THEOSISJerome of Stridon
I lifted my gaze and observed. Elevating our sight is essential for perceiving the enigmatic vision. And lo, a figure clad in linen attire appeared. Instead of the term linen, Aquila translates it as baddim, Theodotion as well as the LXX as visonnaia, while Symmachus refers to it as ἐξαίρετα, meaning special. In lieu of the Hebrew text, which we have rendered here as husband, Symmachus interpreted it in a manner suggesting spousal resemblance. For he was not merely a man, but rather one who bore the form of a man. His waist was adorned with gold refined in purity. The Hebrew, however, expresses it as orhaz, which Aquila rendered as: and his waist was encircled with the girding of the hue ὼφάζ.
At the start of your correspondence, you posed the question regarding the significance of a passage from the first book of Samuel: "And Samuel the prophet served in the presence of the Lord, being girded with a linen ephod. And his mother made him a little robe, and took it up to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice" (1 Sam. 2:18-19). You inquire about the meaning of "linen ephod"—whether it refers to a belt, a sensor, or some type of garment. If it is indeed a garment, how does Samuel wear it? Furthermore, why is "linen" (bad) appended to it?
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You follow this with another excerpt: "The man of God came to Elijah, and said, Thus saith the Lord: Since I revealed myself in your father's house to those who are servants in Pharaoh's house in Egypt, you have chosen your father's house out of all the tribes of Israel to minister to me, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the ephod" (1 Sam. 2:27-28). After reviewing the entire book, you mention the account of Doeg the Edomite, commanded by the king, who massacred the priests: "And Doeg turned, and struck the priests of the Lord, and killed on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod" (1 Sam. 22:18). Nobe, the city of the priests, was destroyed by the sword, sparing neither man nor woman, boy nor girl, young nor old, nor any beast (1 Sam. 22:19). One son of Ahimelech, named Abiathar, escaped and fled to David (1 Sam. 22:20).
I feel compelled to provide some clarification in response to your queries. The Hebrew text states, "all who wore a linen ephod," whereas here it refers specifically to "those who wore a linen ephod." The significance of this distinction shall be made clear in time. "And it came to pass that when Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, fled to David, he went down with David to Keil, having the ephod in his hand, and it was reported to Saul that David had come to Keil" (1 Sam. 23:6-7). Alarmed by King Saul's impending arrival and the siege of the city, David instructed Abiathar to bring the ephod of the Lord (1 Sam. 23:9).
You have also included references from the book of Judges, where it details how Micah from the mountain of Ephraim gave his mother eleven hundred pieces of silver, which she had vowed to the Lord, and with that silver, she made a carved image and a molten image. You noted that this sculpted and fused object was referred to as an ephod and teraphim, arguing that if it were merely a belt or garment, it could not undergo such sculpting and fusing.
I recognize a common misconception among the Latin scholars, who assert that the ephod and teraphim were fashioned from the silver that Micah presented to his mother. However, the scripture informs us that "his mother took the silver and gave it to the craftsman, and he made a carved image and a molten image, and it was in the house of Micah, and Micah established a shrine and made an ephod and teraphim, and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest" (Judges 17:4-5). If you presume that the same object, which was sculpted and fused, is afterward called ephod and teraphim, understand that they are distinct. Micah crafted the ephod and teraphim based on the idol his mother had made, as is evident from the passage: "And the five men departed and came to their brethren and said to them: Do you know that there is in this house an ephod and teraphim?" (Judges 18:14). Further along, it elaborates on events where six hundred men armed for battle entered Micah’s house and took the carved image, ephod, and teraphim (Judges 18:16-18). Therefore, the belief that connects the ephod purely to silver must be dismissed.
It is essential to recognize that the ephod is explicitly designated for the priestly class. Samuel, who donned it, belonged to the Levites, and it was also worn by the priests of Nobe as a symbol of their office. Notably, when David sought a sword from Ahimelech, he remarked, "Is there any here on hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me" (1 Sam. 21:8). The priest responded, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod" (1 Sam. 21:9), indicating that the ephod was likely kept there as well. The term ephod, as presented, also relates to the carved images; even though the latter was idolatrous, the ephod and teraphim were used both in pagan worship and in service to God.
We will also discuss the meaning of teraphim later if time allows. For now, let us focus on the ephod. In Exodus, where instruction is given to create the priestly garments, it states: "And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a mitre, and a girdle" (Ex. 28:4). While "the robe" is translated in Greek as "epodida," meaning an outer garment, it is then specified that they should use gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarns, as well as fine linen, to craft these priestly garments (Ex. 28:5-6).
The entire book of Exodus richly details the creation of such garments. Towards the conclusion, it is written: "And all the wise-hearted men among those who worked made the holy garments for Aaron, as the Lord commanded Moses” (Ex. 36:8). However, while the text commands the making of these garments, it does not document Aaron being clothed in them until Leviticus, which describes the ritual of vestment: "And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water" (Lev. 8:6). Further, "he put the tunic on him, girded him with the sash, and clothed him with the robe" (Lev. 8:7). So, just as Aaron was equipped with those upper garments, we see that Samuel was also girded with the linen ephod.
To clarify, while the seventy translators rendered "upper garment" as "epodida," the Hebrew term used here is "ephod." The variance in translation illustrates a broader trend where translators alternated between rendering specific Hebrew terms. Aquila interpreted the terms in ways that reflected the garments' true nature. You might wonder why the term "bad" (linen) sometimes appears alongside "ephod." In such instances, the Hebrew "bad" refers to linen, which is often considered to have originated from flax, a point of confusion among scholars.
When we read, "And you shall make for them linen trousers to cover their nakedness, extending from the waist to the thighs" (Ex. 28:42), the Hebrew specifically uses the word for linen (bad). The figure that appeared to Daniel was similarly clad: "And I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen" (Dan. 10:5)—this denotes a linen robe. Moreover, it’s noted that both Samuel and the eighty-five priests were attired in linen garments, although only the high priest was permitted to wear robes that were ornate, crafted of gold and fine materials. Others, in contrast, donned simpler linen ephods, pure and bright.