the cerulean mussel · noun, common feminine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Exodus 28:4 And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and…
Exodus 28:28 And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious g…
Exodus 39:22-26 And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.
Leviticus 8:7 And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him w…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Exodus 28:31-39
Here is, 1. Direction given concerning the robe of the ephod, Exo 28:31-35. This was next under the ephod, and reached down to the knees, was without sleeves, and was put on over their head, having holes on the sides to put the arms through, or, as Maimonides describes it, was not sewed together on the sides at all. The hole on the top, through which the head was put, was carefully bound about, that it might not tear in the putting on. In religious worship, care must be taken to prevent every thing that may distract the minds of the worshippers, or render the service despicable. Round the skirts of the robe were hung golden bells, and the representations of pomegranates made of yarn of diver…
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.
Adam Clarke on Exodus 28:31
The robe of the ephod - See Clarke on Exo 28:4 (note). From this description, and from what Josephus says, who must have been well acquainted with its form, we find that this meil, or robe, was one long straight piece of blue cloth, with a hole or opening in the center for the head to pass through; which hole or opening was bound about, that it might not be rent in putting it on or taking it off, Exo 28:32.
John Gill on Exodus 28:31
And thou shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. This was a different garment from the ephod, was longer than that, and was under it, and of different materials: that was made of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine linen; this only of linen, and wholly of a blue colour, without any curious figures upon it, as were on that: in Exodus 39:22, it is said to be of woven work; it was woven from top to bottom, and had no seam in it: so Josephus says (b),"the coat did not consist of two parts, nor was it sewed upon the shoulder, nor on the side, but was one long piece of woven work;''and such was the seamless coat our Lord Jesus Christ wore, literally understood, John 19:23 and both were an…
The Church Fathers
And when Aaron has begun to carry out his priestly ministry, his voice will be heard (tinkling), as he enters the sanctuary in the presence of the Lord and when he goes out, so that he does not die. The Scripture says that upon entering and leaving the voice of the bells will be heard, and puts so much emphasis on this detail, that it comes to say: so that it does not die. He wanted to signify that in the priestly dress there are certain data that certainly allude to the Church through these bells, so that the behavior that the priest should observe is known, as the Apostle says: Show yourself an example of good works for all. (Tt 2,7) Or that other text: What you have heard me in the presence of many witnesses confide everything to faithful men and to those who are capable, in turn, of teaching it to others (2Tm 2,2). Is there something else? Whatever that is, it's something big. When entering and leaving, it is equivalent to (the voice) "of the one that comes out" and "of the one who enters". The voice is by the tinkle, because, being bells, it is more a tinkle than a voice. 120 (Ex 28.36-38). And you will make a sheet of pure gold and engrave on it the shape of a seal, the holiness of the Lord. And you will put it on a double hyacinth twine cord, and it will be on the miter; It will be in the front of the miter. And it shall be on the forehead of Aaron, for Aaron shall blot out the sins concerning holy things, whatsoever things the children of Israel shall sanctify, to every offering of holy things that they do. I do not see how "the holiness of the Lord" can be engraved on a sheet, unless it is done through letters. Some say they were four Hebrew letters, which, it is believed, formed and still form the ineffable name of God, which the Greeks call tetragrámmaton. But whatever those letters may be or whatever they may be, as I said, I would be inclined to think that only the sanctity or sanctification of the Lord could have been formed with golden letters if the Greek word agiasma is to be translated. The text says that the priest clears the sins related to holy things: whatever the children of Israel will sanctify, every offering of the holy things they do. I believe that it refers to the sacrifices they offer for their sins. We should not think that it refers to holy men, but to holy things, because the things that are offered for sins are holy.…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Blue — Generally associated with purple (Ex. 25:4; 26:1, 31, 36, etc.). It is supposed to have been obtained from a shellfish of the Mediterranean, the Helix ianthina of Linnaeus. The robe of the high…
