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2012

"Clothes Make the (One Like a Son of) Man": Dress Imagery in
Revelation 1 as an Indicator of High Priestly Status
Ross E. Winkle
Andrews University

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Indicator of High Priestly Status" (2012). Dissertations. 168.
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 ABSTRACT

“CLOTHES MAKE THE (ONE LIKE A SON OF) MAN”:

DRESS IMAGERY IN REVELATION 1 AS AN
INDICATOR OF HIGH PRIESTLY STATUS

by

Ross E. Winkle

Adviser: Jon Paulien

 ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH

Dissertation

Andrews University

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Title: “CLOTHES MAKE THE (ONE LIKE A SON OF) MAN”: DRESS IMAGERY
IN REVELATION 1 AS AN INDICATOR OF HIGH PRIESTLY STATUS

Name of researcher: Ross E. Winkle

Name and degree of faculty adviser: Jon Paulien, PhD

Date completed: July 2012

Problem

The Epistle to the Hebrews is the only document in the New Testament that

explicitly describes Jesus as a high priest. The purpose of this dissertation is to

ascertain whether or not the book of Revelation, in particular, in John’s description of

the “one like a son of man” in his inaugural vision (1:12-16), implicitly presents Jesus

as having a high priestly status.

Method

This study focuses on Revelation since it is the work closest to Hebrews in terms

of its rich cultic imagery, and it analyzes Revelation’s first chapter since that is the part

of Revelation where one finds the most contested arena of scholarly debate over Jesus’
high priestly status. In order to delimit the approach, this dissertation concentrates on

dress imagery in Rev 1 as a potential indicator of role-related high priestly status.

Chapter 1 of this dissertation states the problem and samples the various

interpretations of the dress of the “one like a son of man” in Rev 1, ranging from

strenuous denials to strong advocacy of high priestly imagery and identity for Jesus.

This chapter also notes the exegetical methodology to be employed in later chapters and

presents the study’s delimitations. Chapter 2 examines the contemporary understanding

of dress in terms of its ability to communicate meaning in general, to communicate

identity in particular, and to more specifically communicate role-related identity. Here

obstacles to the perception of identity via dress are also noted. Chapter 3 surveys

descriptions of dress in literature from the Ancient Near East to the book of Revelation

that communicate various identities, in particular, role-related identity. Chapter 4

surveys the dress of the Israelite high priest worn both on a daily and a yearly basis,

taking into consideration data from the Hebrew Bible and extrabiblical Jewish and

Christian sources up to ca. 150 CE. It also takes note of overlooked or ignored elements

of the high priest’s dress. Based on that information, chapter 5 investigates and

exegetes sartorial images for the “one like a son of man” in Rev 1 that possibly

communicate high priestly status: his foot-length robe (podh,rh [1:13]); (2) his golden

belt/sash (zw,nhn crusa/n [1:13]); and (3) his bare feet, described in terms of the

enigmatic term calkoliba,nw| (1:15). Chapter 6 presents the results of this study, their

implications, and possible directions for future research.

 Results

Contemporary scholars of dress have concluded that the concept of dress

includes not only clothes but also ornaments, cosmetics, devices, treatments, equipment,

and tools, and they have repeatedly maintained that dress communicates various types of

identity. This understanding is useful in analyzing the communicative properties of

dress in the Bible. Copious evidence from the ANE to the Roman world and from the

OT to the NT illustrates that dress was not only understood to be an important necessity

but also a means of communicating much critical information to others.

The dress of the high priest was powerful in identifying his status and role

within the Israelite cultus. This is true despite questions about and difficulty in

cataloging, describing, and interpreting the specific ritual dress elements of the high

priest. Fluidity in sartorial descriptions of the high priest suggests that metonymy and

synecdoche were in play in some of the texts. In addition, this study suggests that high

priestly dress should include such elements as bare feet, the censer, and incense, since

bare feet are an example of negative dress, a censer can be classified as a dress tool, and

incense can be viewed as a dress cosmetic.

Conclusions

This dissertation consequently concludes that the sartorial reference to the

podh,rhj that the “one like a son of man” wears in Rev 1, when seen in combination

with the reference to him in the midst of the seven golden lampstands (1:12-13),

communicates a high priestly identity. The other dress elements (the zw,nhn crusa/n

and the feet like calkoliba,nw|), while contributing in varying degrees to the plausibility
of the high priestly imagery in this passage, combine with the podh,rhj to substantiate a

sartorial ensemble impressively communicative of Jesus’ high priestly identity in John’s

inaugural vision in Revelation.

The results of this study suggest at least four important implications for

interpreting Revelation and the NT as a whole. First, the electric impact of the dress of

the high priest on observers in the Second Temple period is mirrored by the prominent

position it holds in John’s inaugural vision in Rev 1. Second, dress imagery implicitly

provides profound christological information in Revelation, and christological titles for

Jesus in Revelation must not inappropriately shape or restrict the meaning of dress

imagery there. Third, high priestly imagery for Jesus in the NT cannot be restricted to

the Epistle to the Hebrews. And fourth, the overall dress imagery, which is so prevalent

throughout Revelation, indicates that it bears more weight for John than many

commentators have typically granted it.

 Andrews University

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

“CLOTHES MAKE THE (ONE LIKE A SON OF) MAN”:

DRESS IMAGERY IN REVELATION 1 AS AN
INDICATOR OF HIGH PRIESTLY STATUS

A Dissertation

Presented in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

by

Ross E. Winkle

July 2012
© Copyright by Ross E. Winkle 2012
All Rights Reserved
 “CLOTHES MAKE THE (ONE LIKE A SON OF) MAN”:
DRESS IMAGERY IN REVELATION 1 AS AN
INDICATOR OF HIGH PRIESTLY STATUS

A dissertation
presented in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Philosophy

by

Ross E. Winkle

APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE:

________________________________________ _______________________________________
Faculty Adviser, Director, Ph.D. in Religion / Th.D. Program
Jon Paulien Tom Shepherd
Professor of Religion – Theological Studies

________________________________________ _______________________________________
P. Richard Choi Dean, SDA Theological Seminary
Professor of New Testament Denis Fortin

________________________________________
Roy E. Gane
Professor of Hebrew Bible and
Ancient Near Eastern Languages

________________________________________
Ranko Stefanovic
Professor of New Testament

________________________________________ _______________________________________
Loren L. Johns Date approved
Professor of New Testament
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary
 For Darla

gunai/ka avndrei,an ti,j eu`rh,sei timiwte,ra de, evstin li,qwn polutelw/n h` toiau,th
(LXX Proverbs 31:10)

iii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv

Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Background to the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Purpose of the Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Justification for the Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Scope and Delimitations of the Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Delimitations of Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Delimitation of Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Delimitation of Textual Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Methodology of the Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

2. DRESS AND IDENTITY IN CONTEMPORARY DISCUSSION . . . . . . 38

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Dress, Communication, and Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
The Rise of the Academic Study of Dress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Definition, Nomenclature, and Taxonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Dress Communicates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Dress Communicates Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Dress Communicates Role-Related Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Obstacles to the Perception of Identity via Dress . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Dress Ambiguity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Contextual Disintegration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Foreground / Background Confusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Incorrect Expectations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Stereotypical Understandings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Temporal and Locative Instability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Anachronistic Misinterpretations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

iv
 Duodirectional Communicative Purposes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Summary and Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

3. DRESS AND IDENTITY IN THE BIBLICAL WORLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Dress and Identity in the Biblical World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Importance of Dress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Dress Communicates Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Dress and Personal Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Dress and Social Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Dress and Status Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Dress and Gender Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Dress and Ethnic Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Dress Communicates Role-Related Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Role-Related Dress Investiture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Role-Related Dress Disguise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Role-Related Dress Miscues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Role-Related Dress Caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Summary of Dress and Identity in the Biblical World . . . . . . . . . . 116
Dress and Identity in the Book of Revelation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Importance of Dress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Dress Communicates Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Dress Communicates Role-Related Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Summary of Dress and Identity in Revelation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Summary and Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

4. THE RITUAL DRESS OF THE HIGH PRIEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Daily Ritual Dress of the High Priest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
The Undergarments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
The Tunic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Excursus: The High Priest Tearing His Clothes . . . . . . . . . . . 145
The Sash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
The Robe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
The Robe as (the) podh,rhj . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
The term podh,rhj in the LXX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Exodus 28:4 and 31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Exodus 25:7 and 35:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Exodus 29:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Ezekiel 9:2, 3, 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Zechariah 3:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Wisdom 18:24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Sirach 27:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

v
 Sirach 45:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
The podh,rhj in post-Septuagintal literature to
ca. 150 CE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Letter of Aristeas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Philo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Josephus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Epistle of Barnabas 7:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Testament of Levi 8:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Summary of podh,rhj . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
The Ephod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
The Contexts of the Ephod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
The Ephod of the High Priest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
The Breastpiece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
The Urim and Thummim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
The Headgear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
The Head Ornament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Summary of the High Priest’s Daily Ritual Dress . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Yearly Ritual Dress of the High Priest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Overlooked Dress Elements of the High Priest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
The Feet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
The Censer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
The Ritual Use of the Censer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
The Censer as Ritual Dress Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
The Censer’s Association with the High Priest . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Incense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Summary of Overlooked Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Summary and Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

