Keluaran 28:40-42

28:40 “For Aaron’s sons you are to make tunics, sashes, and headbands ¹  for glory and for beauty.

28:41 “You are to clothe them – your brother Aaron and his sons with him – and anoint them ²  and ordain them ³  and set them apart as holy, ⁴  so that they may minister as my priests. 28:42 Make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked bodies; ⁵  they must cover ⁶  from the waist to the thighs.

Keluaran 28:1

The Clothing of the Priests

28:1 ⁷ “And you, bring near ⁸  to you your brother Aaron and his sons with him from among the Israelites, so that they may minister as my priests ⁹  – Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.

1 Samuel 22:18

22:18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests. He killed on that day eighty-five ¹⁰  men who wore the linen ephod.

1 Samuel 22:1

David Goes to Adullam and Mizpah

22:1 So David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s family ¹¹  learned about it, they went down there to him.

1 Samuel 15:27

15:27 When Samuel turned to leave, Saul ¹²  grabbed the edge of his robe and it tore.

Nehemia 12:24-26

12:24 And the leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua son of Kadmiel, and their colleagues, who stood opposite them to offer praise and thanks, one contingent corresponding to the other, as specified by ¹³  David the man of God.

12:25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers who were guarding the storerooms at the gates. 12:26 These all served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priestly scribe. ¹⁴ 

[28:40]  ¹ sn This refers to a band of linen wrapped around the head, forming something like a brimless convex cap, resembling something like a half egg. It refers to the headgear of ordinary priests only (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 310-11).

[28:41]  ² sn The instructions in this verse anticipate chap. 29, as well as the ordination ceremony described in Lev 8 and 9. The anointing of Aaron is specifically required in the Law, for he is to be the High Priest. The expression “ordain them” might also be translated as “install them” or “consecrate them”; it literally reads “and fill their hands,” an expression for the consecration offering for priesthood in Lev 8:33. The final instruction to sanctify them will involve the ritual of the atoning sacrifices to make the priests acceptable in the sanctuary.

[28:41]  ³ tn Heb “fill their hand.” As a result of this installation ceremony they will be officially designated for the work. It seems likely that the concept derives from the notion of putting the priestly responsibilities under their control (i.e., “filling their hands” with work). See note on the phrase “ordained seven days” in Lev 8:33.

[28:41]  ⁴ tn Traditionally “sanctify them” (KJV, ASV).

[28:42]  ⁵ tn Heb “naked flesh” (so NAB, NRSV); KJV “nakedness.”

[28:42]  ⁶ tn Heb “be.”

[28:1]  ⁷ sn Some modern scholars find this and the next chapter too elaborate for the wilderness experience. To most of them this reflects the later Zadokite priesthood of the writer’s (P’s) day that was referred to Mosaic legislation for authentication. But there is no compelling reason why this should be late; it is put late because it is assumed to be P, and that is assumed to be late. But both assumptions are unwarranted. This lengthy chapter could be divided this way: instructions for preparing the garments (1-5), details of the apparel (6-39), and a warning against deviating from these (40-43). The subject matter of the first part is that God requires that his chosen ministers reflect his holy nature; the point of the second part is that God requires his ministers to be prepared to fulfill the tasks of the ministry, and the subject matter of the third part is that God warns all his ministers to safeguard the holiness of their service.

[28:1]  ⁸ tn The verb is the Hiphil imperative of the root קָרַב (qarav, “to draw near”). In the present stem the word has religious significance, namely, to present something to God, like an offering.

[28:1]  ⁹ tn This entire clause is a translation of the Hebrew לְכַהֲנוֹ־לִי (lÿkhahano-li, “that he might be a priest to me”), but the form is unusual. The word means “to be a priest” or “to act as a priest.” The etymology of the word for priest, כֹּהֵן (kohen), is uncertain.

[22:18]  ¹⁰ tc The number is confused in the Greek ms tradition. The LXX, with the exception of the Lucianic recension, has the number 305. The Lucianic recension, along with a couple of Old Latin mss, has the number 350.

[22:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “house.”

[15:27]  ¹² tn Heb “he,” but Saul is clearly the referent. A Qumran ms and the LXX include the name “Saul” here.

[12:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “in [accord with] the commandment of.”

[12:26]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.”