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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0;"/><title>Exodus 39 Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/commentaries/expositors/exodus/39.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; 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as the LORD commanded Moses.</div>XXXIX.<p>THE MAKING OF THE HOLY GARMENTS.</span><p>(1-31) This section corresponds to <a href="/context/exodus/28-5.htm" title="And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.">Exodus 28:5-40</a>, but does not follow exactly the same order. <a href="/context/exodus/39-2.htm" title="And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.">Exodus 39:2-7</a> correspond to <a href="/context/exodus/39-5.htm" title="And the curious girdle of his ephod, that was on it, was of the same, according to the work thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; as the LORD commanded Moses.">Exodus 39:5-12</a> of Exodus 28; <a href="/context/exodus/39-8.htm" title="And he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.">Exodus 39:8-21</a> to <a href="/context/exodus/39-13.htm" title="And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they were enclosed in ouches of gold in their settings.">Exodus 39:13-28</a>; <a href="/context/exodus/39-22.htm" title="And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.">Exodus 39:22-26</a> to <a href="/context/exodus/39-31.htm" title="And they tied to it a lace of blue, to fasten it on high on the turban; as the LORD commanded Moses.">Exodus 39:31-35</a>; but after this a dislocation occurs. <a href="/context/exodus/39-27.htm" title="And they made coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons,">Exodus 39:27-29</a> correspond to <a href="/context/exodus/39-39.htm" title="The brazen altar, and his grate of brass, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,">Exodus 39:39-42</a> of Exodus 28, and <a href="/context/exodus/39-30.htm" title="And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it a writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.">Exodus 39:30-31</a> to <a href="/context/exodus/39-36.htm" title="The table, and all the vessels thereof, and the show bread,">Exodus 39:36-38</a>. It is not clear why any change was made. The order observed in Exodus 28 seems preferable.<p>(1) <span class= "bld">Cloths of service</span>.—See Note on <a href="/exodus/31-10.htm" title="And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office,">Exodus 31:10</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/39-3.htm">Exodus 39:3</a></div><div class="verse">And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut <i>it into</i> wires, to work <i>it</i> in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, <i>with</i> cunning work.</div>(3) <span class= "bld">They did beat the gold into thin plates and cut it into wires.</span>—This very primitive method of forming gold thread is nowhere else mentioned. It implies a ruder state of the art of metallurgy than we should have expected.<p><span class= "bld">To work it in the blue.</span>—The blue, the purple, the scarlet, and the white linen thread were woven into a patterned fabric. The gold was inserted afterwards in the way of embroidery. A similar practice prevailed in Egypt (Wilkinson, <span class= "ital">Ancient Egyptians, </span>vol. iii., p. 128).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/39-7.htm">Exodus 39:7</a></div><div class="verse">And he put them on the shoulders of the ephod, <i>that they should be</i> stones for a memorial to the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses.</div>(7) <span class= "bld">Stones for a memorial.</span>—See Note on <a href="/exodus/28-12.htm" title="And you shall put the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial to the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders for a memorial.">Exodus 28:12</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/39-24.htm">Exodus 39:24</a></div><div class="verse">And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates <i>of</i> blue, and purple, and scarlet, <i>and</i> twined <i>linen</i>.</div>(24) <span class= "bld">Pomegranates of blue . . . and twined linen.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">of blue, and purple, and scarlet, twisted together. </span>(Comp. <a href="/exodus/28-33.htm" title="And beneath on the hem of it you shall make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about:">Exodus 28:33</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/39-25.htm">Exodus 39:25</a></div><div class="verse">And they made bells <i>of</i> pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates;</div>(25) <span class= "bld">Bells of pure gold.</span>—On the object of the bells, see Note on <a href="/exodus/28-35.htm" title="And it shall be on Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goes in to the holy place before the LORD, and when he comes out, that he die not.">Exodus 28:35</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/39-27.htm">Exodus 39:27</a></div><div class="verse">And they made coats <i>of</i> fine linen <i>of</i> woven work for Aaron, and for his sons,</div>(27) <span class= "bld">They made coats.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">tunics </span>or <span class= "ital">shirts. </span>See Note on <a href="/exodus/28-40.htm" title="And for Aaron's sons you shall make coats, and you shall make for them girdles, and bonnets shall you make for them, for glory and for beauty.">Exodus 28:40</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/39-28.htm">Exodus 39:28</a></div><div class="verse">And a mitre <i>of</i> fine linen, and goodly bonnets <i>of</i> fine linen, and linen breeches <i>of</i> fine twined linen,</div>(28) <span class= "bld">A mitre . . . and goodly bonnets.