The high priest’s vestments included an ephod (or “special apron,” Ex. 39:2, note a), which was made of “gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen” (Ex. 39:2). Biblical scholar Menahem Haran states that the ephod “is a sort of apron encircling the body from the loins downward.”18 Based on his reading of Exodus 28:27 and 39:20, Haran explains, “We may assume that when the priest wishes to remove the apron from his waist, he . . . can untie the ‘joining’ at his back and take off the ephod frontwards.”19
The ephod, together with the Urim and Thummim, was associated with prophetic powers. According to the ancient work the Testament of Levi 8:2–10, “I [Levi] saw seven men in white clothing, who were saying to me, ‘Arise, put on the vestments of the priesthood, the crown of righteousness, the oracle of understanding, the robe of truth, the breastplate of faith, the miter for the head and the apron for prophetic power” (emphasis added). Beyond the high priest’s special apron, Genesis 3:7 refers to Adam and Eve’s aprons, made of fig leaves, which were worn in the garden of Eden (see entry “Fig Leaves”).