Ephod

Morrish Bible Dictionary

1. The ephod worn by the high priest. Minute instructions were given as to its construction. It was to be made of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. The gold was beaten into thin plates and then cut into wires, which were woven into the fabric. Its GIRDLEwas also to be of the same materials with embroidered work. On the shoulders were fastened two stones, engraved with the names of the twelve tribes, sixnames on each stone; so that whenever Aaron wore the ephod the twelve tribes were represented. We read also of the ROBE OF THE EPHOD,which was all of blue, and along the bottom of which were pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, with bells of gold between them. The robe was doubtless much longer than the ephod, which is supposed not to have reached the knees, and which was worn over the robe, and the BREASTPLATEover the ephod. There was also a broidered coat of fine linen; this was worn under the robe. These with the mitre constituted Aaron's garments 'for glory and for beauty.'  Exodus 28:1-39 . Apparently the ordinary priestly garments worn by Aaron's sons are also said to be 'for glory and for beauty.'  Exodus 28:40 .

In the various textures of the ephod there are typified divine righteousness, heavenliness, royalty, dignity, and the graces of the Spirit: the virtues that characterised the Lord Jesus. Inseparably attached to the ephod was the breastplate, in which were the Urim and Thummim; thus in wearing the ephod the judgement of the children of Israel was borne before the Lord, according to His lights and perfections. Though not worn on ordinary occasions, it was required when directions were sought from God: cf.  1 Samuel 21:9 . Thus receiving answers from God is also associated with the Urim and Thummim, which were placed in the breastplate.  Exodus 28:28 : cf.  Numbers 27:21;  1 Samuel 28:6;  Ezra 2:63;  Nehemiah 7:65 . The word 'Ephod' is the same in the Hebrew, and is from 'to bind round or gird,' so that its meaning does not seem to go beyond 'a priestly garment.'  Exodus 29:5;  Exodus 35:9,27;  Exodus 39:2-22;  Leviticus 8:7;  1 Samuel 2:28 .

 2. Besides the above, which may be called the ephod, there were others whichthe priests wore, but which are not described.  1 Samuel 14:3;  1 Samuel 22:18;  1 Samuel 23:6,9;  1 Samuel 30:7;  Hosea 3:4 . David, on the occasion of bringing up the ark, wore a linen ephod.  2 Samuel 6:14;  1 Chronicles 15:27 . Samuel also, when only a child, wore a linen ephod.  1 Samuel 2:18 . In all the above passages the ephod bears the character of a priestly garment, though David was not of the tribe of Aaron. Type of the kingly Priest of the order of Melchisedec.

 3. A strange deviation from the above was the ephod which Gideon made of the gold, the ornaments, and the purple raiment taken from the Midianites, after which all Israel went astray, and which became a snare to Gideon and his house.   Judges 8:27 . Still worse was the case of Micah who, having a house of gods, made an ephod, and consecrated one of his sons to bepriest. A Levite coming to the house fell in with the whole arrangement, and pretended to inquire of God by the ephod. When the gods were stolen by the children of Dan, the Levite was glad to accompany the idols and the ephod, and to be a priest to this tribe. Thus was the priestly garment that should have been restricted to the service of Jehovah associated with idolatry.  Judges 17:5;  Judges 18:14-20 .

Holman Bible Dictionary

In early Old Testament history, there are references to the ephod as a rather simple, linen garment, possibly a short skirt, apron, or loin cloth. It is identified as a priestly garment ( 1 Samuel 14:3;  1 Samuel 22:18 ). It was worn by Samuel ( 1 Samuel 2:18 ) and by David when he danced before God on the occasion of the transfer of the ark of the covenant to David's capital city of Jerusalem ( 2 Samuel 6:14 ). From its earliest forms and uses, it appears that the ephod was associated with the presence of God or those who had a special relationship with God. It is portrayed as a source of divine guidance, as when David wanted to know if he should trust the people of Keilah ( 1 Samuel 23:9-12 ) or when he wanted to know if he should pursue the Amalekites ( 1 Samuel 30:7-8 ).