</span>—The “mitre,” or rather “turban,” was for Aaron, the “goodly bonnets,” or rather “caps,” for his sons. (See the Notes on <a href="/context/exodus/28-36.htm" title="And you shall make a plate of pure gold, and grave on it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.">Exodus 28:36-40</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Linen breeches.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">linen drawers. </span>These were to be made both for Aaron and for his sons. (See <a href="/context/exodus/28-42.htm" title="And you shall make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even to the thighs they shall reach:">Exodus 28:42-43</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/39-29.htm">Exodus 39:29</a></div><div class="verse">And a girdle <i>of</i> fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, <i>of</i> needlework; as the LORD commanded Moses.</div>(29) <span class= "bld">A girdle.—</span>The girdle was for Aaron. It is described much more fully here than in the “instructions,” where it is called simply a “girdle of needlework” (<a href="/exodus/28-39.htm" title="And you shall embroider the coat of fine linen, and you shall make the turban of fine linen, and you shall make the girdle of needlework.">Exodus 28:39</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/39-30.htm">Exodus 39:30</a></div><div class="verse">And they made the plate of the holy crown <i>of</i> pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, <i>like to</i> the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.</div>(30) <span class= "bld">The plate of the holy crown.</span>—See Note on <a href="/exodus/29-6.htm" title="And you shall put the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban.">Exodus 29:6</a>.<p><span class= "bld"> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/39-33.htm">Exodus 39:33</a></div><div class="verse">And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all his furniture, his taches, his boards, his bars, and his pillars, and his sockets,</div>THE PRESENTATION OF THE WORK TO MOSES, AND HIS APPROVAL OF IT.</span><p>(33-43) It is probable that the various parts of the work were presented to Moses for inspection as they were completed; that if they did not satisfy him, they might be altered and amended <span class= "ital">at once. </span>Moses alone had seen “the pattern in the mount,” and Moses alone could say if the work came up to the required standard. We are not told that anything was rejected; and it is quite possible that all the portions of the work were satisfactorily rendered at their first essay by the several workmen; for the workmen, it must be remembered, besides receiving instructions from Moses, were divinely assisted in the production of their several works (Exo. 36:42).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/39-34.htm">Exodus 39:34</a></div><div class="verse">And the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the vail of the covering,</div>(34) <span class= "bld">The vail of the covering</span>—i.e., the vail which separated between the Holy place and the Holy of Holies, covering the latter from the sight of man. (Comp. <a href="/exodus/40-21.htm" title="And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the veil of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses.">Exodus 40:21</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/39-37.htm">Exodus 39:37</a></div><div class="verse">The pure candlestick, <i>with</i> the lamps thereof, <i>even with</i> the lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels thereof, and the oil for light,</div>(37) <span class= "bld">The lamps to be set in order.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">the lamps of arrangement. </span>The reference is probably to the arrangement of the lamps in a single line or row. (Comp. <a href="/leviticus/24-6.htm" title="And you shall set them in two rows, six on a row, on the pure table before the LORD.">Leviticus 24:6</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/39-41.htm">Exodus 39:41</a></div><div class="verse">The cloths of service to do service in the holy <i>place</i>, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons' garments, to minister in the priest's office.</div>(41) <span class= "bld">The cloths of service . . . and the holy garments.</span>—There is no “and” in the original. Translate, <span class= "ital">the cloths of service to do service in the holy place</span>—<span class= "ital">the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons’ garments. </span>The second and third clauses are exegetical of the first. (See Note on <a href="/exodus/31-10.htm" title="And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office,">Exodus 31:10</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/39-43.htm">Exodus 39:43</a></div><div class="verse">And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.</div>(43) <span class= "bld">Moses did look upon all the work</span>—i.e., inspected it, examined it, to see if it was “according to the pattern” shown him. Being satisfied, he expressed his own and God’s approval by blessing those who had worked so faithfully.<p><span class= "bld"><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers<br /><br />Text Courtesy of <a href="//biblesupport.com" target="_top">BibleSupport.com</a>. 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