Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 39:10-21

10 And they set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this was the first row.

11 And the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.

12 And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.

13 And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they were inclosed in ouches of gold in their inclosings.

14 And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, every one with his name, according to the twelve tribes.

15 And they made upon the breastplate chains at the ends, of wreathen work of pure gold.

16 And they made two ouches of gold, and two gold rings; and put the two rings in the two ends of the breastplate.

17 And they put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate.

18 And the two ends of the two wreathen chains they fastened in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod, before it.

19 And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, upon the border of it, which was on the side of the ephod inward.

20 And they made two other golden rings, and put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart of it, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.

21 And they did bind the breastplate by his rings unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as the Lord commanded Moses.

Today we hear of the 12 stones set upon the breastplate, and the golden chains that anchor it to the shoulders of the ephod, and the blue lace that anchors it to the side of the ephod.

The 12 stones are some of the most individual pieces in all the ornaments of the tabernacle. Each one would have to be shaped and engraved uniquely, just as each member of each tribe would receiving individual care at the hands of the priest.

As with the original description from God, these verses emphasize that the binding of the breastplate to the ephod was so that it “might not be loosed.” This has an obvious practical function, to keep the thing from swinging around and banging into the priest as he goes about his duties, but there is also a symbolism in it as well.

If the breastplate represents the twelve tribes of Israel, and the ephod is the garments of the Lord’s representative, then their tethering together can be seen as a spiritual injunction that the two parties must not drift apart. The people of Israel should see that they are always bound to the tabernacle, the rituals of the priests, and all that they represent. They must bind themselves to God’s commands as if by the strength of metal above and the pliability of lace below.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 39:1-9

1 And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as the Lord commanded Moses.

2 And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.

3 And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with cunning work.

4 They made shoulderpieces for it, to couple it together: by the two edges was it coupled together.

5 And the curious girdle of his ephod, that was upon it, was of the same, according to the work thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; as the Lord commanded Moses.

6 And they wrought onyx stones inclosed in ouches of gold, graven, as signets are graven, with the names of the children of Israel.

7 And he put them on the shoulders of the ephod, that they should be stones for a memorial to the children of Israel; as the Lord commanded Moses.

8 And he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.

9 It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being doubled.

We turn now to the creation of the priestly garments. Today covers the ephod and the breastplate on the chest, as well as the shoulder-pieces.

A new detail that we learn in these verses is how gold was worked into the fabric of the ephod and breastplate. In the original instructions we were simply told that they were to be made “of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work.” From that description one might have assumed that the “gold” simply meant linen dyed the color of gold, or just gold clasps around the edges, but today we learn that fine wires of gold were actually woven as strands throughout the fabric. Certainly, a more arduous task, but far more impressive. Also, far more symbolic, for the gold seems to represent God interwoven among the strands of our own lives.

Moving on to the breastplate, one detail I did not touch on the first time around is that thing is said to be “doubled.” This seems to suggest that it was actually one span by two spans, then folded over to make a square. This explains how it could function as a pocket to hold the Urim and Thummim.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 28:30

30 And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.

Today we learn that the Urim and Thummim would be placed within the breastplate in the priest’s clothing. This, of course, raises the question, “what on earth is the Urim and Thummim?”

The reason these words sound strange is because they are simply the phonetic representations of the original Hebrew words. There was no attempt made to find a common English counterpart, perhaps because none exists. As far as what these Hebrew words mean in their own language, the closest terms would be “light” and “perfection.” I presume those words were not used in the English translation because they are intangible and conceptual, whereas it seems that the Urim and Thummim were physical objects, given their placement within the breastplate.

There are only a few references to the Urim and Thummim elsewhere in the scriptures, the last reference being in Nehemiah. It is possible that they were lost during the Babylonian captivity, as they are never heard of afterward.

The best clue we have as to the purpose of the Urim and Thummim comes from 1 Samuel 28:6: “And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.” It would seem that they were tools somehow used to receive the will of the Lord. This is an interesting idea. Divine artifacts that can impart portions of God’s spirit have certainly been invoked by Christian churches in the past, but I feel that today such things are generally considered idolatrous and likely a scam. Today we tend to view our interactions with God as being purely spiritual, with little or no physical medium to assist in the process.

