Exodus 39:2

2 They made the holy vest of gold, and blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen.

Exodus 39:2 Meaning and Commentary

Ver. 2-31. And he made the ephod of gold
From hence to the end of verse thirty one we have a very particular account of the making of the priest's garments exactly according to the directions given to Moses, (See Gill on Exodus 28:1) &c. to end of chapter twenty eight; only it may be observed, that here in ( Exodus 39:3 ) an account is given of the manner in which they made the gold fit to be worked along with the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; they beat the gold into thin plates, and then cut them into wires, and then twisted them together with the yarn: the gold that was used in the weaving of the ephod and the breastplate, spoken of in the law, was wrought after this manner; the workman took one thread of pure gold, and put it with six threads of blue, and twisted the seven threads as one, and so he wrought a thread of gold with six of purple, and another thread with six of scarlet, and another with six of linen or flax, so that there were four threads of gold, and all the threads were twenty eight, as it is said; "they did beat" or spread out "the gold" "to work in the midst of blue" from whence is learnt that the thread of gold was twisted in the midst of them ^F25: and it may be further observed, that after the enumeration of the stones in the breastplate, ( Exodus 39:10-13 ) no mention is made of the Urim and Thummim, which seems to confirm the opinion of many, and which is my own, that they are the same with the stones: moreover, in ( Exodus 39:28 ) , it may be observed, that what the coats for the common priests were made of is expressed, which is not before, which was linen; expressive of their purity and holiness, and in which they ought always to appear before God and man, and in which apparel they have been imitated among the Heathens: the priests of Hercules are said to be clothed with linen ^F26, and the Egyptian priests wore only a linen garment ^F1; hence the priests of Isis, with whom she is represented as surrounded by Juvenal ^F2, are called by him "grex liniger", and by Martial, "linigeri" ^F3.

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FOOTNOTES:

F25 Maimon. Cele Hamikdash, c. 9. sect. 5.
F26 Silius Ital. de Bell. Punic. l. 3.
F1 Herodot. Euterpe sive, l. 2. c. 38.
F2 Satyr. 6.
F3 L. 12. Epigram. 26.

Exodus 39:2 In-Context

1 They used blue, purple, and red thread to make woven clothes for the priests to wear when they served in the Holy Place. They made the holy clothes for Aaron as the Lord had commanded Moses.

2 They made the holy vest of gold, and blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen.

3 They hammered the gold into sheets and then cut it into long, thin strips. They worked the gold into the blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen. This was done by skilled craftsmen.

4 They made the shoulder straps for the holy vest, which were attached to the top corners of the vest and tied together over each shoulder.

5 The skillfully woven belt was made in the same way; it was joined to the holy vest as one piece. It was made of gold, and blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen, the way the Lord commanded Moses.