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[162]
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.
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