5. THE DRESS IMAGERY OF JESUS CHRIST IN REVELATION 1

AS AN INDICATOR OF HIGH PRIESTLY STATUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
The Context and Content of John’s Initial Vision in
Revelation 1:12-16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
The o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
The Dress of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Clothed in a podh,rhj . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Data on podh,rhj . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Grammatical Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
The Question of an OT Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Daniel 10:5 and Ezekiel 9:2, 3, 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Another OT background text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Issues of Dress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Summary of the podh,rhj . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Encircled with a Golden zw,nh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

vi
 The zw,nh and Role-Related Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
The Golden Nature of the zw,nh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
The Location of the zw,nh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Summary of the Golden zw,nh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Feet like calkoliba,nw| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Visible Feet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
The Problem of calkoliba,nw| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
The Morphology of calkoliba,nw| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
The Etymology of calkoliba,nw| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
The Grammar of w`j evn kami,nw| pepurwme,nhj . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
A New Proposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Summary of the Feet like calkoliba,nw| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
The Dress of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou and Role-Related
Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Summary and Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357

6. CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362

Summary of the Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362

Implications of the Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Suggestions for Further Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373

vii
 LIST OF TABLES

1. Dress Actions and Dress Items in Leviticus 8:7-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

2. podh,rhj in the LXX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

3. Various Translations of the Precious Stones in Exodus 28:17-20 . . . . . . . . 208

viii
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AB Anchor Bible

ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary. Edited by D. N. Freedman. 6 vols. New

York, 1992

ANE Ancient Near East(ern)

AUSS Andrews University Seminary Studies

BDAG Danker, F. W., W. Bauer, W. F. Arndt, and F. W. Gingrich. A Greek-

English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian
Literature. 3rd ed. Chicago, 2000

BDB Brown, F., S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs. A Hebrew and English

Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford, 1907

BDF Blass, F., A. Debrunner, and R. Funk. A Greek Grammar of the New
Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1961

BDR Blass, Friedrich, and Albert Debrunner. Grammatik des

neutestamentlichen Griechisch. 14th ed. Edited by Friedrich Rehkopf.
Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1976

Bib Biblica

BI Biblical Interpretation

BIS Biblical Interpretation Series

CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly

CEB Common English Bible

CEV Contemporary English Version

DBC Dress, Body, Culture

ix
DNTB Dictionary of New Testament Background. Edited by Craig A. Evans
and Stanley E. Porter. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2000

DSS Dead Sea Scrolls

EncJud Encyclopaedia Judaica. 2d ed. Edited by Fred Skolnik. 22 vols.

Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA; Jerusalem: Keter, 2007

ExpTim Expository Times

FAT Forschungen zum Alten Testament

FN Filología Neotestamentaria

GNB Good News Bible

HALOT Koehler, L., W. Baumgartner, and J. J. Stamm. The Hebrew and

Aramaic lexicon of the Old Testament. Translated and edited under the
supervision of M. E. J. Richardson. 5 vols. Leiden, 1994-2000

HB Hebrew Bible

HCHCB Hermeneia—A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible

HTR Harvard Theological Review

HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual

ICC International Critical Commentary

IDB The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. Edited by G. A. Buttrick. 4

vols. Nashville, 1962

IEJ Israel Exploration Journal

ISBE International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Rev. ed. Edited by G. W.

Bromiley et al. 4 vols. Grand Rapids, 1979-1988

JANES Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society

JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society

JBL Journal of Biblical Literature

x
JBQ Jewish Bible Quarterly

JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

JJS Journal of Jewish Studies

JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies

JSHJ Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus

JSJ Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman
Periods

JSJSup Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism

JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament

JSNTSup Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series

JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

JSOTSup Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series

JSP Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha

JSPSup Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Supplement Series

JTS Journal of Theological Studies

HALOT Koehler, L., W. Baumgartner, and J. J. Stamm, The Hebrew and Aramaic
Lexicon of the Old Testament. Translated and edited under the
supervision of M. E. J. Richardson. 4 vols. Leiden, 1994-1999

LCL Loeb Classical Library

LEH J. Lust, E. Eynikel, and K. Hauspie, comp. A Greek-English Lexicon of

the Septuagint. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1996

LSJ Liddell, H. G., R. Scott, and H. S. Jones. A Greek-English Lexicon. 9th

ed. with revised supplement. Oxford, 1996

LXX Septuagint (the Greek Jewish Scriptures). The edition used is

Septuaginta, ed. Alfred Rahlfs (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft,
1979)

xi
MT Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible

NA27 Novum Testamentum Graece. 27th rev. ed. Edited by E. Nestle, K.

Barbara Aland et al. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1993

NASB New American Standard Bible

NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament

NICOT New International Commentary on the Old Testament

NIGTC New International Greek Testament Commentary

NIV New International Version

NIVAC NIV Application Commentary

NJB New Jerusalem Bible

NLT New Living Translation

NovT Novum Testamentum

NovTSup Supplements to Novum Testamentum

NRSV New Revised Standard Version

NT New Testament

NTAbh Neutestamentliche Abhandlungen

NTS New Testament Studies

OG Old Greek

OT Old Testament

OTL Old Testament Library

OTP Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. Edited by J. H. Charlesworth. 2 vols.

New York, 1983-85

PWPL Patras Working Papers in Linguistics

xii
RAC Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum. Edited by T. Kluser et al.
Stuttgart, 1950-

RSR Recherches de science religieuse

SBG Studies in Biblical Greek

SBLSCSS Society of Biblical Literature Septuagint and Cognate Studies Series

SNTMS Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series

SPhilo Studia Philonica

SSEJC Studies in Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity

STDJ Studies in the Texts of the Desert of Judah

TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Edited by Gerhard Kittel

and Gerhard Friedrich. Translated and edited by Geoffrey W. Bromiley.
10 vols. Grand Rapids, 1964-1976

TDOT Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Edited by G. Johannes

Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry. Translated by
John T. Willis, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, David E. Green, and Douglas W.
Stott. 15 vols. Grand Rapids, 1974-2006

UBS4 The Greek New Testament. 4th rev. ed. Edited by Barbara Aland et al.
Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1994

VT Vetus Testamentum

VTSup Supplements to Vetus Testamentum

WBC Word Biblical Commentary

WUNT Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament

xiii
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many people have made my doctoral journey one filled with rich meaning,

memories, and even exhilaration and delight. I am grateful that my parents, Warren and

Myrna Winkle, provided a caring, Christian home where my interest in the Bible was

gently nurtured and quietly encouraged. Both they and my older brother, Vern, and my

younger sister, Linda, provided moral support and encouragement through the long

process of this project. Ed Boyatt and D.K. Smith were significant influences in

furthering my interest in the study of the Bible while I attended Walla Walla Valley

Academy as a teenager. My biblical studies and biblical languages teachers at Walla

Walla University, in particular, John Brunt, J. Paul Grove, Lucile Knapp, Jon Dybdahl,

Sakae Kubo, Malcolm Maxwell, Alden Thompson, and Jerry Winslow, nurtured my

vocational interest and strengthened my love of the study of the Bible.

In my doctoral studies at Andrews University, P. Richard Choi, Jacques

Doukhan, Roy Gane, Robert M. Johnston, John McVay, Jon Paulien, and W. Larry

Richards expanded my understanding of numerous biblical issues in the classroom. I

appreciated and enjoyed the cameraderie and invigorating theological discussions I had

with my fellow doctoral students, in particular, Karen K. Abrahamson, Ian Brown, Felix

H. Cortez, Erhard Gallos, and Elena and Tom Toews. Randall Younker, Roy Gane,

Rudi Maier, and Tom Shepherd carefully supervised my progress as directors of the

Ph.D. Program at the Theological Seminary, and Mabel Bowen was a delight to work

xiv
with in that office. I am also grateful to the Theological Seminary for facilitating and

providing the financial scholarships I received, without which my completion of this

work would have been much more difficult.

At Pacific Union College, I especially want to thank my present and former

colleagues in the Religion department—Jimmy Ha, Angel Hernandez, Young-Chun

Kim, Julius Nam, Leo Ranzolin, Jean Sheldon, and Myron Widmer—for their

confidence in me and my work. I am particularly grateful to Leo Ranzolin, the chair of

the Religion department, and Angel Hernandez, who covered some of my classes during

one quarter when I did not teach. When I first arrived at PUC in 2005 and for several

years, President Richard Osborn and Dean Ileana Douglas provided administrative

support and timely encouragement. More recently, I have appreciated the counsel,

support, and encouragement of President Heather Knight and Dean Nancy Lecourt as

I’ve headed towards the end of my doctoral journey. I’m also thankful to a number of

my fellow teachers and colleagues in other departments on campus for their words of

support. In particular, Bob Paulson made it a point to frequently “check in” and remind

me he was praying for me. Pastor Tim Mitchell urged me on to completion at a time

when I needed to hear it again. I’m grateful that Maria Vance was able to facilitate the

use of a much-needed laptop. Thanks also goes to Carol Lewis, our former

departmental secretary, along with my former reader Amy Bellinghausen, who both

provided much assistance with library materials I needed.

Contacts I had especially with Crispin H. T. Fletcher-Louis at Society of Biblical

Literature meetings in Edinburgh in 2006 and San Diego in 2007, as well as a number of

email communications with him, sharpened my understanding of the sartorial issues in

xv
the first chapter of Revelation. I appreciate the feedback that Ranko Stefanovic and

Edwin Reynolds provided me at Izmir, Turkey, when I presented an early version of

some of my dissertation work there in 2006. And I am grateful for the willingness of

Iwan M. Whiteley and Ilie Beniamin Fărăgău to provide me with files of their

dissertations that I could not access in the United States.

