Exodus 28:7

It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(7) The two shoulder pieces thereof.—Rather, two shoulder pieces.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

28:6-14 This richly-wrought ephod was the outmost garment of the high priest; plain linen ephods were worn by the inferior priests. It was a short coat without sleeves, fastened close to the body with a girdle. The shoulder-pieces were buttoned together with precious stones set in gold, one on each shoulder, on which were engraven the names of the children of Israel. Thus Christ, our High Priest, presents his people before the Lord for a memorial. As Christ's coat had no seam, but was woven from the top throughout, so it was with the ephod. The golden bells on this ephod, by their preciousness and pleasant sound, well represent the good profession that the saints make, and the pomegranates the fruit they bring forth.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Compare Exodus 39:4. The ephod consisted of two principal pieces of cloth, one for the back and the other for the front, joined together by shoulder straps (see Exodus 28:27 note). Below the arms, probably just above the hips, the two pieces were kept in place by a band attached to one of the pieces. On the respect in which the ephod of the High priest was held, see 1 Samuel 2:28; 1 Samuel 14:3; 1 Samuel 21:9; 1 Samuel 23:6-9; 1 Samuel 30:7. But an ephod made of linen appears to have been a recognized garment not only for the common priests 1 Samuel 22:18, but also for those who were even temporarily engaged in the service of the sanctuary 1 Samuel 2:18; 2 Samuel 6:14; 1 Chronicles 15:27.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

6-14. ephod—It was a very gorgeous robe made of byssus, curiously embroidered, and dyed with variegated colors, and further enriched with golden tissue, the threads of gold being either originally interwoven or afterwards inserted by the embroiderer. It was short—reaching from the breast to a little below the loins—and though destitute of sleeves, retained its position by the support of straps thrown over each shoulder. These straps or braces, connecting the one with the back, the other with the front piece of which the tunic was composed, were united on the shoulder by two onyx stones, serving as buttons, and on which the names of the twelve tribes were engraved, and set in golden encasements. The symbolical design of this was, that the high priest, who bore the names along with him in all his ministrations before the Lord, might be kept in remembrance of his duty to plead their cause, and supplicate the accomplishment of the divine promises in their favor. The ephod was fastened by a girdle of the same costly materials, that is, dyed, embroidered, and wrought with threads of gold. It was about a handbreadth wide and wound twice round the upper part of the waist; it fastened in front, the ends hanging down at great length (Re 1:13).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The two shoulder-pieces were two parts of the ephod going up from the body of the ephod, the one before, the other behind, which when the priest had put over his head, were tied together, and covered the priest’s shoulders, and part of his back and breast.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

It shall have the two shoulder pieces thereof,.... Which were two pieces that joined to the ephod, reaching from the arm holes to the shoulders both on the right and left, coming from before and behind; and meeting on the shoulders, were buttoned with two onyx stones, and covering the shoulders are called by this name:

joined at the two edges thereof; the two edges of the ephod; not sewed thereunto with a needle, as Maimonides (w) and other Jewish writers think, but were woven along with it, and in the weaving was of the same with it:

and so it shall be joined together; that is, the hinder and fore parts of the ephod in the shoulder pieces of it, shall be joined together by the two onyx stones upon them, hereafter mentioned, with which they were buttoned.

(w) Ut supra. (Hilchot Cele Hamikdash, c. 9. sect. 9.)

Geneva Study Bible

It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

7. Read with Sam. LXX. and Exodus 39:4 : It shall have two shoulder-straps joined (to it): at its two (top) edges shall it be joined (יחבר for וחבר). The ephod went closely round the body; and it was supported by two straps passing over the shoulders, and attached in front and behind to its top edges.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 7. - The two shoulder-pieces thereof, Literally, "Two shoulder-pieces." There is no article, and no possessive pronoun. At the two edges thereof. Literally, "at its two ends." A union of the back and front flaps of the dress by a seam at the top of the shoulder seems to be intended. Female dresses were made in this way among the Greeks, but fastened with a brooch or buckle. Exodus 28:7

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

"Two connecting shoulder-pieces shall it have for its two ends, that it may be bound together." If we compare the statement in Exodus 39:4, - "shoulder-pieces they made for it, connecting; at its two ends was it connected," - there can hardly be any doubt that the ephod consisted of two pieces, which were connected together at the top upon (over) the shoulders; and that Knobel is wrong in supposing that it consisted of a single piece, with a hole cut on each side for the arms to be put through. If it had been a compact garment, which had to be drawn over the head like the robe (Exodus 28:31, Exodus 28:32), the opening for the head would certainly have been mentioned, as it is in the case of the latter (Exodus 28:32). The words of the text point most decidedly to the rabbinical idea, that it consisted of two pieces reaching to about the hip, one hanging over the breast, the other down the back, and that it was constructed with two shoulder-pieces which joined the two together. These shoulder-pieces were not made separate, however, and then sewed upon one of the pieces; but they were woven along with the front piece, and that no merely at the top, so as to cover the shoulders when the ephod was worn, but according to Exodus 28:25 (? 27), reaching down on both sides from the shoulders to the girdle (Exodus 28:8).