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Exodus 28

God appoints priests whose garments express the holiness of their service and their responsibility to bear Israel before him.

God directs Moses to set apart Aaron and his sons to serve as priests, with skilled workers making garments for their office. The instructions describe rich fabrics, engraved stones, and a breastplate carrying the names of Israel’s tribes. Aaron will bear those names before YHWH on his shoulders and over his heart. A gold plate marks his consecration, while commands about the priests’ clothing carry warnings of guilt and death.

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1“Bring Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, near to you from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office: Aaron, with Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.
2You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.
3You shall speak to all who are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to sanctify him, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office.
4These are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a fitted tunic, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office.
5They shall use the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, and the fine linen.
6“They shall make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the skillful workman.
8The skillfully woven band, which is on it, shall be like its work and of the same piece; of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen.
9You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the children of Israel.
11With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones, according to the names of the children of Israel. You shall make them to be enclosed in settings of gold.
12You shall put the two stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel. Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders for a memorial.
14and two chains of pure gold; you shall make them like cords of braided work. You shall put the braided chains on the settings.
15“You shall make a breastplate of judgment, the work of the skillful workman; like the work of the ephod you shall make it; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, you shall make it.
17You shall set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: a row of ruby, topaz, and beryl shall be the first row;
18and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald;
20and the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be enclosed in gold in their settings.
21The stones shall be according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names; like the engravings of a signet, everyone according to his name, they shall be for the twelve tribes.
25The other two ends of the two braided chains you shall put on the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in its forepart.
28They shall bind the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate may not swing out from the ephod.
29Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment on his heart, when he goes in to the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually.
30You shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before the LORD. Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel on his heart before the LORD continually.
31“You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue.
32It shall have a hole for the head in the middle of it. It shall have a binding of woven work around its hole, as it were the hole of a coat of mail, that it not be torn.
33On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, all around its hem; with bells of gold between and around them:
34a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe.
35It shall be on Aaron to minister: and its sound shall be heard when he goes in to the holy place before the LORD, and when he comes out, that he not die.
36“You shall make a plate of pure gold, and engrave on it, like the engravings of a signet, ‘HOLY TO THE LORD.’
37You shall put it on a lace of blue, and it shall be on the sash. It shall be on the front of the sash.
38It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall make holy in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.
39You shall weave the tunic with fine linen. You shall make a turban of fine linen. You shall make a sash, the work of the embroiderer.
40“You shall make tunics for Aaron’s sons. You shall make sashes for them. You shall make headbands for them, for glory and for beauty.
41You shall put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to me in the priest’s office.
42You shall make them linen pants to cover their naked flesh. They shall reach from the waist even to the thighs.
43They shall be on Aaron and on his sons, when they go in to the Tent of Meeting, or when they come near to the altar to minister in the holy place, that they don’t bear iniquity, and die. This shall be a statute forever to him and to his offspring after him.
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Key verses
Exodus 28:1God names Aaron and his sons for priestly service, establishing his choice as the basis of their office.
Exodus 28:4The list of holy garments frames the detailed instructions that follow, linking each item to service before God.
Exodus 28:30The Urim and Thummim connect Aaron’s breastplate with his charge to bear Israel’s judgment before YHWH.
Where this chapter reaches

Leviticus describes Aaron being clothed with these garments, while Numbers connects the Urim with seeking God’s judgment through the priest. Hebrews takes up Aaron’s appointment and the high priest’s representative role in explaining Christ’s priesthood, drawing a contrast between mortal priests and the enduring Son.

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After reading the whole chapter

What do you notice about Aaron carrying Israel’s names on both his shoulders and his heart?

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How do the warnings about guilt and death shape your reading of the garments’ glory and beauty?

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Questions people ask about Exodus 28

What are the Urim and Thummim in Exodus 28?

The Urim and Thummim are placed in the breastplate of judgment, over Aaron’s heart when he comes before YHWH. They are associated with bearing Israel’s judgment before God. The chapter does not describe their appearance or explain how they were used, so their exact form remains uncertain.

Why did Aaron need special garments in Exodus 28?

God commands holy garments “for glory and for beauty” to set Aaron apart for priestly service. The engraved stones carry Israel’s names before YHWH, and the gold forehead plate marks holiness and relates to the acceptance of Israel’s gifts. The clothing commands also include warnings about guilt and death.

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Exodus · 40 chapters

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).