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The Antiquities of the Jews - Table of Contents
The Antiquities of the Jews
Written by Flavius Josephus
Translated by William Whiston
Book Three
Chapter 7
Concerning The Garments Of The Priests, And
Of The High Priest
1. There were peculiar garments appointed for the priests, and
for all the rest, which they call Cohanoeoe [-priestly]
garments, as also for the high priests, which they call
Cahanoeoe Rabbae, and denote the high priest's garments. Such
was therefore the habit of the rest. But when the priest
approaches the sacrifices, he purifies himself with the
purification which the law prescribes; and, in the first place,
he puts on that which is called Machanase, which means somewhat
that is fast tied. It is a girdle, composed of fine twined
linen, and is put about the privy parts, the feet being to be
inserted into them in the nature of breeches, but above half of
it is cut off, and it ends at the thighs, and is there tied
fast.
2. Over this he wore a linen vestment, made of fine flax
doubled: it is called Chethone, and denotes linen, for we call
linen by the name of Chethone. This vestment reaches down to the
feet, and sits close to the body; and has sleeves that are tied
fast to the arms: it is girded to the breast a little above the
elbows, by a girdle often going round, four fingers broad, but
so loosely woven, that you would think it were the skin of a
serpent. It is embroidered with flowers of scarlet, and purple,
and blue, and fine twined linen, but the warp was nothing but
fine linen. The beginning of its circumvolution is at the
breast; and when it has gone often round, it is there tied, and
hangs loosely there down to the ankles: I mean this, all the
time the priest is not about any laborious service, for in this
position it appears in the most agreeable manner to the
spectators; but when he is obliged to assist at the offering
sacrifices, and to do the appointed service, that he may not be
hindered in his operations by its motion, he throws it to the
left, and bears it on his shoulder. Moses indeed calls this belt
Albaneth; but we have learned from the Babylonians to call it
Emia, for so it is by them called. This vestment has no loose or
hollow parts any where in it, but only a narrow aperture about
the neck; and it is tied with certain strings hanging down from
the edge over the breast and back, and is fastened above each
shoulder: it is called Massabazanes.
3. Upon his head he wears a cap, not brought to a conic form nor
encircling the whole head, but still covering more than the half
of it, which is called Masnaemphthes; and its make is such that
it seems to be a crown, being made of thick swathes, but the
contexture is of linen; and it is doubled round many times, and
sewed together; besides which, a piece of fine linen covers the
whole cap from the upper part, and reaches down to the forehead,
and hides the seams of the swathes, which would otherwise appear
indecently: this adheres closely upon the solid part of the
head, and is thereto so firmly fixed, that it may not fall off
during the sacred service about the sacrifices. So we have now
shown you what is the habit of the generality of the priests.
4. The high priest is indeed adorned with the same garments that
we have described, without abating one; only over these he puts
on a vestment of a blue color. This also is a long robe,
reaching to his feet, [in our language it is called .Meeir,] and
is tied round with a girdle, embroidered with the same colors
and flowers as the former, with a mixture of gold interwoven. To
the bottom of which garment are hung fringes, in color like
pomegranates, with golden bells (13) by a curious and beautiful
contrivance; so that between two bells hangs a pomegranate, and
between two pomegranates a bell. Now this vesture was not
composed of two pieces, nor was it sewed together upon the
shoulders and the sides, but it was one long vestment so woven
as to have an aperture for the neck; not an oblique one, but
parted all along the breast and the back. A border also was
sewed to it, lest the aperture should look too indecently: it
was also parted where the hands were to come out.
5. Besides these, the high priest put on a third garment, which
was called the Ephod, which resembles the Epomis of the Greeks.
Its make was after this manner: it was woven to the depth of a
cubit, of several colors, with gold intermixed, and embroidered,
but it left the middle of the breast uncovered: it was made with
sleeves also; nor did it appear to be at all differently made
from a short coat. But in the void place of this garment there
was inserted a piece of the bigness of a span, embroidered with
gold, and the other colors of the ephod, and was called Essen,
[the breastplate,] .which in the Greek language signifies the
Oracle. This piece exactly filled up the void space in the
ephod. It was united to it by golden rings at every corner, the
like rings being annexed to the ephod, and a blue riband was
made use of to tie them together by those rings; and that the
space between the rings might not appear empty, they contrived
to fill it up with stitches of blue ribands. There were also two
sardonyxes upon the ephod, at the shoulders, to fasten it in the
nature of buttons, having each end running to the sardonyxes of
gold, that they might be buttoned by them. On these were
engraven the names of the sons of Jacob, in our own country
letters, and in our own tongue, six on each of the stones, on
either side; and the elder sons' names were on the right
shoulder. Twelve stones also there were upon the breast-plate,
extraordinary in largeness and beauty; and they were an ornament
not to be purchased by men, because of their immense value.
These stones, however, stood in three rows, by four in a row,
and were inserted into the breastplate itself, and they were set
in ouches of gold, that were themselves inserted in the
breastplate, and were so made that they might not fall out low
the first three stones were a sardonyx, a topaz, and an emerald.
The second row contained a carbuncle, a jasper, and a sapphire.
