Thou shalt take the garments - As most offices of spiritual and secular dignity had appropriate habits and insignia, hence, when a person was appointed to an office and habited for the purpose, he was said to be invested with that office, from in, used intensively, and vestio, I clothe, because he was then clothed with the vestments peculiar to that office.

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.

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.

[3] garments

The priest's garments were put on in reverse order of the instructions for making them:

(1) The "coat" Ex 28:39 the oriental long garment worn next to the person, made of fine linen. Ex 27:9.

(2) The "robe of the ephod" Ex 28:31-35 a long seamless garment of blue linen with an opening for the head, worn over the "coat." Pomegranates, symbol of fruitfulness, were embroidered on the skirt of the robe in blue, purple, and scarlet, alternated with golden bells, symbol of testimony, which gave a sound as the high priest went in and out of the sanctuary. The robe was secured by a golden girdle.

(3) The ephod Ex 28:5-12 was next put on. A short garment made of linen, embroidered with gold, blue, purple, and scarlet, it consisted of two pieces, front and back, united by two shoulder-pieces and by a band about the bottom. Two onyx stones, set in gold and fastened upon the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, were engraved with the names of the twelve tribes: "and Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah upon his two shoulders (the place of strength) for a memorial." Cf. Isa 9:6 Lk 15:4,5.

(4) The breastplate was a square pouch Ex 28:16 of linen to contain the Urim and Thummim. See Scofield Note: "Ex 28:30".

To the linen pouch was attached the oblong gold setting containing four rows of precious stones, on each stone a tribal name. The breastplate with the jewel work was attached at the upper corners to the shoulder-pieces of the ephod by golden chains. Golden rings were sewn on ephod and breastplate, and the latter was further secured to the ephod by laces of blue through the rings. Altogether, it was called "the breastplate of judgment" because worn by the high priest when judging the causes of the people. See Scofield Note: "Ex 28:30".

(5) A mitre (or "turban") of fine line was made Ex 28:37 to cover the head, bearing upon the front a gold plate engraved, "Holiness to the Lord" Ex 29:36.

(6) To these were added linen breeches, "from the loins even to the thighs" Ex 28:42. The "coat" and linen breeches were made for the priests, also, and were the ordinary garments of high priest and priests as distinguished from the other garments, which were "for glory and beauty."

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,