Exodus 39:2-7

The Ephod

39:2 He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen. 39:3 They hammered the gold into thin sheets and cut it into narrow strips to weave ¹  them into the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and into the fine linen, the work of an artistic designer. 39:4 They made shoulder pieces for it, attached to two of its corners, so it could be joined together. 39:5 The artistically woven waistband of the ephod that was on it was like it, of one piece with it, ²  of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

39:6 They set the onyx stones in gold filigree settings, engraved as with the engravings of a seal ³  with the names of the sons of Israel. ⁴  39:7 He put ⁵  them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as stones of memorial for the Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

[39:3]  ¹ tn The verb is the infinitive that means “to do, to work.” It could be given a literal rendering: “to work [them into] the blue….” Weaving or embroidering is probably what is intended.

[39:5]  ² tn Heb “from it” or the same.

[39:6]  ³ tn Or “as seals are engraved.”

[39:6]  ⁴ sn The twelve names were those of Israel’s sons. The idea was not the remembrance of the twelve sons as such, but the twelve tribes that bore their names.

[39:7]  ⁵ tn Or “attached.”