The first of the third row was a ligure, then an amethyst, and
the third an agate, being the ninth of the whole number. The
first of the fourth row was a chrysolite, the next was an onyx,
and then a beryl, which was the last of all. Now the names of
all those sons of Jacob were engraven in these stones, whom we
esteem the heads of our tribes, each stone having the honor of a
name, in the order according to which they were born. And
whereas the rings were too weak of themselves to bear the weight
of the stones, they made two other rings of a larger size, at
the edge of that part of the breastplate which reached to the
neck, and inserted into the very texture of the breastplate, to
receive chains finely wrought, which connected them with golden
bands to the tops of the shoulders, whose extremity turned
backwards, and went into the ring, on the prominent back part of
the ephod; and this was for the security of the breastplate,
that it might not fall out of its place. There was also a girdle
sewed to the breastplate, which was of the forementioned colors,
with gold intermixed, which, when it had gone once round, was
tied again upon the seam, and hung down. There were also golden
loops that admitted its fringes at each extremity of the girdle,
and included them entirely.
6. The high priest's mitre was the same that we described
before, and was wrought like that of all the other priests;
above which there was another, with swathes of blue embroidered,
and round it was a golden crown polished, of three rows, one
above another; out of which arose a cup of gold, which resembled
the herb which we call Saccharus; but those Greeks that are
skillful in botany call it Hyoscyamus. Now, lest any one that
has seen this herb, but has not been taught its name, and is
unacquainted with its nature, or, having known its name, knows
not the herb when he sees it, I shall give such ,as these are a
description of it. This herb is oftentimes in tallness above
three spans, but its root is like that of a turnip (for he that
should compare it thereto would not be mistaken); but its leaves
are like the leaves of mint. Out of its branches it sends out a
calyx, cleaving. to the branch; and a coat encompasses it, which
it naturally puts off when it is changing, in order to produce
its fruit. This calyx is of the bigness of the bone of the
little finger, but in the compass of its aperture is like a cup.
This I will further describe, for the use of those that are
unacquainted with it. Suppose a sphere be divided into two
parts, round at the bottom, but having another segment that
grows up to a circumference from that bottom; suppose it become
narrower by degrees, and that the cavity of that part grow
decently smaller, and then gradually grow wider again at the
brim, such as we see in the navel of a pomegranate, with its
notches. And indeed such a coat grows over this plant as renders
it a hemisphere, and that, as one may say, turned accurately in
a lathe, and having its notches extant above it, which, as I
said, grow like a pomegranate, only that they are sharp, and end
in nothing but prickles. Now the fruit is preserved by this coat
of the calyx, which fruit is like the seed of the herb Sideritis:
it sends out a flower that may seem to resemble that of poppy.
Of this was a crown made, as far from the hinder part of the
head to each of the temples; but this Ephielis, for so this
calyx may be called, did not cover the forehead, but it was
covered with a golden plate, (14) which had inscribed upon it
the name of God in sacred characters. And such were the
ornaments of the high priest.
7. Now here one may wonder at the ill-will which men bear to us,
and which they profess to bear on account of our despising that
Deity which they pretend to honor; for if any one do but
consider the fabric of the tabernacle, and take a view of the
garments of the high priest, and of those vessels which we make
use of in our sacred ministration, he will find that our
legislator was a divine man, and that we are unjustly reproached
by others; for if any one do without prejudice, and with
judgment, look upon these things, he will find they were every
one made in way of imitation and representation of the universe.
When Moses distinguished the tabernacle into three parts, (15)
and allowed two of them to the priests, as a place accessible
and common, he denoted the land and the sea, these being of
general access to all; but he set apart the third division for
God, because heaven is inaccessible to men. And when he ordered
twelve loaves to be set on the table, he denoted the year, as
distinguished into so many months. By branching out the
candlestick into seventy parts, he secretly intimated the Decani,
or seventy divisions of the planets; and as to the seven lamps
upon the candlesticks, they referred to the course of the
planets, of which that is the number. The veils, too, which were
composed of four things, they declared the four elements; for
the fine linen was proper to signify the earth, because the flax
grows out of the earth; the purple signified the sea, because
that color is dyed by the blood of a sea shell-fish; the blue is
fit to signify the air; and the scarlet will naturally be an
indication of fire. Now the vestment of the high priest being
made of linen, signified the earth; the blue denoted the sky,
being like lightning in its pomegranates, and in the noise of
the bells resembling thunder. And for the ephod, it showed that
God had made the universe of four elements; and as for the gold
interwoven, I suppose it related to the splendor by which all
things are enlightened. He also appointed the breastplate to be
placed in the middle of the ephod, to resemble the earth, for
that has the very middle place of the world. And the girdle
which encompassed the high priest round, signified the ocean,
for that goes round about and includes the universe. Each of the
sardonyxes declares to us the sun and the moon; those, I mean,
that were in the nature of buttons on the high priest's
shoulders. And for the twelve stones, whether we understand by
them the months, or whether we understand the like number of the
signs of that circle which the Greeks call the Zodiac, we shall
not be mistaken in their meaning. And for the mitre, which was
of a blue color, it seems to me to mean heaven; for how
otherwise could the name of God be inscribed upon it? That it
was also illustrated with a crown, and that of gold also, is
because of that splendor with which God is pleased. Let this
explication (16) suffice at present, since the course of my
narration will often, and on many occasions, afford me the
opportunity of enlarging upon the virtue of our legislator.
Continue on to
Book
Three,
Chapter 8,
The Antiquities of the Jews
by
Flavius Josephus
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The Antiquities of the Jews - Table of Contents
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