Exodus 28:39

And thou shall embroider the coat of fine linen,.... Which was a distinct garment from the ephod, and from the robe of the ephod, and was the innermost of all; it was made of fine linen, curiously

And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, TO THE LORD.

The coat was a loose and large garment made with sleeves, worn under the ephod, reaching down to the feet, which was girt with a girdle, .

Exodus 28:39 And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre [of] fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle [of] needlework.Ver. 39. Embroider the coat.] See Revelation 1:13. Christ is clothed with such a robe, as king and counsellor of his Church.

5. THE INNER TUNIC OR “COAT.”(39) The garments hitherto described have been the outer garments. To these are now added the inner ones, of which there was but little to be said. They consisted of linen drawers (Exodus 28:42-43), a linen tunic or shirt, woven in a peculiar way, and, to confine the tunic, a girdle, which was to be of many colours (Exodus 39:29), and ornamented with embroidery. Thou shalt embroider.—It is generally agreed that this is a wrong rendering. Kalisch translates, “thou shalt weave.” Gesenius, “thou shalt work in chequer.” Canon Cook, “thou shalt weave in diaper work.” The word used, which is a rare one, probably designates some peculiar kind of weaving. The coat.—“Coat” is an unfortunate translation. The ketτneth (comp. Gr. χιτών) was a long white linen tunic or shirt, having tight-fitting sleeves, and reaching nearly to the feet. The sleeves must certainly have shown, as they were the only covering of the priest’s arms; and the lower part of the tunic probably showed below the “robe of the ephod.” 6. THE INNER GIRDLE. It appears from Exodus 39:29 that the girdle was to be “of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet,” like the ephod (Exodus 28:6). It was not, however, to be woven of these colours, but to have them worked into it with the needle. As it was worn immediately above the tunic and underneath the robe of the ephod (Leviticus 8:7), little, if any, of it could have been seen. Perhaps, however, the ends may have depended below the robe of the ephod.

39. The high priest’s tunic, turban, and sash. With vv. 39–42 compare (condensed) Exodus 39:27-29. the coat] the tunic. This was made of fine linen, the ‘work of the weaver’ (Exodus 39:27), woven in one piece. Josephus says (Ant. iii. 7. 2) that it reached down to the feet, fitted close to the body, and had tight sleeves: it had a narrow aperture about the neck, and was girt about the breast by a sash (see below). It would thus resemble a cassock or dressing-gown (see ill. of an ordinary tunic in DB. i. 624b). Linen, as a clean and cool material, was much prized in antiquity (cf. on Exodus 25:4); and was worn in particular by priests both in Egypt Hdt. ii. 37; Wilk.-B. ii. 159), and also often elsewhere (see Di.). chequer work] what exactly is denoted by shibbçẓ ? is uncertain; but not improbably something of the nature of a ‘check,’ obtained by the weaver alternating threads of different colours in warp and woof; or, if the threads were all of the same colour, quilted or honey-combed work (cf. Ges. Thes. 1356; Kennedy, EB. iv. 5288). The tunic was only the ‘work of the (ordinary) weaver’ (Exodus 39:27), which was not as elaborate as the two other kinds described on Exodus 26:1; but it was something more than perfectly plain weaving. Work of the same kind is mentioned also in v. 4, Psalms 45:13 (‘chequer-work of gold (-thread),’ but the text is doubtful); and, of plaited settings of gems (‘rosettes’), vv. 11, 13, 14, 20, Exodus 39:6; Exodus 39:13; Exodus 39:16; Exodus 39:18†. a turban] Heb. miẓ ?népheth, something wound round (the cogn. verb occurs in Isaiah 22:5; see RVm.), i.e. what we call not a ‘mitre,’ but a turban. It was of fine white linen (v. 39); and probably was folded many times round the head: the Talm. says that it contained 16 cubits (= 24 ft.) length of material. Except in Ezekiel 21:26 [Heb. 31], where it denotes the royal turban of the Jewish king (Zedekiah), the word occurs only here and elsewhere in P of the high priest’s turban. See further (esp. with reference to Jos.’s statements) the very full art. Mitre in EB. RVm. silk for shçsh, as in AV. of Proverbs 31:22. The rend. is not probable: though ‘white silk’ was used for shçsh by Luther. a girdle] a sash; Heb. ’abnçṭ ?, only of the sash worn by the priests, and (Isaiah 22:21) by a high officer of state. It was made (see the next note) of richly coloured material: Jos. (Ant. iii. 7. 2) adds that it was four fingers broad, wound twice round the body, beginning at the breast, and tied in front in a bow: the ends reached the ankles, but while the priest was officiating, they were thrown over the left shoulder so as not to be in his way (EB. ii. 1735; see ill. in Braun, de vest. sacerdd. opp. to p. 404). According to the Talmud, it was 32 cubits (48 ft.) long.

39. The coat of fine linen — This appears to have been an undergarment, or body coat, made of the same material as the mitre, namely, of fine linen, to be worn next to the skin, and fitted closely