1 And of the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, they made coloured garments, to minister in the sanctuary; and they make the holy garments which `are' for Aaron, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
2 And he maketh the ephod, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen,
3 and they expand the plates of gold, and have cut off wires to work in the midst of the blue, and in the midst of the purple, and in the midst of the scarlet, and in the midst of the linen -- work of a designer;
4 shoulder-pieces they have made for it, joining; at its two ends it is joined.
5 And the girdle of his ephod which `is' on it is of the same, according to its work, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
6 And they prepare the shoham stones, set, embroidered `with' gold, opened with openings of a signet, by the names of the sons of Israel;
7 and he setteth them on the shoulders of the ephod -- stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
8 And he maketh the breastplate, work of a designer, like the work of the ephod, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen;
9 it hath been square; double they have made the breastplate, a span its length, and a span its breadth, doubled.
10 And they fill in it four rows of stones; a row of a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle `is' the one row;
11 and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond;
12 and the third row an opal, an agate, and an amethyst;
13 and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper -- set, embroidered `with' gold, in their settings.
14 And the stones, according to the names of the sons of Israel, are twelve, according to their names, openings of a signet, each according to his name, for the twelve tribes.
15 And they make on the breastplate wreathed chains, work of thick bands, of pure gold;
16 and they make two embroidered things of gold, and two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate,
17 and they put the two thick bands of gold on the two rings on the ends of the breastplate;
18 and the two ends of the two thick bands they have put on the two embroidered things, and they put them on the shoulders of the ephod, over-against its front.
19 And they make two rings of gold, and set `them' on the two ends of the breastplate, on its border, which `is' on the side of the ephod within;
20 and they make two rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulders of the ephod below, over-against its front, over-against its joining, above the girdle of the ephod;
21 and they bind the breastplate by its rings unto the rings of the ephod, with a ribbon of blue, to be above the girdle of the ephod, and the breastplate is not loosed from off the ephod, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
22 And he maketh the upper robe of the ephod, work of a weaver, completely of blue;
23 and the opening of the upper robe `is' in its midst, as the opening of a habergeon, a border `is' to its opening round about, it is not rent;
24 and they make on the hems of the upper robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, twined.
25 And they make bells of pure gold, and put the bells in the midst of the pomegranates, on the hems of the upper robe, round about, in the midst of the pomegranates;
26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, `are' on the hems of the upper robe, round about, to minister in, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
27 And they make the coats of linen, work of a weaver, for Aaron and for his sons,
28 and the mitre of linen, and the beautiful bonnets of linen, and the linen trousers, of twined linen,
29 and the girdle of twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, work of an embroiderer, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
30 And they make the flower of the holy crown of pure gold, and write on it a writing, openings of a signet, `Holy to Jehovah;'
31 and they put on it a ribbon of blue, to put `it' on the mitre above, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
32 And all the service of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting is completed; and the sons of Israel do according to all that Jehovah hath commanded Moses; so they have done.
33 And they bring in the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all its vessels, its hooks, its boards, its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets;
34 and the covering of rams' skins, which are made red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the vail of the covering;
35 the ark of the testimony and its staves, and the mercy-seat;
36 the table, all its vessels, and the bread of the presence;
37 the pure candlestick, its lamps, the lamps of arrangement, and all its vessels, and the oil for the light.
38 And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the spice-perfume, and the covering of the opening of the tent;
39 the brazen altar and the brazen grate which it hath, its staves, and all its vessels, the laver and its base.
40 The hangings of the court, its pillars, and its sockets; and the covering for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pins; and all the vessels of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting;
41 the coloured clothes to minister in the sanctuary, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to act as priest in.
42 According to all that Jehovah hath commanded Moses, so have the sons of Israel done all the service;
43 and Moses seeth all the work, and lo, they have done it as Jehovah hath commanded; so they have done. And Moses doth bless them.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Exodus 39
Commentary on Exodus 39 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 39
Ex 39:1-43. Garments of the Priests.
1, 2. cloths of service—official robes. The ephod of the high priest, the robe of the ephod, the girdle of needlework, and the embroidered coat were all of fine linen; for on no material less delicate could such elaborate symbolical figures have been portrayed in embroidery, and all beautified with the same brilliant colors. (See on Ex 28:1-43).
3. cut the gold into wires to work it—that is, the metal was beaten with a hammer into thin plates, cut with scissors or some other instrument into long slips, then rounded into filaments or threads. "Cloth of golden tissue is not uncommon on the monuments, and specimens of it have been found rolled about mummies; but it is not easy to determine whether the gold thread was originally interwoven or subsequently inserted by the embroiderer" [Taylor].
30. a writing, like to the engravings of a signet—The seal-ring worn both by ancient and modern Egyptians on the little finger of the right hand, contained, inscribed on a cornelian or other precious stone, along with the owner's name, a religious sentiment or sacred symbol, intimating that he was the servant of God, or expressive of trust in Him. And it was to this practice the inscription on the high priest alludes (compare Joh 3:33).
34. the covering of rams' skin dyed red—(See on Ex 25:5). It was probably red morocco leather and "badgers' skins," rather "the skins of the tahash, supposed to be the dugong, or dolphin of the Red Sea, the skin of which is still used by the Arabs under the same appellation" [Goss].
43. Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the Lord had commanded—A formal inspection was made on the completion of the tabernacle, not only with a view to have the work transferred from the charge of the workmen, but to ascertain whether it corresponded with "the pattern." The result of a careful and minute survey showed that every plank, curtain, altar, and vase had been most accurately made of the form, and in the place designed by the Divine Architect—and Moses, in accepting it of their hands, thanked God for them, and begged Him to bless them.