Reference: Ephod
American
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, Ex 28:6-12. There were two kinds of ephod: one plain, of linen, for the priests, 1Sa 22:18; another embroidered, for the high priest. Young Samuel wore an ephod, though only a Levite and a child, 1Sa 2:18. David, in transferring the ark to Jerusalem, was "girt with a linen ephod," 2Sa 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, Jg 8:27; 17:5; 18:17.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff], and fine twined linen, skillfully woven and worked. It shall have two shoulder straps to join the two [back and front] edges, that it may be held together. read more. The skillfully woven girding band which is on the ephod shall be made of the same, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff], and fine twined linen. And you shall take two onyx or beryl stones and engrave on them the names of the twelve sons of Israel; Six of their names on one stone and the six names of the rest on the other stone, arranged in order of their birth. With the work of a stone engraver, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones according to the names of the sons of Israel. You shall have them set in sockets or rosettes of gold. And you shall put the two stones upon the [two] shoulder straps of the ephod [of the high priest] as memorial stones for Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names upon his two shoulders as a memorial before the Lord.
And Gideon made an ephod [a sacred, high priest's garment] of it, and put it in his city of Ophrah, and all Israel paid homage to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.
And the man Micah had a house of gods, and he made an ephod and teraphim and dedicated one of his sons, who became his priest.
And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up and entered the house and took the graven image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war.
But Samuel ministered before the Lord, a child girded with a linen ephod.
The king said to Doeg, You turn and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned and attacked the priests and slew that day eighty-five persons who wore the priest's linen ephod.
And David danced before the Lord with all his might, clad in a linen ephod [a priest's upper garment].
Easton
something girt, a sacred vestment worn originally by the high priest (Ex 28:4), afterwards by the ordinary priest (1Sa 22:18), and characteristic of his office (1Sa 2:18,28; 14:3). It was worn by Samuel, and also by David (2Sa 6:14). It was made of fine linen, and consisted of two pieces, which hung from the neck, and covered both the back and front, above the tunic and outer garment (Ex 28:31). That of the high priest was embroidered with divers colours. The two pieces were joined together over the shoulders (hence in Latin called superhumerale) by clasps or buckles of gold or precious stones, and fastened round the waist by a "curious girdle of gold, blue, purple, and fine twined linen" (Ex 28:6-12).
The breastplate, with the Urim and Thummim, was attached to the ephod.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
They shall make these garments: a breastplate, an ephod [a distinctive vestment to which the breastplate was to be attached], a robe, long and sleeved tunic of checkerwork, a turban, and a sash or band. They shall make sacred garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to minister to Me in the priest's office.
And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff], and fine twined linen, skillfully woven and worked. It shall have two shoulder straps to join the two [back and front] edges, that it may be held together. read more. The skillfully woven girding band which is on the ephod shall be made of the same, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff], and fine twined linen. And you shall take two onyx or beryl stones and engrave on them the names of the twelve sons of Israel; Six of their names on one stone and the six names of the rest on the other stone, arranged in order of their birth. With the work of a stone engraver, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones according to the names of the sons of Israel. You shall have them set in sockets or rosettes of gold. And you shall put the two stones upon the [two] shoulder straps of the ephod [of the high priest] as memorial stones for Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names upon his two shoulders as a memorial before the Lord.
But Samuel ministered before the Lord, a child girded with a linen ephod.
Moreover, I selected him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer on My altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before Me. And I gave [from then on] to the house of your father [forefather] all the offerings of the Israelites made by fire.
And Ahijah son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord's priest in Shiloh, was wearing the ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan was gone.
The king said to Doeg, You turn and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned and attacked the priests and slew that day eighty-five persons who wore the priest's linen ephod.
And David danced before the Lord with all his might, clad in a linen ephod [a priest's upper garment].
