Shemot 28:33

33 And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of turquoise, and of purple, and of scarlet, around the hem thereof; and bells of zahav between them round about:

Shemot 28:33 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 28:33

And beneath upon the hem of it
Or the skirts of it, at the bottom of the robe:

thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet,
round about the hem thereof;
these were figures made of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, in the form of pomegranates: Jarchi says they were round and hollow, and made like hens' eggs, about the size of them, and of an oval form:

and bells of gold between them round about;
according to some, the bells were put into the pomegranates, which is supposed to be the meaning of the phrase "between them", or, "in the midst of them"; and so Aben Ezra observes, that some say the bells did not appear, they were only in the midst of the pomegranates, and there they caused their sound to be heard: but according to our version and others, the bells were placed between the pomegranates, between every pomegranate and pomegranate there was a golden bell; and this seems to be plainly the sense of the following verse.

Shemot 28:33 In-Context

31 And thou shalt make the Me’il HaEphod all of turquoise wool.
32 And there shall be a head opening in the top of it, in the middle thereof; it shall have a border of artistic embroidery around the head opening of it, like the head opening of a coat of mail; that it be not torn.
33 And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of turquoise, and of purple, and of scarlet, around the hem thereof; and bells of zahav between them round about:
34 A bell of zahav and a pomegranate, a bell of zahav and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the Me’il round about.
35 And it shall be upon Aharon lesharet (to minister); and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto HaKodesh before Hashem, and when he cometh out, that he die not.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.