Aide

Bible School · Ministry and the church's offices · Class 17 of 27

Aaron's priesthood: garments and consecration, Exodus 28 and 29

Exodus 28–29 · about 27 minutes · Aaron's priesthood: garments and consecration

By the end of this class you should be able to

Read the passage

28“Next, have your brother Aaron brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to serve Me as priests. 2Make holy garments for your brother Aaron, to give him glory and splendor. 3You are to instruct all the skilled craftsmen, whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, to make garments for Aaron’s consecration, so that he may serve Me as priest. 4These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. They are to make these holy garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so that they may serve Me as priests. 5They shall use gold, along with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and fine linen. 6They are to make the ephod of finely spun linen embroidered with gold, and with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn. 7It shall have two shoulder pieces attached at two of its corners, so it can be fastened. 8And the skillfully woven waistband of the ephod must be of one piece, of the same workmanship—with gold, with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and with finely spun linen. 9Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel: 10six of their names on one stone and the remaining six on the other, in the order of their birth. 11Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings. 12Fasten both stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear their names on his two shoulders as a memorial before the LORD. 13Fashion gold filigree settings 14and two chains of pure gold, made of braided cord work; and attach these chains to the settings. 15You are also to make a breastpiece of judgment with the same workmanship as the ephod. Construct it with gold, with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and with finely spun linen. 16It must be square when folded over double, a span long and a span wide. 17And mount on it a setting of gemstones, four rows of stones: In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald; 18in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; 19in the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20and in the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. Mount these stones in gold filigree settings. 21The twelve stones are to correspond to the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes. 22For the breastpiece, make braided chains like cords of pure gold. 23You are also to make two gold rings and fasten them to the two corners of the breastpiece. 24Then fasten the two gold chains to the two gold rings at the corners of the breastpiece, 25and fasten the other ends of the two chains to the two filigree settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. 26Make two more gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece, on the inside edge next to the ephod. 27Make two additional gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on its front, near its seam just above its woven waistband. 28The rings of the breastpiece shall be tied to the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue yarn, so that the breastpiece is above the waistband of the ephod and does not swing out from the ephod. 29Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he shall bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of judgment, as a continual reminder before the LORD. 30And place the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece of judgment, so that they will also be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before the LORD. Aaron will continually carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the LORD. 31You are to make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth, 32with an opening at its top in the center. Around the opening shall be a woven collar with an opening like that of a garment, so that it will not tear. 33Make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn all the way around the lower hem, with gold bells between them, 34alternating the gold bells and pomegranates around the lower hem of the robe. 35Aaron must wear the robe whenever he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he enters or exits the sanctuary before the LORD, so that he will not die. 36You are to make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD. 37Fasten to it a blue cord to mount it on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. 38And it will be worn on Aaron’s forehead, so that he may bear the iniquity of the holy things that the sons of Israel consecrate with regard to all their holy gifts. It shall always be on his forehead, so that they may be acceptable before the LORD. 39You are to weave the tunic with fine linen, make the turban of fine linen, and fashion an embroidered sash. 40Make tunics, sashes, and headbands for Aaron’s sons, to give them glory and splendor. 41After you put these garments on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint them, ordain them, and consecrate them so that they may serve Me as priests. 42Make linen undergarments to cover their bare flesh, extending from waist to thigh. 43Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die. This is to be a permanent statute for Aaron and his descendants.

