And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in
the breastplate of judgment upon his heart
Their names being engraven on the stones, and the stones put into the breastplate of judgment, and this breastplate hanging down upon the breast and heart of Aaron, he was a representative of the twelve tribes of Israel, as Christ his antitype is the representative of the whole Israel of God; and who lie near the heart of Christ, are set as a seal upon it, are engraven on the palms of his hands, and carried in his bosom, and whom he always presents to his divine Father, and are accepted in him: he represented them in eternity, and in time; in his sufferings and death, in his burial and resurrection from the dead, when they were crucified, buried, and raised with him; and he represents them now in heaven, where they sit together in heavenly places in him, as it here follows in the type:
when he goeth in unto the holy place;
to trim the lamps and offer incense, and especially when he went into the most holy place once a year:
for a memorial before the Lord continually;
for a memorial to himself, to pray for them when he appeared before the Lord, to put the Lord in remembrance of his covenant with them, and promises to them, (See Gill on Exodus 28:12) (See Gill on Isaiah 43:26), the Targum of Jonathan is, "for a good memorial": not a memorial for evil, but for good.