Exodus 28:1

The Clothing of the Priests

28:1 ¹ “And you, bring near ²  to you your brother Aaron and his sons with him from among the Israelites, so that they may minister as my priests ³  – Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.

Exodus 28:35

28:35 The robe ⁴  is to be on Aaron as he ministers, ⁵  and his sound will be heard ⁶  when he enters the Holy Place before the Lord and when he leaves, so that he does not die.

[28:1]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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.

[28:35]  ⁴ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the robe) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:35]  ⁵ tn The form is a Piel infinitive construct with the lamed (ל) preposition: “to minister” or “to serve.” It may be taken epexegetically here, “while serving,” although S. R. Driver takes it as a purpose, “in order that he may minister” (Exodus, 308). The point then would be that he dare not enter into the Holy Place without wearing it.

[28:35]  ⁶ sn God would hear the bells and be reminded that this priest was in his presence representing the nation and that the priest had followed the rules of the sanctuary by wearing the appropriate robes with their attachments.