The Functions of the High Priest’s Garments Ephod Most important, each one of the High Priest’s “garments” is said to function in a specific way whenever the High Priest enters the sanctuary “wearing” it. The High Priest is said to “wear” them only when he enters the sanctuary interior, which he is commanded to do twice daily, morning and evening. Their weight and the manner in which they are placed on the High Priest’s body render them neither practical nor comfortable. In addition to fabrics, they contain gold and precious stones. Their shape and design show that they are not intended to provide protection from the elements or to fulfill the requirements of modesty. The four garments peculiar to the High Priest are unlike any normal articles of clothing. Further, the fabric portions of the garments were made of the same materials, and fashioned in the same manner, as the fabrics in the miškān itself, with those used to make the High Priest’s garments identical to those used in the most sacred sections of the miškān. The list of materials needed for the sanctuary (Exodus 25:1–7) includes the precious stones required for the ephod and breastplate.
Indeed, they are explicitly designated for use לְשָׁרֵת בַּקֹּדֶש “when serving in the sanctuary” (Exodus 28:43 29:30 etc.). The fact that the garments are included in the instructions for the building of the miškān and its furnishings and in the account of their manufacture indicates that they were not thought of as items belonging to the priest but rather as sacred equipment, appertaining to the miškān and only used there.
#Image of a bible cloak full
Outside of the Torah, non-priestly texts occasionally mention an ephod (1 Samuel 2:28 14:3 21:10 23:6,9: Judges 8:27 17:5 18:14–20 etc.), as well as the Urim (1 Sam 28:6) and Thumim (Septuagint to 1 Samuel 14:41), but the full list is peculiar to P, and so is the insistence that certain ones are worn by the High Priest alone. They are not mentioned in the other Torah sources, although one feature, the enigmatic Urim and Thummim, is mentioned in Moses’ blessing of the tribe of Levi (Deut 33:8) – probably a part of the J source.
Together with the entire account of the miškān, all of the references to the priests’ garments belong to the narrative contained in the Priestly document, or P. All successive High Priests are commanded to wear them as well (Exodus 29:30 see Leviticus 21:10). Aaron wears them until his death, transferring them to his son and successor Eleazar immediately before he dies (Numbers 20:25–28). Moses first places them upon Aaron at the consecration of the priests (Leviticus 8:7–9). They alone are called בִּגְדֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ, the holy garments. They are described again in detail in Pekudei (Exodus 39:1–31), where they conclude the account of the actual manufacture of the components of the miškān (“Tabernacle”) that is said to have accompanied the Israelites through the wilderness.įour of these garments are worn exclusively by the High Priest.
The elaborate garments worn by the priests figure prominently in the Torah portion Tetzaveh, filling the entirety of Exodus 28.
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