Fausets
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 (9/type/am'>1Sa 21:9; 23:6,9; 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 (Jg 8:27; 17:5; 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 (Ex 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 (1Sa 2:28; 14:3; 22:18; Ho 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 (Nu 34:23).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff], and fine twined linen, skillfully woven and worked. It shall have two shoulder straps to join the two [back and front] edges, that it may be held together. read more. The skillfully woven girding band which is on the ephod shall be made of the same, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff], and fine twined linen. And you shall take two onyx or beryl stones and engrave on them the names of the twelve sons of Israel; Six of their names on one stone and the six names of the rest on the other stone, arranged in order of their birth. With the work of a stone engraver, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones according to the names of the sons of Israel. You shall have them set in sockets or rosettes of gold. And you shall put the two stones upon the [two] shoulder straps of the ephod [of the high priest] as memorial stones for Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names upon his two shoulders as a memorial before the Lord. And you shall make sockets or rosettes of gold for settings, And two chains of pure gold, like cords shall you twist them, and fasten the corded chains to the settings. You shall make a breastplate of judgment, in skilled work; like the workmanship of the ephod shall you make it, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff], and of fine twined linen. The breastplate shall be square and doubled; a span [nine inches] shall be its length and a span shall be its breadth. You shall set in it four rows of stones: a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle shall be the first row; The second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond [so called at that time]; The third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; And the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper; they shall be set in gold filigree. And the stones shall be twelve, according to the names of the sons of Israel, like the engravings of a signet, each with its name for the twelve tribes. You shall make for the breastplate chains of pure gold twisted like cords. You shall make on the breastplate two rings of gold and put [them] on the two edges of the breastplate. And you shall put the two twisted, cordlike chains of gold in the two rings which are on the edges of the breastplate. The other two ends of the two twisted, cordlike chains you shall fasten in the two sockets or rosettes in front, putting them on the shoulder straps of the ephod; And make two rings of gold and put them at the two ends of the breastplate on its inside edge next to the ephod. Two gold rings you shall make and attach them to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod in front, close by where they join, above the skillfully woven girdle or band of the ephod. And they shall bind the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the skillfully woven girding band of the ephod, and that the breastplate may not become loose from the ephod. So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them in continual remembrance before the Lord. In the breastplate of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim [unspecified articles used when the high priest asked God's counsel for all Israel]; they shall be upon Aaron's heart when he goes in before the Lord, and Aaron shall bear the judgment (rights, judicial decisions) of the Israelites upon his heart before the Lord continually.
Of the sons of Joseph: of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh a leader, Hanniel son of Ephod;
And Gideon made an ephod [a sacred, high priest's garment] of it, and put it in his city of Ophrah, and all Israel paid homage to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.
And the man Micah had a house of gods, and he made an ephod and teraphim and dedicated one of his sons, who became his priest.
Then the five men who had gone to spy out the country of Laish said to their brethren, Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod, teraphim, a graven image, and a molten image? Now therefore, consider what you have to do.
Moreover, I selected him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer on My altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before Me. And I gave [from then on] to the house of your father [forefather] all the offerings of the Israelites made by fire.
And Ahijah son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord's priest in Shiloh, was wearing the ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan was gone.
The priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you slew in the Valley of Elah, see, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you will take that, do so, for there is no other here. And David said, There is none like that; give it to me.
The king said to Doeg, You turn and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned and attacked the priests and slew that day eighty-five persons who wore the priest's linen ephod.
When Abiathar son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, he came with an ephod in his hand.
David knew that Saul was plotting evil against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring the ephod here.
David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray you, bring me the ephod. And Abiathar brought him the ephod.
For the children of Israel shall dwell and sit deprived many days, without king or prince, without sacrifice or [idolatrous] pillar, and without ephod [a garment worn by priests when seeking divine counsel] or teraphim (household gods).
Hastings
1. Father of Hanniel (Nu 34:23 Priestly Narrative). 2. See Dress,
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Of the sons of Joseph: of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh a leader, Hanniel son of Ephod;
And Gideon made an ephod [a sacred, high priest's garment] of it, and put it in his city of Ophrah, and all Israel paid homage to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.
And the man Micah had a house of gods, and he made an ephod and teraphim and dedicated one of his sons, who became his priest.
Then the five men who had gone to spy out the country of Laish said to their brethren, Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod, teraphim, a graven image, and a molten image? Now therefore, consider what you have to do.
And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up and entered the house and took the graven image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. And when these went into Micah's house and took the carved image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said to them, What are you doing?
And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.
Morish
Ephod. E'phod
Father of Hanniel, of the tribe of Manasseh. Nu 34:23.
Ephod.
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 GIRDLE was 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, six names 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 BREASTPLATE over 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.' Ex 28:1-39. Apparently the ordinary priestly garments worn by Aaron's sons are also said to be 'for glory and for beauty.' Ex 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. 1Sa 21:9. Thus receiving answers from God is also associated with the Urim and Thummim, which were placed in the breastplate. Ex 28:28: cf. Nu 27:21; 1Sa 28:6; Ezr 2:63; Ne 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.' Ex 29:5; 35:9,27; 39:2-22; Le 8:7; 1Sa 2:28.
