Leviticus 8:6-9

Clothing Aaron

8:6 So Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and washed them with water. 8:7 Then he ¹  put the tunic ²  on Aaron, ³  wrapped the sash around him, ⁴  and clothed him with the robe. ⁵  Next he put the ephod on him ⁶  and placed on him ⁷  the decorated band of the ephod, and fastened the ephod closely to him with the band. ⁸  8:8 He then set the breastpiece ⁹  on him and put the Urim and Thummim ¹⁰  into the breastpiece. 8:9 Finally, he set the turban ¹¹  on his head and attached the gold plate, the holy diadem, ¹²  to the front of the turban just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

[8:7]  ¹ sn Here Moses actually clothes Aaron (cf. v. 13 below for Aaron’s sons). Regarding the various articles of clothing see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 111-12 and esp. J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:501-13.

[8:7]  ² sn The term “tunic” refers to a shirt-like garment worn next to the skin and, therefore, put on first (cf. Exod 28:4, 39-40; 29:5, 8; 39:27). Traditionally this has been translated “coat” (so KJV, ASV), but that English word designates an outer garment.

[8:7]  ³ tn Heb “on him”; the referent (Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “girded him with the sash” (so NASB); NCV “tied the cloth belt around him.”

[8:7]  ⁵ sn The robe was a long shirt-like over-garment that reached down below the knees. Its hem was embroidered with pomegranates and golden bells around the bottom (Exod 28:4, 31-35; 29:5; 39:22-26).

[8:7]  ⁶ sn The ephod was an apron like garment suspended from shoulder straps. It draped over the robe and extended from the chest down to the thighs (Exod 28:4, 6-14, 25-28; 29:5; 39:2-7).

[8:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “girded him with.”

[8:7]  ⁸ sn The decorated band of the ephod served as a sort of belt around Aaron’s body that would hold the ephod closely to him rather than allowing it to hang loosely across his front (Exod 28:8, 27; 29:5; 39:5, 20).

[8:8]  ⁹ sn The breastpiece was made of the same material as the ephod and was attached to it by means of gold rings and chains on its four corners (Exod 28:15-30; 29:5; 39:8-21). It had twelve stones attached to it (representing the twelve tribes of Israel), and a pocket in which the Urim and Thummim were kept (see following).

[8:8]  ¹⁰ sn The Urim and Thummim were two small objects used in the casting of lots to discern the will of God (see Exod 28:30; Num 27:21; Deut 33:8; 1 Sam 14:41 in the LXX and 28:6; Ezra 2:63 and Neh 7:65). It appears that by casting them one could obtain a yes or no answer, or no answer at all (1 Sam 28:6; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 111-12). See the extensive discussion in J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:507-11.

[8:9]  ¹¹ tn Although usually thought to be a “turban” (and so translated by the majority of English versions) this object might be only a “turban-like headband” wound around the forehead area (HALOT 624 s.v. מִצְנֶפֶת).

[8:9]  ¹² sn The gold plate was attached as a holy diadem to the front of the turban by means of a blue cord, and had written on it “Holy to the Lord” (Exod 28:36-37; 39:30-31). This was a particularly important article of high priestly clothing in that it served as the main emblem indicating Aaron’s acceptable representation of Israel before the Lord (Exod 28:38).