Open Exodus 28 in the reader (BSB)

29“Now this is what you are to do to consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve Me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams without blemish, 2along with unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil. Make them out of fine wheat flour, 3put them in a basket, and present them in the basket, along with the bull and the two rams. 4Then present Aaron and his sons at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. 5Take the garments and clothe Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself, and the breastplate. Fasten the ephod on him with its woven waistband. 6Put the turban on his head and attach the holy diadem to the turban. 7Then take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head. 8Present his sons as well and clothe them with tunics. 9Wrap the sashes around Aaron and his sons and tie headbands on them. The priesthood shall be theirs by a permanent statute. In this way you are to ordain Aaron and his sons. 10You are to present the bull at the front of the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on its head. 11And you shall slaughter the bull before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 12Take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; then pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 13Take all the fat that covers the entrails and the lobe of the liver, and both kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar. 14But burn the flesh of the bull and its hide and dung outside the camp; it is a sin offering. 15Take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. 16You are to slaughter the ram, take its blood, and sprinkle it on all sides of the altar. 17Cut the ram into pieces, wash the entrails and legs, and place them with its head and other pieces. 18Then burn the entire ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. 19Take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on its head. 20Slaughter the ram, take some of its blood, and put it on the right earlobes of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Sprinkle the remaining blood on all sides of the altar. 21And take some of the blood on the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments, as well as on his sons and their garments. Then he and his garments will be consecrated, as well as his sons and their garments. 22Take the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat covering the entrails, the lobe of the liver, both kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh (since this is a ram for ordination), 23along with one loaf of bread, one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread that is before the LORD. 24Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and wave them before the LORD as a wave offering. 25Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar atop the burnt offering as a pleasing aroma before the LORD; it is an offering made by fire to the LORD. 26Take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s ordination and wave it before the LORD as a wave offering, and it will be your portion. 27Consecrate for Aaron and his sons the breast of the wave offering that is waved and the thigh of the heave offering that is lifted up from the ram of ordination. 28This will belong to Aaron and his sons as a regular portion from the Israelites, for it is the heave offering the Israelites will make to the LORD from their peace offerings. 29The holy garments that belong to Aaron will belong to his sons after him, so they can be anointed and ordained in them. 30The son who succeeds him as priest and enters the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place must wear them for seven days. 31You are to take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a holy place. 32At the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket. 33They must eat those things by which atonement was made for their ordination and consecration. But no outsider may eat them, because these things are sacred. 34And if any of the meat of ordination or any bread is left until the morning, you are to burn up the remainder. It must not be eaten, because it is sacred. 35This is what you are to do for Aaron and his sons based on all that I have commanded you, taking seven days to ordain them. 36Sacrifice a bull as a sin offering each day for atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it. 37For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will become most holy; whatever touches the altar will be holy. 38This is what you are to offer regularly on the altar, each day: two lambs that are a year old. 39Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight. 40With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with a quarter hin of oil from pressed olives, and a drink offering of a quarter hin of wine. 41And offer the second lamb at twilight with the same grain offering and drink offering as in the morning, as a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. 42For the generations to come, this burnt offering shall be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, where I will meet you to speak with you. 43I will also meet with the Israelites there, and that place will be consecrated by My glory. 44So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and I will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve Me as priests. 45Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. 46And they will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.

Open Exodus 29 in the reader (BSB)

01Background

Exodus is traditionally attributed to Moses. Critical scholars often assign the priestly material to a later Priestly source, while conservative scholars hold that it comes from Moses' time; either way the text presents it as given at Sinai. The instructions of to 31 were given on the mountain after the covenant was made, before the golden calf (). Their carrying out is reported in to 40, where the garments are made (39), and the ordination itself takes place in . The date follows the date of the exodus, which scholars place either about 1446 BC or in the thirteenth century BC.

Every nation around Israel had priests, shrines and sacred dress. Israel's priesthood differed in that its form came by revelation, its duties were fixed in a written law, and it served a God who could not be manipulated or represented by an image. It was hereditary through Aaron's male descendants. The tabernacle is the setting: a portable sanctuary in which the priests are the only people who go beyond the courtyard altar.

gives the dress of the priests and their consecration. Both come immediately after the tabernacle furnishings (25-27) and are followed by the altar of incense and the atonement money (30). They answer the question the furnishings raise: who may serve in this house, and on what terms.

