CHAPTER VII. Golden Plates. "And you shall make a plate of pure gold, etc." The golden plate on the forehead of the high priest, on which "Holy to the Lord," or "Holy of the Lord" as it is called in the following words, was engraved, was more sacred than his other garments. And rightly so, because just as divine power surpasses everything that it created, it was fitting that His name, surpassing the other attire and ornament of the high priest, should eminently lie above and, as sanctifying everything, hold a prominent place on his forehead. It signifies the very confidence of our profession that we carry on our forehead, each saying with the Apostle: "But God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6). And rightly, this one thing is made of pure gold in the whole attire of the high priest, to show the purity of heart or body, in which we ought to conceal or carry the mysteries of our redemption. Or certainly, the priest carries on his forehead the inscribed gold "Holy of the Lord," to mystically indicate that we must so venerate and embrace the passion of our Lord and Savior, through which we were redeemed, as to know that the glory of His divine majesty, through which we were created, must equally be confessed in Him: thus confessing the death of humanity assumed by Him, so that we may soon declare the same humanity has risen from death into eternal glory. However, "Holy of the Lord," which is ordered to be engraved on the plate, signifies His holy and venerable name; which among the Hebrews is used to be written with four vocal letters, that is, whose interpretation in their language is ineffable, not because it cannot be said, but because it cannot be comprehended by the sense and intellect of any creature. And because nothing can be said worthily enough about Him, therefore it is most rightly called ineffable, according to that of the Apostle: "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts" (Philippians 4). And the Psalmist says: "Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unfathomable" (Psalm 145). And it was appropriately written with four letters of the Lord's name on the forehead of the high priest; evidently because of the significance of the four parts of the Lord’s cross, which we were going to carry on our foreheads, that is, the upper part, right, left, and lower part. Also, we carry "Holy of the Lord" engraved in gold on our foreheads, when purified from the filth of vices that we had from the first parent, we receive in ourselves the image and likeness of our Creator, to whom we were created; and we do not conceal having received this in secret, but make it openly known to all people and proclaim it with our voice, according to that of the Apostle: "Just as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly" (1 Corinthians 15). He explains this more clearly speaking to the Colossians, saying: "But now you also, put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth, do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him" (Colossians 3). Of this "Holy of the Lord" also John writes in Revelation: "I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand having His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads" (Revelation 14). Further describing the brightness of the heavenly homeland, he says: "And the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads" (Revelation 22). Therefore, since all those who follow the Lamb, that is, all the faithful, ought to have the most holy name of reverence in the very forefront of their profession, how much more necessary is it for those who, having received the priesthood and spiritual authority, have been chosen as leaders of the Lord’s flock, to show an example of virtue to all in themselves? However, the plate, which contains "Holy of the Lord," is bound with a blue ribbon to the high priest's tiara; as with the hope of heavenly goods, which the blue signifies, we are strengthened in faith, and we strive the more ardently to keep either the sacraments of our redemption or the immaculate image and likeness of our Creator and Redeemer, knowing well that there is no other way of salvation. The figure of the tiara will be spoken of in its proper place in what follows. But, because a priest of such industry should be of such merit with God, who can correct and admonish the sins of the people by his exhortation, reproof, and counsel, and with his prayers cleanse them, it is rightly added:
And Aaron shall bear their iniquities, etc. For the high priest bears the iniquities of the subjects, that is, he carries them out and removes them by teaching him or them repentance for the offenses, or by entreating grace from the righteous judge for the penitents. He does this with the gifts and offerings that they offered to the Lord and sanctified, when for good works worthy of the fruits of repentance, that is, alms and other works of righteousness which they have done, he absolves the penitents from the guilt of the crimes they once committed. Indeed, this is to be done according to divine instruction, both mystically figured in the attire of the high priest and manifestly taught in the words of holy Scripture. But, alas, how differently some prelates act, who wish to receive, or rather exact, gifts or presents from the people and care nothing to labor for their iniquities to be carried out and punished and for them to receive pardon, although they ought to receive temporal gifts from their subjects for this reason alone, that by preaching they have corrected them from error and led them to the way of truth, after the example of the first teachers of the holy Church, who confidently said to those from whom they received temporal support: If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we reap your carnal things? (1 Cor. 9:11) Truly, however, each prelate or minister of the word can only labor effectively for the subjects, either by preaching the word or by praying to the Lord, if his mind is always endowed with the memory of the divine name, it is aptly added:
And it shall be always upon his forehead, etc. For if the plate inscribed with the name of the Lord is always upon Aaron's forehead, the Lord will be merciful to the sons of Israel; because when the teacher has faithfully submitted himself to divine service with a pure mind, immediately even the subjects, inflamed by his examples and admonitions, strive themselves to live rightly and to merit the grace of the inner beholder.