2. Besides the above, which may be called the ephod, there were others which the priests wore, but which are not described. 1Sa 14:3; 22:18; 23:6,9; 30:7; Ho 3:4. David, on the occasion of bringing up the ark, wore a linen ephod. 2Sa 6:14; 1Ch 15:27. Samuel also, when only a child, wore a linen ephod. 1Sa 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. Jg 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 be priest. 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. Jg 17:5; 18:14-20.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
From among the Israelites take your brother Aaron and his sons with him, that he may minister to Me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. And you shall make for Aaron your brother sacred garments [appointed official dress set apart for special holy services] for honor and for beauty. read more. Tell all who are expert, whom I have endowed with skill and good judgment, that they shall make Aaron's garments to sanctify him for My priesthood. They shall make these garments: a breastplate, an ephod [a distinctive vestment to which the breastplate was to be attached], a robe, long and sleeved tunic of checkerwork, a turban, and a sash or band. They shall make sacred garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to minister to Me in the priest's office. They shall receive [from the people] and use gold, and blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff], and fine linen. And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff], and fine twined linen, skillfully woven and worked. It shall have two shoulder straps to join the two [back and front] edges, that it may be held together. The skillfully woven girding band which is on the ephod shall be made of the same, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff], and fine twined linen. And you shall take two onyx or beryl stones and engrave on them the names of the twelve sons of Israel; Six of their names on one stone and the six names of the rest on the other stone, arranged in order of their birth. With the work of a stone engraver, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones according to the names of the sons of Israel. You shall have them set in sockets or rosettes of gold. And you shall put the two stones upon the [two] shoulder straps of the ephod [of the high priest] as memorial stones for Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names upon his two shoulders as a memorial before the Lord. And you shall make sockets or rosettes of gold for settings, And two chains of pure gold, like cords shall you twist them, and fasten the corded chains to the settings. You shall make a breastplate of judgment, in skilled work; like the workmanship of the ephod shall you make it, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff], and of fine twined linen. The breastplate shall be square and doubled; a span [nine inches] shall be its length and a span shall be its breadth. You shall set in it four rows of stones: a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle shall be the first row; The second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond [so called at that time]; The third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; And the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper; they shall be set in gold filigree. And the stones shall be twelve, according to the names of the sons of Israel, like the engravings of a signet, each with its name for the twelve tribes. You shall make for the breastplate chains of pure gold twisted like cords. You shall make on the breastplate two rings of gold and put [them] on the two edges of the breastplate. And you shall put the two twisted, cordlike chains of gold in the two rings which are on the edges of the breastplate. The other two ends of the two twisted, cordlike chains you shall fasten in the two sockets or rosettes in front, putting them on the shoulder straps of the ephod; And make two rings of gold and put them at the two ends of the breastplate on its inside edge next to the ephod. Two gold rings you shall make and attach them to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod in front, close by where they join, above the skillfully woven girdle or band of the ephod. And they shall bind the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the skillfully woven girding band of the ephod, and that the breastplate may not become loose from the ephod.
And they shall bind the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the skillfully woven girding band of the ephod, and that the breastplate may not become loose from the ephod. So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them in continual remembrance before the Lord. read more. In the breastplate of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim [unspecified articles used when the high priest asked God's counsel for all Israel]; they shall be upon Aaron's heart when he goes in before the Lord, and Aaron shall bear the judgment (rights, judicial decisions) of the Israelites upon his heart before the Lord continually. Make the robe [to be worn beneath] the ephod all of blue. There shall be a hole in the center of it [to slip over the head], with a binding of woven work around the hole, like the opening in a coat of mail or a garment, that it may not fray or tear. And you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff] around about its skirts, with gold bells between them; A gold bell and a pomegranate, a gold bell and a pomegranate, round about on the skirts of the robe. Aaron shall wear the robe when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes [alone] into the Holy of Holies before the Lord and when he comes out, lest he die there. And you shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engravings of a signet, holy to the lord. You shall fasten it on the front of the turban with a blue cord. It shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may take upon himself and bear [any] iniquity [connected with] the holy things which the Israelites shall give and dedicate; and it shall always be upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord [in the priest's person]. And you shall weave the long and sleeved tunic of checkerwork of fine linen or silk and make a turban of fine linen or silk; and you shall make a girdle, the work of the embroiderer. For Aaron's sons you shall make long and sleeved tunics and belts or sashes and caps, for glory and honor and beauty.
Then take the garments and put on Aaron the long and sleeved tunic and the robe of the ephod and the ephod and the breastplate, and gird him with the skillfully woven girding band of the ephod.
And onyx stones and other stones to be set for the ephod and the breastplate.