There are references to a special ephod associated with the high priest. It appears to have been an apron-like garment worn over the priest's robe and under his breastplate. It is described in detail in  Exodus 28-35 . Woven of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet materials, it was very elaborate and ornate. On top of each of the shoulders the ephod was fastened by two onyx clasps on which were engraved the names of six of the twelve tribes. Twelve gem stones on the breastplate contained the names of the twelve tribes. Some scholars believe that this breastplate also contained a pouch where the sacred lots, Urim and Thummim, were kept ( Exodus 28:30 ). The ephod was fastened around the waist by a beautiful and intricately woven girdle. The robe worn with the ephod was equally elaborate. It was blue in color, with a fringe at the bottom comprised of golden bells and blue, purple, and scarlet pomegranates ( Exodus 28:31-34 ). Apparently, the ephod of the high priest was not only worn by the high priest, but also prominently displayed in the tabernacle. It may have been placed upon a divine image and used as an object of worship at some times in Israel's history. This usage, plus the importance of the ephod, may have led to idolatrous use in worship during the time of the judges ( Judges 8:27;  Judges 17:5-6 ).

The importance of the ephod in Hebrew worship is seen in the fact that, even after the division of the nation into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, there is mention of the ephod in worship in the Northern Kingdom ( Hosea 3:4 ). See Priests; Tabernacle; Ark Of The Covenant; Teraphim .

Daniel B. McGee

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

 אפוד . This article of dress was worn by laymen as well as by the high priest. The sacred ephod, the one made for the high priest, differed from the others, in being fabricated of cotton, which was coloured with crimson, purple, and blue, and in being ornamented with gold. In the time of Josephus, it was a cubit of the larger size in length, and was furnished with sleeves. The high priest's ephod had a very rich button upon each shoulder, made of a large onyx stone set in gold. This stone was so large, that the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were engraven, six on each stone,  Exodus 28:9-12 . The word shoham, which we render onyx, is translated, by the Septuagint, smaragdos, an emerald; but as we have no certain knowledge either of this, or of any of the twelve stones of the breastplate, we may as well be satisfied with our translation as with any other. To the ephod belonged a curious girdle, of the same rich fabric as the ephod itself. This girdle is said to be upon the ephod,   Exodus 28:8; that is, woven with the ephod, as Maimonides understands; and, coming out from the ephod on each side, it was brought under the arms like a sash, and tied upon the breast. Samuel, though Levite only, and a child, wore a linen ephod,  1 Samuel 2:18 . And David, in the ceremony of removing the ark from the house of Obed-edom to Jerusalem, was girt with a linen ephod,  2 Samuel 6:14 . The Levites were not generally allowed to wear the ephod; but in the time of Agrippa, as we are told by Josephus, a little before the taking of Jerusalem by the Romans, they obtained of that prince permission to wear the linen stole, as well as the priests. Spencer and Cunaeus are of opinion, that the Jewish kings had a right to wear the ephod, because David, coming to Ziklag, and finding that the Amalekites had plundered the city, and carried away his and the people's wives, ordered Abiathar, the high priest, to bring him the ephod, which being done, David inquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I pursue after this troop?"

 1 Samuel 30:8 . Whence they infer, that David consulted God by urim and thummim, and consequently put on the ephod. But it is probable the text only means that he ordered the priest to do what he is himself said to have done. The ephod of Gideon is remarkable for having become the occasion of a new kind of idolatry to the Israelites,  Judges 8:27 . What this consisted in, is matter of dispute among the learned. Some authors are of opinion that this ephod, as it is called, was an idol; others, that it was only a trophy in memory of the signal victory obtained by Gideon, and that the Israelites paid a kind of divine worship to it; so that Gideon was the innocent cause of their idolatry, in like manner as Moses had been in making the brazen serpent, which was afterward worshipped.

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

An ephod was a short sleeveless linen garment, something like a long shirt or coat. It was a common piece of Hebrew clothing ( 1 Samuel 2:18;  2 Samuel 6:14), but in most cases where the Bible mentions an ephod the reference is to an article of the high priest’s dress ( Exodus 28:4-30;  Exodus 29:5).

The high priest’s ephod was made of multi-coloured embroidered linen similar to the curtains of the tabernacle, but with gold thread woven into the cloth ( Exodus 39:2-3; cf.  Exodus 26:31). It was held in place by two shoulder straps and bound at the waist by a sash ( Exodus 28:7-8). (For further details and an illustration of the high priest’s dress see  PRIEST.)

Since the ephod was the most distinctive article of the high priest’s dress, people often referred to priests as those who ‘wore the ephod’ ( 1 Samuel 2:28;  1 Samuel 14:3;  1 Samuel 22:18;  Hosea 3:4). Sometimes a priest was asked to ‘bring the ephod’. This was because within the flat pouch, or breastpiece, on the front of the ephod were two objects, the Urim and the Thummim, which the priest used to find out God’s will ( 1 Samuel 23:9-12;  1 Samuel 30:7-8;  Ezra 2:63; see  URIM AND THUMMIM).

