To attach the chestpiece to the ephod, they made braided cords of pure gold thread.
Parallel translations
- WEB They made on the breastplate chains like cords, of braided work of pure gold.
- KJV And they made upon the breastplate chains at the ends, of wreathen work of pure gold.
- BSB For the breastpiece they made braided chains like cords of pure gold.
- NKJV And they made chains for the breastplate at the ends, like braided cords of pure gold.
- NASB And they made for the breastpiece chains like cords, work of twisted cords of pure gold.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They made braided chains of pure gold, like cords, for the breastplate. These would secure it to the ephod.
Overview
Fine gold was twisted into rope-like chains to attach the breastplate to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. The craftsmanship ensured the breastplate, bearing Israel's names, was held firmly in place over the priest's heart. The secure fastening pictures the unbreakable union between the priest's representation and the people he carried before God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- John 10:28I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
- 2 Chr 3:5He made the larger room with a ceiling of cypress wood, which he overlaid with fine gold, and ornamented it with palm trees and chains.
- Song 1:10Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels.
- 1 Pet 1:5who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
- Jude 1:1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
- John 17:12While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. Those whom you have given me I have kept. None of them is lost, except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
- Exod 28:14and two chains of pure gold; you shall make them like cords of braided work: and you shall put the braided chains on the settings.
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 39:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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