The High Priest's Garments

 

By
Phil Elam
(1946 – 2012)
PHP, Keystone Chapter No. 146, S. Louis, Missouri

      The garments of the High Priest (Kohen) were made from the finest materials received in offerings from the people of Israel.  This included the usual offerings of colored yarn (blue, purple, and scarlet), along with pure white linen.  Woolen fabrics were identified by the costly dyes from Tyre used in their manufacture.  In addition, gold thread was received, along with fine-twined linen, which had been spun from flax by the women of the various tribes.  The people also contributed precious stones for both the Ephod and the Breastplate.

     There was a threefold purpose for the priestly regalia:

     Decorative:  They were to give Aaron, the first High Priest, to denote dignity and grandeur.  This was most essential since the appearance of the High Priest was to convey the beauty and authority that belonged to G-d himself.

     Functional:  Each piece obviously had, in addition to the decorative purpose, a functional role.  The breeches, for example, were for the sake of modesty, while the breastplate served as a pouch to contain the sacred lot, Urim and Thummin.

     Symbolic:  More than ornamentation was involved.  Consider the 12 precious stones of the “Breastplate of Judgement,” which represented the 12 tribes of Israel.  When wearing this article, the High Priest bore the names of the tribes to bring them to continual remembrance before the Lord.  The clothing of the High Priest was to provide a measure of realization of his task in representing Israel to G-d.

     Eight items of clothing are listed for the High Priest in the Old Testament Book of Exodus.  An explanation of each follows, plus other items worn only by the High Priest.

Breeches

     This particular garment was to assure the modesty demanded of all Temple priests when officiating at the altar.  It was made of linen, since the priest must not perspire when officiating.  While the breeches were part of the daily dress of every priest, they are specified in particular as part of his apparel when he was removing the ashes of the burnt offerings from the altar, and in connection with his activities on the Day of Atonement (Exodus 16:4).

Tunic

     This item, part of the dress of every priest, was to be worn under the outer garment.  It was a long or half-sleeved shirt like garb reaching to the ankles.  Made of linen, as were all the “inner” garments, it was to have a checked design, indicating either an open texture or a variegation of colors.

Girdle

     This was a kind of linen sash, essential to a flowing garment, used to assure both warmth and maneuverability.  It was worn around the waist.

The Robe

     The “robe” of the Ephod, all of blue, was worn immediately under the Ephod.  It was without seam or sleeves.  The hem or skirt was ornamented with pomegranates and golden bells, seventy-two of each in alternate order.  The sounding of the bells announced to the people in the Outer Court the time when the High Priest entered into the Holy Place (Middle Chamber) to burn incense before the Lord.

     To the High Priest alone it was permitted to enter the Holy of Holies, which he did only once a year, on the great Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).  Wearing his gorgeous priestly vestments, he entered the Temple before all the people, and then, laying them aside and assuming only his linen garments in secret, he entered the Holy of Holies alone, and made expiation, sprinkling the blood of the sin offering on the mercy seat, and offering up incense.  Then, resuming his splendid robes, he reappeared before the people.  Thus, the wearing of these robes came to be identified with the Day of Atonement.

The Ephod

     The Ephod is the apron-like garment worn by the High Priest.  It was made in four colors:  blue, purple, scarlet, and the white of the linen.  These are the same colors that can be seen at the door to the Outer Court, the door to the Sanctuary, and in the Veil covering the Sanctum Sanctorum.  There is an important additional feature of the Ephod.  Gold thread (cut from gold plate) was interwoven with the other colors.  Gold is not only precious, it implies “of G-d, divine and heavenly.”

     The Ephod consists of two parts, one of which covered the back and the other the breast, which were united by the “curious girdle.”  It was made of fine twined linen, and ornamented with gold and purple.  Each of the shoulder-straps was adorned with an unidentified precious stone.

The Shoulder Stones

     On each shoulder piece of the Ephod was a precious stone.  Six names were written on each of the stones, altogether naming the twelve tribes of Israel.  Every time the High Priest went before G-d at the golden incense altar, the names of all the people of G-d were upon his shoulders.

The Breastplate

     The Breastplate was square in its proportions, and embroidered with gold.  Set into the Breastplate in gold were twelve precious stones, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.  These jewels in gold settings were in the first row:  a ruby, topaz, and emerald; in the second row, a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a diamond; in the third row, an amber, an agate, and an amethyst; and in the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper.  The exact identification and the order of these stones, as well as the tribe represented by each, are matters of speculation.

The Urim and Thummin

     The Breastplate was folded double to form a pocket.  Inside the pocket, the Urim and Thummin were kept.  Urim means “light” and Thummin means “perfection.”  They were most probably two jewels.  When someone had to make an important decision, the request was made known to the High Priest, who would then stand before the Lampstand, holding the Urim in one hand and the Thummin in the other.  As the light reflected from the Urim and the Thummin onto the stones of the Breastplate, this flash of light provider up to 24 combinations (2 x 12).  Since there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, the flashes of light could produce strings of letters.  According to ancient legend, as G-d breathed through the Ark, the Veil would move, permitting a breeze to flicker the flames in the Lampstand to momentarily alter the angle of direction of the light unto the Urim and Thummin, and then to the Breastplate.  Thus, G-d was able to communicate directly, but not audibly, to the High Priest and answer the inquiry.  However, another theory is that they were used to answer “Yes/No” types of questions.  The bottom line is that no one really knows, and all speculation is just that – speculation.

The Mitre

     The “mitre” (or upper turban) was created by a twisted band of eight yards of fine linen coiled into a cap of conical shape with a gold plate fixed front.  Engraved on the gold plate was the inscription “Holiness to the Lord,” and it was fastened to the mitre by a blue ribbon.

 

     One point worth noting is that the linen and wool portions of the High Priest’s garments were never washed.  When they became soiled, they were burned in a sacred ceremony, and new garments were made.  When a High Priest died, his last set of garments was passed on to the new High Priest who repeated the solemn burning ceremony.

 

 

(Adapted from The Royal Arch Mason, Volume 24, Number 1, Spring 2000, pages 13 - 16)