranates would sound as the priest moved. The people did not see the priest when he was inside the Holy Place. But they heard the bells when he moved. So they knew that he was alive. And they knew that he was carrying out his duties as priest on their behalf. They knew that God had accepted the priest’s gift. They wanted to know that it pleased the *LORD. All the people were anxious, so they listened carefully to hear the bells.

The special cloth and gold for Aaron’s head – verses 36-39

v36 ‘Make a narrow piece of pure gold. Cut letters in it to say the words: ‘holy for the *LORD’. v37 Attach it with a blue string to the front of the special cloth on Aaron’s head. v38 Then Aaron will always wear it on the front of his head. He will be responsible for whatever holy gifts the *Israelites give to me. Then I, the *LORD, will accept their gifts. Although the people have done wrong things, I will forgive them.’

v39 ‘Use *linen of good quality to make these clothes. Use it for the shirt that Aaron wears underneath. And use it for the special cloth for his head. Someone who can sew with skill must make these clothes. And they should make a belt for the shirt too.’

Verses 36-38 Aaron wore a special cloth on his head. It was a long piece of *linen. Aaron wound it round his head. And a blue string fixed the gold plate to the front of that special cloth. Aaron had to enter the Most Holy Place where God was present. So Aaron *represented a person’s ideal, holy character. God accepted the *Israelites because their names were part of Aaron’s clothes. So that narrow piece of gold on Aaron’s head was a *sign. It meant that he made himself responsible for the people. And the people were guilty because they did not obey God’s law all the time. Aaron must follow God’s instructions carefully. Then God would accept the gifts that Aaron gave to him. He gave them on behalf of the people. Jesus is with God. He is there as priest. He is there on our behalf because he is perfect (Hebrews 7:26-27). He had the right to enter heaven where God is now (Hebrews 9:24).

Verse 39 *Linen was the usual material for priests’ clothes in Egypt. The *Hebrew priests wore *linen too. When the priests wore that material, they stayed cool.

Clothes for Aaron’s sons – verses 40-43

v40 ‘Make special shirts and belts for Aaron’s sons. Also make cloths for their heads. Then the *Israelites will respect Aaron’s sons. And the people will give honour to them. v41 Put all these clothes on your brother Aaron and on his sons. Then pour *olive oil on their heads. This will show that I have chosen them especially for this work. They are separate so that they can serve me as priests.’

v42 ‘Make short trousers out of *linen of good quality. They will cover all of the lower part of them to the upper leg. v43 Aaron and his sons must wear these short trousers whenever they enter the special tent. They must wear them when they approach the *altar. They must not show any part of their body when they serve me in the Holy Place. Then they will not be guilty and they will not die. This rule is for Aaron and the priests in his family. It is for all time to come.’

Verses 40-41 The special shirt was like a long dress.

Verses 42-43 The short trousers covered the lower part of the body. They covered down to the top of the legs. This made sure that the priest was modest at all times. The *Canaanites, who lived near to the *Israelites, did not know the real *LORD God. Their priests were naked for acts in their religion. They *worshipped a false god called Baal. And they thought that they impressed Baal with acts of sex. The *Canaanites wanted good crops, more animals and children. They thought that Baal should make them and their land to produce. They wanted Baal to help them. But the *Israelites must not imitate the bad things that the *Canaanites did. So the *Hebrew priests must be pure. They must not show any naked parts when they went up the steps to the *altar (Exodus 20:26).

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has been here always.

Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the Hebrew word ‘Adonai’, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.