Exodus 28:37

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 thou shalt put it on a blue lace,.... The plate of gold: that it may be upon the mitre; either the plate or the lace; the lace is the nearest antecedent, but it seems by what follows it should be the plate: upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be; the plate of gold; the mitre was of linen, a wrap of linen about the head, and was like a turban on it, in the top of it; it did not come down low upon the forehead, but left that bare for this plate of gold to be put upon it. Jarchi seems to understand all this of the lace, by comparing it with the following verse, and Exodus 39:31 as if the plate was represented as in the lace, and the lace upon the plate and upon the mitre above; all which he thinks is to be reconciled by observing, that the plate had three holes, and in every hole was a blue lace, and each lace was divided into two parts, so that there were six in all, two laces at each end of the plate, and two in the middle, by which they were fastened upon the top of the mitre, by which it was kept from falling off; and of this middle lace, he thinks, the text is to be understood. The Targum of Jonathan observes, that this plate was put on a blue lace, to make atonement for the impudent.

(37) Thou shalt put it on a blue lace. —Compare Exodus 39:31 , where we read “they tied unto it a lace of blue.” Probably the two ends of the plate were perforated, and a blue lace or cord passed through the holes and tied to the plate, which was then put in front of the turban and kept in place by the two cords being tied together at the back of the head. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary28:31-39 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.Barnes' Notes on the BibleA blue lace - The plate was fastened upon a blue band or fillet, so tied round the mitre as to show the plate in front.The mitre - A twisted band of linen Exodus 28:39 coiled into a cap, to which the name mitre, in its original sense, closely answers, but which, in modern usage, would rather be called a turban.Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary37. mitre—crown-like cap for the head, not covering the entire head, but adhering closely to it, composed of fine linen. The Scripture has not described its form, but from Josephus we may gather that it was conical in shape, as he distinguishes the mitres of the common priests by saying that they were not conical—that it was encircled with swathes of blue embroidered, and that it was covered by one piece of fine linen to hide the seams.Matthew Poole's Commentary The words may be rendered, thou shalt put it on, or, bind it, as the Vulgate renders it, with a blue lace, to wit, upon the mitre, as it follows. Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd thou shalt put it on a blue lace,....

A blue lace - The plate was fastened upon a blue band or fillet, so tied round the mitre as to show the plate in front. The mitre - A twisted band of linen Exodus 28:39 coiled into a cap, to which the name mitre, in its original sense, closely answers, but which, in modern usage, would rather be called a turban.

Verse 37. - Thou shalt put it on a blue lace . In Exodus 39:31 , it is explained that the blue lace, or ribbon, was "tied to it," probably at either end. That it may be upon the mitre - i.e. , "that it may be kept in place, and not slip from its position on the mitre." Exodus 28:37

37 . a lace of blue ] a lace, or band, of the violet material mentioned in Exodus 25:4 . This was apparently tied round the turban, somewhat ‘above’ its lower edge (cf. Exodus 39:31 ), in the manner of a ‘diadem’ ( Exodus 29:6 n. ),—in the proper sense of the word, something bound round 1[209],—so that the plate attached to it might appear conspicuously in front. [209] The ‘diadem’ was properly a blue silk band, spotted with white, 2 in. wide, tied round the lower part of the tall stiff cap worn by the Persian kings, and fastened in a knot behind, with the ends hanging down (see ill. in Rawl. Anc. Mon. iii. 204, n. 17; and cf. Xen. Cyr. viii. 3, 13). the mitre ] the turban (RVm.): see on v. 39.

37. mitre—crown-like cap for the head, not covering the entire head, but adhering closely to it, composed of fine linen. The Scripture has not described its form, but from Josephus we may gather that it was conical in shape, as he distinguishes the mitres of the common priests by saying that they were not conical—that it was encircled with swathes of blue embroidered, and that it was covered by one piece of fine linen to hide the seams.

The fourth article of the high priest's dress was the diadem upon his head-band. ציץ, from צוּץ to shine, a plate of pure gold, on which the words ליהוה קדשׁ, "holiness (i.e., all holy) to Jehovah," were engraved, and which is called the "crown of holiness" in consequence, in Exodus 39:30 . This gold plate was to be placed upon a riband of dark-blue purple, or, as it is expressed in Exodus 39:31 , a riband of this kind was to be fastened to it, to attach it to the head-band, "upon the fore-front (as in Exodus 26:9 ) of the head-band," from above ( Exodus 39:31 ); by which we are to understand that the gold plate was placed above the lower coil of the head-band and over Aaron's forehead. The word מצנפת, from צנף to twist or coil ( Isaiah 22:18 ), is only applied to the head-band or turban of the high priest, which was made of simply byssus ( Exodus 28:39 ), and, judging from the etymology, was in the shape of a turban. This is all that can be determined with reference to its form. The diadem was the only thing about it that had any special significance. This was to be placed above (upon) Aaron's forehead, that he "might bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel sanctified, with regard to all their holy gifts,...as an acceptableness for them before Jehovah." עון נשׁא: to bear iniquity (sin) and take it away; in other words, to exterminate it by taking it upon one's self.