성경 주석서

Chs. 8–10. THE INAUGURATION OF THE WORSHIP

The Consecration of Aaron and his sons (Leviticus 8:1-17)

1. See critical note on these chapters in App. I (b), pp. 159 ff.

Instructions to consecrate Aaron and his sons have already been given, Exodus 29:1-37. The account given in this chapter follows very closely the words of Exodus 29, with which it should be carefully compared.

The ceremonies connected with the consecration were: (a) washing (Leviticus 8:6), (b) vesting (Leviticus 8:7-9; Leviticus 8:13), (c) anointing (Leviticus 8:10-12), (d) offering sacrifices, which were of three kinds; (1) a Sin-Offering (Leviticus 8:14-17), (2) a Burnt-Offering (Leviticus 8:18-21), (3) the ram of consecration (Leviticus 8:22-32), which was treated as a Peace-Offering, but with additional ritual appropriate to the special occasion.

2. the bullock of the sin offering, and the two rams, and the basket …] As all the objects to be brought have already been prescribed in Exodus 29, they occur in this chapter with the definite article. The garments are described Exodus 28, 39. The anointing oil was made by Bezalel (Exodus 37:29) according to the prescription in Exodus 30:23-33.

of unleavened bread] unleavened cakes. The Heb. word is plural, and denotes thin biscuits. See Driver (C. B.) on Exodus 12:8. This introductory verse does not describe the contents of the basket in full, as does Exodus 29:2, but defers the mention of them till Leviticus 8:26, when the contents are used. On the other hand, it mentions the anointing oil, which in Exodus 29 first occurs in Leviticus 8:7, where the directions for its use are given.

4. the congregation] A.V. by rendering ‘assembly’ obscures the fact that the Heb. word is the same as in the preceding verse.

6. (a) washing; cp. Exodus 29:4.

7–9. (b) vesting; cp. Exodus 29:5-6. The garments are mentioned in a different order in Exodus 28:4, and some of them are there described more fully in Leviticus 8:6 ff. The reader may refer to the notes in Driver’s commentary. The ‘linen breeches’ (Exodus 28:42) are not mentioned here.

the coat] the tunic, Heb. kuttoneth or kĕthoneth. A long tunic with sleeves, secured by a girdle, or sash, somewhat like a dressing gown. It was the principal garment of ordinary life, and made of cotton, linen, or wool. The high priest’s coat, or tunic, was made of fine linen (shçsh) and ornamented with a pattern. Cp. Exodus 28:4, where it is described as ‘a coat of chequer work’ (a broidered coat, A.V.), and in Exodus 28:39 as woven ‘in chequer work of fine linen’; the exact meaning of the Heb. is uncertain, but it not improbably denotes something of the nature of a check.

the girdle] sash, the work of the embroiderer (Exodus 28:39), made in the same way as the screen (hanging A.V.) for the entrance to the Tent (Exodus 26:36) and to the Court (Leviticus 27:16). It was of considerable length (according to the Talmud about 48 ft.) and was passed round the body several times (Jos. Ant. iii. 7. 2). It seems to have been accidentally omitted in Exodus 29:5. It must be distinguished from the ‘cunningly woven band of the ephod’ (cp. Exodus 28:8, etc.), translated in A.V. ‘curious girdle.’

the robe] called ‘the robe of the ephod,’ Exodus 28:31; Exodus 29:5; Exodus 39:22 f. A garment all blue with a hole for the head, and a binding of woven work round the whole to prevent its being rent. The Heb. word mě‘îl is applied to the robe (A.V. coat) made by Hannah for her son Samuel (1 Samuel 2:19), and to the robe (A.V. mantle) of Samuel which was rent by Saul (1 Samuel 15:27). The clothing of the High Priest, though of costly material, is so far like that of other people, and similar to that worn by the Arabs of the present day; an under garment bound with a sash, and an outer robe reaching nearly to the ground, but this outer garment is now worn open in front. According to Josephus (Ant. iii. 7. 4, B.J. 8:5. 7) the robe of the ephod reached to the feet, but some writers describe it as shorter than the tunic. Its fringe of pomegranates and bells is described Exodus 28:33-35; Exodus 39:24-26 note the addition of ‘pure’ to ‘gold’ in the second passage), but being a part of the robe is not mentioned here or in Exodus 29.