CHAPTER VIII. The fine linen tunic and tiara. You shall bind the tunic with fine linen. This is the inner tunic, which he calls the straight tunic. But why it is called the straight tunic and commanded to be bound with fine linen was explained above, and now it is to be added that soldiers usually have tunics, which they call shirts, so fitting to their limbs and close to their bodies, that they are prepared either for running or for directing missiles in battle, holding a shield, wielding a sword, and whatever necessity may require; as also Joab is read to have had when he killed Amasa (2 Samuel 20), specifically tight to the measure of his stature.
Thus, priests also, prepared for the service of God, wear this tunic, so that, having the beauty of garments, they may move swiftly as if they were naked. This tunic, because it reached down to the feet like the hyacinth tunic, was also called poderis, that is, reaching to the feet, in Greek, whose mystical meaning is obvious: since it is established that linen or fine linen signifies the continence and chastity of our body, as often explained above, priests have the straight linen or fine linen tunic, when they keep the purpose of continence not slackly and weakly, but with such utmost intent, that flesh desires nothing of war against the spirit, nor does spirit wage war against the flesh. They have a tight tunic, when the soul, desiring and fainting completely, their heart and flesh equally exult in the living God in the courts of the Lord.
This line is not only tight, but also poderis, that is, descending to the feet, since continence is not forcibly imposed on a single member, but delightfully accomplished throughout the whole body. For this linen must bind the hands and arms of the priest, so that they do nothing but what is useful; the chest, so that it thinks nothing vain; the stomach, so that in desiring more than necessary delights, it does not presume to offend God with gluttony; and also the members subject to the stomach, so that by wanton behavior, they corrupt all the beauty of the priestly habit; the knees, so they do not become sluggish in the persistence of prayer; the shins and feet, so they do not run towards evil.
Therefore, let the priest first be clothed with the tight tunic, so that he restrains his body from wicked deeds and his mind from perverse thoughts. Then let him take the hyacinthine, so that after the restriction of salutary continence, he may equally beautify his body and soul with the habit of spiritual virtues. But since there are five senses of the body: sight, taste, smell, hearing, and touch, of which the first four are specifically of the head, and the last is common to the whole body; this tunic, which we have said properly denotes both the continence of touch and justice. Following this, how the innocence of the other four senses should be cared for, or their sanctification acquired, is shown by the figurative attire of the high priest, when it is said:
And you shall make a fine linen tiare. For the tiare, which was also called cidaris and mitra, covered and adorned the head of the high priest; so that with this garment he might be reminded to keep all his senses consecrated to God, neither allowing his eyes to see vanity, nor his ears to willingly hear reproach against his neighbor, nor his mouth to speak evil, nor his tongue to devise deceit; or that his heart might not be weighed down with gluttony and drunkenness, nor his sense of smell embrace a bed sprinkled with myrrh, aloe, and cinnamon of a harlot. Rather, his eyes should see righteousness, his ears be inclined to hearing words of wisdom, the words of the Lord should be sweeter than honey and the honeycomb to his mouth, as long as breath remained in him, he should not speak wickedness, nor depart from his integrity. Care should also be taken for the fifth sense, which is common to the whole body, so that the prophetic saying might be fulfilled: "Depart, depart, go out from there, touch nothing unclean" (Isa. 52). And as the Apostle admonishes: "Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Cor. 7:1). But how this tiare was made, Josephus teaches (Antiq. 3,2), saying: "Upon his head he wears a cap in the form of a small roll or helmet, which extends over the top of the head, and slightly exceeds the middle of the vertex; and it is such that it appears to be made of linen fabric, having straps which are folded and often connected, and do not easily come undone. Moreover, Josephus narrates that another larger covering was added to this cap, which covered the whole surface of the head: perfectly fitted, so that it would not fall off while the priest was busy with sacrifices; but he does not show what color it was. And this indeed is about the cap of the lesser priest. Concerning the tiare of the high priest, he testifies in this way: The high priest has a cap made similarly to that of the other priests, and another sewn from blue variegated material."
