Exodus 28:32

28:31-39 The robe of the ephod was under the ephod, and reached down to the knees, without sleeves. Aaron must minister in the garments appointed. We must serve the Lord with holy fear, as those who know they deserve to die. A golden plate was fixed on Aaron's forehead, engraven with Holiness to the Lord. Aaron was hereby reminded that God is holy, and that his priests must be holy, devoted to the Lord. This must appear in their forehead, in open profession of their relation to God. It must be engraven like the engravings of a signet; deep and durable; not painted so as to be washed off, but firm and lasting; such must our holiness to the Lord be. Christ is our High Priest; through him sins are forgiven to us, and not laid to our charge. Our persons, our doings, are pleasing to God upon the account of Christ, and not otherwise.

And there shall be a hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof,.... At the neck of it, for the high priest to put his head through when he put it on: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it; a large hem or selvage, perhaps of the same kind of woven stuff the robe itself was made of, and this was done to strengthen it: as it were the hole of an habergeon; a corslet or coat of mail: that it be not rent; when the high priest put it on; or through the weight of the ephod and the ouches of gold on the shoulder pieces of it, and the breastplate hanging down from thence; this may denote the strength and duration of Christ's righteousness, which is an everlasting one.

Verse 32. - An hole in the top of it . A mere circular hole for the head to go through, unaccompanied by a slit or longitudinal opening. In the midst of it . Midway between the two arm-holes. A binding of woven work round about the hole of it . This would strengthen the edge of the opening) and prevent it from tearing or fraying. The binding was probably sewn on after the frock was woven. As it were the hole of an habergeon . Linen corselets or habergeons have been found in Egypt. They were sometimes covered with metal scales, and were of the make here indicated. (See the author's History of Eg y pt, vol. 1. p. 446.) The word here used for "habergeon" ( takharah ) is Egyptian. Exodus 28:32

32 . a hole for the head , &c.] It was not open behind or in front: it had simply a hole at the top, and was thrown over the head in the manner of a jersey. woven work ] the work of the weaver ( Exodus 36:1 ). In ch. 39. these words are attached not to the ‘binding’ ( v. 23), but to the robe itself ( v. 22); and that is probably their original place here (after ‘of the ephod’ in v. 31). The binding was to keep the edge of the hole from fraying. a coat of mail ] Heb. taḥărâh , only here and in the "", Exodus 39:23 : Onk. שריון a coat of mail . No doubt, a linen corselet , the λινοθώρηξ of the Greeks ( Il. ii. 529), is what is meant; Herodotus (ii. 182, iii. 47) mentions two made in Egypt for Amâsis.

31-33. the robe of the ephod all of blue—It was the middle garment, under the ephod and above the coat. It had a hole through which the head was thrust, and was formed carefully of one piece, such as was the robe of Christ (Joh 19:23). The high priest's was of a sky-blue color. The binding at the neck was strongly woven, and it terminated below in a fringe, made of blue, purple, and scarlet tassels, in the form of a pomegranate, interspersed with small bells of gold, which tinkled as the wearer was in motion.

"And the opening of the head thereof shall be in the middle of it;" i.e., there was to be an opening in the middle of it to put the head through when it was put on; - "a hem shall be round the opening of it, weavers' work, like the opening of the habergeon shall it (the seam) be to it; it shall not be torn." By the habergeon (θώραξ), or coat-of-mail, we have to understand the linothoo'reex, the linen coat, such as was worn by Ajax for example (Il. 2, 529). Linen habergeons of this kind were made in Egypt in a highly artistic style (see Hengstenberg, Egypt, etc., pp. 141-2). In order that the mel might not be torn when it was put on, the opening for the head was to be made with a strong hem, which was to be of weavers' work; from which it follows as a matter of course that the robe was woven in one piece, and not made in several pieces and then sewed together; and this is expressly stated in Exodus 39:22 . Josephus and the Rabbins explain the words ארג מעשׂה (ἔργον ὑφαντόν) in this way, and observe at the same time that the mel had no sleeves, but only arm-holes.