the ephod] This garment (described Exodus 28:6 ff; Exodus 39:2-5) was made of fine twined linen with blue purple and scarlet threads, and fine gold wire. Its exact shape cannot be determined. There were two shoulder straps, on each of which was an engraved onyx stone, and a band made of the same material as the ephod and woven with it in one piece, which served to gird the ephod over the other garments. This band is called ‘the cunningly woven band’ (the curious girdle A.V.) of the ephod; the Heb. ḥçshĕb denotes textile work of the highest grade, employed only for the curtains of the Dwelling, the veil, the ephod, and the pouch for the Urim and Thummim. See note on Exodus 26:1, where terms used for the different kinds of woven work are distinguished. The words ‘cunning,’ ‘cunningly’ were in Old English used to denote what is now termed ‘skilful,’ ‘skilfully.’ If the ephod consisted of front and back pieces, then the whole garment with its band would form a kind of waistcoat; if it consisted of a front piece only, it would resemble an apron. See Driver on Exodus 28:5-12 and p. 312.

8. And he placed the breastplate upon him] The breastplate of Judgement, described Exodus 28:15-30; Exodus 39:8-21, was made of the same material as the ephod, and being twice as long as it was broad, became when folded a square of which each side was a span long, and served as a pocket to contain the Urim and the Thummim. It was fastened to the ephod by means of rings of gold, golden cords, and ‘a lace of blue’ or ribbon, though the exact manner of its attachment is not clear. The meaning of the word ‘breastplate’ (Heb. ḥôshen) is uncertain; either ‘ornament,’ referring to the richness of its material, or ‘pocket,’ indicating the purpose for which it was used. Cp. Exodus 28:13-30 and the notes on the passage.

the Urim and the Thummim] That is, the Lights and the Perfections, as R.V. mg. Neither here nor in any other place where Urim and Thummim are mentioned is any further description of these objects given, nor of the manner in which they were employed. See Driver on Exod. pp. 313 f.

9. the mitre] turban as R.V. mg. Heb. miẓnépheth in Lev. here and Leviticus 16:4 (the linen mitre) only: in Exod. (in the cognate passages) Exodus 28:4; Exodus 28:37; Exodus 28:39, Exodus 29:6, Exodus 39:28; Exodus 39:31. It was made of fine linen; tradition describes it as 24 ft. long, so it was probably wound round the head like a turban. Besides the passages quoted, where it denotes the headdress of the high priest, it occurs only in Ezekiel 21:26 (Heb. 31). (mitre R.V., diadem A.V.). Another word (ẓânîph) from the same root occurs Isaiah 62:3 (Ḳ’ri), translated ‘diadem,’ in parallelism with the common Heb. word for ‘crown’; and in Zechariah 3:5 with reference to the high priest Joshua. It is strange that ẓânîph should be used in the Zechariah passage to denote a mitre for the high priest, if miẓnépheth were already the technical term used for that portion of his attire.

Josephus (Ant. iii. 7. 6) says that the high priest’s mitre was like that of all the other priests, but another word is used (see Leviticus 8:13) for the head-dress of Aaron’s sons. He describes fully another mitre with a triple golden crown. This was probably an ornament added in later times. Alexander Balas sent a purple robe and a crown of gold to Jonathan which he wore at the Feast of Tabernacles b.c. 153 (1Ma 10:20). This may be the crown described by Josephus.

upon the mitre, in front] In A.V. ‘upon his forefront,’ ‘his’ refers to the mitre and in modern English would be ‘its.’

the golden plate, the holy crown] The golden plate is described Exodus 28:36-37. The Heb. word (ẓîẓ), translated ‘plate,’ implies something bright and glittering, and is elsewhere used of a flower. The plate was fastened by its lace of blue to the turban (Exodus 28:37, Exodus 39:31) and would appear as an ornament or diadem in the headgear of the high priest. It is called ‘the holy crown’ in Exodus 29:6, and here both names are given to it. The same combination occurs in Exodus 39:30 where the English ‘the plate of the holy crown of pure gold’ conveys the impression that the ‘plate’ and the ‘crown’ are different instead of synonymous.