I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t had the cheerful and helpful

assistance of a number of librarians both at Andrews University (Cynthia Helms, Judith

Nelson, and Terry Robertson) and Pacific Union College (Gilbert Abella, Linda

Maberly, Joel Lutes, and Lessie Young). In particular, Sandra White at Andrews

University and Karen Thomas at Pacific Union College were more than helpful in

facilitating my acquisition of needed material with patience, courtesy, and skill.

It’s an understatement for me to say that I am glad that I was able to have Jon

Paulien as my doctoral advisor while at Andrews. Before I even arrived at Andrews for

doctoral work, he eagerly encouraged my interest in starting a doctorate, and he

enthusiastically supported my choice of writing on a rather unusual topic in the book of

Revelation. He was and is a model teacher and mentor, and he helped me navigate my

dissertation process with wisdom and skill, clarifying issues and concerns of mine,

guiding and sometimes pushing, but always being a pillar of support and a beacon of

encouragment through every step of the process. For all of this I am grateful. I am also

thankful that P. Richard Choi and Roy Gane agreed to be on my committee, and I

appreciate the perceptive questions, astute comments and suggestions, and kind words

they made with regard to my work, all of which have made my dissertation much

stronger than it would have been otherwise. I am also indebted to Ranko Stefanovic and

xvi
Loren L. Johns, who agreed to be on my examining committee; their questions and

comments during my defense have further invigorated my thinking on the subject.

Not only has it been a long journey for me, but it has also been one for my wife

Darla, my son Tristan, and my daughters Elise and Alexis. Their love, support, and

patience cannot be measured, and I am eternally grateful that they are the center and

core of my family. Darla deserves special thanks for urging me to start this journey and

for her enduring friendship and love.

And finally, I thank God my heavenly Father, his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy

Spirit, without whom I would not have been, and without which none of this would

have been worthwhile or even possible.

xvii
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Problem

The only NT document that explicitly attempts to explicate the priesthood and

priestly ministry of Jesus Christ is the Epistle to the Hebrews.1 More remarkably,

Hebrews is also the only NT document that explicitly calls Jesus Christ a high priest

1
Hebrews implies that Jesus is priest (o` i`ereu,j [7:11, 15, 21; 8:4]), quotes Ps
110:4 (LXX 109:4) to prove it (5:6; 7:17, 21), and describes the king-priest
Melchizedek with the same terminology as a type of Christ (7:1, 3). That the use of this
quotation is meant to refer to Jesus’ high priesthood can be seen from Heb 6:20, where
both the concept of “forever” (eivj to.n aivw/na) and the name “Melchizedek”
(Melcise,dek) are juxtaposed with “high priest” (avrciereu,j), just as in the LXX of the
psalm where the former two terms are juxtaposed with “priest” ( i`ereu,j). Paul
Ellingworth concludes that Hebrews does not differentiate between i`ereu,j or avrciereu,j
in its discussion of Christ (The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary on the Greek
Text, NIGTC [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans; Carlisle: Paternoster, 1993], 183). Notice the
interplay in Heb 7 between “priest” (7:1, 3, 11, 14-15, 17, 20-21, and 23) and “high
priest” (7:26-28).
For the purposes of this study, I use the term “LXX” to refer to not only the
Greek translation of the Pentateuch (its proper meaning) but also later translations of the
HB and Apocrypha. For a recent discussion of this, see Benjamin G. Wright, “The
Septuagint and Its Modern Translators,” in Die Septuaginta—Texte, Kontexte,
Lebenswelten: Internationale Fachtagung veranstaltet von Septuaginta Deutsch
(LXX.D), Wuppertal 20.–23. Juli 2006, ed. Martin Karrer and Wolfgang Kraus, in
collaboration with Martin Meiser, WUNT 219 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008),
particularly 104-105. Cf. Karen H. Jobes and Moisés Silva, Invitation to the Septuagint
(Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000), 30-33; and Emanuel Tov, The Text-Critical Use of the
Septuagint in Biblical Research, 2nd ed., Jerusalem Biblical Studies (Jerusalem: Simor,
1997), 15. In the book of Daniel, however, I do differentiate between the two Old
Greek (OG) mss. (88 and 967) and all of the rest of the Greek mss., which have the
translation of Theodotion (Q).

1
(avrciereu,j), and it does so repeatedly.2 What makes its first reference to Jesus Christ as

high priest in 2:17 notable is its sudden yet subdued appearance. In this verse there is

no argument, defense, or polemic of any kind with reference to supporting the position

that Jesus is high priest. Rather, Hebrews seemingly states this as if it were a well-

known fact. This has raised questions concerning the origin of the concept of Jesus

Christ as high priest, its understanding by the intended audience of the epistle, and its

wider acceptance among first-century Christians.3 The fact that early Christian literature

2
I use the term “high priest” throughout to refer to the one understood and
recognized to be the pre-eminent priest among the Jewish priesthood. Biblical texts,
however, do not consistently utilize this terminology in describing this position.
Nomenclature that clearly refers to the leader of the priests includes: (1) “the priest”
(e.g., Exod 35:19 [!heKoh;; LXX: tou/ i`ere,wj]); (2) “the anointed priest” (e.g., Lev 4:3
[x;yviM'h; !heKoh;; LXX: o` avrciereu.j o` kecrisme,noj]); (3) “the great [or, high] priest”
(e.g., Num 35:25 [ldoG"h; !heKoh;; LXX: o` i`ereu.j o` me,gaj]); and (4) “first [or, chief]
priest” (e.g., 2 Kgs 25:18; [varoh' !heKo; LXX: i`ere,a to.n prw/ton]). Cf. Roland de
Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions, trans. John McHugh (New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1961), 397-98.
Hebrews uses the Greek term for high priest (avrciereu,j) to describe Jesus’
ministry (2:17; 3:1; 4:14, 15; 5:5, 10; 6:20; 7:26; 8:1; 9:11), just as it uses the same term
to describe the earthly high priest (5:1; 7:27, 28; 8:3; 9:7, 25; 13:11). Hebrews also
calls Jesus the “great priest” (i`ere,a me,gan) in 10:21, the only time this term is used in
the NT, yet in line with its widespread usage in the LXX (Lev 21:10; Num 35:25, 28,
32; 2 Kgs 12:11; 22:4, 8; 23:4; 1 Chr 9:31; 2 Chr 24:11; 34:9; Neh 3:1, 20; 13:28; Hag
1:1, 12, 14; 2:2, 4; Zech 3:1, 8; 6:11; Jdt 4:6, 8, 14, 15:8; 1 Macc 12:20; 14:20; 15:2; 2
Macc 14:13; Sir 50:1). The terminology of i`ere,a me,gan in Hebrews is equivalent to the
usage of avrciereu,j; notice also avrciere,a me,gan in 4:14 (see the discussion in
Ellingworth, Hebrews, 183). On the origin and evolution of the Greek terms avrciereu,j
and i`ereu,j me,gaj for the high priest, see, e.g., Maria Brutti, The Development of the
High Priesthood During the Pre-Hasmonean Period: History, Ideology, Theology,
JSJSup 108 (Leiden: Brill, 2006), 56-71.
3
For an introduction to the problem of identifying whether or not Hebrews used
Christian traditions about Jesus as high priest, see William L. Lane, Hebrews 1-8, WBC
47A (Dallas: Word, 1991), cxl-cxli, cl. For more recent attempts to explicate the origin
of Hebrews’ concept of Jesus’ high priesthood, cf. Daniel Stökl, “Yom Kippur in the
Apocalyptic Imaginaire and the Roots of Jesus’ High Priesthood: Yom Kippur in

2
outside of the NT and independent of Hebrews also explicitly entitled Jesus Christ as

high priest4 has further contributed to the question regarding the origin of the high

priestly characterization of Jesus Christ.

In 1981 John W. Baigent observed that it was “generally recognized that the

distinctive high priestly christology of the Epistle to the Hebrews is unique to that

document amongst the NT writings.”5 Baigent’s assertion was a reaction to several

Zechariah 3, 1 Enoch 10, 11QMelkizedeq, Hebrews and the Apocalypse of Abraham

13,” in Transformations of the Inner Self in Ancient Religions, ed. Jan Assmann and
Guy G. Stroumsa, Studies in the History of Religions (Supplements to Numen) 83
(Leiden: Brill, 1999), 349-66; and Eric F. Mason, “You Are a Priest Forever”: Second
Temple Jewish Messianism and the Priestly Christology of the Epistle to the Hebrews,
STDJ 74 (Leiden: Brill, 2008), 40-63.
Lane, in commenting on 2:17, states: “The fact that the writer can refer to Jesus
as High Priest before he has provided any theological exposition of this conception (cf.
3:1; 4:14-16) strongly suggests that it was the common property of the hellenistic wing
of the Church” (Hebrews 1-8, 65). Harold W. Attridge, in his extensively referenced
discussion of the possible antecedents of the high priestly christology, concludes: “It is
probable, then, that the image of Christ as a heavenly High Priest was traditional within
the early Christian community addressed by Hebrews” (The Epistle to the Hebrews, ed.
Helmut Koester, HCHCB [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1989], 97-103, here 102). Cf.
Ellingworth, Hebrews, 185-88; and Scott D. Mackie, Eschatology and Exhortation in
the Epistle to the Hebrews, WUNT, 2nd ser., 223 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007),
183-85.
4
Attridge lists Ignatius Phld. 9.1 (cf. 8.2), Mart. Pol. 14.3, and Polycarp Phil.
12.2 (Hebrews, 102). David Stökl Ben Ezra also refers to 1 Clem. 36:1, 61:3, and 64,
which he admits are controversial because some consider these dependent on Hebrews
(The Impact of Yom Kippur on Early Christianity: The Day of Atonement from Second
Temple Judaism to the Fifth Century, WUNT, 2nd ser., 163 [Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck,
2003], 194, n. 246).
5
John W. Baigent, “Jesus as Priest: An Examination of the Claim That the
Concept of Jesus as Priest May Be Found in the New Testament Outside the Epistle to
the Hebrews,” Vox evangelica 12 (1981): 34. Cf. Ferdinand Hahn, The Titles of Jesus
in Christology: Their History in Early Christianity, trans. Harold Knight and George
Ogg (London: Lutterworth, 1969), 235.
Some christologies of Revelation include no discussion of any possible high
priestly imagery; see, e.g., Sarah Alexander Edwards, “Christological Perspectives in

3
scholars who had attempted to uncover a priestly or high priestly christology within the

NT but outside of Hebrews (particularly in the Gospels), and despite Baigent’s

conclusions, such investigations have continued since then. 6 Moreover, a significant

the Book of Revelation,” in Christological Perspectives: Essays in Honor of Harvey K.

