Exodus 31:10

31:10 the woven garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons, to minister as priests,

Exodus 35:19

35:19 the woven garments for serving in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to minister as priests.”

Exodus 39:41

39:41 the woven garments for serving ¹  in the sanctuary, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to minister as priests.

Exodus 29:21

29:21 You are to take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it ²  on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on his sons’ garments with him, so that he may be holy, ³  he and his garments along with his sons and his sons’ garments.

Exodus 28:2

28:2 You must make holy garments ⁴  for your brother Aaron, for glory and for beauty. ⁵ 

Exodus 40:13

40:13 Then you are to clothe Aaron with the holy garments and anoint him and sanctify him so that he may minister as my priest.

Exodus 28:4

28:4 Now these are the garments that they are to make: a breastpiece, ⁶  an ephod, ⁷  a robe, a fitted ⁸  tunic, a turban, and a sash. They are to make holy garments for your brother Aaron and for his sons, that they may minister as my priests.

Exodus 39:1

The Making of the Priestly Garments

39:1 From the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn they made woven garments for serving in the sanctuary; they made holy garments that were for Aaron, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁹ 

Exodus 28:3

28:3 You ¹⁰  are to speak to all who are specially skilled, ¹¹  whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, ¹²  so that they may make ¹³  Aaron’s garments to set him apart ¹⁴  to minister as my priest.

Exodus 29:29

29:29 “The holy garments that belong to Aaron are to belong to his sons after him, so that they may be anointed ¹⁵  in them and consecrated ¹⁶  in them.

Exodus 29:5

29:5 and take the garments and clothe Aaron with the tunic, ¹⁷  the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastpiece; you are to fasten the ephod on him by using the skillfully woven waistband. ¹⁸ 

Exodus 35:21

35:21 Everyone ¹⁹  whose heart stirred him to action ²⁰  and everyone whose spirit was willing ²¹  came and brought the offering for the Lord for the work of the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. ²² 

[39:41]  ¹ tn The form is the infinitive construct; it means the clothes to be used “to minister” in the holy place.

[29:21]  ¹ tn Here “it” has been supplied.

[29:21]  ² tn The verb in this instance is Qal and not Piel, “to be holy” rather than “sanctify.” The result of all this ritual is that Aaron and his sons will be set aside and distinct in their life and their service.

[28:2]  ¹ sn The genitive “holiness” is the attribute for “garments” – “garments of holiness.” The point of the word “holy” is that these garments would be distinctive from ordinary garments, for they set Aaron apart to sanctuary service and ministry.

[28:2]  ² tn The expression is לְכָבוֹד וּלְתִפְארֶת (lÿkhavod ulÿtif’aret, “for glory and for beauty”). W. C. Kaiser (“Exodus,” EBC 2:465), quoting the NIV’s “to give him dignity and honor,” says that these clothes were to exalt the office of the high priest as well as beautify the worship of God (which explains more of what the text has than the NIV rendering). The meaning of the word “glory” has much to do with the importance of the office, to be sure, but in Exodus the word has been used also for the brilliance of the presence of Yahweh, and so the magnificence of these garments might indeed strike the worshiper with the sense of the exaltation of the service.

[28:4]  ¹ sn The breastpiece seems to have been a pouch of sorts or to have had a pocket, since it was folded in some way (28:16; 39:9) and contained the Urim and Thummim (Exod 28:30; Lev 8:8).

[28:4]  ² sn The word “ephod” is taken over directly from Hebrew, because no one knows how to translate it, nor is there agreement about its design. It refers here to a garment worn by the priests, but the word can also refer to some kind of image for a god (Judg 8:27).

[28:4]  ³ tn The word תָּשְׁבֵּץ (tashbets), which describes the tunic and which appears only in this verse, is related to a verb (also rare) of the same root in 28:39 that describes making the tunic. Their meaning is uncertain (see the extended discussion in C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:473-75). A related noun describes gold fasteners and the “settings,” or “mountings,” for precious stones (28:11, 13, 14, 20, 25; 36:18; 39:6, 13, 16, 18; cf. Ps 45:14). The word “fitted” in 28:4 reflects the possibility that “the tunic is to be shaped by sewing, … so that it will fit tightly around the body” (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:475).

[39:1]  ¹ sn This chapter also will be almost identical to the instructions given earlier, with a few changes along the way.

[28:3]  ¹ tn Heb “And you, you will speak to.”

[28:3]  ² tn Heb “wise of heart.” The word for “wise” (חַכְמֵי, khakhme, the plural construct form) is from the word group that is usually translated “wisdom, wise, be wise,” but it has as its basic meaning “skill” or “skillful.” This is the way it is used in 31:3, 6 and 35:10 etc. God gave these people “wisdom” so that they would know how to make these things. The “heart” for the Hebrews is the locus of understanding, the mind and the will. To be “wise of heart” or “wise in heart” means that they had the understanding to do skillful work, they were talented artisans and artists.

[28:3]  ³ sn There is no necessity to take this as a reference to the Holy Spirit who produces wisdom in these people, although that is not totally impossible. A number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT) do not even translate the word “spirit.” It probably refers to their attitude and ability. U. Cassuto has “to all the artisans skilled in the making of stately robes, in the heart [i.e., mind] of each of whom I have implanted sagacity in his craft so that he may do his craft successfully” (Exodus, 371).

[28:3]  ⁴ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; after the instruction to speak to the wise, this verb, equal to an imperfect, will have the force of purpose.

[28:3]  ⁵ tn Or “to sanctify him” (ASV) or “to consecrate him” (KJV, NASB, NRSV). It is the garments that will set Aaron apart, or sanctify him, not the workers. The expression could be taken to mean “for his consecration” (NIV) since the investiture is part of his being set apart for service.

[29:29]  ¹ tn The construction is an infinitive construct with a lamed (ל) preposition. The form simply means “for anointing,” but it serves to express the purpose or result of their inheriting the sacred garments.

[29:29]  ² tn This form is a Piel infinitive construct with a lamed (ל) preposition. It literally reads “for filling the hands,” the idiom used throughout this chapter for ordination or installation. Here too it has a parallel use of purpose or result.

[29:5]  ¹ tn The Hiphil of לָבַשׁ (lavash, “to clothe”) will take double accusatives; so the sign of the accusative is with Aaron, and then with the articles of clothing. The translation will have to treat Aaron as the direct object and the articles as indirect objects, because Aaron receives the prominence in the verse – you will clothe Aaron.

[29:5]  ² tn The verb used in this last clause is a denominative verb from the word for ephod. And so “ephod the ephod on him” means “fasten as an ephod the ephod on him” (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 316).

[35:21]  ¹ tn Heb “man.”

[35:21]  ² tn The verb means “lift up, bear, carry.” Here the subject is “heart” or will, and so the expression describes one moved within to act.

[35:21]  ³ tn Heb “his spirit made him willing.” The verb is used in Scripture for the freewill offering that people brought (Lev 7).

[35:21]  ⁴ tn Literally “the garments of holiness,” the genitive is the attributive genitive, marking out what type of garments these were.