02Outline

  1. Aaron and his sons brought near; craftsmen for the garments
  2. The ephod and the two shoulder stones
  3. The breastpiece of judgment and the Urim and Thummim
  4. The robe with bells, and the gold plate 'Holy to the LORD'
  5. The garments of Aaron's sons
  6. Seven days of consecration: washing, anointing, three offerings
  7. The daily offering and the promise to dwell among Israel
  8. ; The New Testament reading of Aaron

03How to read it

These chapters are instruction in the form of ritual law. They are precise and have few explanations, and the interpreter has to be restrained. The text states a meaning in only a few places: the shoulder stones are a reminder before the LORD (), the breastpiece carries the names over Aaron's heart (), the plate lets Aaron bear the guilt of Israel's holy gifts (), the bells keep Aaron from death (), and the whole system exists so that God may dwell with Israel (). Writers from Philo and Josephus onward have found symbolic meaning in every color and stone. These readings are part of the history of interpretation, but the text itself does not supply them, and the class does not rely on them.

The chapters belong to a larger structure. Instructions (25-31) are followed by their fulfilment (35-40 and ), and each stage of the ordination in is repeated in . The point of the genre is that nothing is left to the priests' invention. Everything is commanded, and they end with their aim: God's presence among his people.

04What the text says

to 5. God tells Moses to bring Aaron and his four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, near to him from among the Israelites to serve as priests. The initiative is God's. Moses is to command skilled workers, whom God has filled with a spirit of wisdom (), to make garments that give the priests dignity and beauty. The gift of the Spirit for making the cloth is the same gift Bezalel receives for the tabernacle ().

to 14. The ephod is a garment of gold, blue, purple and scarlet thread and fine linen. Two onyx stones on the shoulders carry the names of the twelve sons of Israel, six on each, in order of birth. They are stones of remembrance (), and Aaron bears the names on his shoulders before the LORD. The shoulder is where a load is carried.

to 30. The breastpiece of judgment is a folded square of the same fabric set with twelve stones in four rows, each engraved with the name of a tribe. The names rest on Aaron's heart, and the text says it is 'a continual reminder before the LORD' (). The Urim and Thummim go into it (), and Aaron carries the judgment of the Israelites on his heart whenever he enters. They were a means of asking God for a decision (; ), though the Bible does not describe how they worked, and they are not mentioned after the exile except as something the community lacked (). The priest carries two things before God: the people on his shoulders and heart, and the decisions of God to the people.

to 38. The robe of the ephod is blue, with gold bells and pomegranates on the hem. The sound is to be heard when he enters the holy place and when he comes out so that he will not die (). Then comes the plate of pure gold, engraved 'Holy to the LORD', fastened on the turban so that it is always on his forehead. The reason is surprising. Aaron bears the guilt connected with the holy things that Israel dedicates, so that they may be accepted (). Israel's gifts are imperfect, and the priest carries their fault. The verse is the center of the chapter, because it shows that a priest is needed not only to bring offerings but to bear what is wrong with them.

to 43. Aaron's sons have simpler clothing: tunics, sashes and headbands, with linen undergarments for decency, so that they do not incur guilt and die when they enter the tent or come to the altar. Aaron and his sons are to be anointed and ordained. The Hebrew idiom for 'ordain' is to 'fill the hand' (, 29, 33, 35), which suggests that the priest's hands are filled with the office and its offerings.

, to 37. The ordination lasts seven days. At the entrance of the tent the men are washed (), Aaron is dressed in the garments, and the anointing oil is poured on his head (). Three animals follow. The bull is a sin offering. The priests lay their hands on its head, its blood is put on the altar, and its flesh, hide and dung are burned outside the camp (). Next, a ram is wholly burned as a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD (). The second ram is the ram of ordination. Its blood is put on the lobe of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand and the big toe of the right foot of Aaron and each of his sons (), and blood mixed with oil is sprinkled on them and their garments (). The priests then eat the meat and the bread at the tent's entrance (), so that they share in the offering. The order matters: sin is dealt with first, then the whole self is given to God, then the priests are brought in as those whom God has joined to himself. For seven days the altar is also purified (). The ear, thumb and toe cover what the priest hears, does and where he goes.

to 46. Two lambs a year old are offered every day, one in the morning and one at dusk, with flour, oil and wine. This is the continual burnt offering at the tent's entrance, the place where God says he will meet Israel (). The end gives the purpose of the whole system: God will meet Israel there, will dwell among them, and will be their God (). Priests exist for that dwelling.