McArthur, ed. Robert F. Berkey and Sarah A. Edwards (New York: Pilgrim, 1982), 139-
54; Donald Guthrie, “The Christology of Revelation,” in Jesus of Nazareth: Lord and
Christ: Essays on the Historical Jesus and New Testament Christology, ed. Joel B.
Green and Max Turner (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans; Carlisle: Paternoster, 1994), 397-409;
and Charles H. Talbert, “The Christology of the Apocalypse,” in Who Do You Say That
I Am? Essays on Christology, ed. Mark Allan Powell and David R. Bauer (Louisville:
Westminster John Knox, 1999), 166-84.
6
Studies investigating or discussing this topic before and after Baigent’s article
include John Bernard Baron, “Speaking the Word: A Historical Inquiry into the Nature
of Hieratic Function” (PhD diss., Drew University, 1994), 25; Helen K. Bond,
“Discarding the Seamless Robe: The High Priesthood of Jesus in John’s Gospel,” in
Israel’s God and Rebecca’s Children: Christology and Community in Early Judaism
and Christianity: Essays in Honor of Larry W. Hurtado and Alan F. Segal, ed. David B.
Capes et al (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2007), 183-94; Edwin K. Broadhead,
“Christology as Polemic and Apologetic: The Priestly Portrait of Jesus in the Gospel of
Mark,” JSNT 47 (1992): 21-34; Joseph Coppens, “Le messianisme sacerdotal dans les
éscrits du nouveau testament,” in La venue du Messie: Messianisme et eschatologie, ed.
Édouard Massaux, Recherches bibliques 6 (Bruges: Desclée de Brouwer, 1962), 101-
112; David Michael Crump, Jesus as Intercessor: Prayer and Christology in Luke-Acts,
WUNT, 2nd ser., 49 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1992), 185-87, 195-97; Oscar
Cullmann, The Christology of the New Testament, rev. ed., trans. Shirley C. Guthrie and
Charles A. M. Hall, The New Testament Library (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1959),
104-107; Crispin H. T. Fletcher-Louis, Luke-Acts: Angels, Christology and Soteriology,
WUNT, 2nd ser., 94 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1997), 214, 248, n. 128, and 254; idem,
“The Revelation of the Sacral Son of Man: The Genre, History of Religions Context and
the Meaning of the Transfiguration,” in Auferstehung—Resurrection: The Fourth
Durham-Tübingen Research Symposium: Resurrection, Transfiguration and Exaltation
in Old Testament, Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity (Tübingen, September,
1999), ed. Friedrich Avemarie and Hermann Lichtenberger, WUNT, 2nd ser., 135
(Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 2001), 247-98; idem, “Jesus as the High
Priestly Messiah: Part I,” JSHJ 4 (2006): 155-75; idem, “Jesus as the High Priestly
Messiah: Part II,” JSHJ 5 (2007): 57-79; Gerhard Friedrich, “Beobachtungen zur
messianischen Hohepriestererwartung in den Synoptikern,” Zeitschrift für Theologie
und Kirche 53 (1956): 265-311; Joachim Gnilka, “Die Erwartung des messianischen
Hohenpriesters in den Schriften von Qumran und im Neuen Testament,” Revue de
Qumran 2 (1960): 395-426; John Paul Heil, “Jesus as the Unique High Priest in the

4
number of influential scholars have seen either explicit or implicit priestly or high

priestly imagery in relation to Jesus in the book of Revelation.7 Attempts to uncover a

high priestly christology in the NT typically approach it from two perspectives: those

who investigate the Gospels understandably focus on an earthly high priesthood, while

those who explore the high priestly christological reality in Hebrews and its possibility

in Revelation, for example, stress a heavenly high priesthood.8

Gospel of John,” CBQ 57 (1995): 729-45; Marion W. Henderson, “The Priestly

Ministry of Jesus in the Gospel of John and the Epistle to the Hebrews” (ThD diss.,
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1965); Martin Hengel, Studies in Early
Christology (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1995), 144-48; A. J. B. Higgins, “The Priestly
Messiah,” NTS 13 (1966-67): 234-35; Alan R. Kerr, The Temple of Jesus’ Body: The
Temple Theme in the Gospel of John, JSNTSup 220 (London: Sheffield Academic,
2002), 314-70; Olaf Moe, “Das Priestertum Christi im NT außerhalb des Hebräerbriefs,
Theologische Literaturzeitung 72 (1947): cols. 335-38; C. Spicq, “L’origine johannique
de la conception du Christ-prêtre dans l’Epître aux Hébreux,” in Aux sources de la
tradition chrétienne: Mélanges offerts à M. Maurice Goguel à l’occasion de son
soixante-dixième anniversaire, Bibliothèque de théologie (Neuchâtel: Delachaux &
Niestlé, 1950): 258-69; Elizabeth G. Pemberton, “The Seamless Garment: A Note on
John 19:23-24,” Australian Biblical Review 54 (2006): 50-55; and Joseph E.
Zimmerman, “Jesus of Nazareth: High Priest of Israel’s Great Fall Festival—the Day of
Atonement,” Evangelical Journal 17 (1999): 49-59.
7
E.g., F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews, rev. ed., NICNT (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1990), 29, n. 125; Cullmann, Christology, 104-105; J. Massyngberde Ford,
Revelation: Introduction, Translation and Commentary, AB 38 (New York: Doubleday,
1975), 385; Traugott Holtz, Die Christologie der Apocalypse des Johannes, 2nd ed.,
Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur 85 (Berlin:
Akademie-Verlag, 1971), 118-21; Ernst Lohmeyer, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 3rd
ed., Handbuch zum Neuen Testament 16 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1970), 15; and
Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, rev. ed., NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1998), 57-58.
8
Heb 7:14 makes a point of arguing that Jesus was “descended from Judah” ( evx
VIou,da avnate,talken) instead of Levi (cf. 7:5-13). John the Baptist’s mother Elizabeth
was one of the descendants of Aaron (evk tw/n qugate,rwn VAarw.n), and Jesus’ mother
Mary was her “relative” (suggeni,j [Luke 1:36]). Apparently some later Christians saw
this as evidence that Jesus was also descended from the tribe of Levi—in spite of Heb
7:14 and the fact that priesthood derived from patrilineal and not matrilineal descent (cf.

5
 Statement of the Problem

An understanding of Jesus Christ as high priest from a NT basis but outside of

the Epistle to the Hebrews—whether as an earthly or heavenly high priest—has not

gained universal support. In 1965, for instance, Sidney G. Sowers remarked that “Heb’s

idea of Christ’s work as a priestly one is original and unique in the N.T.” 9 In fact,

William Adler, “The Suda and the ‘Priesthood of Jesus,’” in For a Later Generation:
The Transformation of Tradition in Israel, Early Judaism, and Early Christianity, ed.
Randal A. Argall, Beverly A. Bow, and Rodney A. Werline [Harrisburg, PA: Trinity
Press International, 2000], 1-12). The concept of Jesus’ levitical heritage is also related
to the Christian defense of the Hasmoneans as priest-kings or priest-rulers on the basis
of their descent from not only the tribe of Levi (cf. 1 Macc 2:1) but also the tribe of
Judah through Aaron’s marriage to the sister of Judah’s descendant Nahshon (Exod
6:23; cf. Num 1:7). For a thorough discussion of this tradition, see William Adler,
“Exodus 6:23 and the High Priest from the Tribe of Judah,” JTS, n.s., 48 (1997): 24-47.
Attempts to defend a levitical heritage of Jesus appear as early as the late second century
(Stökl, “Yom Kippur,” 364).
At the same time, certain Jews identified Jesus as Elijah (Matt 16:14; Mark 6:15;
8:28; Luke 9:8, 19). Some Jewish literature understood the eschatological Elijah to be a
priest or a high priest (cf., e.g., David George Clark, “Elijah as Eschatological High
Priest: An Examination of the Elijah Tradition in Mal. 3:22-24” [PhD diss., University
of Notre Dame, 1975]). While Richard A. Horsley deems none of this literature
supporting this understanding to be “prior to or contemporary with the appearance of
Jesus or John the Baptist” (“‘Like One of the Prophets of Old’: Two Types of Popular
Prophets at the Time of Jesus, CBQ 47 [1985]: 439-41, here 439), Robert Hayward
(“Phinehas—The Same Is Elijah: The Origins of a Rabbinic Tradition,” JJS 29 [1978]:
22-34, particularly 31) and Markus Öhler (“The Expectation of Elijah and the Presence
of the Kingdom of God,” JBL 118 [1999]: 462, n. 3) are two who explicitly disagree.
It is also important to note that James, the brother of Jesus (cf. Ia,kwbon to.n
avdelfo.n tou/ kuri,ou [Gal 1:19]), was described in early Christianity both in terms of
the high priest and as a high priest. See, e.g., the discussion in Adler, “The Suda,” 11;
Robert Eisenman, James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of
Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls (New York: Viking, 1996), 217-408; and
Stökl Ben Ezra, Impact of Yom Kippur, 246-50.
9
Sidney G. Sowers, The Hermeneutics of Philo and Hebrews: A Comparison of
the Interpretation of the Old Testament in Philo Judaeus and the Epistle to the
Hebrews, Basel Studies of Theology (Zurich: EVZ-Verlag; Richmond, VA: John Knox,
1965), 119.

