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.
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And make the ephod of gold and blue and purple and red and the best linen, the work of a designer. It is to have two bands stitched to it at the top of the arms, joining it together. read more. And the beautifully worked band, which goes on it, is to be of the same work and the same material, of gold and blue and purple and red and twisted linen-work. You are to take two beryl stones, on which the names of the children of Israel are to be cut: Six names on the one stone and six on the other, in the order of their birth. With the work of a jeweller, like the cutting of a stamp, the names of the children of Israel are to be cut on them, and they are to be fixed in twisted frames of gold. And the two stones are to be placed on the ephod, over the arm-holes, to be stones of memory for the children of Israel: Aaron will have their names on his arms when he goes in before the Lord, to keep the Lord in mind of them.
And Gideon made an ephod from them and put it up in his town Ophrah; and all Israel went after it there and were false to the Lord; and it became a cause of sin to Gideon and his house.
And the man Micah had a house of gods; and he made an ephod and family gods and put one of his sons in the position of priest.
Then the five men who had gone to make a search through the land, went in and took the pictured image and the ephod and the family gods and the metal image; and the priest was by the doorway with the six hundred armed men.
But Samuel did the work of the Lord's house, while he was a child, dressed in a linen ephod.
Then the king said to Doeg, You are to put the priests to death. And Doeg the Edomite, turning on the priests and attacking them, put to death that day eighty-five men who took up the ephod.
And David, clothed in a linen ephod, was dancing before the Lord with all his strength.
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.
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This is what they are to make: a priest's bag, an ephod, and a robe, and a coat of coloured needlework, a head-dress, and a linen band; they are to make holy robes for Aaron your brother and for his sons, so that they may do the work of priests for me.
And make the ephod of gold and blue and purple and red and the best linen, the work of a designer. It is to have two bands stitched to it at the top of the arms, joining it together. read more. And the beautifully worked band, which goes on it, is to be of the same work and the same material, of gold and blue and purple and red and twisted linen-work. You are to take two beryl stones, on which the names of the children of Israel are to be cut: Six names on the one stone and six on the other, in the order of their birth. With the work of a jeweller, like the cutting of a stamp, the names of the children of Israel are to be cut on them, and they are to be fixed in twisted frames of gold. And the two stones are to be placed on the ephod, over the arm-holes, to be stones of memory for the children of Israel: Aaron will have their names on his arms when he goes in before the Lord, to keep the Lord in mind of them.
The robe which goes with the ephod is to be made all of blue;
But Samuel did the work of the Lord's house, while he was a child, dressed in a linen ephod.
Did I take him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest and to go up to my altar to make the smoke of the offerings go up and to take up the ephod? Did I give to your father's family all the offerings made by fire by the children of Israel?
And Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, brother of Ichabod, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh, who had the ephod. And the people had no idea that Jonathan had gone.
Then the king said to Doeg, You are to put the priests to death. And Doeg the Edomite, turning on the priests and attacking them, put to death that day eighty-five men who took up the ephod.
And David, clothed in a linen ephod, was dancing before the Lord with all his strength.
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/bbe'>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).
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And make the ephod of gold and blue and purple and red and the best linen, the work of a designer. It is to have two bands stitched to it at the top of the arms, joining it together. read more. And the beautifully worked band, which goes on it, is to be of the same work and the same material, of gold and blue and purple and red and twisted linen-work. You are to take two beryl stones, on which the names of the children of Israel are to be cut: Six names on the one stone and six on the other, in the order of their birth. With the work of a jeweller, like the cutting of a stamp, the names of the children of Israel are to be cut on them, and they are to be fixed in twisted frames of gold. And the two stones are to be placed on the ephod, over the arm-holes, to be stones of memory for the children of Israel: Aaron will have their names on his arms when he goes in before the Lord, to keep the Lord in mind of them. And you are to make twisted frames of gold; And two chains of the best gold, twisted like cords; and have the chains fixed on to the frames. And make a priest's bag for giving decisions, designed like the ephod, made of gold and blue and purple and red and the best linen. It is to be square, folded in two, a hand-stretch long and a hand-stretch wide. And on it you are to put four lines of jewels; the first line is to be a cornelian, a chrysolite, and an emerald; The second, a ruby, a sapphire, and an onyx; The third, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; The fourth, a topaz, a beryl, and a jasper; they are to be fixed in twisted frames of gold. The jewels are to be twelve in number, for the names of the children of Israel; every jewel having the name of one of the twelve tribes cut on it as on a stamp. And you are to make two chains of gold, twisted like cords, to be fixed to the priest's bag. And put two gold rings on the two ends of the bag. Put the two gold chains on the two rings at the ends of the bag; Joining the other ends of the chains to the gold frames and putting them on the front of the ephod, at the top of the arms. Then make two gold rings and put them on the lower ends of the bag, at the edge of it on the inner side nearest to the ephod. And make two more gold rings and put them on the front of the ephod at the top of the arms, at the join, over the worked band: So that the rings on the bag may be fixed to the rings of the ephod by a blue cord and on to the band of the ephod, so that the bag may not come loose from the ephod. And so Aaron will have the names of the children of Israel on the priest's bag over his heart whenever he goes into the holy place, to keep the memory of them before the Lord. And in the bag you are to put the Urim and Thummim, so that they may be on Aaron's heart whenever he goes in before the Lord; and Aaron may have the power of making decisions for the children of Israel before the Lord at all times.
