Ezekiel 16:10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The same apostle teaches us, urging the believers to “clothe yourselves with heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” (Col. 3:12). What could be more beautiful than such a tapestry? Job also remarked, “Who has given wisdom to the skilled artisans, or understanding to those who weave?” (Job 38:36). The high priest, once a year when burning incense in the Holy of Holies, donned garments of many hues (Ex. 39; Heb. 9). Certainly, if these varied robes had been acquired through riches alone and not by holiness and diverse virtues, then it would have been written of Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar that they wore such garments, rather than of Joseph, who, with a foreign father and a shepherd at his side, could not have possessed elaborate royal attire. He clothed you in purple (janthino). LXX: He shod you in hyacinth (hyacintho). Aquila and Symmachus rendered it as janthina, while LXX and Theodotion used hyacinthina. The Hebrew utilizes thas. Since the discourse is beautifully directed toward Jerusalem, depicted as a woman, the narrative includes the violet shoe, which is not common to men. Therefore, those preparing for the Passover are instructed to be equipped with their loins girded and their feet shod without adornment. These shoes are referenced by the apostle when he writes, “And with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15). Philo, a learned figure among the Jews, likens the hyacinth in the high priest's garments to the air (aeg), which he interprets as signifying the lofty and heavenly. As Jerusalem is adorned with violet shoes, this follows washing with water. Additionally, the Savior washed the feet of the apostles, who were told by Him to shake off the dust from their feet (Matt. 10). The bride expresses in the Song of Songs (Song of Songs 5:3), “Wash my feet, how can I defile them?” It is noted that both Moses and Jesus unfastened their sandals, for the ground on which they stood was holy (Ex. 3). After washing their feet and cleansing themselves from all impurity, they donned violet shoes, which possess both light (aërii) and dark blue (κυανέου) hues, enabling them to ascend into the air (aërem) to meet the Lord, hastening towards the heavenly kingdom. Moreover, He girded you with fine linen. Jerusalem is not only clothed in varied garments and shod in violet but also girded with linen, woven from very fine threads in the garments of the high priest. The woman in Proverbs, who created two garments for her husband representing both present and future ages, is described as having made herself garments of linen and purple (Proverbs 31). With this linen, the loins are to be girded, symbolizing the need to temper the rough urges of lust and leave no hardness remaining within (quoties рinguina libidinis іnсеntіва tenuanda sunt nihilque in eis сrаѕѕі humоris relinquitur), while we obey the command of the Savior to have our loins girded and our lamps burning in hand (Lk. 12:35). For if we fail to restrain the swelling (fluentia reumata) of the loins, we cannot bear lamps in our hands. Thus, God instructs Job, “Gird up your loins like a man” (Job 38:3). Those who have partaken of the lamb did so with shoes on their feet, holding the staff, standing in the truth of the gospel, their loins girded and prepared for the blood of Christ (Ex. 12). Elijah and John the Baptist also wore this girdle, which disciplines the loins (4 Kings 1; Mark 1). The penitent cries out with sorrowful sighs, “My garments are filled with reproach” (Ps. 37:8). He clothed you in fine garments (subtilibus). LXX: He laid upon you a trichapto (trichapto), which Aquila translated as full of flowers or touchable (floridum sive rahlrabile). Symmachus referred to it simply as a garment, while Theodotion used the very word from Hebrew, messe. Despite my thorough investigation into the term trichapto, as translated by the Seventy, I could not uncover its usage or origin within Greek. Ultimately, I learned it was a term coined by the Seventy (for new names must be invented for new concepts), denoting garments of such exquisite fineness that they could be recognized by their delicate texture resembling hair. Thus, I opted to render it as a thin garment rather than trichapto, acknowledging its weaving of fine threads. This correlates with the lament of the reproacher, stating, “the heart of this people became fat, and Jacob ate and drank, became satisfied, grew fat, and turned stubborn, forsaking God his Creator” (Deuteronomy 32:13), and now thin garments are provided. For in the book of Wisdom, often attributed to Solomon, the spirit of wisdom is called the only-begotten, multi-faceted, subtle, and comforting (Prem. 7:22). Regarding the manna, it is noted that it was the bread of angels (Psalms 77:23), described as exceedingly fine, likened to frost and coriander seed (Exodus 16). In light of Aquila's second edition, which translates it as full of flowers, we can interpret the garment metaphorically as representing the abundance of the Jewish land or the beauty of divine worship.