1253 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And thou shall put the stones upon the shoulders of the ephod,.... That is, the shoulder pieces of it; these stones were put there, the names of the twelve sons of Israel being engraven on them, and they, set in rims or sockets of gold, and serving for buttons to the shoulder pieces: but chiefly the design of them was for stones of memorial unto...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And thou shalt make ouches of gold. Or sockets of gold, to put the two onyx stones in, Exodus 28:11 for of other ouches we read not, excepting the enclosings, in which the twelve stones of the breastplate were set, Exodus 28:20 and these are again mentioned because of the chains to be fastened to them, of which in the following verse.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And two chains of pure gold at the ends,.... The use of which was to hang the breast plate on, after described; one end of them was fastened to rings on the ouches in the shoulder pieces, and the other end to rings on the breastplate, and thus it hung: of wreathen work shall thou make them; these chains were not made after the manner of circles or...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And thou shall make the breastplate of judgment,.... Called a "breastplate", because worn upon the breast of the high priest; and a breastplate "of judgment", because it was to put him in mind that he should do justice and judgment in the execution of his office, and that he should have at heart the judgment of the people of Israel; and in...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Four square it shall be, [being] doubled,.... That is, when it was doubled; for the length of it, according to Maimonides (c), was a cubit, which is two spans, and so, when it was doubled, was but one, and its length and breadth being alike, as follows: a span [shall be] the length thereof, and a span [shall be] the breadth thereof; a square,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And thou shalt set in it settings of stones,.... Or "fill in it fillings of stones" (d); which shows that there were in it ouches, or sockets of gold, the hollows of which were to be filled up with precious stones: even four rows of stones; making a four square, and so filling up the measure of the breastplate: the first row shall be a sardius, a...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. The first of these stones is by both the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan rendered an "emerald", as by us; and which is described by Pliny (k) as of a green colour, exceeding delightful and pleasant, and to which he gives the third place among precious stones; though by many the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. The first of these stones, the ligure or lyncurius, is said to be so called from the congealed urine of the lynx (n), but rather from the spots of that creature; for, according to Danaeus (o), it is the same stone with that called "stellina", from having many specks like stars spread about in...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper,.... Whatever stone is meant by the first in this row, it must be of a sea green colour; for "tarshish", the word used, signifies the sea; and so the beryl, as Pliny (r) says, imitates the greenness of the pure sea. Braunius (s) takes it to be the chrysolite that is meant; and so does...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names,.... And just so many are reckoned up in the preceding verses, each of which had one or other of the names of the children of Israel engraved on them, according to the order of their names in their birth. Some have thought that Levi's name was...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And thou shall make upon the breastplate chains at the ends,.... One end of them to be put to the breastplate, and the other end to the ouches on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, by which the breastplate hung from thence: the Targum of Jonathan renders it, chains of a certain determined size, of length and thickness exactly alike; or terminable...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold,.... On the upper part of it, above, toward the two shoulder pieces of the ephod; these were to put one end of the chains into before mentioned: and shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate; the two upper ends or corners of it, the right and left.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And thou shalt put two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings,.... This expresses both how many chains were to be made, which is not before said, and the use of them, or where they were to be put, as well as the use of the rings: [which are] on the ends of the breastplate; the two uppermost ends or corners of it.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches,.... In which the two onyx stones were set on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, and were as buttons to them; probably there were rings to those ouches, into which these ends of the wreathen chains of gold, reaching from the breastplate, were put; or however, by...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And thou shall make two rings of gold,....] Two other rings besides those before mentioned: and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate; on the other two ends or corners of it: in the border thereof which is in the side of the ephod inward: these were at the two lower ends of the breastplate, towards the ephod on the inside.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And two other rings of gold thou shalt make,.... This is the third pair of rings ordered to be made, the two other pair were for the four ends or corners of the breastplate, but this pair was for the ephod: and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod; one on the right and the other on the left: underneath, towards the fore part thereof;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof,.... By the rings at the lower ends of it, as it was by the rings at the upper ends of it to the shoulder pieces of the ephod; or "lift it up", so some interpret it (w) as if it was said, they shall lift up the breastplate to join it with the ephod that is above it: unto the rings of the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart,.... Their names being engraven on the stones, and the stones put into the breastplate of judgment, and this breastplate hanging down upon the breast and heart of Aaron, he was a representative of the twelve tribes of Israel, as Christ his...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And thou shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim,.... What these interpreters are at a loss about, both Jewish and Christian; some have confessed their ignorance of them, have conjectured they were only these two words and put in the duplicature of the breastplate; that the name of Jehovah, with other divine were put...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And thou shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. This was a different garment from the ephod, was longer than that, and was under it, and of different materials: that was made of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine linen; this only of linen, and wholly of a blue colour, without any curious figures upon it, as were on that: in Exodus 39:22,...