Leviticus 16:4
in Leviticus 16He is to wear the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments. He must tie a linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are holy garments, and he must bathe himself with water before he wears them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with the linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: they are the holy garments; and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and put them on.
KJV
He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.
⋯
This verse in Leviticus 16
Commentary
5 notes on this verseHe shall put on the holy linen coat - He was not to dress in his pontifical garments, but in the simple sacerdotal vestments, or those of the Levites, because it was a day of humiliation; and as he was to offer sacrifices for his own sins, it was necessary that he should appear in habits suited to the occasion. Hence he has neither the robe, the ephod, the breastplate, the mitre, etc.; these constituted his dress of dignity as the high priest of God, ministering for others and the representative of Christ: but now he appears, before God as a sinner, offering an atonement for his transgressions, and his garments are those of humiliation.
This site's exposition
Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place
on Leviticus 16:3-4
He goes in wearing plain linen, and the golden garments of Exodus 28 with the breastplate and the stones stay outside. The high priest enters on the one day of the year dressed like the lowest of the priests, and he washes his flesh before he puts the linen on. He changes back into the golden garments at verse 24, once the work inside is finished.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
That meaner dress did best become him on this day of humiliation; and, being thinner and lighter, he would in it be more expedite for the work or service of the day, which was all to go through his hands. Christ, our high priest, made atonement for sin in our nature; not in the robes of his own peculiar glory, but the linen garments of our mortality, clean indeed, but mean.
He shall put on the holy linen coat,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The high priest when he changed his dress on this day was required to bathe himself. In his “golden garments” he had, on this day, and for the previous week, to offer the regular daily sacrifices, and to perform the other sacerdotal duties of the sanctuary, which were usually performed by a common priest. The dress of white linen, which he now put on, appears to have been like the ordinary dress of the common priests, except in the substitution of a linen mitre for the bonnet (or cap), and of a plain linen girdle for the variegated one (Exo 28:40-43 notes). In preparing to enter the holy of holies, he attired himself in spotless white as a token of the holiness without which none, in a spiritual sense, can enter the divine presence. He thus became a more distinct foreshadow of the greater high priest Heb 7:26; Heb 6:19-20. This significance belonged to the high priest only in his official capacity as mediator: in his own person he had infirmity, and was required “to offer up sacrifice, “first” for his own sins, and then for the people’s.” Heb 7:27. See the notes at Lev 9:7-14. On the same ground it was that, although as a mediator he had to enter the most holy place, as sinful man he needed the cloud of incense as a veil to come between him and the holiness of Yahweh. See Lev 16:13.
How the passage was read
On Leviticus 16:1-34On Leviticus 16:1-34
The day Israel still fasts
This chapter founds the Day of Atonement, in Hebrew Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the Jewish year: the one day the high priest entered the innermost room of the sanctuary with blood for the nation's sins. With no Temple standing since AD 70, the day is kept now as a full fast: roughly 25 hours with no food or drink, most of it spent in synagogue prayer, many wearing white.
The Mishnah (the first code of Jewish oral law, about AD 200) defines the day's five abstentions: eating and drinking, washing, anointing, leather shoes, and marital relations (Yoma 8:1). It also carries a saying worth any reader's time: the day atones for sins between a person and God, “but for sins between a person and his fellow, the Day of Atonement does not atone until he has appeased his fellow” (Yoma 8:9). Reconciliation with people is homework done before the day.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Yoma 8:1 (the five abstentions) · Mishnah Yoma 8:9 (appease your fellow first) · The Day of Atonement (this site's study)
The words behind it
23 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כְּתֹֽנֶת־ | ketonet- | a tunic of | H3801 → | 29 times |
| בַּ֨ד | bad | linen of | H906 → | 23 times |
| קֹ֜דֶשׁ | kodesh | holiness | H6944 → | 469 times |
| יִלְבָּ֗שׁ | yilbash | he will wear | H3847 → | 110 times |
| וּמִֽכְנְסֵי־ | umikhnesei- | and undergarments of | H4370 → | |
| בַד֮ | vad | linen | H906 → | 23 times |
| יִהְי֣וּ | yihyu | they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בְּשָׂרוֹ֒ | besaro | flesh his | H1320 → | 270 times |
| וּבְאַבְנֵ֥ט | uveavnet | and with a sash of | H73 → | 9 times |
| בַּד֙ | bad | linen | H906 → | 23 times |
| יַחְגֹּ֔ר | yachgor | he will gird himself | H2296 → | 44 times |
| וּבְמִצְנֶ֥פֶת | uvemitznefet | and with a turban of | H4701 → | 12 times |
| בַּ֖ד | bad | linen | H906 → | 23 times |
| יִצְנֹ֑ף | yitznof | he will wind | H6801 → | |
| בִּגְדֵי־ | bigdei- | [are] garments of | H899 → | 217 times |
| קֹ֣דֶשׁ | kodesh | holiness | H6944 → | 469 times |
| הֵ֔ם | hem | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| וְרָחַ֥ץ | verachatz | and he will wash | H7364 → | 72 times |
| בַּמַּ֛יִם | bamayim | with <the> water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּשָׂר֖וֹ | besaro | body his | H1320 → | 270 times |
| וּלְבֵשָֽׁם׃ | ulevesham | and he will put on them | H3847 → | 110 times |
כְּתֹֽנֶת־a tunic of
ketonet-H3801 →29 times
בַּ֨דlinen of
badH906 →23 times
קֹ֜דֶשׁholiness
kodeshH6944 →469 times
יִלְבָּ֗שׁhe will wear
yilbashH3847 →110 times
וּמִֽכְנְסֵי־and undergarments of
umikhnesei-H4370 →
בַד֮linen
vadH906 →23 times
יִהְי֣וּthey will be
yihyuH1961 →3559 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בְּשָׂרוֹ֒flesh his
besaroH1320 →270 times
וּבְאַבְנֵ֥טand with a sash of
uveavnetH73 →9 times
בַּד֙linen
badH906 →23 times
יַחְגֹּ֔רhe will gird himself
yachgorH2296 →44 times
וּבְמִצְנֶ֥פֶתand with a turban of
uvemitznefetH4701 →12 times
בַּ֖דlinen
badH906 →23 times
יִצְנֹ֑ףhe will wind
yitznofH6801 →
בִּגְדֵי־[are] garments of
bigdei-H899 →217 times
קֹ֣דֶשׁholiness
kodeshH6944 →469 times
הֵ֔םthey
hemH1992 →553 times
וְרָחַ֥ץand he will wash
verachatzH7364 →72 times
בַּמַּ֛יִםwith <the> water
bamayimH4325 →581 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּשָׂר֖וֹbody his
besaroH1320 →270 times
וּלְבֵשָֽׁם׃and he will put on them
uleveshamH3847 →110 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 7:26Such a high priest truly befits us—One who is holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 5:21
God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
- 1 Peter 2:22
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”
- Hebrews 4:14–15
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess.
- Hebrews 8:1
The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,
- 1 John 2:2
He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
- 2 Corinthians 5:21
Through
Leviticus 6:10And the priest shall put on his linen robe and linen undergarments, and he shall remove from the altar the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed and place them beside…
it leads to
- Exodus 28:39–43
You are to weave the tunic with fine linen, make the turban of fine linen, and fashion an embroidered sash.
- Revelation 19:8
She was given clothing of fine linen, bright and pure.” For the fine linen she wears is the righteous acts of the saints.
- Exodus 28:39–43
Through
Exodus 30:20Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister by presenting an offering made by fire to the LORD, they must wash with water so that they will not die.
it leads to
- Acts 5:5
On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened.
- Acts 5:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.