Carve — The arts of engraving and carving were much practised among the Jews. They were practised in connection with the construction of the tabernacle and the temple (Ex. 31:2, 5; 35:33; 1 Kings 6:18, 35;…
Carving — The arts of carving and engraving were much in request in the construction of both the tabernacle and the temple. (Exodus 31:5; 35:33; 1 Kings 6:18,35; Psalms 74:6) as well as in the ornamentation of…
Cloak — An upper garment, “an exterior tunic, wide and long, reaching to the ankles, but without sleeves” (Isa. 59:17). The word so rendered is elsewhere rendered “robe” or “mantle.” It was worn by the high…
Colour — The subject of colours holds an important place in the Scriptures. White occurs as the translation of various Hebrew words. It is applied to milk (Gen. 49:12), manna (Ex. 16:31), snow (Isa. 1:18),…
Embroider — The art of embroidery was known to the Jews (Ex. 26:36; 35:35; 38:23; Judg. 5:30; Ps. 45:14). The skill of the women in this art was seen in the preparation of the sacerdotal robes of the high priest…
Ephod — Something girt, a sacred vestment worn originally by the high priest (Ex. 28:4), afterwards by the ordinary priest (1 Sam. 22:18), and characteristic of his office (1 Sam. 2:18, 28; 14:3). It was…
Hannah — Favour, grace, one of the wives of Elkanah the Levite, and the mother of Samuel (1 Sam. 1; 2). Her home was at Ramathaim-zophim, whence she was wont every year to go to Shiloh, where the tabernacle…
High priest — Aaron was the first who was solemnly set apart to this office (Ex. 29:7; 30:23; Lev. 8:12). He wore a peculiar dress, which on his death passed to his successor in office (Ex. 29:29, 30). Besides…
Mantle — (1.) Heb. ‘addereth, a large over-garment. This word is used of Elijah’s mantle (1 Kings 19:13, 19; 2 Kings 2:8, 13, etc.), which was probably a sheepskin. It appears to have been his only garment, a…
And thou shalt make the robe. This robe was above the oblong coat between that and the ephod; and from its lower edge hung the bells and pomegranates alternately. Although there was no smell in the pomegranates, [164] yet the type suggested this to the eyes; as if God required in that garment a sweet smell as well as a sound; and surely we who stink through the foulness of our sins, are only a sweet smell unto God as being covered with the garment of Christ. But God would have the bells give a sound; because the garment of Christ does not procure favor for us, except by the sound of the Gospel, which diffuses the sweet savor of the Head amongst all the members. In this allegory there is noth…
The third portion of Aaron's official dress was the robe. To the ephod there also belonged a מעיל (from מעל to cover or envelope), an upper garment, called the robe of the ephod, the robe belonging to the ephod, "all of dark-blue purple" (hyacinth), by which we are not to imagine a cloak or mantle, but a long, closely-fitting coat; not reaching to the feet, however, as the Alex. rendering ποδήρης might lead us to suppose, but only to the knees, so as to show the coat (Exo 28:39) which was underneath.
Exo 28:32
"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…
The robe worn under the ephod is described. The bells signaled that the priest was still moving and had not been struck dead by God’s presence (see Lev 10:1-2). Jewish tradition tells us that the priest had a cord tied to his ankle so that if he died in the Holy Place (Exod 28:35), his body could be dragged out.
Rashi on Exodus 28:31
את מעיל האפוד THE ROBE OF THE EPHOD — i. e. the robe over which the ephod was placed to serve the purpose of a girdle.
כליל תכלת signifies THE WHOLE OF IT BLUE PURPLE, meaning that there should be no other material mixed with it (Yoma 71b).
Colors · furnishing, and priestly vestments and functions, as types and shadows of the atonement — furnishing, and priestly vestments and functions, as types and shadows of the atonement
Ephod · . — .
Ephod, The · For the high priest: Worn over the robe — For the high priest: Worn over the robe
High Priest, The · Special garments of: Robe of the ephod — Special garments of: Robe of the ephod
Priest · .Vestments of — .Vestments of
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
