Garments for Glory and for Beauty
1 “Bring Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, near to you from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office: Aaron, with Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. 2 You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. 3 You shall speak to all who are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to sanctify him, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office. 4 These are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a fitted tunic, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office. 5 They shall use the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, and the fine linen. 6 “They shall make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the skillful workman. 7 It shall have two shoulder straps joined to the two ends of it, that it may be joined together. 8 The skillfully woven band, which is on it, shall be like its work and of the same piece; of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen. 9 You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the children of Israel. 10 Six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the six that remain on the other stone, in the order of their birth. 11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones, according to the names of the children of Israel. You shall make them to be enclosed in settings of gold. 12 You shall put the two stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel. Aaron shall bear their names before Yahweh on his two shoulders for a memorial. 13 You shall make settings of gold, 14 and two chains of pure gold; you shall make them like cords of braided work. You shall put the braided chains on the settings.
A priesthood is created out of one family, and its uniform carries the names of the whole nation on its shoulders.
“Bring Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, near to you from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office: Aaron, with Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.
A priesthood is established, and the men named are the same men the genealogy already introduced without flattery Exodus 6:23. Aaron made the calf. Two of the four sons listed here die at this altar within a year Leviticus 10:2. Nothing in the appointment rests on the character of the appointees, and the narrative supplies enough of their record to make that unmistakable.
You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.
The stated purpose of the clothing is glory and beauty, which is unusual language for a working uniform and is repeated of the sons' garments at the end of the chapter Exodus 28:40. The tent itself was covered in plain hides; the man who served in it was dressed in gold, blue, purple and scarlet. What is hidden on the outside of the structure is displayed on the person of the priest.
You shall speak to all who are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to sanctify him, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office.
The first people in Scripture described as filled with God's Spirit are tailors. The gift is given for embroidery, weaving and stonework, and the book will shortly say the same of the men who build the tent Exodus 31:3. Skilled handwork is treated here as a spiritual endowment without any apology for the category.
9 You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the children of Israel. 10 Six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the six that remain on the other stone, in the order of their birth.
The tribes are divided six and six and set on the shoulder straps of the ephod. In the order of their birth — not of their size, their loyalty or their record. Reuben, who lost his birthright, is first because he was born first.
You shall put the two stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel. Aaron shall bear their names before Yahweh on his two shoulders for a memorial.
The shoulder is where weight is carried. When the priest walked into the holy place, the whole nation went in on his back, as a load he was bearing rather than a delegation he was leading. He does not enter for himself, and he could not have left any of them outside if he wished, because their names were fastened to the garment he was required to wear.
The engraving is specified to be like the engravings of a signet Exodus 28:11 — the technique used for a seal, cut deep, made to leave an impression and not to wear away. The names are not painted on.
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