The leaders brought onyx stones and stones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate,
And Bezalel made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff], and fine twined linen. And they beat the gold into thin sheets and cut it into wires to work into the blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff] and the fine linen, in skilled design. read more. They made shoulder pieces for the ephod, joined to it at its two edges. And the skillfully woven band on it, to gird it on, was of the same piece and workmanship with it, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff], and fine twined linen, as the Lord had commanded Moses. And they prepared the onyx stones enclosed in settings of gold filigree and engraved as signets are engraved with the names of the sons of Israel. And he put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod to be stones of memorial or remembrance for the Israelites, as the Lord had commanded Moses. And [Bezalel] made the breastplate skillfully, like the work of the ephod, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff], and fine twined linen. The breastplate was a [hand's] span square when doubled over. And they set in it four rows of stones; a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle made the first row; The second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; The third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; And the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper; they were enclosed in settings of gold filigree. There were twelve stones with their names according to those of the sons of Israel, engraved like a signet, each with its name, according to the twelve tribes. And they made [at the ends] of the breastplate twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. And they made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings which they put on the two ends of the breastplate. And they put the two twisted cords or woven chains of gold in the two rings on the end edges of the breastplate. And the other two ends of the twisted cords or chains of gold they put on the two settings and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, in front. They made two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the inside edge of it next to the ephod. And they made two [other] gold rings and attached them to the two shoulder pieces of the ephod underneath, in front, at its joining above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. They bound the breastplate by its rings to those of the ephod with a blue lace, that it might lie upon the skillfully woven band of the ephod and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod, as the Lord commanded Moses. And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work all of blue.
He put on Aaron the long undertunic, girded him with the long sash, clothed him with the robe, put the ephod (an upper vestment) upon him, and girded him with the skillfully woven cords attached to the ephod, binding it to him.
He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him before the Lord by the judgment of the Urim [one of two articles in the priest's breastplate worn when asking counsel of the Lord for the people]. At Joshua's word the people shall go out and come in, both he and all the Israelite congregation with him.
Of the sons of Joseph: of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh a leader, Hanniel son of Ephod;
And Gideon made an ephod [a sacred, high priest's garment] of it, and put it in his city of Ophrah, and all Israel paid homage to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.
And the man Micah had a house of gods, and he made an ephod and teraphim and dedicated one of his sons, who became his priest.
Then the five men who had gone to spy out the country of Laish said to their brethren, Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod, teraphim, a graven image, and a molten image? Now therefore, consider what you have to do. And they turned in that direction and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and saluted him. read more. Now the 600 Danites with their weapons of war stood at Micah's gate. And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up and entered the house and took the graven image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. And when these went into Micah's house and took the carved image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said to them, What are you doing? And they said to him, Be still, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and family in Israel? And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.
But Samuel ministered before the Lord, a child girded with a linen ephod.
And Ahijah son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord's priest in Shiloh, was wearing the ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan was gone.
The priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you slew in the Valley of Elah, see, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you will take that, do so, for there is no other here. And David said, There is none like that; give it to me.
The king said to Doeg, You turn and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned and attacked the priests and slew that day eighty-five persons who wore the priest's linen ephod.
When Abiathar son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, he came with an ephod in his hand.
David knew that Saul was plotting evil against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring the ephod here.
David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray you, bring me the ephod. And Abiathar brought him the ephod.
And David danced before the Lord with all his might, clad in a linen ephod [a priest's upper garment].
[Zerubbabel] the governor told them they should not eat of the most holy things [the priests' food] until there should be a priest with Urim and Thummim [who by consulting these articles in his breastplate could know God's will in the matter].
The governor told them that they should refrain from eating any of the most holy food until a priest with Urim and Thummim should arise [to determine the will of God in the matter].
For the children of Israel shall dwell and sit deprived many days, without king or prince, without sacrifice or [idolatrous] pillar, and without ephod [a garment worn by priests when seeking divine counsel] or teraphim (household gods).
Smith
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Of the sons of Joseph: of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh a leader, Hanniel son of Ephod;
Watsons
EPHOD, ????. 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, Ex 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, Ex 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, 1Sa 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, 2Sa 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?" 1Sa 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, Jg 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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
The skillfully woven girding band which is on the ephod shall be made of the same, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff], and fine twined linen. And you shall take two onyx or beryl stones and engrave on them the names of the twelve sons of Israel; read more. Six of their names on one stone and the six names of the rest on the other stone, arranged in order of their birth. With the work of a stone engraver, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones according to the names of the sons of Israel. You shall have them set in sockets or rosettes of gold. And you shall put the two stones upon the [two] shoulder straps of the ephod [of the high priest] as memorial stones for Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names upon his two shoulders as a memorial before the Lord.
And Gideon made an ephod [a sacred, high priest's garment] of it, and put it in his city of Ophrah, and all Israel paid homage to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.
But Samuel ministered before the Lord, a child girded with a linen ephod.
And David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them? The Lord answered him, Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.
And David danced before the Lord with all his might, clad in a linen ephod [a priest's upper garment].