6
persistent unawareness of the discussion of a high priestly understanding of Jesus Christ

outside of Hebrews—or adamant opposition to such an understanding—has marked the

history of interpretation of this issue in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In 1981

Baigent surveyed the exegetical landscape and unequivocally concluded that there is no

high priestly imagery for Jesus Christ anywhere in the NT outside of Hebrews.10 A

decade later Barnabas Lindars confidently asserted that the presentation of the

priesthood of Jesus in Hebrews “has no echo elsewhere in the New Testament.” 11 That

same year William L. Lane insisted that one finds the christological theme of Christ’s

high priesthood “nowhere else [than Hebrews] in the NT.” 12

Hebrews is not the only NT document that frequently uses terminology related to

the tabernacle/temple cultus, of which the high priest was the chief figure and

functionary. Revelation also frequently uses such terminology.13 Even further,

10
Baigent, “Jesus as Priest,” 34-44.
11
Barnabas Lindars, The Theology of the Letter to the Hebrews, New Testament
Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 126.
12
Lane, Hebrews, cxlii. This particular stance is often assumed rather than
argued, for it is not unknown for scholarship regarding Christ as high priest to start with
the book of Hebrews and go nowhere else (e.g., Gerald O’Collins, Christology: A
Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of Jesus Christ [Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1995], 31).
13
Cf. the tent/tabernacle (h` skhnh,: 13:6; 21:3), tent/tabernacle of witness (th/j
skhnh/j tou/ marturi,ou: 15:5), temple (o` nao,j: 3:12; 7:15; 11:1, 2, 19; 14:15, 17;
15:5, 6, 8; 16:1, 17; 21:22), outer court (th.n auvlh.n th.n e;xwqen tou/ naou/: 11:2), ark
of the covenant (h` kibwto.j th/j diaqh,khj: 11:19), lampstand(s) (h` lucni,a: 1:12, 13,
20; 2:1, 5; 11:4), lamp (o` lu,cnoj: 21:23; 22:5), altar (to, qusiasth,rion: 6:9; 8:3, 5;
9:13; 11:1; 14:18; 16:7), censer (o` libanwto,j: 8:3, 5), incense (h` qumi,ama: 5:8; 8:3, 4),
golden bowls (fia,laj crusa/j: 5:8; 15:7); etc. See Robert A. Briggs, Jewish Temple
Imagery in the Book of Revelation, Studies in Biblical Literature 10 (New York: Peter
Lang, 1999).

7
Revelation explicitly refers to its implied readers as priests (i`erei/j)—and that on more

than one occasion (1:6; 5:10; 20:6). Consequently, one should not be surprised if it

utilized high priestly imagery in its visionary portrayals and overall rhetoric.

And it does. Two illustrations suffice to demonstrate that high priestly imagery

exists within the scope of Revelation’s rhetoric. First, when John, Revelation’s stated

author (1:1, 4, 9; 22:8), describes the New Jerusalem descending from heaven in chap.

21, his description of the city with its twelve foundation stones (21:19-20) apparently

reflects the twelve stones that adorned the ephod of the high priest. Most scholars have

acknowledged this relationship.14

14
See, e.g., David E. Aune, Revelation 17-22, WBC 52C (Nashville: Thomas
Nelson, 1998), 1165; Richard Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of Revelation, New
Testament Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 134; G. K. Beale,
The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text, NIGTC (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1999), 1080-88; Ian Boxall, The Revelation of Saint John, Black’s New
Testament Commentaries (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson; London: Continuum, 2006),
305; Sun-Bum Choi, “The Restoration Theme in the Book of Revelation: From Creation
to New Creation” (PhD diss., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2003), 281, 299;
Joseph Comblin, “La liturgie de la Nouvelle Jérusalem (Apoc., XXI, I-XXII, 5),”
Ephemerides theologicae lovanienses 29 (1953): 15; J. A. Draper, “The Twelve
Apostles as Foundation Stones of the Heavenly Jerusalem and the Foundation of the
Qumran Community,” Neotestimentica 22 (1988): 41-63, esp. p. 43; Jan Fekkes, “‘His
Bride Has Prepared Herself’: Revelation 19-21 and Isaian Nuptial Imagery,” JBL 109
(1990): 277 (repeated almost verbatim in idem, Isaiah and Prophetic Traditions in the
Book of Revelation: Visionary Antecedents and Their Development, JSNTSup 93
[Sheffield: JSOT, 1994], 241); Ford, Revelation, 342; Meredith G. Kline, “Investiture
with the Image of God,” Westminster Theological Journal 40 (1977): 53-55; Pilchan
Lee, The New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation, WUNT, 2nd ser., 129 (Tübingen:
Mohr Siebeck, 2001), 285-86; Edmondo F. Lupieri, A Commentary on the Apocalypse
of John, trans. Maria Poggi Johnson and Adam Kamesar, Italian Texts & Studies on
Religion & Society (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006), 344; David Mathewson,
“Assessing Old Testament Allusions in the Book of Revelation,” Evangelical Quarterly
75 (2003): 323-324; idem, A New Heaven and a New Earth: The Meaning and
Function of the Old Testament in Revelation 21.1–22.5, JSNTSup 238 (Sheffield:
Sheffield Academic, 2003), 130-49, 153-56; idem, “A Note on the Foundation Stones in
Revelation 21.14, 19-20,” JSNT 25 (2003): 495-96; Robert Mounce, Revelation, 393;

8
 A second indicator that John wishes his readers to recognize high priestly

imagery is even more startling with reference to the direction of this thesis: the apparent

high priestly dress imagery in 17:4-5 associated with the Great Prostitute (th/j po,rnhj

th/j mega,lhj [17:1]). While not exclusively high priestly in nature,15 the language of

gold (crusi,on), purple (porfurou/j), scarlet (ko,kkinoj), and precious stone (li,qoj

ti,mioj) typically describes the dress of the high priest in the LXX.16 This is striking,

Grant R. Osborne, Revelation, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament

(Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), 755-58; Mathias Rissi, The Future of the World: An
Exegetical Study of Revelation 19.11-22.15, Studies in Biblical Theology, 2nd ser., 23
(Naperville, IL: Alec R. Allenson, [1972]), 72; Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Invitation
to the Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Apocalypse with Complete Text from
The Jerusalem Bible (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981), 205; idem, Revelation:
Vision of a Just World, Proclamation Commentaries (Minnneapolis: Fortress, 1991),
112; Stephen S. Smalley, The Revelation to John: A Commentary on the Greek Text of
the Apocalypse (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2005), 554; Ranko Stefanovic,
Revelation of Jesus Christ: Commentary on the Book of Revelation, 2nd ed. (Berrien
Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2009), 595, 601; and Joseph L. Trafton,
Reading Revelation: A Literary and Theological Commentary, Reading the New
Testament (Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, 2005), 207. Cf. William W. Reader, “The
Twelve Jewels of Revelation 21:19-20: Tradition History and Modern Interpretations,”
JBL 100 (1981): 433-57; and Wolfgang Zwickel, “Die Edelsteine im Brustschild des
Hohenpriesters und beim himmlischen Jerusalem,” in Edelsteine in der Bibel, ed.
Wolfgang Zwickel (Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 2002), 50-70.
15
Cf. Aune, Revelation 17-22, 934-37; Beale, Revelation, 854-55.
16
Beale, Revelation, 857, 886, 912, 913. Beale lists such texts as LXX Exod
25:3-7; 28:5-9; 28:15-20; 35:6; 36:9-12; 36:15-21 (ibid., 886 and 912, n. 214). He
notes (ibid., 913) that the Jewish priest-historian Josephus (37 CE - ca. 100 CE) in J.W.
5.232-34 utilizes the “same five terms” in Rev 17:4 and 18:16 (listed in Revelation, 886
and 912, n. 214: cruso,j [“gold”], porfu,ra [“purple”], ko,kkinoj [“scarlet”], bu,ssoj
[“fine linen”], and li,qoj [“stone”]) in his description of the high priest’s dress and then
states that the same material (except the stones) also comprised the veils of the temple.
But Beale has here misrepresented the evidence (as well as in ibid., 857, where he uses
the phrase “identical combination of words”), since 17:4 contains crusi,on instead of
cruso,j as well as porfurou/j instead of porfu,ra; he does note, however, that 17:4 does
not contain bu,ssoj at all (ibid., 886 and 912, n. 214). In any case, Josephus earlier
states that the temple veils were made of Babylonian tapestries (J.W. 5.212-13). Beale

