Leviticus 6:10

6:10 Then the priest must put on his linen robe and must put linen leggings ¹  over his bare flesh, and he must take up the fatty ashes of the burnt offering that the fire consumed on the altar, ²  and he must place them ³  beside the altar.

Exodus 28:2

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

Exodus 28:39-43

28:39 You are to weave ⁶  the tunic of fine linen and make the turban of fine linen, and make the sash the work of an embroiderer.

28:40 “For Aaron’s sons you are to make tunics, sashes, and headbands ⁷  for glory and for beauty.

28:41 “You are to clothe them – your brother Aaron and his sons with him – and anoint them ⁸  and ordain them ⁹  and set them apart as holy, ¹⁰  so that they may minister as my priests. 28:42 Make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked bodies; ¹¹  they must cover ¹²  from the waist to the thighs. 28:43 These must be on Aaron and his sons when they enter ¹³  to the tent of meeting, or when they approach ¹⁴  the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they bear no iniquity and die. ¹⁵  It is to be a perpetual ordinance for him and for his descendants ¹⁶  after him. ¹⁷ 

Exodus 39:27-29

39:27 They made tunics of fine linen – the work of a weaver, for Aaron and for his sons – 39:28 and the turban of fine linen, the headbands of fine linen, and the undergarments of fine twisted linen. 39:29 The sash was of fine twisted linen and blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, the work of an embroiderer, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Isaiah 53:2

53:2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, ¹⁸ 

like a root out of parched soil; ¹⁹ 

he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, ²⁰ 

no special appearance that we should want to follow him. ²¹ 

Ezekiel 44:17-18

44:17 “‘When they enter the gates of the inner court, they must wear linen garments; they must not have any wool on them when they minister in the inner gates of the court and in the temple. 44:18 Linen turbans will be on their heads and linen undergarments will be around their waists; they must not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat.

Luke 1:35

1:35 The angel replied, ²²  “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow ²³  you. Therefore the child ²⁴  to be born ²⁵  will be holy; ²⁶  he will be called the Son of God.

Philippians 2:7

2:7 but emptied himself

by taking on the form of a slave, ²⁷ 

by looking like other men, ²⁸ 

and by sharing in human nature. ²⁹ 

Hebrews 2:14

2:14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in ³⁰  their humanity, ³¹  so that through death he could destroy ³²  the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil),

Hebrews 7:26

7:26 For it is indeed fitting for us to have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

[6:10]  ¹ tn The exact nature of this article of the priest’s clothing is difficult to determine. Cf. KJV, ASV “breeches”; NAB “drawers”; NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “undergarments”; NCV “underclothes”; CEV “underwear”; TEV “shorts.”

[6:10]  ² tn Heb “he shall lift up the fatty ashes which the fire shall consume the burnt offering on the altar.”

[6:10]  ³ tn Heb “it,” referring the “fatty ashes” as a single unit.

[28:2]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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.

[28:39]  ⁶ tn It is difficult to know how to translate וְשִׁבַּצְּתָּ (vÿshibbatsta); it is a Piel perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive, and so equal to the imperfect of instruction. Some have thought that this verb describes a type of weaving and that the root may indicate that the cloth had something of a pattern to it by means of alternate weaving of the threads. It was the work of a weaver (39:27) and not so detailed as certain other fabrics (26:1), but it was more than plain weaving (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 310). Here, however, it may be that the fabric is assumed to be in existence and that the action has to do with sewing (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:475, 517).

[28:40]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Traditionally “sanctify them” (KJV, ASV).

[28:42]  ¹¹ tn Heb “naked flesh” (so NAB, NRSV); KJV “nakedness.”

[28:42]  ¹² tn Heb “be.”

[28:43]  ¹³ tn The construction for this temporal clause is the infinitive construct with the temporal preposition bet (ב) and the suffixed subjective genitive.

[28:43]  ¹⁴ tn This construction is also the temporal clause with the infinitive construct and the temporal preposition bet (ב) and the suffixed subjective genitive.

