Exodus 39

More literally, the Decision Chestpiece.” (Exodus 28:15) The descriptive word in Hebrew is mispat. It can mean a wide variety of words, including: justice, judgment, law, court, rights, and decisions. We need context clues to pick the right word. The general idea, however, seems to suggest the vest, which the high priest wears over his heart, represents his authority to deliver God’s messages and judgments to the people.

The 12 tribes of Israel were each extended families from the 12 sons of Jacob: Asher, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Issachar, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun, Judah and Benjamin. The family of Levi didn’t have a territory assigned to it, as the other families did. They would serve as priests throughout the nation. Joseph didn’t have a tribe either. He had two, one for each of his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.

Why a ringing robe that would seemingly drive everyone within earshot just a little crazy? There’s no explanation. But there’s a popular educated guess. People outside could hear the sounds of the priest inside the tent, moving around. The ringing meant he was alive and doing his work, or at least moving around. Some may have been afraid that God might strike the high priest dead on the nation’s annual day of repentance, the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. That’s the only day the high priest could enter the worship center’s Most Sacred Room, where the Ten Commandments were stored in a box known as the Ark of the Covenant. See notes for 39:35.

Better known as the Ark of the Covenant, Israel’s most sacred relic, kept in the Most Sacred Room in the tent worship center.

Known today as Yom Kippur, this is the most solemn day on the Jewish calendar. The high priest appeals for the forgiveness of sins that the people of the nation had committed in the past year. Jews taught that God’s footrest was the lid on the Ark of the Covenant, the gold-covered chest that held the Ten Commandments (1 Chronicles 28:2). Two winged beings called cherubim rested at each end of the lid. “Cherubim” is Kerubim in Hebrew. These are celestial beings mentioned throughout the Bible. Ancient Middle Eastern creatures with similar names, such as kirubu, reportedly served gods. The creatures were portrayed in statues of beings such as human-headed lions with wings. These statues guarded entrances to cities and palaces.

The table was for displaying consecrated bread, known as the Bread of the Presence, or Shewbread. Every Sabbath day, priests put 12 fresh loaves of bread on the table. A week later, priests ate those loaves and replaced them with another dozen loaves of bread (Leviticus 24:5-9).