9
since high priestly dress imagery associated with prostitution seems nothing less than

incongruous. Edmondo F. Lupieri notes that though the parallels are surprising, they are

both “extraordinary” and “incontrovertible” evidence that John wants his readers to

think about “the heart of Jewish religiosity.” 17

It is not high priestly imagery per se in Revelation that is controversial, however;

rather, it is high priestly imagery in relation to Jesus Christ that remains a point of

contention. After all, Revelation not once explicitly entitles Jesus Christ as high priest

(or even priest) as Hebrews frequently does (cf. 2:17; 3:1; 4:14-15; 5:10; 6:20; 7:26-28;

8:1; 9:11). Baigent ultimately declared that there is “no compelling reason” to view

Christ as high priest there.18

In the exegetical battleground over whether or not Revelation contains high

priestly imagery for Jesus Christ, Rev 1:13 has become the critical verse par excellance.

suggests that if Josephus’s understanding was widespread, it may have contributed to

the association in 17:4 (Revelation, 913, where he mistakenly references 17:6 instead of
17:4).
Margaret Barker suggests that the name on the forehead of the prostitute is
“perhaps a parody of the high priest’s diadem, in which case her clothes might indicate
the robes of the high priest” (The Revelation of Jesus Christ: Which God Gave to Him to
Show to His Servants What Must Soon Take Place [Revelation 1.1] [Edinburgh: T & T
Clark, 2000], 284). See also similar conclusions advocated earlier by Ford, Revelation,
55, 285, 287-88.
17
Lupieri, Commentary on the Apocalypse, 254. Cf. ibid., 255, 258-60. The
potential priestly imagery is heightened when John describes the fate of the Great
Prostitute as being burned with fire (17:16)—the same fate which would be meted out to
the daughter of a priest engaged in prostitution (Lev 21:9). On the latter, see Beale
(Revelation, 886), and cf. Barker (Revelation, 284), Osborne (Revelation, 626),
Stefanovic (Revelation, 522, 528), and Trafton (Reading Revelation, 160).
18
Baigent, “Jesus as Priest,” 37.

10
This typically springs from one’s interpretation of the “foot-length” robe ( podh,rhj)19 of

the one “like a son of man” (o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou). Within the complex spectrum of

interpretations, a few exegetes see primarily angelic,20 judicial,21 or royal22 dress imagery

here. Yet for numerous interpreters, any kind of analysis of this dress item yields

priestly or high priestly meaning.23

19
The nominative masculine singular form is podh,rhj, while the accusative
masculine singular form in this verse is podh,rh.
20
E.g., Friedrich Büchsel, Die Christologie der Offenbarung Johannis (Halle:
Druck von C. A. Kaemmerer, 1907), 32; Matthias Reinhard Hoffmann, The Destroyer
and the Lamb: The Relationship between Angelomorphic and Lamb Christology in the
Book of Revelation, WUNT, 2nd ser., 203 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005), 223-24
(who sees the possibility of priestly imagery but does not come to a firm conclusion
[ibid., 224; cf. p. 198]); Robert M. Royalty, Jr., The Streets of Heaven: The Ideology of
Wealth in the Apocalypse of John (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1998), 46 and
cf. 147; and Loren T. Stuckenbruck, Angel Veneration and Christology: A Study in
Early Judaism and in the Christology of the Apocalypse of John, WUNT, 2nd ser., 70
(Tübingen: Mohr [Siebeck], 1995), 209-228, particularly 226-28 and 228, n. 63.
21
E.g., Frederick David Mazzaferri, The Genre of the Book of Revelation from a
Source-Critical Perspective, Beiheft zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche
Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche 54 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1989),
245 and 320-21.
22
E.g., W. Hendrickson, More Than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book
of Revelation (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1939), 71; Martin Kiddle, The Revelation of St.
John, Moffatt New Testament Commentary 17 (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1940),
15; and Bruce M. Metzger, Breaking the Code: Understanding the Book of Revelation
(Nashville: Abingdon, 1993), 27.
23
E.g., P. E.-B. Allo, Saint Jean: L’Apocalypse, 3rd ed., Études bibliques (Paris:
J. Gabalda et Cie, 1933), 12; Louis A. Brighton, Revelation, Concordia Commentary: A
Theological Exposition of Sacred Scripture (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia, 1999), 49;
Bruce, Hebrews, 29, n. 125; G. B. Caird, A Commentary on the Revelation of St. John
the Divine, Harper’s New Testament Commentaries (New York: Harper & Row, 1966),
25; Joseph Comblin, Le Christ dans l’Apocalypse, Bibliothèque de théologie: Théologie
biblique: Série III, 6 (Paris: Desclée, 1965), 188-89; Cullmann, Christology, 104-105;
Ford, Revelation, 385; Gnilka, “Die Erwartung,” 425; Holtz, Christologie, 118-21; Alan
David Hultberg, “Messianic Exegesis in the Apocalypse: The Significance of the Old

11
 Baigent is not, however, the lone maverick in his adverse assessment of high

priestly dress imagery for Jesus in Rev 1:13 (or even the entire book), and such

opposition—while a minority viewpoint—is noteworthy. 24 In 1919 Isbon T. Beckwith,

Testament for the Christology of Revelation” (PhD diss., Trinity Evangelical Divinity
School, 2001), 128-32; Craig S. Keener, Revelation, NIVAC (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2000), 94-95; Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Book of Revelation,
New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001), 95; Gerhard A. Krodel,
Revelation, Augsburg Commentaries on the New Testament (Minneapolis: Augsburg,
1989), 95-96; William R. G. Loader, Sohn und Hoherpriester: Eine
traditionsgeschichtliche Untersuchung zur Christologie des Hebräerbriefes,
Wissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen Testament 53 (Neukirchen-
Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1981), 233-36; Lohmeyer, Die Offenbarung, 15; Robert Mounce,
Revelation, 57-58; Dietmar Neufeld, “Sumptuous Clothing and Ornamentation in the
Apocalypse,” Hervormde Teologiese Studies 58 (2002): 677; Jon Paulien, “The Role of
the Hebrew Cultus, Sanctuary, and Temple in the Plot and Structure of the Book of
Revelation,” AUSS 33 (1995): 249; William Riley, “Temple Imagery and the Book of
Revelation: Ancient Near Eastern Temple Ideology and Cultic Resonances in the
Apocalypse,” Proceedings of the Irish Biblical Association 6 (1982): 91; Rissi, Future
of the World, 14; Smalley, The Revelation to John, 54 (with caveats); Spicq, “L’origine
johannique,” 261; Ugo Vanni, L’Apocalisse: ermeneutica, esegesi, teologia, Revista
bíblica Supplement Series 17 (Bologna: Edizioni Dehoniane Bologna, 1988), 126-28;
Alfred Wikenhauser, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 3rd ed., Regensburger Neues
Testament 9 (Regensburg: Friedrich Pustet, 1959), 33 (although he does indicate some
royal background to the belt/sash, he concludes that it and the robe are high priestly);
and Christian Wolff, “Die Gemeinde des Christus in der Apokalypse des Johannes,”
NTS 27 (1980-1981): 189.
24
E.g., G. R. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation, rev. ed., New Century
Bible (1978; repr., Grand Rapids: Eerdmans; London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott,
1981), 66-67; Dwight Marion Beck, “The Christology of the Apocalypse of John,” in
New Testament Essays: Critical Essays in New Testament Interpretation, with Special
Reference to the Meaning and Worth of Jesus, ed. Edwin Prince Booth (New York:
Abingdon-Cokesbury, 1942), 258; Peter R. Carrell, Jesus and the Angels: Angelology
and the Christology of the Apocalypse of John, Society for New Testament Studies
Monograph Series 95 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 160, n. 38;
Heinz Giesen, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, Regensburger Neues Testament
(Regensburg: Friedrich Pustet, 1997), 87-88; R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St.
John’s Revelation (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1963), 65; Osborne, Revelation, 89; Pierre
Prigent, Commentary on the Apocalypse of St. John, trans. Wendy Pradels (Tübingen:
Mohr Siebeck, 2001), 136-37; Jürgen Roloff, The Revelation of John: A Continental
Commentary, trans. John E. Alsup (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993), 36; Akira Satake, Die

12
for instance, categorically denied that the office of (high) priest was mentioned or even

represented in Revelation.25 A year later R. H. Charles doubted that priestly imagery

was in view and concluded that the robe “is used here simply as an Oriental mark of

dignity.”26 Not long afterwards James Moffatt asserted that John failed to reach the idea

of the heavenly high priest.27

Such denials of high priestly imagery in Rev 1 have continued. In 1979 Homer

Hailey argued: “In considering the dress of the high priest of the Old Covenant (Exod.

28:39), one is unable to find indication of priestliness in the dress described here [Rev

1:13].”28 Albert Vanhoye later represented this perspective by insisting that “it seems

then improbable that John [in Revelation] intended to represent the Son of Man as a

priest.”29 More blanket denials continued, including Leon Morris’s succinct, negative

Offenbarung des Johannes, ed. Thomas Witulski, Kritisch-exegetischer Kommentar

über das Neue Testament 16 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008), 142; Merrill
C. Tenney, Interpreting Revelation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957), 54; Robert L.
Thomas, Revelation 1-7: An Exegetical Commentary (Chicago: Moody, 1992), 98-100;
and Albert Vanhoye, “L’Apocalisse e la lettera agli Ebrei,” in Apokalypsis: Percorsi
nell’Apocalisse in onore di Ugo Vanni, ed. Elena Bosetti and Angelo Colacrai (Assisi:
Cittadella, 2005), 262-64.
25
Isbon T. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John: Studies in Introduction with a
Critical and Exegetical Commentary (1919; repr., Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979), 438.
26
R. H. Charles, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St.
John, ICC (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1920), 1:27-28.
27
James Moffatt, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the
Hebrews, ICC (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1924), xlvii.
28
Homer Hailey, Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary (Grand Rapids:
Baker, 1979), 109.
29
Albert Vanhoye, Old Testament Priests and the New Priest: According to the
New Testament, trans. J. Bernard Orchard, Studies in Scripture (Petersham, MA: St.
Bede’s Publications, 1986), 281.