Moreover, a golden crown is placed around it, made three times, above which rises in the middle of the forehead, as a kind of little golden chalice similar to the herb which among us is called "acharo," and which the Greeks call Hyoscyamus. And a little later, having described the marvelous variety, he added, saying: However, it has flowers similar to plantain, and the entire crown is engraved with these flowers, from the back of the head to each temple; in the front, however, it does not have this, but there is a golden plate, on which the sacred letters of God's name are inscribed. Holy Scripture seems to remain silent on this second veil and the golden crowns of the high priests. However, it briefly mentioned the crowns in the following passages, saying: They also made tunics of woven work for Aaron and his sons, and turbans with their little crowns of fine linen (Exod. XXXIX). But it did not say of what material they were made. For when it says, "And turbans with their little crowns of fine linen," it could be understood that both were made of fine linen, if Josephus did not identify the crowns as golden, who, with the Temple still standing, and the legal observance celebrated, being of priestly lineage, could very easily know all the manner of priestly attire, not just by reading but also by seeing it. However, whether the little crowns were of fine linen or golden, since it is known that they were made with the turbans, let us briefly speak of the figure. Priests have turbans with little crowns of fine linen, who thus guard their sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch in the beauty of chastity, hoping to receive the crown of life which God promised to those who love Him for this same watchfulness. For he who strives for continence or good works in such a manner that he neglects to seek the eternal rewards of recompense, indeed seems to have a linen turban on his head, but he does not have the little crowns; because evidently, he shows the image of virtue before men but does not find the reward of virtue with the Lord. Therefore, whether the little crowns were golden, signifying the clarity of perpetual light; or whether they were of fine linen, figuratively announcing the immortality of our body itself, which will be eternal. And rightly the priest wears crowns placed additionally with his linen robes so that he may continually meditate on eternal rewards in his own continence, and in the sanctification of continence or good operation, at the same time promise the same joys of heavenly beatitude to those who listen; lest by placing the burden of labor without the hope of recompense, he may make the yoke of Christ harsh and His light burden severe to his listeners, and difficult. While the Lord thus commanded the making of the turban, He added:
And the belt, the work of an embroiderer. About the making of this belt, it is more clearly written later. The belt they made of twisted fine linen, blue, purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, the work of an embroiderer. This belt, as Jerome writes from Josephus, is woven in the likeness of the skin of a snake, which it sheds in old age, so roundly woven that you would think it a longer purse. It was woven under a covering of scarlet, purple, blue, and linen thread for beauty and strength, and so distinctly adorned with artistic skill, that you would think the various flowers and gems were not woven by the hand of an artisan, but added. It had a width of four fingers, which belt the high priest specifically used, and with it the blue tunic and also the ephod were fastened. For in the following it is clearly said of the conjunction of the ephod and the breastplate: These were joined together both before and behind, so that the ephod and the breastplate were mutually knitted, fastened tightly to the belt and more strongly coupled with rings; which were joined by a blue ribbon, so that they did not loosely flow and move from each other. Nor is there any doubt that the belt or girdle, to which the ephod was fastened, also bound the blue tunic, which was also called the tunic of the ephod; for all things that have been said so far pertain to the attire of the high priest. Next, the belts and other garments of his sons are also consecutively explained, when it is said:
Furthermore, you shall prepare linen tunics for the sons of Aaron, as well as belts, etc. Whether these belts had to be made with embroidered work or of a single color is not specified. Therefore, we must first discuss the belt of the high priest, which was made of those four noble and God-worthy colors; for it was fitting that the high priest should have such a one, whom it was always proper to gird with exceptional virtues.
The high priest appropriately walked girded with the varied bloom of shining colors, because just as anyone else must be girded with the diligence of restraint, so that the flesh, rebelling against the spirit, may not disturb the inward peace of the mind; so also must the high priest and the teacher of the faithful, with every desire of the mind or body already subdued, be surrounded by the very glory of virtues. So that, according to the example of that flower which sprang from the root of Jesse, the Lord's Savior may have righteousness as the belt of His loins and faith as the girdle of His reins.
As for the linen tunics, belts, and tiaras, which were commanded to be made for the sons of Aaron for glory and beauty, what they commend to us in terms of internal beauty and glory can very easily be understood from the things explained above. For priests wear linen tunics when they dedicate their entire body to the whiteness of chastity. They gird their tunics with belts when they guard the same purity with vigilant custody of the mind, lest the neglect of that purity should make them more slack in the practice of good works, and lest by boasting of chastity, they lose the merit of chastity itself.
For he who walks wearing a long tunic without a belt, the tunic becomes loose, and leaving the body exposed, it gives space for winds and cold to enter; and it hinders progress by tripping the feet, or even becomes a cause of falling for those who walk. In this way, indeed, the chastity of the flesh often deprives some of the chastity of the heart, as they care less diligently to insist on good works the less they perceive that the custody of chastity is worth nothing without the addition of other good deeds, which, however, when joined with good deeds, achieve great glory for the possessor.
