The curious girdle ... - Rather: the band for fastening it, which is upon it, shall be of the same work, of one piece with it. This band being woven on to one of the pieces of the ephod, was passed round the body, and fastened by buttons, or strings, or some other suitable contrivance.

The curious girdle of the ephod - The word חשב chesheb, rendered here curious girdle, signifies merely a kind of diaper, or embroidered work; (see Clarke's note on Exodus 26:1); and it is widely different from אבנט abnet, which is properly translated girdle Exodus 28:4. The meaning therefore of the text, according to some, is this, that the two pieces, Exodus 28:7, which connected the parts of the ephod at the shoulders where the onyx stones were set, should be of the same texture with the ephod itself, i.e., of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, embroidered together. But others suppose that some kind of a girdle is meant, different from the abnet, Exodus 28:39, being only of plain workmanship.

And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it,.... Which was worn along with it, and went out from it like two thongs, as Jarchi says, which girt the ephod close to the back and breast:

shall be of the same; of the same matter as the ephod, and woven in the same manner, and together with it:

according to the work thereof; wrought with the same coloured, curious, and cunning work:

even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; and from the gold in it, it was called a golden girdle, to distinguish it from others, and with it the priest was girt under the arm holes about the paps, to which the allusion is, Revelation 1:13 and is an emblem of the close union of the human nature of Christ to his divine which is the effect of his love to his people; which, as it is seen in his incarnation, so more especially in his sufferings and death; and it may denote his strength to do his work as a priest, his readiness to perform it, and his faithfulness and integrity in it; righteousness being the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

"And the girdle of its putting on which (is) upon it, shall be of it, like its work, gold, etc." There was to be a girdle upon the ephod, of the same material and the same artistic work as the ephod, and joined to it, not separated from it. The חשׁב mentioned along with the ephod cannot mean ὕφασμα, textura (lxx, Cler., etc.), but is to be traced to חשׁב equals חבשׁ to bind, to fasten, and to be understood in the sense of cingulum, a girdle (compare Exodus 29:5 with Leviticus 8:7, "he girded him with the girdle of the ephod"). אפדּה is no doubt to be derived from אפד, and signifies the putting on of the ephod. In Isaiah 30:22 it is applied to the covering of a statue; at the same time, this does not warrant us in attributing to the verb, as used in Exodus 9:5 and Leviticus 8:7, the meaning, to put on or clothe. This girdle, by which the two parts of the ephod were fastened tightly to the body, so as not to hang loose, was attached to the lower part or extremity of the ephod, so that it was fastened round the body below the breastplate (cf. Exodus 28:27, Exodus 28:28; Exodus 39:20-21).

And the {d} curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.

(d) Which went about his upmost coat.

curious: or, embroidered

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.