Of the children of Joseph: of the tribe of the children of Manasseh, a chief, Hanniel, the son of Ephod:
And Gideon made an ephod from them and put it up in his town Ophrah; and all Israel went after it there and were false to the Lord; and it became a cause of sin to Gideon and his house.
And the man Micah had a house of gods; and he made an ephod and family gods and put one of his sons in the position of priest.
Then the five men who had gone to make a search through the country of Laish, said to their brothers, Have you knowledge that in these houses there is an ephod and family gods and a pictured image and a metal image? So now you see what to do.
Did I take him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest and to go up to my altar to make the smoke of the offerings go up and to take up the ephod? Did I give to your father's family all the offerings made by fire by the children of Israel?
And Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, brother of Ichabod, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh, who had the ephod. And the people had no idea that Jonathan had gone.
And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you put to death in the valley of Elah, is here folded in a cloth at the back of the ephod: take that, if you will, for there is no other sword here. And David said, there is no other sword like that; give it to me.
Then the king said to Doeg, You are to put the priests to death. And Doeg the Edomite, turning on the priests and attacking them, put to death that day eighty-five men who took up the ephod.
Now when Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, went in flight to David, he came down to Keilah with the ephod in his hand.
And it was clear to David that Saul had evil designs against him, and he said to Abiathar the priest, Come here with the ephod.
And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, Come here to me with the ephod. And Abiathar took the ephod to David.
For the children of Israel will for a long time be without king and without ruler, without offerings and without pillars, and without ephod or images.
Hastings
1. Father of Hanniel (Nu 34:23 Priestly Narrative). 2. See Dress,
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Of the children of Joseph: of the tribe of the children of Manasseh, a chief, Hanniel, the son of Ephod:
And Gideon made an ephod from them and put it up in his town Ophrah; and all Israel went after it there and were false to the Lord; and it became a cause of sin to Gideon and his house.
And the man Micah had a house of gods; and he made an ephod and family gods and put one of his sons in the position of priest.
Then the five men who had gone to make a search through the country of Laish, said to their brothers, Have you knowledge that in these houses there is an ephod and family gods and a pictured image and a metal image? So now you see what to do.
Then the five men who had gone to make a search through the land, went in and took the pictured image and the ephod and the family gods and the metal image; and the priest was by the doorway with the six hundred armed men. And when they went into Micah's house and took out the pictured image and the ephod and the family gods and the metal image, the priest said to them, What are you doing?
Then the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod and the family gods and the pictured image and went with 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.
