Exodus 28:42

And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness,.... Or "the flesh of nakedness" (q), that part of the body which ought not to be naked and exposed to view, and which, when it is,

And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach: Linen breeches - drawers, which encompassed the loins, and reached haft-way down the thighs.

Including both. Compare .

(42) Thou shalt make them linen breeches.—Rather, linen drawers. Drawers reaching from the waist to a little above the knee were the sole garment of many in Egypt, a necessary garment of all. Their object was as here stated.

Verse 42. Linen breeches] This command had in view the necessity of purity and decency in every part of the Divine worship, in opposition to the shocking indecency of the pagan worship in general, in which the priests often ministered naked, as in the sacrifices to Bacchus, c. ON the garments of the high priest some general reflections have already been made see Exodus 28:2: See Clarke on Exodus 28:2. and to what is there said it may be just necessary to add, that there can be no doubt of their being all emblematical of spiritual things; but of which, and in what way, no man can positively say. Many commentators have entered largely into this subject, and have made many edifying and useful remarks; but where no clue is given to guide us through a labyrinth in which the possibility of mistake is every moment occurring, it is much better not to attempt to be wise above what is written; for however edifying the reflections may be which are made on these subjects, yet, as they are not clearly deducible from the text itself, they can give little satisfaction to a sincere inquirer after truth. These garments were all made for glory and for beauty, and this is the general account that it has pleased God to give of their nature and design: in a general sense, they represented, 1. The necessity of purity in every part of the Divine worship; 2. The necessity of an atonement for sin; 3. The purity and justice of the Divine Majesty; and, 4. The absolute necessity of that holiness without which none can see the Lord. And these subjects should be diligently kept in view by all those who wish to profit by the curious and interesting details given in this chapter. In the notes these topics are frequently introduced.

42, 43. The linen drawers, to be worn by the priests during their ministrations in the Tent of meeting or at the altar. A dictate of reverence and modesty. The layman was forbidden to go up by steps to the altar, lest he should expose his person upon it (Exodus 20:26): for the priests, who did go up upon the altar (see on Exodus 27:5), and were otherwise frequently engaged in or near the Tent of meeting, special garments were provided, in order to prevent the same unseemliness. Among the Romans the Flamen Dialis similarly (Gell. x. 15), ‘tunicam intimam nisi in locis tectis non exuit, ne sub caelo tanquam sub oculis Jovis nudus sit’ (cited by Kn.). breeches] Only in this connexion (Exodus 39:28, Leviticus 6:10; Leviticus 16:4; and in Ezek.’s regulations for the priesthood, Ezekiel 44:18†): from the description, evidently what we should call either loincloths or drawers. LXX. περισκελῆ; Jos. (Ant. iii. 7. 1) διάζωμαπερὶτὰαἰδοῖα.

42. Linen breeches — The Hebrew is from a root which means to conceal.