Vestments, Sacred

The first mention of sacred clothing exists in the Garden of Eden, where the Lord God made Adam and Eve (archetypes of all humankind) “coats of skins” and then He “clothed them” (Gen. 3:21). Three biblical passages, found mostly in Exodus and Leviticus and numbering a total of seventy-nine verses, refer to priestly garments (see Ex. 28:1–43; 39:1–31; Lev. 8:5–9). Beyond these key passages, sacred vestments are referred to in various scriptures throughout the standard works.

The priest’s vestments consisted of four parts—headpiece,315 sash, tunic (robe), and linen breeches (underwear).316 The high priest wore eight vestments—the four belonging to the priest, plus the ephod (or “special apron,” Ex. 39:2, note a), robe, breastplate, and golden plate of the headpiece (see Ex. 28:2–4). All temple vestments were deemed to be holy (see Ex. 28:2–3). On the Day of Atonement, the high priest dressed in white (see Ex. 28:2–3).

The high priest’s sacred vestments consisted of eight pieces (on a mannequin).

Apart from the important fact that all sacred vestments were emblems of power and served to identify the wearer’s place in the sacred precinct, the vestments served three distinct functions: (1) a pragmatic or practical function, such as to protect the priests from the elements and to provide a high degree of modesty (Ex. 28:42 refers to breeches, which provided modesty to the wearer); (2) a spiritual function, pointing the wearers towards divine actions and attributes through a variety of symbols; and (3) an aesthetic function, conveying beauty to those who were privileged to behold them in the setting of the temple precinct (Ex. 28:2 refers to making holy garments “for glory and for beauty”). Anciently, a man named Aristeas saw and described the exceptional beauty of the high priest’s sacred vestments:

It was an occasion of great amazement to us when we saw [the high priest] Eleazar engaged on his ministry, and all the glorious vestments. . . . [The vestments’] appearance makes one awe-struck and dumbfounded: A man would think he had come out of this world into another one. I emphatically assert that every man who comes near the spectacle of what I have described will experience astonishment and amazement beyond words, his very being transformed by the hallowed arrangement on every single detail. (Letter of Aristeas, 96–99)317

God holds a high regard for orderliness, and His temple is a house of order; therefore, He revealed the sequence of vesting the high priest. In a sacred ceremony, Moses clothed the high priest (Aaron) as follows: Moses put the white tunic over Aaron’s undergarments; then Moses wrapped the white sash around the tunic at the waist; after this, Moses placed the blue robe over the tunic and sash. Moses then placed the apron (ephod) on Aaron and girded the elegant sash on him. And then Moses placed the breastplate on Aaron and put the Urim and Thummim in the breastplate; after this, Moses placed the headpiece on Aaron’s head; and last of all he placed the “golden plate, the holy crown” on the headpiece (Lev. 8:7–9).

In ancient Israelite temples, God required temple priests to wear certain sacred vestments according to the specific temple zone wherein they were serving. That is to say, as temple officiants moved from profane to holy (temple) space, and again moved to a greater gradient of sacred space, they would change their vestments. Biblical scholar Gary Anderson explains:

The vestments of the priest matched exactly those particular areas of the Temple to which he had access. . . . Each time the high priest moved from one gradient of holiness to another, he had to remove one set of clothes and put on another to mark the change. . . . (a) Outside the Tabernacle priests wear ordinary clothes. (b) When on duty in the Tabernacle, they wear four pieces of clothing whose material and quality of workmanship match that of the fabrics found on the outer walls of the courtyard (Exodus 28). (c) The High Priest wears those four pieces plus four additional ones—these added garments match the fabric of the Holy Chamber where he must go daily to tend the incense altar.318

Women and men who worship in our temples, too, wear certain vestments according to the specific temple zone wherein they are serving.