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Now let Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, come near from among the children of Israel, so that they may be my priests, even Aaron, and Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, his sons. And make holy robes for Aaron your brother, so that he may be clothed with glory and honour. read more. Give orders to all the wise-hearted workmen, whom I have made full of the spirit of wisdom, to make robes for Aaron, so that he may be made holy as my priest. This is what they are to make: a priest's bag, an ephod, and a robe, and a coat of coloured needlework, a head-dress, and a linen band; they are to make holy robes for Aaron your brother and for his sons, so that they may do the work of priests for me. They are to take the gold and blue and purple and red and the best linen, And make the ephod of gold and blue and purple and red and the best linen, the work of a designer. It is to have two bands stitched to it at the top of the arms, joining it together. And the beautifully worked band, which goes on it, is to be of the same work and the same material, of gold and blue and purple and red and twisted linen-work. You are to take two beryl stones, on which the names of the children of Israel are to be cut: Six names on the one stone and six on the other, in the order of their birth. With the work of a jeweller, like the cutting of a stamp, the names of the children of Israel are to be cut on them, and they are to be fixed in twisted frames of gold. And the two stones are to be placed on the ephod, over the arm-holes, to be stones of memory for the children of Israel: Aaron will have their names on his arms when he goes in before the Lord, to keep the Lord in mind of them. And you are to make twisted frames of gold; And two chains of the best gold, twisted like cords; and have the chains fixed on to the frames. And make a priest's bag for giving decisions, designed like the ephod, made of gold and blue and purple and red and the best linen. It is to be square, folded in two, a hand-stretch long and a hand-stretch wide. And on it you are to put four lines of jewels; the first line is to be a cornelian, a chrysolite, and an emerald; The second, a ruby, a sapphire, and an onyx; The third, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; The fourth, a topaz, a beryl, and a jasper; they are to be fixed in twisted frames of gold. The jewels are to be twelve in number, for the names of the children of Israel; every jewel having the name of one of the twelve tribes cut on it as on a stamp. And you are to make two chains of gold, twisted like cords, to be fixed to the priest's bag. And put two gold rings on the two ends of the bag. Put the two gold chains on the two rings at the ends of the bag; Joining the other ends of the chains to the gold frames and putting them on the front of the ephod, at the top of the arms. Then make two gold rings and put them on the lower ends of the bag, at the edge of it on the inner side nearest to the ephod. And make two more gold rings and put them on the front of the ephod at the top of the arms, at the join, over the worked band: So that the rings on the bag may be fixed to the rings of the ephod by a blue cord and on to the band of the ephod, so that the bag may not come loose from the ephod.
So that the rings on the bag may be fixed to the rings of the ephod by a blue cord and on to the band of the ephod, so that the bag may not come loose from the ephod. And so Aaron will have the names of the children of Israel on the priest's bag over his heart whenever he goes into the holy place, to keep the memory of them before the Lord. read more. And in the bag you are to put the Urim and Thummim, so that they may be on Aaron's heart whenever he goes in before the Lord; and Aaron may have the power of making decisions for the children of Israel before the Lord at all times. The robe which goes with the ephod is to be made all of blue; With a hole at the top, in the middle of it; the hole is to be edged with a band to make it strong like the hole in the coat of a fighting-man, so that it may not be broken open. And round the skirts of it put fruits in blue and purple and red, with bells of gold between; A gold bell and a fruit in turn all round the skirts of the robe. Aaron is to put it on for his holy work; and the sound of it will be clear, when he goes into the holy place before the Lord, and when he comes out, keeping him safe from death. You are to make a plate of the best gold, cutting on it, as on a stamp, these words: HOLY TO THE LORD. Put a blue cord on it and put it on the front of the twisted head-dress: And it will be over Aaron's brow, so that Aaron will be responsible for any error in all the holy offerings made by the children of Israel; it will be on his brow at all times, so that their offerings may be pleasing to the Lord. The coat is to be made of the best linen, worked in squares; and you are to make a head-dress of linen, and a linen band worked in needlework. And for Aaron's sons you are to make coats, and bands, and head-dresses, so that they may be clothed with glory and honour.
Take the robes, and put the coat and the dress and the ephod and the priest's bag on Aaron; put the band of needlework round him,
And beryls and jewels to be cut for the ephod and for the priest's bag.
And the rulers gave the beryls and the cut jewels for the ephod and the priest's bag;
The ephod he made of gold and blue and purple and red and the best linen; Hammering the gold into thin plates and cutting it into wires to be worked into the blue and the purple and the red and the linen by the designer. read more. And they made two bands for joining its edges together at the top of the arms. And the beautifully worked band which went on it was of the same design and the same material, worked in gold and blue and purple and red and twisted linen-work, as the Lord gave orders to Moses. Then they made the beryl stones, fixed in twisted frames of gold and cut like the cutting of a stamp, with the names of the children of Israel. These he put on the ephod, over the arm-holes, to be stones of memory for the children of Israel, as the Lord had said to Moses. The priest's bag was designed like the ephod, of the best linen worked with gold and blue and purple and red. It was square and folded in two, as long and as wide as the stretch of a man's hand; And on it they put four lines of stones: in the first line was a carnelian, a chrysolite, and an emerald; In the second, a ruby, a sapphire, and an onyx; In the third, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; In the fourth, a topaz, a beryl, and a jasper; they were fixed in twisted frames of gold. There were twelve stones for the twelve tribes of Israel; on every one the name of one of the tribes of Israel was cut, like the cutting of a stamp. And on the bag they put gold chains, twisted like cords. And they made two gold frames and two gold rings, the rings being fixed to the ends of the priest's bag; And they put the two twisted chains on the two rings at the ends of the priest's bag; And the other two ends of the chains were joined to the two frames and fixed to the front of the ephod over the arm-holes. And they made two rings of gold and put them on the two lower ends of the bag, on the inner side nearest to the ephod. And two other gold rings were put on the front of the ephod, over the arm-holes, at the join, and over the worked band. And the rings on the bag were fixed to the rings of the ephod by a blue cord, keeping it in place over the band, so that the bag might not get loose, as the Lord gave orders to Moses. The robe which went with the ephod was made all of blue;
He put the coat on him, making it tight with its band, and then the robe, and over it the ephod, with its band of needlework to keep it in place.