Finally, the virgins' foolishness availed them nothing, as their bodily chastity did not help because, when the bridegroom came, they lacked the light of inward purity. Let the sons of Aaron therefore be girt with linen tunics, that they may have chastity. Let priests be girded with belts, so that this chastity may not be slack and negligent; lest the wind of pride provides entry to the mind, lest with iniquity increasing, their love grows cold, lest the presumption of their boasting hinders the progress of good works, lest, with the course of virtues obstructed, it becomes polluted by the filth of earthly desire, and ultimately drives its own author to ruin through pride.
After being girded, let priests also take tiaras on their heads, so that after vigilant and cautious custody of bodily chastity, the same custody and carefulness may be kept for sight, hearing, taste, and smell in a manner worthy of God.
CHAPTER IX. Breeches. And you shall clothe your brother Aaron with all these, etc. Aaron and his sons were to be clothed with all these; but with the distinction that Aaron himself was to use them all, while his sons were to use only the last three specifically assigned to them, as it is said: Moreover, for Aaron's sons you shall make linen tunics, and belts and caps for glory and adornment.
But what follows:
You shall make also linen breeches, etc. This pertains to both Aaron and his sons alike, as the very words clearly demonstrate; and thus it is that Aaron himself is clothed with all eight garments that are mentioned—namely, linen breeches, linen tunic, blue robe, ephod, breastplate, belt, turban, and golden plate. His sons, however, use only four of these, namely, the breeches, linen tunic, belt, and turban. But since the others have been discussed above, these breeches, which are commanded to be made to cover the nakedness of the flesh, properly symbolize that portion of chastity which restrains the desire for marital intercourse, without which no one can assume the priesthood or be consecrated to the ministry of the altar—that is, unless he either remains a virgin or dissolves the ties of matrimonial union.
This particular virtue, indeed, is commanded by no law of God to anyone, but must be voluntarily offered to the Lord out of devotion, as He Himself says concerning this: Not all can accept this saying (Matt. XIX). Yet He immediately invites those who can with a kind exhortation, saying: He who can accept it, let him accept it. And shortly afterwards, He promises those same people who leave behind wives or other relatives and the ties of this world for His sake a reward a hundredfold in this life and eternal life in the age to come.
Therefore, it is certainly by the grace of distinction that Moses is commanded to clothe Aaron and his sons with this garment, as it is said: And you shall clothe your brother Aaron and his sons with all these. But He says: You shall make linen breeches to cover the nakedness of their flesh. They themselves, He says, shall cover the nakedness of their flesh; you shall make the breeches for the high priest and his sons; you shall teach the rule of chastity; you shall inform those who are to perform the priesthood that they must abstain from the marital embrace. Nevertheless, no one shall be forcibly imposed upon with the yoke of this kind of continence; but whoever wishes to become priests and serve the altar shall of their own accord cease to be servants of wives.
When they have accomplished this, and once they agree to be ministers of the sanctuary and altar by adopting the intention of continence, there will be the divine law, which, imposing the rest of their priestly attire as suitable, will abundantly instruct how they should live or teach, rejoicing in their voluntary devotion and adding to them the ornaments that befit the priesthood—wisdom, patience, gentleness, mercy, spiritual zeal, humility, the fear of the Lord, and other such virtues. Otherwise, they die guilty of iniquity. For indeed, the surest death of the soul is incurred if anyone, living in luxury, presumes to usurp the priestly grade for himself. This sense is affirmed by the subsequent words of the Lord, which, moreover, He adds shortly thereafter:
And when you have washed the father and his sons with water, etc. For here, neither is anything about the undergarments to be taken from Moses prescribed: where it is clearly evident that Aaron and his sons had first clothed themselves with this type of garment, and thus came to Moses to be washed, clothed, anointed, and consecrated by him. It is also noted that when Moses was about to consecrate them, he first washed them with water and then placed upon them the attire of the sacred order; for it is necessary that whoever is to be promoted to the office of the altar, be cleansed at the time of dedication with a flow more abundant than usual, whether of tears or compunction, so that the cleaner he approaches to receive the degree, the more perfectly he may fulfill what he has received. Moreover, in this washing, the baptism of the sacred font might be understood, if it were appropriate: that one elected to the priesthood should then first be washed with the water of baptism for the remission of sins, and not that the Apostle would contradict such an ordination, saying: "Do not ordain a neophyte, lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil." But the high priest, clad in sacred vestments, is straightway anointed with the oil of consecration, so that by the grace of the Holy Spirit, the consecration may be perfected; not that we can possess the virtues which these garments signify without the grace of God, but because the greater aid of grace must be bestowed by the Lord where one is elevated to a higher degree or placed over the governance of more people. Meanwhile, it should be noted that although Aaron is said to be dressed in eight vestments in this book of Exodus, it seems that a ninth, namely, the belt, is added in Leviticus, by which the linen tunic was girded before the blue robe was put on. Thus, it is written: "And when he had washed them, he clothed the high priest with the linen garment, and girding him with the girdle, and putting on him the blue robe; and over it, he placed the ephod, which he attached with a belt fit to the priestly breastplate" (Leviticus VIII). But how this was done is clearly evident from the things explained, an intellectual figure of the garment.
