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The Priests' Garments

Aaron dressed layer by layer, as Moses dressed him in Leviticus 8, from the linen next to the skin to the gold plate on the turban. Each piece shows its Hebrew name, its verses and how sure we can be.

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The high priest in his garments (a reconstruction)
The high priest in his garments (a reconstruction)
Dressed layer by layer, in the order of Leviticus 8
Dressed layer by layer, in the order of Leviticus 8
An ordinary priest's linen garments
An ordinary priest's linen garments

Key facts

  • The high priest wore eight garments “for glory and for beauty”: four of linen, like every priest, and over them the blue robe, the ephod, the breastpiece and the gold plate.
  • The robe was all of blue, and round its hem hung pomegranates of coloured yarn between golden bells, heard when he went into the Holy Place.
  • On each shoulder of the ephod an onyx stone carried six names of the sons of Israel, so Aaron bore them before the LORD as a memorial.
  • The breastpiece, a span square and folded double, held twelve stones in four rows, one for each tribe, over his heart.
  • The Urim and the Thummim were put in the breastpiece; through them a leader could ask the LORD for a decision.
  • A gold plate engraved “HOLY TO THE LORD” was tied with a blue cord to the front of the turban, on Aaron's forehead.

Key verses

And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.
Exodus 28:2 · King James Version
And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually.
Exodus 28:29 · King James Version
36 And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. 37 And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be. 38 And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.
Exodus 28:36–38 · King James Version

Talk about it

  1. Why do you think God cared so much about what the priest wore?
  2. Aaron carried the tribes' names on his shoulders and over his heart. What does that picture say about praying for others?
  3. On the Day of Atonement he laid aside the gold and colours for plain linen. Why might that matter?

How sure can we be?

The Bible says
  • The materials, colours and order of the garments are given in Exodus 28 and 39 and Leviticus 8.
  • The bells, the pomegranates, the onyx stones and the words on the gold plate are stated.
Our reconstruction
  • The cut of the tunic, the length of the robe and the number of bells are our reconstruction.
  • The ephod's shape is not given; the lab offers two reconstructions side by side.
  • The plate is lettered in the square script of printed Bibles; Aaron's would have used the older Hebrew script.
Still debated
  • Which mineral each of the twelve stones was, and which tribe's name was on which stone.
  • What the Urim and the Thummim looked like: the text never describes them.
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