13
conclusion that “[John] does not refer to Christ’s priestly office throughout his book.” 30

In 1989 Frederick David Mazzaferri recognized the “persistent claims” of those who

advocated high priestly imagery but argued that “not even in 1:13 is Christ portrayed as

High Priest.”31 Frederick J. Murphy firmly claimed in 1998 that “Christ nowhere

appears as high priest in Revelation,”32 and in 2001 Richard Bauckham that the clothing

imagery in Rev 1:13 “is not sufficiently distinctive of priests to indicate that Christ is

portrayed in a priestly role.”33

David E. Aune has arguably written the most potent and substantial offense

against the view that one can detect (high) priestly imagery for Jesus in Rev 1:13. 34 He

states: “One common, but unfounded, view is that Christ is presented in priestly

garments.”35 On the basis of his detailed, terminological analysis, he concludes: “There

is therefore no clear intention on the part of the author to conceptualize the appearance

of the exalted Christ in priestly terms.” 36

30
Leon Morris, The Book of Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary, rev.
ed., Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Leicester, UK: Inter-Varsity; Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), 54.
31
Mazzaferri, Genre, 320. Cf. ibid., 243, 303, n. 315, 320-21.
32
Frederick J. Murphy, Fallen Is Babylon: The Revelation to John, New
Testament in Context (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1998), 90.
33
Bauckham, “Revelation,” The Oxford Bible Commentary, ed. John Barton and
John Muddiman (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 1291.
34
After making this independent assessment, I discovered that Stökl Ben Ezra
agrees that Aune “has made the strongest case against a priestly influence on Rev 1:13
(Impact of Yom Kippur, 196, n. 254).
35
David E. Aune, Revelation 1-5, WBC 52A (Dallas: Word, 1997), 93.
36
Ibid., 94.

14
 Proponents of the presence of high priestly imagery for Jesus in Revelation have,

nevertheless, advanced equally clear and unequivocal statements to buttress their

position. For example, in 1965 Joseph Comblin triumphantly (but mistakenly, as it was)

declared that because the garment mentioned in 1:13 was the same as that worn by the

high priest, “Tous les commentateurs disent, pour cette raison, que Jésus est aussi

prêtre, en même temps que roi” (“All the commentators say, for this reason, that Jesus is

also a priest, while at the same time king”). 37 In another mistaken exaggeration, Daniel

Stökl concluded in 1999 that Rev 1:13 is “the only New Testament verse apart from

Hebrews which is universally accepted as referring to the high priesthood of Jesus.” 38

That same year Robert A. Briggs claimed—without exaggerating interpretive

support—that “there can be little doubt” that no matter how Christ is portrayed

elsewhere in Rev 1, “Christ is a priest there, certainly a high priest in light of His

person.”39 According to Briggs, Jesus is “the great High Priest tending seven menorot

(1:12-13).”40

37
Comblin, Le Christ dans l’Apocalypse, 188:
38
Stökl, “Yom Kippur,” 365; cf. ibid., nn. 61 and 62. Despite the passage of
more than 30 years between these two statements, both overexaggerated the scholarly
acceptance of high priestly imagery in Revelation. A more reasonable and
representative conclusion is that of Osborne, who admits that “scholars are divided”
over the interpretation of 1:13 (Revelation, 89). A year later Stökl modified his earlier
assertion, stating that Rev 1:13 “has the widest support” among other NT texts
“alluding” to Jesus Christ’s high priesthood (Stökl Ben Ezra, Impact of Yom Kippur,
196).
39
Briggs, Jewish Temple Imagery, 53-54. He notes that the setting of the seven
menorahs supports this identity, since it was the role of the high priest to set and take
care of them (ibid.).
40
Ibid., 221, n. 14.

15
 Similarly forceful assertions supporting a high priestly identity, derived from

dress imagery and other data, have continued into the twenty-first century. In 2003 John

Ben-Daniel and Gloria Ben-Daniel, in one of their many statements supporting a

recognition of high priestly imagery for Jesus in Revelation, concluded that the figure in

Rev 1:13 “represents no ordinary priest in the service of the heavenly Sanctuary, but

rather the one with the greatest authority: the high priest.” 41 And in 2006 Ian Boxall, in

his discussion of 1:13, proposed: “The juxtaposition of the seven menorahs, evoking

Temple worship, and the description of Christ’s clothing strongly suggests that John

sees the son of man figure as High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary.” 42 In his later

discussion of 21:19-21, he was even more forceful: “the Lamb . . . has already appeared

to John in the guise of the heavenly high priest.” 43 And he further noted the potential

significance of this understanding: “We know from Hebrews that the understanding of

Christ as High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary was able to emerge within New

Testament Christianity; Rev 1 suggests that Hebrews might not be as unique in its

christology as is sometimes assumed.”44

Margaret Barker has been the most vocal proponent in recent years of seeing

41
John Ben-Daniel and Gloria Ben-Daniel, The Apocalypse in the Light of the
Temple: A New Approach to the Book of Revelation (Jerusalem: Beit-Yochanan, 2003),
25; cf. also their explicit identification of Jesus as high priest in Revelation on pp. 26-
27, 31-32, 44-45, and 71.
42
Boxall, Revelation of Saint John, 42.
43
Ibid., 305.
44
Ibid. He also notes the setting of the menorahs and states that Christ’s stance
in their middle “may evoke the high-priestly role of mediator and intercessor (e.g., Heb.
7:25)” (ibid., 42-43).

16
high priestly imagery for Jesus Christ in Revelation.45 She radically differs from the

negative assessment regarding high priestly imagery both broadly in the NT as well as

more narrowly in Revelation. In her commentary on Revelation, Barker states: “The

picture of Jesus as the great high priest in all his roles and aspects appears throughout

the New Testament and is the key to understanding all early Christian teaching about

him.”46 Moreover, she boldly asserts that Revelation is “steeped in the imagery of high

priesthood”47 and, more remarkably, “the high priest is the key figure in the book of

Revelation.”48 Her sweeping, positive assessment, in comparison with the negative,

absolutist positions mentioned above, demonstrates both that there is a broad spectrum

of belief with regard to this issue and that this broad spectrum represents a scholarly

standoff.49

Purpose of the Research

The question to answer in my proposed research is not, however, How much

45
Cf. Barker, The Risen Lord: The Jesus of History as the Christ of Faith (Valley
Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1996), 50-53, 74-75, 110, 136; idem, Revelation,
11, 40-41, 66, 84-90, 102, 105, 109, 266, 306-308; idem, The Great High Priest: The
Temple Roots of Christian Liturgy (London: T & T Clark, 2003), 105, 114; idem, The
Hidden Tradition of the Kingdom of God (London: SPCK, 2007), 84-85, 91, 100; and
idem, Creation: A Biblical Vision for the Environment (London: T & T Clark, 2010),
98-99, 126.
46
Barker, Revelation, 4; cf. idem, Great High Priest, 139.
47
Barker, Revelation, 40-41.
48
Ibid., 35. For example, she sees Rev 1 depicting Jesus as the high priest (ibid.,
84-85, 102; idem, Great High Priest, 105) and Rev 19 portraying Jesus as the warrior
high priest (Revelation, 303-315; idem, Great High Priest, 114).
49
Again, notice Osborne’s assessment that “scholars are divided” over the
interpretation of Rev 1:13 (Revelation, 89).

17
high priestly imagery with regard to Jesus Christ is present in Revelation? Rather,

because of the sometimes strident disagreements among interpreters of Revelation, the

more basic question is, Does high priestly imagery with regard to Jesus appear at all in

Revelation? Further, if high priestly imagery in reference to Jesus does appear in

Revelation, does it denote or portray a functional high priestly christology? 50 In other

words, if high priestly imagery in reference to Jesus does appear in Revelation, is it

more than visually descriptive? And again, if it does appear in Revelation, does it

signify that Jesus has a high priestly role or function and engages in high priestly

activity?

Baigent utilized four evidentiary criteria to determine whether supposed NT

evidence supported a possible high priestly portrayal of Christ outside of Hebrews: (1)

distinctive high priestly functions; (2) place of such functions; (3) distinctive clothing;

and/or (4) genealogical qualifications.51 These appear to be reasonable criteria for one

to utilize in searching for such imagery. Criterion number four is not applicable to

Revelation since it contains no genealogies. As a way of helping to resolve the impasse

over the question of the presence or absence of high priestly imagery with regard to

Jesus in Revelation, I have chosen to limit my research in Revelation to an investigation

of just one of the remaining three criteria: distinctive clothing or dress.

Here it is important to note that I qualify “distinctive” not as a reference to

50
Cf. Deborah W. Rooke, “Kingship as Priesthood: The Relationship between
the High Priesthood and the Monarchy,” in King and Messiah in Israel and the Ancient
Near East: Proceedings of the Oxford Old Testament Seminar, ed. John Day, JSOTSup
270 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1998), 188-90.
51
Baigent, “Jesus as Priest,” 34.

