Exodus 29:5

And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod:

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(5) Thou shalt take the garments—i.e., those described in the preceding chapter.

The coat—i.e., the linen tunic (Exodus 28:39). As the inner garment, this had to be put on first. Comp. Leviticus 8:7-9, where the investiture is more fully described, and is seen to have comprised nine acts:—(1) The putting on of the tunic; (2) The girding of the tunic with the under-girdle; (3) The putting on of the robe of the ephod; (4) The putting on of the ephod; (5) Girding with the curious girdle of the ephod; (6) The putting on of the breastplate; (7) The putting of the Urim and Thummim into the bag of the breastplate; (8) The putting on of the mitre; and (9) The attachment of the golden plate to the front of the mitre. These minute directions may well be regarded as justifying those given in our own Ordinal with respect to the vesting of bishops at the time of their consecration.

Benson Commentary

Exodus 29:5. They shalt take the garments, &c. — This was to signify that it was not sufficient for them to put away the pollutions of sin, but that they must put on divine graces, and be clothed with righteousness, Psalm 132:10. They must also be girded, as men prepared and strengthened for their work, and they must be robed and crowned, as men that counted their work and office their true honour.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

29:1-37 Aaron and his sons were to be set apart for the priest's office, with ceremony and solemnity. Our Lord Jesus is the great High Priest of our profession, called of God to be so; anointed with the Spirit, whence he is called Messiah, the Christ; clothed with glory and beauty; sanctified by his own blood; made perfect, or consecrated through sufferings, Heb 2:10. All believers are spiritual priests, to offer spiritual sacrifices,

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Door of the tabernacle - Entrance of the tent. See Leviticus 8:3.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

4-9. Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle—as occupying the intermediate space between the court where the people stood, and the dwelling-place of Israel's king, and therefore the fittest spot for the priests being duly prepared for entrance, and the people witnessing the ceremony of inauguration.

wash them with water. And … take the garments—The manner in which these parts of the ceremonial were performed is minutely described, and in discovering their symbolical import, which indeed, is sufficiently plain and obvious, we have inspired authority to guide us. It signified the necessity and importance of moral purity or holiness (Isa 52:11; Joh 13:10; 2Co 7:1; 1Pe 3:21). In like manner, the investiture with the holy garments signified their being clothed with righteousness (Re 19:8) and equipped as men active and well-prepared for the service of God; the anointing the high priest with oil denoted that he was to be filled with the influences of the Spirit, for the edification and delight of the church (Le 10:7; Ps 45:7; Isa 61:1; 1Jo 2:27), and as he was officially a type of Christ (Heb 7:26; Joh 3:34; also Mt 3:16; 11:29).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Not about the loins, but about the paps, or breast, as Christ and his ministers are represented, Revelation 1:13. The linen breeches are here omitted, because they were put on privately before they came to the door of the tabernacle, where the other things were put on.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And thou shall take the garments,.... The priestly garments before ordered to be made, and when made:

and put upon Aaron the coat: the broidered coat, the coat of fine linen, which was put on first and was next to his flesh, for all these garments were put on in the order in which they are here placed:

and the robe of the ephod: which was all of blue, and had pomegranates and golden bells at the hem of it; this was put over the broidered coat:

and the ephod; which was made of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen: this was a short garment put over the robe of the ephod:

and the breastplate; with the Urim and Thummim in it, or the twelve precious stones on which were engraven the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, which hung down over the breast by wreathen chains of gold, from the shoulder pieces of the ephod:

and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod; which was made of the same material and after the same manner as the ephod itself, and which girt all his garments tight and close to him; the significance of these has been observed already; and unless thus clothed he could not minister in his office, and these he had only on while ministering in it: no mention is made of the breeches, because these were doubtless to be put on by the high priest himself in a private manner before he came there; whereas all these garments were put on him publicly at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, where it would not have been so seemly and decent to put on the other.

Geneva Study Bible

And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the {b} robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod:

(b) Which was next under the Ephod.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

5. the coat] the tunic (Exodus 28:39). After the tunic, the sash seems to have been accidentally omitted: see Leviticus 8:7 (EVV. ‘girdle’).

the breastplate] the pouch: Exodus 28:15 ff.

and fasten (it) to him with the band of the ephod] see on Exodus 28:8. The verb rendered ‘fasten’ is formed from ‘ephod,’ and means only to fit or fasten as an ephod. In Leviticus 8:7 rendered bound, which, however, connects it incorrectly with the preceding ‘band.’

5–7. The investiture and anointing of the high priest. The high priest is to be arrayed in the garments described in ch. 28, and then to have his head anointed. Cf. Leviticus 8:7-10 a, 12 (vv. 10b–11, relating to the anointing of the Dwelling, altar, &c., have no parallel in Exodus 29, and seem out of place).

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 5, 6. - The Investiture of Aaron. Verse 5. - Thou shalt take the garments. The directions, as here given, are incomplete, and not quite in the right order. In the LXX. they are still more incomplete. For the full process of investiture, we mast look to Leviticus 8:7-9. There we find that the process included nine acts. -

1. The putting on of the linen tunic.

2. The girding with the under-girdle.

3. The putting on of the robe of the ephod.

4. The putting on of the ephod.

5. The girding with the curious girdle of the ephod.

6. The putting on of the breast-plate.

7. The putting into the breast-plate of the Urim and Thummim.

8. The putting on of the mitre.

9. The affixing to the mitre of the golden plate.

The second and seventh are omitted here; and the order of the fifth and sixth is inverted. Exodus 29:5

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Consecration of Aaron and his Sons through the anointing of their persons and the offering of sacrifices, the directions for which form the subject of vv. 1-35. This can only be fully understood in connection with the sacrificial law contained in Leviticus 1-7. It will be more advisable therefore to defer the examination of this ceremony till we come to Leviticus 8, where the consecration itself is described. The same may also be said of the expiation and anointing of the altar, which are commanded in Exodus 29:36 and Exodus 29:37, and carried out in Leviticus 8:11.