Ephod

The ephod was one of the most significant vestments of the high priest, described in detail in Exodus 28 and 39. Made of fine twisted linen and woven with gold, blue, purple, and scarlet threads, it was essentially a short sleeveless garment fastened at the shoulders by two onyx stones, each engraved with six tribal names, which served as memorial stones before God. The breastplate of judgment, holding the Urim and Thummim, was attached to the ephod's front.

The ephod thus functioned as the central element of the high priestly oracular apparatus through which God's will was discerned for Israel. Several troubling uses of the term appear in Judges: Gideon made an ephod from war plunder that became an object of idolatrous worship, and the Danites stole a Levite-made ephod for their illegitimate sanctuary. A simpler linen ephod worn by ordinary priests and even by David when dancing before the ark appears to have been a different, less elaborate garment. The rich symbolic function of the high priest's ephod—bearing the names of Israel before God—foreshadows the intercessory role of Christ as great high priest.