During the time of Israel’s unfaithfulness in the period of the judges, Gideon made a golden ephod that soon became an object of idolatrous worship ( Judges 8:26-27). On another occasion idolatrous priests, who were not even legally entitled to be priests, wore the traditional priestly ephod ( Judges 17:5-6;  Judges 18:14-20).

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

 1. The high priest's vestment, with the breast-plate and Urim and Thrumhim (some material objects in the bag of the breast-plate, used for consulting Jehovah by casting lots: Speaker's Commentary; but (See  HIGH PRIEST) in it. This Abiathar carried off from the tabernacle at Nob, and David consulted ( 1 Samuel 21:9;  1 Samuel 23:6;  1 Samuel 23:9;  1 Samuel 30:7). The breast-plate, with its twelve precious stones, gave an importance to the ephod which led to its adoption in the idolatries of Gideon and Micah ( Judges 8:27;  Judges 17:5;  Judges 18:14).

The large amount of gold used by Gideon on his ephod was not the material of it, but the means wherewith he completed it; including the breast-plate ( choshen ), the 12 precious stones, and the two for the shoulders, the gold thread throughout, and gold braid, and gold twist chains fastening the breast-plate upon the ephod, and lastly the price of the labor ( Exodus 28:6-30). (See  GIDEON.) His aim was by wearing it to have a vehicle for inquiring the will of Jehovah, through the Urim and Thummim, the holy lot, and breast-plate.

The ephod was also used, but without the breast-plate, by the ordinary priests, as their characteristic robe ( 1 Samuel 2:28;  1 Samuel 14:3;  1 Samuel 22:18;  Hosea 3:4). David's ephod, in bringing the ark to Jerusalem, differed from the priests' in being of ordinary linen ( baad ), whereas theirs was of fine linen ( sheesh ).

 2. Father of Hanniel, head of Manasseh, assisted Joshua and Eleazar in apportioning Canaan ( Numbers 34:23).

Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words

    ' Êphôd ( אֵפֹד, Strong'S #646), “ephod.” This word, which appears in Assyrian and (perhaps) Ugaritic, occurs 49 times in the biblical Hebrew, 31 times in the legal prescriptions of Exodus—Leviticus and only once in biblical poetry (Hos. 3:4).

This word represents a close-fitting outer garment associated with worship. It was a kind of long vest, generally reaching to the thighs. The “ephod” of the high priest was fastened with a beautifully woven girdle (Exod. 28:27-28) and had shoulder straps set in onyx stones, on which were engraved the names of the twelve tribes. Over the chest of the high priest was the breastplate, also containing twelve stones engraved with the tribal names. Rings attached it to the “ephod.” The Urim and Thummin were also linked to the breastplate.

Apparently, this “ephod” and attachments were prominently displayed in the sanctuary. David consulted the “ephod” to learn whether the people of Keilah would betray him to Saul (1 Sam. 23:9-12); no doubt the Urim and Thummim were used. The first biblical occurrence of the word refers to this high priestly ephod: “Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate” (Exod. 25:7). So venerated was this “ephod” that replicas were sometimes made (Judg. 8:27; 17:1-5) and even worshiped. Lesser priests (1 Sam. 2:28) and priestly trainees wore less elaborate “ephods” made of linen whenever they appeared before the altar.

’Apuddah means “ephod; covering.” This word is a feminine form of 'êphôd (or 'ephod ). The word occurs 3 times, first in Exod. 28:8: “And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of … gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.”

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

An ornamental part of the dress worn by the Hebrew priests. It was worn above the tunic and the robe, was without sleeves, and open below the arms on each side, consisting of two pieces, one of which covered the front of the body and the other the back, joined together on the shoulders by golden buckles set with gems, and reaching down to the middle of the thigh. A girdle was inwoven with it, by which it was fastened around the body,  Exodus 28:6-12 . There were two kinds of ephod: one plain, of linen, for the priests,  1 Samuel 22:18; another embroidered, for the high priest. Young Samuel wore an ephod, though only a Levite and a child,  1 Samuel 2:18 . David, in transferring the ark to Jerusalem, was "girt with a linen ephod,"  2 Samuel 6:14 . The Jews had a peculiar superstitious regard for this garment, and employed it in connection with idolatrous worship. Gideon's ephod became a snare to Israel; and Micah made one, that his idol might be duly worshipped,  Judges 8:27;  17:5;  18:17 .