05Key terms

ephod efod
The priest's outer garment of gold and colored linen, with shoulder pieces that held the two stones (). Its use is bound up with seeking God's word ().
breastpiece of judgment choshen mishpat
The square piece set with twelve stones that carried the tribes' names and held the Urim and Thummim (). 'Judgment' here means a decision given by God.
Urim and Thummim urim ve-tummim
Objects kept in the breastpiece and used to inquire of God (; ). The Bible does not describe them, and the meaning of the words is uncertain.
to ordain, to consecrate mille yad (Greek teleioo)
The Hebrew idiom means 'fill the hand' and is used for ordaining priests (, 29, 33, 35). The Greek Old Testament commonly renders it with a form of teleioo, 'make complete', and many commentators see an echo of this in Hebrews, which says Jesus was made perfect (; ).
high priest archiereus
The Greek title for the chief priest. In the Gospels and Acts it names men like Annas and Caiaphas (; ). In Hebrews it is used of Jesus (; ; ; ; ).
sin offering chatta't
The offering that deals with sin and impurity, the first sacrifice at the ordination (). The Greek Old Testament uses the word for sin (hamartia) for it, and in and some interpreters see this language applied to Christ.

06In the whole Bible

and 29 give the Old Testament's picture of a priest, and the rest of the law fills in the work. A priest offers sacrifices (). He tends the lamps and burns incense (; ). He carries the people before God by the names on shoulders and heart. He seeks God's word for them (). He blesses them in God's name (). He teaches the law (; ), judges hard cases (), distinguishes the holy from the common and the clean from the unclean (; ), and reads the law to the people (). Malachi sums it up: the lips of a priest guard knowledge and people seek the law from him (). The priest is a mediator in both directions.

Not everyone could serve. The priesthood belonged to Aaron's male descendants, who had to be free of certain physical defects (). Members of a priest's household, including a daughter who had not married out of the family, shared in the priestly food () but held no office. The rest of the tribe of Levi were not priests. After the golden calf the Levites sided with Moses (), and they were taken for God in place of Israel's firstborn (). They assisted the priests, guarded and carried the tabernacle, and later taught the law (; ; ), but they could not go to the altar or into the sanctuary (). Moses was a Levite who is called one of God's priests () and who acted in the ordination, but he was not in Aaron's line. Kings and prophets were not priests. Saul and Uzziah were judged for acting as priests (; ), and Nadab and Abihu died for bringing unauthorized fire ().

In the New Testament, the Aaronic priesthood is both honored and set aside. describes the office: a high priest is taken from among men, appointed to act on their behalf toward God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins, to deal gently with the ignorant because he himself is weak, and to offer for himself as well. No one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, as Aaron was. Then Hebrews argues that the system was a copy and shadow of heavenly things (), that it could not bring perfection (), and that a change of priesthood means a change of law ().

07Where Christ is

The Aaronic priesthood is a type of Christ, and Hebrews makes the link. cites the call of Aaron and says Christ did not glorify himself to become high priest, but was appointed by God. Where Aaron is weak and offers first for himself, Jesus is 'holy, innocent, undefiled' () and needs no sacrifice for his own sins (). He suffered, can sympathize with weakness, and has passed through the heavens (). His priesthood is not hereditary, because he is from Judah (), and it is permanent because he lives forever (). The writer says the daily standing and offering of the old priests achieved no final result, whereas Christ offered one sacrifice for sins and sat down ().

