Exodus 28ESV
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Exodus28

English Standard Version

1Then to you your , and his with him, from the of , to serve me as and , and , and .

2And you shall for your , for and for .

3You shall to the , I have with a of , that they to him for my .

4 are the that they shall : a , an , a , a of , a , and a . They shall for your and his to serve me as .

5They shall , and and yarns, and .

6And they shall the of , of and and yarns, and of , .

7It shall have to its , so that it may be .

8And the on it shall be like it and be of one piece with , of , and and yarns, and .

9You shall , and on them the of the of ,

10 of their on the , and the of the on the , in the order of their .

11As a , so shall you the with the of the of . You shall them in of .

12And you shall the on the of the , as of for the of . And shall their the Lord on his for .

13You shall settings of ,

14 of , like ; and you shall the to the .

15You shall a of , in . In the of the you shall it—of , and and yarns, and shall you it.

16It shall be and , a its and a its .

17You shall in it of . A of , , and shall be the ;

18and the an , a , and a ;

19and the a , an , and an ;

20and the a , an , and a . They shall be in .

21There shall be with their according to the of the of . They shall be like , its , for the .

22You shall for the like , of .

23And you shall for the of , and the the of the .

24And you shall the of in the at the of the .

25The of the you shall to the settings of , and so it in to the of the .

26You shall of , and them at the of the , on its to the .

27And you shall of , and them in to the part of the of the , its the of the .

28And they shall the by its to the of the with a of , so that it may lie on the of the , so that the shall the .

29So shall the of the of in the of on his , when he into the , to bring them to the Lord.

30And in the of you shall the and the , and they shall be on , when he in the Lord. Thus shall the of the of on his the Lord .

31You shall the of the of .

32It shall have an for the in the of it, with a the , like the in a , so that it may .

33On its you shall of and and yarns, its , with of them,

34a and a , a and a , the of the .

35And it shall be when he , and its shall be when he into the the Lord, and when he , so that he does .

36You shall a of and it, like the of a , to the Lord.

37And you shall it the a of . It shall be on the of the .

38It shall be , and shall any from the that the of as their . It shall be on his , that they may be the Lord.

39You shall the in of fine , and you shall a of fine , and you shall a with .

40For you shall and and . You shall them for and .

41And you shall them on your , and on his with him, and shall them and them and them, that they may serve me as .

42You shall for them to their naked . They shall from the to the ;

43and they shall be on and on his when they go the of when they come the to in the , they and . This shall be a for him and for his him.

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Exodus 28.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: Aaron and his sons set apart for the priest's office, Their garments. (1–5). The ephod. (6–14). The breastplate, The Urim and Thummim. (15–30). The robe of the ephod, The plate of the mitre. (31–39). The garments for Aaron's sons. (40–43).

vv1-5

Hitherto the heads of families were the priests, and offered sacrifices; but now this office was confined to the family of Aaron only; and so continued till the gospel dispensation. The holy garments not only distinguished the priests from the people, but were emblems of that holy conduct which should ever be the glory and beauty, the mark of the ministers of religion, without which their persons and ministrations will be had in contempt. They also typified the glory of the Divine majesty, and the beauty of complete holiness, which rendered Jesus Christ the great High Priest. But our adorning under the gospel, is not to be of gold and costly array, but the garments of salvation, the robe of righteousness.

vv6-14

This richly-wrought ephod was the outmost garment of the high priest; plain linen ephods were worn by the inferior priests. It was a short coat without sleeves, fastened close to the body with a girdle. The shoulder-pieces were buttoned together with precious stones set in gold, one on each shoulder, on which were engraven the names of the children of Israel. Thus Christ, our High Priest, presents his people before the Lord for a memorial. As Christ's coat had no seam, but was woven from the top throughout, so it was with the ephod. The golden bells on this ephod, by their preciousness and pleasant sound, well represent the good profession that the saints make, and the pomegranates the fruit they bring forth.

vv15-30

The chief ornament of the high priest, was the breastplate, a rich piece of cloth, curiously worked. The name of each tribe was graven in a precious stone, fixed in the breastplate, to signify how precious, in God's sight, believers are, and how honourable. How small and poor soever the tribe was, it was as a precious stone in the breastplate of the high priest; thus are all the saints dear to Christ, however men esteem them. The high priest had the names of the tribes, both on his shoulders and on his breast, which reminds us of the power and the love with which our Lord Jesus pleads for those that are his. He not only bears them up in his arms with almighty strength, but he carries them in his bosom with tender affection. What comfort is this to us in all our addresses to God! The Urim and Thummim, by which the will of God was made known in doubtful cases, were put in this breastplate. Urim and Thummim signify light and integrity. There are many conjectures what these were; the most probable opinion seems to be, that they were the twelve precious stones in the high priest's breastplate. Now, Christ is our Oracle. By him God, in these last days, makes known himself and his mind to us, Heb 1:1, 2; Joh 1:18. He is the true Light, the faithful Witness, the Truth itself, and from him we receive the Spirit of Truth, who leads into all truth.

