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An ephod (pronounced either \ē´fod\ or \ef´od\) was a type of object in ancient , Gideon and Micah each made one from molten gold, and Gideon's was worshippedJudges 8:26-27Judges 17:5. Within the Bible, in the contexts where it is worn, the Ephod is usually described as being linen, but did not contitute complete clothing of any kind, as the Books of Samuel describe version of the passage, nor is it present when the Septuagint describes David and Samuel as girding themselves with an Ephod, and textual scholars regard its presence in the masoretic text as a later editorial Gloss ''Jewish Encyclopedia''. argued that the Ephod described in Exodus was similar to this]] A passage in the Book of Exodus describes the Ephod as an elaborate garment worn by the high priest, and upon which the Sacred Breastplate , containing Urim And Thummim , rested. According to this description, the Ephod was Embroidered out of Gold , Blue , Purple , and Scarlet threads, was made of fine Linen , and was embriodered ''with cunning work'' in gold thread; the Talmud argues that each of the textures was each combined in six threads with a seventh of gold leaf, making twenty-eight threads to the texture in totalYoma 71b. The Biblical description continues without describing the shape or length of the Ephod, except by stating that it was held together by a Girdle , and had two shoulder straps which were fastened to the front of the Ephod by golden rings, to which the sacred breastplate was attached by golden chains; from this description it appears to have been something like a Minimalist Apron or a Skirt with Braces Cheyne and Black, ''Encyclopedia Biblica'', though Rashi argued that it was like a woman's riding girdle''Jewish Encyclopedia''. The biblical description also adds that there were two jewels over the shoulder straps (like Epaulette s), made from ''shoham'' (thought to scholars to mean Malachite ''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Gems'', by Jewish tradition to mean Heliodor ibid, and in the King James Version is translated as '' Onyx ''), and with the names of the twelve tribes written upon them; the classical rabbinical sources differ as to the order in which the tribes were named on the jewelsSotah 36a. Textual scholars attribute the description of the Ephod in Exodus to the Priestly Source and to a date later than the other mentions of ''Ephod''''Peake's commentary on the Bible''; biblical scholars believe that the Ephod may have evolved over time into this highly ceremonial form from more primitive beginnings (the simple linen form described in the Books of Samuel), much like the manner in which the highly liturgical Maniple evolved from an ordinary Handkerchief Cheyne and Black, ''Encyclopedia Biblica''. Besides use as a garment, an Ephod was also used for oracular purposes, in conjunction with , with the Urim and Thummim being the objects which were drawn as lots, the Ephod is considered by scholars to have been some form of container for the Urim and Thummimibid''Jewish Encyclopedia''; to harmonise this with the descriptions of the Ephod as a garment, it is necessary to conclude that the Ephod must have originally been some sort of Pocket , which the priests ''girded'' to themselvesCheyne and Black, ''Encyclopedia Biblica''''Jewish Encyclopedia''. The object at Nob, which must have been somewhat freestanding since an object is kept behind it, and the objects made by Gideon and by Micah, from molten gold, logically cannot have just been a garmentCheyne and Black, ''Encyclopedia Biblica'Jewish Encyclopedia''. The object made by Gideon is plainly described as having been worshipped, and therefore the idol of some deity (possibly of Yahweh), while the object made by Micah is closely associated with a Teraphim , and the Ephod and Teraphim are described interchangably with the Hebrew terms ''pesel'' and ''massekah'', meaning ''graven image'', and ''molten image'', respectivelyCheyne and Black, ''Encyclopedia Biblica'Jewish Encyclopedia''. Even the Ephods used for oracular purposes were not necessarily just pieces of cloth, as they are not described as being worn, but carried (though some translations render 1 Samuel 2:28 as ''... wear an Ephod ...'' rather than ''... carry an Ephod ...''''Peake's commentary on the Bible''); the Hebrew term used in these passages for ''carry'' is ''nasa'', which specifically implies that the Ephod was carried either in the hand or on the shoulder''Jewish Encyclopedia''. The conclusion thus is that ''Ephod'', in these cases, referred to a portable idol, which the lots were cast in front ofCheyne and Black, ''Encyclopedia Biblica''''Jewish Encyclopedia''; some scholars have suggested that the connection between the idol and the garment is that the idol was originally clothed in a linen garment, and the term ''Ephod'' gradually came to describe the idol as a wholeibid. REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS |
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