Each part of the garments has its fulfillment in what Christ does. Aaron carries the tribes' names on his shoulders and over his heart as a continual reminder before the LORD. Hebrews says Jesus lives to intercede for those who draw near to God () and appears in God's presence on our behalf (); this is fulfillment of the breastpiece. Aaron bears the guilt of Israel's holy things (), and Christ bears sins (; ). The plate 'Holy to the LORD' is fulfilled in the one who is holy; in the promise is that the same words will one day mark the whole city (promise). The anointing of Aaron () is an echo of the Messiah's title, since 'Christ' means anointed one, and Jesus was anointed with the Spirit (; ).

The sacrifices point the same way. The bull of the sin offering was burned outside the camp (), and says Jesus suffered outside the gate to sanctify the people through his blood (type, fulfilled). The daily unblemished lambs echo the lamb without blemish or spot of , and John the Baptist's call to look at the Lamb of God () is an echo of the same pattern. The promise of , that God will dwell among Israel, is fulfilled in the Word who 'dwelt' among us () and in the church as God's dwelling ().

08How traditions read it

Do Christian ministers inherit the Aaronic pattern? The question is old. Clement of Rome (c. AD 96) argues for order in the Corinthian church by comparing the high priest, priests and Levites of the temple with those who hold office in the church, and he adds that the apostles appointed overseers and deacons (1 Clement 40-44). Scholars disagree whether he is making an analogy of order or applying the priesthood directly. The Didache (13.3, late first or early second century) calls prophets 'your high priests' in relation to first fruits. Tertullian (c. AD 200) said that the laity are priests too, while also separating the clergy as an order (On Exhortation to Chastity 7). By Cyprian of Carthage (c. AD 250), the bishop is regularly called sacerdos, a priest, and the Aaronic comparison is used in support. Catholic and Orthodox writers hold this development is a true unfolding of what Christ intended, since the ordained share in Christ's priesthood, and the Council of Trent (Session 23, 1563) taught that the New Testament has a visible priesthood.

Protestant writers reply from the text itself. Hebrews says that Aaron's priesthood was a shadow, that it has been replaced because Christ is a priest forever (, 23-24), and that he made one offering for all time (). The New Testament's names for church leaders are presbyteros (elder), episkopos (overseer) and diakonos (servant), never hiereus. The English word 'priest' comes from presbyteros, so Anglican and some Lutheran usage can call a presbyter a 'priest' without claiming that he offers sacrifice for sin; the real dispute is over the sacrificing function, which classes 25 and 26 take up.

Two smaller questions follow. Vestments: liturgical dress in the church grew gradually from late Roman clothing, and writers used Aaron's garments to explain it; Jerome's Letter 64 to Fabiola (c. AD 396) is an extended spiritual reading of Aaron's dress. In sixteenth-century England, the Puritans objected to vestments as relics of an Aaronic priesthood that Christ had ended (the vestments controversy). Gender: Israel's priesthood was male, and some complementarian writers cite this when discussing church office, while egalitarian writers answer that the New Testament does not model church office on the Aaronic priesthood at all. The class follows Hebrews: Aaron's office is the pattern that shows what Christ's priesthood does, and the New Testament does not carry it forward as a ministerial office.

09Review questions

  1. What reasons does itself give for the shoulder stones, the breastpiece, the bells and the gold plate?
  2. What are the three offerings of , and why does the sin offering come first?
  3. Name six functions of priests in the Old Testament and give a text for each.
  4. Who was not a priest in Israel, and what was the Levites' task?
  5. How does use the call of Aaron, and what does say Jesus has that Aaron lacked?

Prepared with AI assistance. A scholar's review is still to come; if you spot anything to correct, please tell us.

Your notes

Only you can see your notes.

Ask a question about this class

0/600
Places and dictionary for this chapter ▾

Places

Egypt
Dashed outline: region boundary as scholars identify it. Locations are best identifications, not certainties.Geocoding: OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0) · Map: Natural Earth

Dictionary

Sign in to keep your progress← Previous