Whatever they might have been, the Urim and Thummim were apparently held in the breastplate of the priest. Given that the breastplate was likely woven linen, some have suspected that it was woven with the front and a back, like a little bag, and the artifacts were held in there. It specifically says that the Urim and Thummim were in the breastplate of Aaron, which might mean there was only one set, and it was exclusively carried by the High Priest, or Aaron might just be being used as a representative for all priests, and all of them carried a pair.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 28:26-29

26 And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward.

27 And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.

28 And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod.

29 And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually.

We heard yesterday how the breastplate was secured at each side to the shoulders. This would still allow it to swing from side-to-side, though, so today we hear that there were two more points of attachment on the forepart of the ephod, just above the waist. Thus, the gems and the names inscribed upon them would be held firmly in place.

Also, verse 29 explicitly confirms the symbolism that I mentioned in yesterday’s post: as the priest performs his duties in the tabernacle the names of the breastplate are to bear “upon his heart…for a memorial before the Lord continually.” Specifically, we are told, it is the “judgment of the children of Israel” that is to weigh upon his heart.

Much of the symbolism we have heard about the tabernacle would keep the priest in constant remembrance of God, but this breastplate would also keep him in constant remembrance of the children of Israel. Thus, the priest was a mediator between the two, bringing God and the Israelite into one within his own person, trying to close the gap between them via sacrificial offerings, a type for Christ who would come many years later.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 28:22-25

22 And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold.

23 And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

24 And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate.

25 And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod before it.

The breastplate would hang from two golden chains, one on each side. The other ends of the chains would be secured to the two shoulder pieces that the onyx stones were held in. Yesterday I spoke of the broad sense of duty that the priest had for each of the twelve tribes (represented by the onyx stones on the shoulders), in addition to the specific love that would be required for each one (represented by the individual stones on the breastplate).

In today’s verses, those two concepts are literally linked together. The love and the duty are fastened together. The duty is borne because of the love, and the love is borne out in the performance of the duty.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 28:17-21

17 And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.

18 And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.

19 And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.

20 And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.

21 And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.

The face of the breastplate would be covered with twelve precious stones. They would be four rows of three stones, and each would be inscribed with the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. We were already told that each priest would bear the twelve names upon his shoulders, six on each side engraved in a single onyx stone, and now all of them again on the chest, but here each carved into its own unique jewel.

There may be some symbolism in this. Having a cluster of names on each shoulder could mean having a broad sense of the burden for the work that the priest must perform for each tribe. The work for the Danite would be indistinguishable from the work for a Benjaminite. Each would be part of the same mass of labor, and so, too, their names could be massed together, six on each shoulder. But the tribes were not to be lumped together in such a way upon the heart. Twelve unique stones on the chest suggests having a unique and individual love for each tribe, the priest being able to appreciate their separate roles within the whole.

As for the types of stone that are described, some of them are assumed my modern scholars to be incorrectly interpreted. For example, there is no evidence that these ancient people would have known of the diamond, nor that they would have had the technology to etch a name into it. It therefore seems highly likely that a different stone was meant.

I have to assume that each stone was not chosen at random. If a sardius was selected for Reuben, I assume there was something in the nature of the sardius that was seen as particularly fitting for the nature, role, and destiny of Reuben within ancient Israel. There are several commentaries that suggest what those connections might have been, but I do not have the background to know which ones are most credible, so for now I will content myself with the opinion that the connections do exist.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 28:13-16

13 And thou shalt make ouches of gold;

14 And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches.

15 And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it.

16 Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.

Ouches is another word for settings: recessed receptacles to hold the onyx stones mentioned in the previous verses. These would be attached to the shoulder, and golden chains would run from them to the breastplate that sat upon the chest.

I have seen some images where the breastplate is rigid and made of some metal, usually gold. I have also seen images where the breastplate appears to be made of woven cloth. I assume the metal presentation comes from the name of the article: breastplate, which we most often identify as a metal piece of armor. Verse 15, however, suggests that the cloth interpretation is correct. It sounds as though it was made of the same dyed linen that the ephod was, and probably blended in with it.

We are told that the breastplate was a square, one span on each side. A span was half of a cubit, which was about a foot-and-a-half. A span would therefore be about nine inches, which is well-fitted to the chest of an adult. Of course, the truly notable element of the breastplate was not the body of it, but the stones that were embedded on its face. We will examine those tomorrow.