[28:43]  ¹⁵ tn The text has וְלאֹ־יִשְׂאוּ עָוֹן וָמֵתוּ (vÿlo’-yis’u ’avon vametu). The imperfect tense here introduces a final clause, yielding a purpose or result translation (“in order that” or “so that”). The last verb is the perfect tense with the vav consecutive, and so it too is equal to a final imperfect – but it would show the result of bearing the iniquity. The idea is that if they approached the holy things with a lack of modesty, perhaps like the pagans who have nakedness and sexuality as part of the religious ritual, they would pollute the holy things, and it would be reckoned to them for iniquity and they would die.

[28:43]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “seed.”

[28:43]  ¹⁷ sn So the priests were to make intercession for the people, give decisions from God’s revealed will, enter his presence in purity, and represent holiness to Yahweh. The clothing of the priests provided for these functions, but in a way that brought honor and dignity. A priest was, therefore, to serve in purity, holiness, and fear (Malachi). There is much that can be derived from this chapter to form principles of spiritual leadership, but the overall point can be worded this way: Those whom God selects to minister to the congregation through intercessory prayer, divine counsel, and sacrificial worship, must always represent the holiness of Yahweh in their activities and demeanor.

[53:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “before him.” Some suggest an emendation to “before us.” If the third singular suffix of the Hebrew text is retained, it probably refers to the Lord (see v. 1b). For a defense of this reading, see R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 173-74.

[53:2]  ¹⁹ sn The metaphor in this verse suggests insignificance.

[53:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “that we might see him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[53:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “that we should desire him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[1:35]  ²² tn Grk “And the angel said to her.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. The pronoun αὐτῇ (auth, “to her”) has not been included in the translation since it is redundant in contemporary English.

[1:35]  ²³ sn The phrase will overshadow is a reference to God’s glorious presence at work (Exod 40:34-35; Ps 91:4).

[1:35]  ²⁴ tn Or “the one born holy will be called the Son of God.” The wording of this phrase depends on whether the adjective is a predicate adjective, as in the text, or is an adjective modifying the participle serving as the subject. The absence of an article with the adjective speaks for a predicate position. Other less appealing options supply a verb for “holy”; thus “the one who is born will be holy”; or argue that both “holy” and “Son of God” are predicates, so “The one who is born will be called holy, the Son of God.”

[1:35]  ²⁵ tc A few mss (C* Θ Ë¹ 33 pc) add “by you” here. This looks like a scribal addition to bring symmetry to the first three clauses of the angel’s message (note the second person pronoun in the previous two clauses), and is too poorly supported to be seriously considered as authentic.

[1:35]  ²⁶ tn Or “Therefore the holy child to be born will be called the Son of God.” There are two ways to understand the Greek phrase τὸ γεννώμενον ἅγιον (to gennwmenon {agion) here. First, τὸ γεννώμενον could be considered a substantival participle with ἅγιον as an adjective in the second predicate position, thus making a complete sentence; this interpretation is reflected in the translation above. Second, τὸ ἅγιον could be considered a substantival adjective with γεννώμενον acting as an adjectival participle, thus making the phrase the subject of the verb κληθήσεται (klhqhsetai); this interpretation is reflected in the alternative reading. Treating the participle γεννώμενον as adjectival is a bit unnatural for the very reason that it forces one to understand ἅγιον as substantival; this introduces a new idea in the text with ἅγιον when an already new topic is being introduced with γεννώμενον. Semantically this would overload the new subject introduced at this point. For this reason the first interpretation is preferred.

[2:7]  ²⁷ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 1:1.

[2:7]  ²⁸ tn Grk “by coming in the likeness of people.”

[2:7]  ²⁹ tn Grk “and by being found in form as a man.” The versification of vv. 7 and 8 (so also NRSV) is according to the versification in the NA²⁷ and UBS⁴ editions of the Greek text. Some translations, however, break the verses in front of this phrase (NKJV, NASB, NIV, NLT). The same material has been translated in each case; the only difference is the versification of that material.

[2:14]  ³⁰ tn Or “partook of” (this is a different word than the one in v. 14a).

[2:14]  ³¹ tn Grk “the same.”

[2:14]  ³² tn Or “break the power of,” “reduce to nothing.”