Exodus 28:15-21

15 ¹"You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod you shall make it--of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it.

16 It shall be square and doubled, a span^[a] its length and a span its breadth.

17 ²You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius,^[b] topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row;

18 and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond;

19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;

20 and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree.

21 There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes.

Exodus 28:15-21 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 28

This chapter informs us of the servants God would have to minister to him in the house, or tabernacle, he had ordered to be made, even Aaron and his sons, Ex 28:1 of the garments they were to wear in their service, Ex 28:2-5 and first of the garments of the high priest, and particularly of the ephod, with the girdle, on the shoulder pieces of which were to be two onyx stones, with the names of the children of Israel engraved on them, Ex 28:6-14, and that of the breastplate of judgment, with the Urim and Thummum in it, Ex 28:15-30 and of the robe of the ephod, Ex 28:31-35, and of the mitre, Ex 28:36-39 and then of the garments of the common priests, Ex 28:40-43.

Cross References

• 1. For ver. 15-28, see Exodus 39:8-21
• 2. [Ezekiel 28:13; Revelation 21:19, 20]

Footnotes

• [a]. A span was about 9 inches or 22 centimeters
• [b]. The identity of some of these stones is uncertain