He will take his place before Eleazar the priest, so that he may get directions from the Lord for him, with the Urim: at his word they will go out, and at his word they will come in, he and all the children of Israel.
Of the children of Joseph: of the tribe of the children of Manasseh, a chief, Hanniel, the son of Ephod:
And Gideon made an ephod from them and put it up in his town Ophrah; and all Israel went after it there and were false to the Lord; and it became a cause of sin to Gideon and his house.
And the man Micah had a house of gods; and he made an ephod and family gods and put one of his sons in the position of priest.
Then the five men who had gone to make a search through the country of Laish, said to their brothers, Have you knowledge that in these houses there is an ephod and family gods and a pictured image and a metal image? So now you see what to do. And turning from their road they came to the house of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and said to him, Is it well with you? read more. And the six hundred armed men of the Danites took their places by the doorway. Then the five men who had gone to make a search through the land, went in and took the pictured image and the ephod and the family gods and the metal image; and the priest was by the doorway with the six hundred armed men. And when they went into Micah's house and took out the pictured image and the ephod and the family gods and the metal image, the priest said to them, What are you doing? And they said to him, Be quiet; say nothing, and come with us and be our father and priest; is it better for you to be priest to one man's house or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel? Then the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod and the family gods and the pictured image and went with the people.
But Samuel did the work of the Lord's house, while he was a child, dressed in a linen ephod.
And Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, brother of Ichabod, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh, who had the ephod. And the people had no idea that Jonathan had gone.
And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you put to death in the valley of Elah, is here folded in a cloth at the back of the ephod: take that, if you will, for there is no other sword here. And David said, there is no other sword like that; give it to me.
Then the king said to Doeg, You are to put the priests to death. And Doeg the Edomite, turning on the priests and attacking them, put to death that day eighty-five men who took up the ephod.
Now when Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, went in flight to David, he came down to Keilah with the ephod in his hand.
And it was clear to David that Saul had evil designs against him, and he said to Abiathar the priest, Come here with the ephod.
And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, Come here to me with the ephod. And Abiathar took the ephod to David.
And David, clothed in a linen ephod, was dancing before the Lord with all his strength.
And the Tirshatha said that they were not to have the most holy things for their food, till a priest came to give decision by Urim and Thummim.
And the Tirshatha said that they were not to have the most holy things for their food, till a priest came to give decision by the Urim and Thummim.
For the children of Israel will for a long time be without king and without ruler, without offerings and without pillars, and without ephod or images.
Smith
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Of the children of Joseph: of the tribe of the children of Manasseh, a chief, Hanniel, the 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.
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And the beautifully worked band, which goes on it, is to be of the same work and the same material, of gold and blue and purple and red and twisted linen-work. You are to take two beryl stones, on which the names of the children of Israel are to be cut: read more. Six names on the one stone and six on the other, in the order of their birth. With the work of a jeweller, like the cutting of a stamp, the names of the children of Israel are to be cut on them, and they are to be fixed in twisted frames of gold. And the two stones are to be placed on the ephod, over the arm-holes, to be stones of memory for the children of Israel: Aaron will have their names on his arms when he goes in before the Lord, to keep the Lord in mind of them.
And Gideon made an ephod from them and put it up in his town Ophrah; and all Israel went after it there and were false to the Lord; and it became a cause of sin to Gideon and his house.
But Samuel did the work of the Lord's house, while he was a child, dressed in a linen ephod.
Then David, questioning the Lord, said, Am I to go after this band? will I be able to overtake them? And in answer he said, Go after them, for you will certainly overtake them, and get back everything.
And David, clothed in a linen ephod, was dancing before the Lord with all his strength.