CHAPTER X. Concerning the four colors of priestly garments, the four elements, and the consecration of priests. Indeed, because we have briefly touched upon the priestly attire, following the sayings of the fathers, we thought it noteworthy that those four distinguished colors of which it was made are fittingly compared to the elements of the world. Byssus or linen corresponds to the earth, because it is born from it; purple to the waters, because it is dyed from marine shellfish; hyacinthine and scarlet to the air and fire due to the similarity of color. And scarlet was twice dyed, because fire is endowed with a twin power, namely of shining and burning. The Hebrews say that the high priest carried the figure of all elements in his attire because he was to intercede in sacrifice not only for Israel but for the whole world. To which, perhaps not incongruously, we may add that in each human being is contained the figure of all the elements: fire in heat, air in breath, water in moisture, and earth in the very solidity of the limbs. Hence, also, man is called microcosmos in Greek by physiologists, that is, a smaller world. And if you inquire what gold signifies in the same attire according to this understanding, understand it as the rational virtue of the inner man. Hence also, 'Holy to the Lord' is inscribed on it: because by this alone can anyone ascend to the knowledge of their Creator. For this reason, the Apostle says, Christ dwells in our hearts through faith in the inner man (Eph. III). Therefore, the Scripture shows us the high priest of the Old Testament thus clothed, so that the high priest of our time might know to intercede for the whole human race, especially for those who have known the truth and bear the mark of that faith on their forehead, admonished by the Apostle saying: I exhort, therefore, that first of all supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, and all that are in authority (I Tim. II). If we understand the Lord the Savior in the high priest whom Moses consecrated, it is right that in his attire he has the figure of the whole world and of man. For he is, as the Apostle says, the brightness of glory and the image of the substance of God the Father, upholding all things by the word of his power. He is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world: he is the priest forever, adorned with all the ornaments of holiness, not which he deserved by being born in the flesh through the exercise of labor, but which he wholly received incarnate in the womb of the Virgin through the coming grace of the Holy Spirit (Heb. I). Of his priesthood, beautifully commending intercession for us, the Apostle says: But he, because he continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood; wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them (Heb. VII). He also equally commended the garments and ornaments of virtues, adding: For such a high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. Who truly had the golden plate on his head, on which 'Holy to the Lord' was inscribed; because he came in the name of the Father, saying: I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and he who sees me sees the Father (John XIV). Thus far, the habit of Aaron and his sons is designated by heavenly oracle as it should be. It also follows the manner of consecration by which they themselves, or the tabernacle with all its furnishings, ought to be dedicated.
Evidently, by offering to the Lord a calf, etc., all these things symbolically demonstrate that solely through the priests are consecrated both the devotion of good works and the purity of faith, as well as the grace of divine enlightenment. For who does not know that the immolation and blood of those animals prefigure the death and the sprinkling of the blood of our Lord, through which we are both absolved from sins and confirmed in good works? The Apostle teaches what mystery of the Savior the unleavened breads contain, saying: Therefore let us keep the feast not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Moreover, the cakes and wafers are anointed or sprinkled with oil; so that we might be reminded to have works not only chastened from the leaven of malice and wickedness but also worthy of divine sight with the richness of charity. Or certainly, we offer a small cake sprinkled with oil for our consecration to the Lord, when all that we do grows rich in the devotion of our heart through the internal grace of the Holy Spirit. We offer wafers anointed with oil, when we also show to men externally, without doubt as an example of living, that what we do is spiritual. By these offerings, our consecration is perfected when through good works and pure thoughts, we acquire for ourselves the merit of holiness granted by the Lord. After fulfilling the commands of this consecration, Aaron and his sons, the Scripture returns to also taking account of the making of the altar of incense, on which the same Aaron was to offer daily incense.