8 and doth put on him the breastplate, and doth put unto the breastplate the Lights and the Perfections,
and the Tirshatha saith to them, that they eat not of the most holy things till the standing up of a priest with Urim and with Thummim.
`And thou hast made a breastplate of judgment, work of a designer; according to the work of the ephod thou dost make it; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen thou dost make it; it is square, doubled, a span its length, and a span its breadth. `And thou hast set in it settings of stone, four rows of stone; a row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle `is' the first row; and the second row `is' emerald, sapphire, and diamond; and the third row `is' opal, agate, and amethyst; and the fourth row `is' beryl, and onyx, and jasper; embroidered with gold are they in their settings, and the stones are according to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve, according to their names, openings of a signet, each by his name are they for the twelve tribes. `And thou hast made on the breastplate wreathed chains, work of thick bands, of pure gold; and thou hast made on the breastplate two rings of gold, and hast put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate; and thou hast put the two thick bands of gold on the two rings at the ends of the breastplate; and the two ends of the two thick bands thou dost put on the two embroidered things, and thou hast put `them' on the shoulders of the ephod over-against its face. `And thou hast made two rings of gold, and hast set them on the two ends of the breastplate, on its border, which `is' over-against the ephod within; and thou hast made two rings of gold, and hast put them on the two shoulders of the ephod, beneath, over-against its front, over-against its joining, above the girdle of the ephod, 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 the ephod. `And Aaron hath borne the names of the sons of Israel in the breastplate of judgment, on his heart, in his going in unto the sanctuary, for a memorial before Jehovah continually. `And thou hast put unto the breastplate of judgment the Lights and the Perfections, and they have been on the heart of Aaron, in his going in before Jehovah, and Aaron hath borne the judgment of the sons of Israel on his heart before Jehovah continually.
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; it hath been square; double they have made the breastplate, a span its length, and a span its breadth, doubled. And they fill in it four rows of stones; a row of a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle `is' the one row; and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row an opal, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper -- set, embroidered `with' gold, in their settings. 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. And they make on the breastplate wreathed chains, work of thick bands, of pure gold; 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, and they put the two thick bands of gold on the two rings on the ends of the breastplate; 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. 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; 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; 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.
Set me as a seal on thy heart, as a seal on thine arm, For strong as death is love, Sharp as Sheol is jealousy, Its burnings `are' burnings of fire, a flame of Jah!
And He putteth on righteousness as a breastplate, And an helmet of salvation on His head, And He putteth on garments of vengeance `for' clothing, And is covered, as `with' an upper-robe, `with' zeal.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Leviticus 8
Commentary on Leviticus 8 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 8
Le 8:1-36. Moses Consecrates Aaron and His Sons.
2. Take Aaron and his sons—The consecration of Aaron and his sons had been ordered long before (Ex 29:1-46), but it is now described with all the details of the ceremonial, as it was gone through after the tabernacle was completed and the regulations for the various sacrifices enacted.
3-5. gather thou all the congregation together, &c.—It was manifestly expedient for the Israelitish people to be satisfied that Aaron's appointment to the high dignity of the priesthood was not a personal intrusion, nor a family arrangement between him and Moses; and nothing, therefore, could be a more prudent or necessary measure, for impressing a profound conviction of the divine origin and authority of the priestly institution, than to summon a general assembly of the people, and in their presence perform the solemn ceremonies of inauguration, which had been prescribed by divine authority.
6. Moses … washed them with water—At consecration they were subjected to entire ablution, though on ordinary occasions they were required, before entering on their duties, only to wash their hands and feet. This symbolical ablution was designed to teach them the necessity of inward purity, and the imperative obligation on those who bore the vessels and conducted the services of the sanctuary to be holy.
7-9. he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle—The splendor of the official vestments, together with the gorgeous tiara of the high priest, was intended, doubtless, in the first instance, to produce in the minds of the people a high respect for the ministers of religion; and in the next, from the predominant use of linen, to inculcate upon Aaron and his sons the duty of maintaining unspotted righteousness in their characters and lives.
10-12. took the anointing oil, &c.—which was designed to intimate that persons who acted as leaders in the solemn services of worship should have the unction of the Holy One both in His gifts and graces.
14-17. brought the bullock for the sin offering, &c.—a timely expression of their sense of unworthiness—a public and solemn confession of their personal sins and a transference of their guilt to the typical victim.
18-21. brought the ram, &c.—as a token of their entire dedication to the service of God.
22-30. brought the other ram,—&c. After the sin offering and burnt offering had been presented on their behalf, this was their peace offering, by which they declared the pleasure which they felt in entering upon the service of God and being brought into close communion with Him as the ministers of His sanctuary, together with their confident reliance on His grace to help them in all their sacred duties.
33. ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, &c.—After all these preliminaries, they had still to undergo a week's probation in the court of the tabernacle before they obtained permission to enter into the interior of the sacred building. During the whole of that period the same sacrificial rites were observed as on the first day, and they were expressly admonished that the smallest breach of any of the appointed observances would lead to the certain forfeiture of their lives [Le 8:35].