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

This formed part of the High Priest's dress, and no doubt, like the office itself, was intended as typical of Christ. It was a rich dress composed of different colours, blue, purple, and crimson, and adorned with gold. On that part of it which crossed the breast was a square ornament called the choschen, containing precious stones, with the names on them of the twelve tribes of Israel. Nothing could more aptly represent our great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, going in before the presence of JEHOVAH with the names of his people on his breast. Hence the church, in allusion to it, vehemently urgeth Christ in that request, "Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm;" ( Song of  Song of Solomon 8:6) meaning, that she might be always in his remembrance, to live in his heart, and to be always looked upon as a seal, or signet, on the arm. (See   Exodus 28:4-29)

See Urim and Thummim

People's Dictionary of the Bible

 Ephod. A vestment appropriated to the high priest.  Exodus 28:4-36. See High Priest. An ephod is said to have been worn by Samuel,  1 Samuel 2:18, by the ordinary priests,  1 Samuel 22:18, and by David,  2 Samuel 6:14;  1 Chronicles 15:27; but this vesture differed from the high priest's, both in the extraordinary ornaments of the latter, and also in the material. The linen of the high priest's ephod is described by another and peculiar word. When idolatrous worship was set up, ephods were sometimes made for it.  Judges 8:27;  Judges 17:5;  Judges 18:14;  Judges 18:17-18;  Judges 18:20.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Exodus 25:7 (c) This garment represents part of that wardrobe described in  Isaiah 61:10 as the "garments of salvation." It was on this garment that the twelve stones were set in the breastplate and fastened to the garment. It may represent that part of our Christian experience in which and through which we show forth the virtues of our Lord JESUS CHRIST. The ephod contained gold, blue, purple crimson and cotton. These colors and materials represent the various and glorious characteristics of our Lord JESUS, and are imparted and imputed to us when we are made children of GOD. On the shoulder pieces of this garment were two large stones on which were engraved the names of the twelve tribes, six on each stone. All of this refers in some way to our Lord JESUS who carries us on His shoulders and on His breast.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

EPHOD . 1 . Father of Hanniel (  Numbers 34:23 P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ). 2 . See Dress, § 2 ( c ), and Priests and Levites. 3 . The ‘ephod’ of   Judges 8:27;   Judges 17:5;   Judges 18:14;   Judges 18:17-18;   Judges 18:20 is probably an image.

King James Dictionary

EPH'OD, n. Heb. to bind. In Jewish antiquity, a part of the sacerdotal habit, being a kind of girdle, which was brought from behind the neck over the two shoulders, and hanging down before, was put across the stomach, then carried round the waist and used as a girdle to the tunic. There were two sorts one of plain linen, the other embroidered for the high priest. On the part in front were two precious stones, on which were engraved the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Before the breast was a square piece or breastplate.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Exodus 28:4 1 Samuel 22:18 1 Samuel 2:18,28 14:3 2 Samuel 6:14 Exodus 28:31

The breastplate, with the Urim and Thummim, was attached to the ephod.

Webster's Dictionary

(n.) A part of the sacerdotal habit among Jews, being a covering for the back and breast, held together on the shoulders by two clasps or brooches of onyx stones set in gold, and fastened by a girdle of the same stuff as the ephod. The ephod for the priests was of plain linen; that for the high priest was richly embroidered in colors. The breastplate of the high priest was worn upon the ephod in front.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

 E'phod.  (image).

1. Father of Hanniel, of the tribe of Manesseh.  Numbers 34:23.

2. A sacred vestment originally appropriate to the high priest.  Exodus 28:4.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Hebrews Ephod',  אֵפֹד, an  ephod [q.v.]; Sept.  Οὐφίδ v.r.  Σουφί, Vulg.  Ephod), the father of Hanniel, which latter, as head of the tribe of Manasseh, was one of the men appointed to assist Joshua and Eleazar in the apportionment of the land of Canaan ( Numbers 34:23). B.C. ante 1618.

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

A richly and emblematically embroidered vestment worn by the high-priest of the Jews, and consisting of two parts, one covering the breast and supporting the breastplate, and the other covering the back, these being clasped to the shoulders by two onyx stones, with names inscribed on them, six on each, of the 12 tribes, and the whole bound round the waist with a girdle of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine-twined linen.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

E´phod, an article of dress worn by the Hebrew priests [PRIEST].