Exodus 39 · WEB
The Priestly Garments Completed; Moses Inspects the Work
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Of the blue, purple, and scarlet, they made finely worked garments for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
2He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen.
3They beat the gold into thin plates and cut it into wires to work it in the blue, in the purple, in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, the work of a skillful workman.
4They made shoulder straps for it, joined together. It was joined together at its two ends.
5The skillfully woven band on it was of the same piece and like its work: of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
6They worked the onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold, engraved with the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the children of Israel.
7He put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
8He made the breastplate, the work of a skillful workman, like the work of the ephod: of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen.
9It was square. They made the breastplate double. Its length was a span, and its width a span, double.
10They set in it four rows of stones. A row of ruby, topaz, and beryl was the first row;
11the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald;
12the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;
13and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in gold settings.
14The stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each according to his name, for the twelve tribes.
15They made on the breastplate chains of braided work of pure gold.
16They made two settings of gold and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.
17They put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate.
18The other two ends of the two braided chains they put on the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod, in the front of it.
19They made two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on its edge, which was toward the side of the ephod inward.
20They made two rings of gold and put them on the two shoulder straps of the ephod underneath, in the front of it, close to its coupling, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod.
21They bound the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosened from the ephod, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
22He made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.
23The opening of the robe in the middle of it was like the opening of a coat of mail, with a binding around its opening, that it should not be torn.
24They made on the hem of the robe pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, and twined linen.
25They made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates on the hem of the robe, around between the pomegranates:
26a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe, to minister in, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
27They made the tunics of fine linen of woven work for Aaron and for his sons,
28the turban of fine linen, the decorated caps of fine linen, the linen breeches of fine twined linen,
29the sash of fine twined linen, blue, purple, and scarlet, the work of an embroiderer, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
30They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it like the engravings of a signet: "HOLY TO YAHWEH."
31They tied to it a lace of blue, to attach it to the turban above, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
32Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished. The children of Israel did according to all that Yahweh commanded Moses; so they did.
33They brought the tabernacle to Moses: the tent with all its furniture, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets;
34the covering of rams' skins dyed red, the covering of sea cow hides, and the veil of the screen;
35the ark of the testimony with its poles and the mercy seat;
36the table, all its vessels, the showbread;
37the pure lamp stand, its lamps, even the lamps to be set in order, all its vessels, and the oil for the light;
38the golden altar, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, and the screen for the door of the tent;
39the bronze altar and its grating of bronze, its poles and all its vessels, the basin and its base;
40the hangings of the court, its pillars and its sockets, the screen for the gate of the court, its cords and its pins, and all the instruments of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting;
41the finely worked garments for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office.
42According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work.
43Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it. As Yahweh had commanded, so they had done it. Moses blessed them.
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Summary
The priests' garments are completed exactly as specified: the ephod with its onyx shoulder stones, the breastplate with twelve gemstones, the blue robe with golden bells and pomegranates on the hem, the tunics, turbans, and linen breeches, and the golden crown engraved "HOLY TO YAHWEH." All the Tabernacle's components are then brought to Moses for inspection. The craftsmen have done everything exactly as Yahweh commanded. Moses inspects the work, confirms it, and blesses the workers.
Themes
- Complete obedience: the repeated phrase "as Yahweh commanded Moses"
- The beauty of the completed priestly garments — "for glory and for beauty"
- Accountability: the work brought to Moses for inspection and approval
- Blessing follows faithful obedience
Key verses
- Ex 39:32 — “Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished. The children of Israel did according to all that Yahweh commanded Moses; so they did.”
- Ex 39:42-43 — “According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work. Moses saw all the work… As Yahweh had commanded, so they had done it. Moses blessed them.”
Context & background
The phrase "as Yahweh commanded Moses" appears seven times in this chapter alone (vv. 1, 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31) and repeatedly throughout chapters 39-40. This sevenfold echo of obedience is widely noted as intentional: it mirrors the seven days of creation in Genesis 1, suggesting that building the Tabernacle is a new creation event. Just as God inspected each day of creation and declared it "good," Moses inspects the Tabernacle and blesses it. The finished "HOLY TO YAHWEH" inscription on the golden plate (v. 30) was worn on Aaron's forehead — literally the first thing anyone would see of the high priest approaching God's presence.
Cross-references
- Genesis 1:31; 2:1-3 — "God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good" parallels Moses inspecting and blessing the completed Tabernacle.
- Hebrews 7:26 — Jesus is the perfect high priest: "holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners" — fulfilling what "HOLY TO YAHWEH" symbolized.
- Leviticus 8 — The actual dressing of Aaron in these garments at his ordination, putting this chapter's craftsmanship into use.
- Revelation 19:8 — The Bride of Christ clothed in "fine linen, bright and pure" — the priestly garments point to the ultimate garment of righteousness.