Exodus 28:40

And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

7. THE MINISTERIAL ATTIRE OF THE PRIESTS.

(40) For Aaron’s sons thou shalt make coats—i.e., linen tunics like that of the high priest already described (see the last Note on Exodus 28:39), but not woven in any peculiar fashion.

Girdles.—Perhaps similar to the inner girdle of the high priest, but nowhere described particularly.

Bonnets.—Rather, caps. Plain, close-fitting caps, like those so commonly worn in Egypt, seem to be intended. The word used, migbâ’ah, is derived from gâbia’, “a cup” or “basin.”

For glory and for beauty.—It is certainly remarkable that so plain a dress as that of the ordinary priests—a white tunic, a girdle, which may or may not have been embroidered, and a plain white close-fitting cap—should be regarded as sufficing “for glory and for beauty.” White robes, however, are in Scripture constantly represented as eminently glorious (Daniel 7:9; Mark 9:3; John 20:12; Acts 1:10; Revelation 4:4; Revelation 6:11; Revelation 7:9-14; Revelation 15:6, &c.).

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

28:40-43 The priest's garments typify the righteousness of Christ. If we appear not before God in that, we shall bear our iniquity, and die. Blessed is he, therefore, that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, Re 16:15. And blessed be God that we have a High Priest, appointed of God, and set apart for his work; furnished for his high office by the glory of his Divine majesty, and the beauty of perfect holiness. Happy are we, if by the law spiritually understood, we see that such a High Priest became us; that we cannot draw near to a holy God, or be accepted, but by him. There is no light, no wisdom, no perfection, but from him; no glory, no beauty, but in being like unto him. Let us take encouragement from the power, love, and compassion of our High Priest, to draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Bonnets - Caps of a simple construction which seem to have been cup-shaped.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

40. bonnets—turbans.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The coats were not of woollen, Ezekiel 44:17, but of linen, Exodus 39:27. These were ephods, 1 Samuel 22:18.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats,.... Of fine linen, of woven work, as in Exodus 39:27, these were different from the broidered coat of the high priest, and the blue robe of the ephod:

and thou shall make for them girdles; linen ones, to gird up their linen coats, which were long, that they might the more expeditiously perform their service; and which is an instruction to all the priests of the Lord, true believers in Christ, to be ready, forward, and diligent in the work of the Lord; and especially to ministers of the word, who, as their doctrines and lives ought to be pure, signified by the priest's linen garment, so they should be girt about with the girdle of truth, and ready upon all occasions to publish and defend it, and to do their work with cheerfulness and faithfulness:

and bonnets shall thou make for them: these were coverings for the head, and of the same kind with the mitre of the high priest, and of the same length, but differed from that in the manner of wrapping the linen, of which they were made; see Gill on Exodus 28:39, and all these were to be made

for glory and beauty: to beautify and adorn them, to make them look like persons of some note and figure, and that they might be respectable among men, and typical, as they all were, of our great and glorious High Priest, the Son of God.

Geneva Study Bible

And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

40. The tunics, sashes, and caps, for Aaron’s ‘sons’ (i.e. for the ordinary priests). Whether the tunics and sashes differed in any way from those of the high priest, is not stated.

headtires] of fine linen (Exodus 39:28),—doubtless a band of fine linen bound round the head (Leviticus 8:13); and, to judge from the etym. of migbâ‘ôth (from gâba‘, prob. to be convex, cf. gib‘âh, ‘hill,’ gâbîa‘, ‘goblet’), in shape like a brimless convex cap (Jos. Ant. iii. 7. 3 πῖλος, a felt cap, in shape resembling a half-egg; see Dict. of Class. Antiq. s.v. Pilleus). The word occurs only of the caps of the ordinary priests (Exodus 29:9, Exodus 39:28, Lev. l.c.†). Cf. EB. Mitre.

At the great sanctuary of the Phrygian Leto at Hierapolis in Phrygia (cf. Rel. Sem. Index, s.v. Hierapolis; Ramsay, Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia, i. 89 ff.) the priests were dressed wholly in white, and wore a πῖλος on their head, the chief priest alone wearing a purple vestment (cf. above, v. 31, and on Exodus 26:1), and having a golden ‘tiara’ bound round his head (Luc. de dea Syr. § 42).

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 40-43. - THE APPAREL OF THE ORDINARY PRIESTS. The chapter concludes with brief directions concerning the official attire of the ordinary priests. This was to consist of linen drawers like those of the high priest; of a tunic, also of linen (Exodus 39:27), shaped like his, but not diapered; of a linen girdle, the exact character of which is not stated; and of a close-fitting cap. The entire dress, with perhaps the exception of the girdle, was white. The linen drawers were regarded as of primary necessity, and the priest who did not wear them was threatened with death. Verse 40. - For Aaron's sons. His actual sons at this time - his descendants afterwards, to whom the priesthood was rigidly confined. Thou shalt make coats. The verb is different from that used in ver 39, and seems to imply that the priests' tunics were not to be patterned. Girdles. It has generally been supposed that these were of the same material and workmanship as the high priest's; but this is nowhere stated. In Exodus 39:29, the high priest's girdle alone is spoken cf. Bonnets. Certainly not "bonnets "in the modern sense. Plain, close-fitting caps, shaped like a cup, or rather basin, seem to be meant. Such caps were often worn in Egypt, but not by the priests. For glory and for beauty. See above, ver. 2. It is very noticeable, that the extremely simple attire of the ordinary priests - a dress of pure white, without anything ornamental about it, unless it were the girdle - is still regarded as sufficient "for glory and for beauty." White robes have certainly a vast amount of scriptural testimony in their favour (Leviticus 16:4; Mark 9:3; John 20:12; Acts 1:10; Revelation 4:4; Revelation 6:11; Revelation 7:9, 14, etc.). Exodus 28:40

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The official dress of the sons of Aaron, i.e., of the ordinary priests, was to consist of just the same articles as Aaron's priestly costume (Exodus 28:39). But their body-coat is called weavers' work in Exodus 39:27, and was therefore quite a plain cloth, of white byssus or cotton yarn, though it was whole throughout, ἀῤῥαφος without seam, like the robe of Christ (John 19:23). It was worn close to the body, and, according to Jewish tradition, reached down to the ankles (cf. Josephus, iii. 7, 2). The head-dress of an ordinary priest is called מגבּעה, related to גּביע a basin or cup, and therefore seems to have been in the form of an inverted cup, and to have been a plain white cotton cap. The girdle, according to Exodus 39:29, was of the same material and work for Aaron and his sons. This dress was to be for glory and for beauty to the priests, just as Aaron's dress was to him (Exodus 28:2). The glory consisted in the brilliant white colour, the symbol of holiness; whilst the girdle, which an oriental man puts on when preparing for the duties of an office, contained in the four colours of the sanctuary the indication that they were the officers of Jehovah in His earthly kingdom.