Chapter Thirty-Nine
Making of the Garments
39:1 From the blue and purple and scarlet yarns they made finely woven garments, for ministering in the Holy Place. They made the holy garments for Aaron, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
The garments the priests would wear were essential to the operation of the Tabernacle. The garments had several components; each piece was considered holy, never to be used or worn for any other purpose. They made the garments for Aaron, the High Priest, whose garment consisted of several pieces, according to YHWH’s instructions to Moses (see Exodus 28:2-39).
39:2 He made the ephod of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. 3 And they hammered out gold leaf, and he cut it into threads to work into the blue and purple and the scarlet yarns, and into the fine twined linen, in skilled design.
The ephod is a sleeve-less coat, sometimes referred to as an apron (see Exodus 28:6-12). It was made from gold, blue, purple and scarlet yarns and fine linen. This is the first appearance of the Hebrew word ‘yerǎq·qe’û’,[1] a verb meaning to beat, to stamp, or to stretch out. The process of preparing the gold is not revealed, however, it appears to have been hammered into a thin sheet (the Hebrew word translated here as ‘leaf’, is ‘pǎ·ḥê’,[2] a word that is typically translated as a snare or trap, referring to the action of closing or pressing in) and then cut; some suggest the gold sheets were cut in a spiral and then twisted into the yarn to give it strength.
4 They made for the ephod attaching shoulder pieces, joined to it at its two edges. 5 And the skillfully woven band on it was of one piece with it and made like it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 6 They made the onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold filigree, and engraved like the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the sons of Israel. 7 And he set them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod to be stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Two shoulder pieces were made to support the ephod, each with a gold filigree containing an onyx stone with the names of the twelve sons of Israel (six names on each side).[3] These stones were to remind Aaron and other future High Priests that they represent the people of Israel before God.
39:8 He made the breastpiece, in skilled work, in the style of the ephod, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. 9 It was square. They made the breastpiece doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth when doubled.
Using the same materials, color, and gold process used for the ephod, the breastpiece (or breastplate) was made according to the specifications given to Moses (see Exodus 28:15-28). The reference to being doubled means that the material was doubled over to create a pocket or pouch.[4]
39:10 And they set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle was the first row; 11 and the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; 12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold filigree.
The breastpiece was made with a variety of stones,[5] each stone was individually placed in a gold filigree base.
39:14 There were twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They were like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes.
Small signs (or placards) were made with the names of the sons of Israel engraved on them and attached to the breastpiece next to the appropriate stone in order of their birth (see Exodus 28:10). Even though Jacob adopted Joseph’s sons as his own sons (see Genesis 48:1-20), the reference to “the sons of Israel,” would have been his actual sons (Ephraim and Manasseh would have been represented by Joseph).[6]
39:15 And they made on the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. 16 And they made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. 17 And they put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. 18 They attached the two ends of the two cords to the two settings of filigree. Thus they attached it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. 19 Then they made two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. 20 And they made two rings of gold, and attached them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 21 And they bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it should lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece should not come loose from the ephod, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
The chains and various rings that were to be used to support the breastpiece were made. One of the cords (Hebrew word ‘peṯî·lim’,[7] a noun referring to a cord, a string, or a rope-like cord), was translated here as ‘lace’ to minimize confusion with the gold cords as it was made of blue yarn instead.[8]
39:22 He also made the robe of the ephod woven all of blue, 23 and the opening of the robe in it was like the opening in a garment, with a binding around the opening, so that it might not tear. 24 On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. 25 They also made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates all around the hem of the robe, between the pomegranates— 26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate around the hem of the robe for ministering, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
The High Priest’s robe was made from blue yarn (see Exodus 28:31-32). It was designed to be worn under the ephod. It had one opening for the head (the robe was put on by pulling over the head). Small pomegranate-shaped decorations made of yarn and small golden bells were made and attached to the robe’s hem just as YHWH instructed Moses.[9]
39:27 They also made the coats, woven of fine linen, for Aaron and his sons, 28 and the turban of fine linen, and the caps of fine linen, and the linen undergarments of fine twined linen, 29 and the sash of fine twined linen and of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, embroidered with needlework, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Coats for Aaron and his sons were woven from the fine linen. The turban for the High Priest was made from fine linen (the plate that was to be attached to the turban is described in the next two verses). The caps for Aaron’s sons were made of fine linen and their undergarments were also made of fine linen. The sash for the High Priest was made of fine linen with a design of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn embroidered on it.[10]
39:30 They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription, like the engraving of a signet, “Holy to the LORD.” 31 And they tied to it a cord of blue to fasten it on the turban above, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
The pure gold plate that was to be attached to the High Priest’s turban was made and engraved with the words, “Holy to YHWH.” Once attached to the turban with a blue cord, it was referred to as, “the holy crown.”[11]
39:32 Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished, and the people of Israel did according to all that the LORD had commanded Moses; so they did. 33 Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its utensils, its hooks, its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; 34 the covering of tanned rams’ skins and goatskins, and the veil of the screen; 35 the ark of the testimony with its poles and the mercy seat; 36 the table with all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; 37 the lampstand of pure gold and its lamps with the lamps set and all its utensils, and the oil for the light; 38 the golden altar, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the entrance of the tent; 39 the bronze altar, and its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin and its stand; 40 the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pegs; and all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; 41 the finely worked garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons for their service as priests. 42 According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the people of Israel had done all the work. 43 And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them.
All the components of the Tabernacle were now made, everything to the exact specifications of God. The text mentions that the people of Israel had done all the work (see verses 32 and 42), pointing out that even though built by a few Spiritually gifted craftsmen, the entire community joined in by contributing to the building materials. There is no time frame mentioned, however, considering where they made these components, its truly remarkable that they were able to complete it in less than one year. Moses saw what was done and blessed the people.[12] The text does not record his words; however, many believe that Moses wrote Psalm 90 to commemorate this occasion, possibly the blessing itself (see Considerations under Exodus 40:36-38).
It is interesting to note that the Urim and Thummim were either made later or were given to Moses by God directly as there is never any mention to their construction.[13]
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 7554.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 6341.
[3] See commentaries under Exodus 28:7-8; Exodus 28:9-11 and Exodus 28:12-14.
[4] See commentary under Exodus 28:16 and Exodus 28:16.
[5] See commentary under Exodus 28:17-21 and the Considerations under Exodus 24:16-18 regarding the use of stone names in Scripture.
[6] See Considerations under Genesis 48:21-22.
[7] Strong’s Hebrew 6616.
[8] See commentary under Exodus 28:26-28.
[9] See commentary under Exodus 28:33-35.
[10] See commentary under Exodus 28:39.
[11] See commentaries under Exodus 28:36-38 and Exodus 29:5.
[12] See commentary under Genesis 1:28-30.
[13] See commentary under Exodus 28:30.