Cross References

Exodus 28
v1Hebrews 5:1-5thematic

Aaron is chosen by God from among men as a priest, fulfilling the divine vocation of Christ.

Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB

v30Numbers 27:21thematic

Explicit instructions for Joshua to consult the judgment of Urim before the Lord.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB

v8Revelation 1:13thematic

The Son of Man is depicted girt about the paps with a golden girdle like the high priest.

Supported by JFB

v12Hebrews 7:25-28typology

Aaron bearing the names on his shoulders typifies Christ representing His people before the Father.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole

v30Leviticus 8:8thematic

The fulfillment of Moses putting the breastplate with the Urim and Thummim on Aaron.

Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB

v32John 19:23typology

Christ's seamless coat parallels the woven, unrent collar of the high priest's robe.

Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB

v42Exodus 20:26thematic

Directly explains the law requiring proper attire to cover nakedness and prevent exposure before God's altar.

v3Exodus 31:3-6thematic

Bezaleel and other artisans are filled with the spirit of wisdom for the tabernacle workmanship.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v17Ezekiel 28:13thematic

The list of precious stones in Eden's covering closely mirrors the stones of the breastplate.

Supported by JFB

The twelve precious stones of the breastplate correspond to the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v35Leviticus 16:2thematic

Warning of death regarding entering the holy place without following prescribed priestly regulations.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole

v36Leviticus 8:9thematic

The placement of the golden plate, the holy crown, upon the mitre.

Supported by Matthew Henry, John Calvin

v38Numbers 18:1thematic

Aaron's house bearing the iniquity of the sanctuary and priesthood.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole

v42Ezekiel 44:18thematic

Parallels the specific requirement for linen breeches and garments for priests when ministering in the sanctuary.

Supported by JFB

v42Leviticus 16:4thematic

Specifies the High Priest wearing the linen breeches on the solemn Day of Atonement.

v42Exodus 39:28thematic

Records the actual crafting of these fine linen breeches for Aaron and his sons.

v43Leviticus 22:9thematic

Warns priests to keep God's ordinances lest they bear sin and die for profaning holy things.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v1Leviticus 8:2thematic

The execution of God's command to gather Aaron, his sons, and the holy garments for consecration.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v12Exodus 39:6thematic

The fulfillment of engraving and setting the onyx stones for the shoulders of the ephod.

Supported by JFB

v15Exodus 39:8-21thematic

The detailed execution of the construction of the breastplate of judgment by the skilled craftsmen.

Supported by JFB

v29Exodus 28:12thematic

Parallel bearing of Israel's names on shoulders and heart for a memorial.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole

v29Hebrews 9:24typology

Christ enters the true holy place to appear in the presence of God for us.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole

v30Deuteronomy 33:8thematic

Moses blesses Levi with the possession of the Thummim and Urim.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v40Exodus 28:2thematic

Repeats the standard of garments made for glory and for beauty.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB

v41Leviticus 8:13thematic

Records the historical fulfillment of Moses clothing and consecrating Aaron's sons as commanded.

v43Exodus 30:21thematic

Repeats the solemn warning to wash and prepare properly 'that they die not' as a perpetual statute.

v43Numbers 18:22thematic

Reinforces the lethal consequence of unauthorized near approach, bearing iniquity, and dying.

v11 Samuel 2:28thematic

God choosing the house of Aaron out of all the tribes of Israel to wear the ephod.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v2Isaiah 61:10typology

The priestly garments for beauty and glory represent being clothed with the garments of salvation.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v15Exodus 28:29thematic

Aaron bearing the names of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart.

Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB

v15Exodus 28:30thematic

The placement of the Urim and Thummim inside the breastplate of judgment.

Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB

v30Ezra 2:63thematic

Historical loss of the Urim and Thummim during the post-exilic period.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v301 Samuel 23:9-12thematic

David uses the ephod to consult God, showing the Urim and Thummim in action.

Supported by JFB

v36Exodus 39:30thematic

The manufacturing of the holy crown plate engraved with 'Holiness to the Lord'.

Supported by John Calvin

v1Numbers 16:9-11contrast

The rebellion of Korah challenging the exclusive Aaronic priesthood established in this chapter.

Supported by JFB

v6Exodus 39:2thematic

The practical manufacture of the ephod using gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine linen.

Supported by JFB