18
something unique, but rather to what may help one to identify the person wearing such

dress. While the headgear and type of fabric utilized by the priests distinguished them

from the ordinary people,52 it was not unique to them, since the high priest also wore

similar dress. The high priest’s dress was both the same as and different from that of

the ordinary priests. Elements that were the same as the ordinary priests, however,

could contribute to an understanding of his high priestly role when seen in combination

with other elements.

In his recent study of dress in Revelation, Dietmar Neufeld noted the adage that

“what you wear is what you are.”53 The high priest’s dress was a key indicator of his

identity and status in Israelite society: Leviticus, for instance, describes the (high) priest

as the one who has been consecrated to wear the garments (21:10), while Numbers

provides the only biblical example of the transfer of authority between one high priest

and a new one by narrating Moses stripping Aaron of his high priestly dress and vesting

Aaron’s son Eleazar with it (20:23-28).54 Analysis of high priestly dress imagery thus

52
E. P. Sanders similarly concludes that the dress of the common priests was
“distinctive” (Judaism: Practice and Belief: 63 BCE - 66 CE [London: SCM;
Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1992; second impression with corrections,
1994], 96). Reasons for their distinctive nature included the lack of headgear and the
rare use of linen in the dress of the common person, and so forth (ibid.). On the
“distinctive” dress that the high priest wears, see, e.g., Fletcher-Louis, “Messiah: Part
II,” 59.
53
Neufeld, “Under the Cover of Clothing: Scripted Clothing Performances in the
Apocalypse of John,” Biblical Theology Bulletin 35 (2005): 67.
54
See the discussion in Deborah W. Rooke, “The Day of Atonement as a Ritual
of Validation for the High Priest,” in Temple and Worship in Biblical Israel, ed. John
Day, Library of Hebrew Bible / Old Testament Studies 422 (London: T & T Clark,
2005), 348, n. 18, and 350. In later tradition the high priest who wore the high priestly
garments was differentiated from the high priest who was anointed, since the anointing

19
presents itself as an important indicator not only of identity but also of the role and

functions of the one thus identified, particularly when texts do not explicitly describe

the one so identified as high priest.55

Scholarly analysis of dress for information regarding either priestly or high

priestly depiction, identity, role, and/or function has yielded both positive and negative

conclusions with regard to the dress of a number of figures outside of the book of

Revelation. These dress analyses have focused on such figures as: Adam in Sirach,

Jubilees, and later Jewish literature56 as well as in the Syriac tradition;57 Abel in the

oil was believed to have been hidden during the time of King Josiah and no longer
available (m. Hor. 3:4; b. Hor. 12a; b. Ker. 5b; cf. the discussion in Barker, Great High
Priest, 78).
55
Neufeld, “Under the Cover,” 70; cf. Fletcher-Louis, Luke-Acts, 123. Notice the
perceptive comments of John R. Yeatts, who asserted with reference to Rev 1:13: “The
symbolic significance of the Son of Man’s attire aids our understanding of his role and
identity” (Revelation, Believers Church Bible Commentary [Scottdale, PA: Herald,
2003], 41). The scope and depth of Yeatts’s discussion, however, is restricted by the
general nature of his commentary.
56
Cf. the discussion in C. T. R. Hayward, The Jewish Temple: A Non-Biblical
Sourcebook (London: Routledge, 1996), 44-47; Stephen N. Lambden, “From Fig Leaves
to Fingernails: Some Notes on the Garments of Adam and Eve in the Hebrew Bible and
Select Early Postbiblical Jewish Writings,” in A Walk in the Garden: Biblical,
Iconographical and Literary Images of Eden, ed. Paul Morris and Deborah Sawyer,
JSOTSup 136 (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1992), 79-82, 89; Joel Marcus, “Son of Man as
Son of Adam,” Revue biblique 110 (2003): 374; J. T. A. G. M. van Ruiten, Primaeval
History Interpreted: The Rewriting of Genesis 1-11 in the Book of Jubilees, JSJSup 66
(Leiden: Brill, 2000), 88, 107; and William N. Wilder, “Illumination and Investiture:
The Royal Significance of the Tree of Wisdom in Genesis 3,” Westminster Theological
Journal 68 (2006): 57-58.
57
Sebastian Brock, “Clothing Metaphors as a Means of Theological Expression
in Syriac Tradition,” in Typus, Symbol, Allegorie bei den östlichen Vätern und ihren
Parallelen im Mittelalter: Internationales Kolloquium, Eichstätt 1981, ed. Margot
Schmidt in cooperation with Carl Friedrich Geyer, Eichstätter Beiträge: Abteilung
Philosophie und Theologie 4 (Regensburg: Friedrich Pustet, 1982), 11-38, particularly
p. 20; and Alexander Golitzin, “‘Recovering the ‘Glory of Adam’: ‘Divine Light’

20
Apocalypse of Moses;58 Enoch in 1 Enoch;59 Enoch-Metatron in 3 Enoch;60 Noah in

1QapGen 6:4 and 1Q19 13 2;61 both Joseph62 and the mysterious bees63 in Joseph and

Aseneth;64 God in the book of Daniel;65 the King of Tyre in Ezekiel;66 the angel

Traditions and the Christian Ascetical Literature of Fourth-Century Syro-Mesopotamia,”

in The Dead Sea Scrolls as Background to Postbiblical Judaism and Early Christianity:
Papers from an International Conference at St. Andrews in 2001, ed. James R. Davila,
STDJ 46 (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 283.
58
The Apocalypse of Moses is the Greek version of the Life of Adam and Eve.
On the name of Abel, see S. T. Lachs, “Some Textual Observations on the Apocalypsis
Mosis and the Vita Adae et Evae,” JSJ 13 (1982): 172-73; and Lambden, “Fig Leaves,”
80. Cf. the discussion of this in Crispin H. T. Fletcher-Louis, All the Glory of Adam:
Liturgical Anthropology in the Dead Sea Scrolls, STDJ 42 (Leiden: Brill, 2002), 18, and
the lack of discussion by Johannes Tromp, “Cain and Abel in the Greek and
Armenian/Georgian Recensions of the Life of Adam and Eve,” in Literature on Adam
and Eve: Collected Essays, ed. Gary A. Anderson, Michael E. Stone, and Johannes
Tromp, Studia in Veteris Testamenti pseudepigrapha 15 (Leiden: Brill, 2000), 278-82.
59
Stökl ben Ezra, Impact of Yom Kippur, 82-83.
60
Martha Himmelfarb, Ascent to Heaven in Jewish and Christian Apocalypses
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 45.
61
Fletcher-Louis, Glory of Adam, 44-45.
62
Fletcher-Louis, Luke-Acts, 165; idem, Glory of Adam, 30; and cf. Jung Hoon
Kim, The Significance of Clothing Imagery in the Pauline Corpus, JSNTSup 268
(London: T & T Clark, 2004), 62-63.
63
Gideon Bohak, Joseph and Aseneth and the Jewish Temple in Heliopolis, Early
Judaism and Its Literature 10 (Atlanta: Scholars, 1996), 1-18, particularly pp. 11-12.
Cf. discussion of Bohak’s controversial priestly hypothesis in John J. Collins, “Joseph
and Aseneth: Jewish or Christian?” JSP 14 (2005): 110-11; Fletcher-Louis, Glory of
Adam, 30; Edith M. Humphrey, Joseph and Aseneth, Guides to Apocrypha and
Pseudepigrapha (Sheffield: Academic, 2000), 97-98; idem, “On Bees and Best Guesses:
The Problem of Sitz im Leben from Internal Evidence as Illustrated by Joseph and
Aseneth,” Currents in Research: Biblical Studies 7 (1999): 230-31; and Anathea E.
Portier-Young, “Sweet Mercy Metropolis: Interpreting Aseneth’s Honeycomb,” JSP 14
(2005): 141, n. 24.
64
On Collins’s reference to the consensus dating before 100 CE, see Collins,
“Joseph and Aseneth,” 106, 109-111; cf. Susan Docherty, “Joseph and Aseneth:

21
Iaoel/Yaoel in the Apocalypse of Abraham;67 the “chiefs” in the XIIIth Song of the

Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (4Q405 23 II and related fragments);68 Jesus in the

Gospel of Mark and the crucifixion narrative of the Gospel of John;69 Jesus in the

Epistle to the Hebrews;70 the eschatological Jesus in Barnabas;71 and the apostles

Rewritten Bible or Narrative Expansion?” JSJ 35 (2004): 31.

65
Athalya Brenner, “On Color and the Sacred in the Hebrew Bible,” in The
Language of Color in the Mediterranean: An Anthology on Linguistic and
Ethnographic Aspects of Color Terms, ed. Alexander Borg, Acta universitatis
Stockholmiensis: Stockholm Oriental Studies 16 (Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell,
1999), 204, n. 14, where Brenner remarks on God’s description in Dan 7:9, where his
clothing is as white as snow and his hair like pure wool: “In fact, God in Dan. 7 is
depicted as a priest.”
66
Gary A. Anderson, “Ezekiel 28, the Fall of Satan, and the Adam Books,” in
Literature on Adam and Eve, 137-38; Daphna Arbel, “Questions About Eve’s Iniquity,
Beauty, and Fall: The ‘Primal Figure’ in Ezekiel 28:11-19 and Genesis Rabbah
Traditions of Eve,” JBL 124 (2005): 644, 646; Fletcher-Louis, Glory of Adam, 18-19;
Lambden, “Fig Leaves,” 79; and Marcus, “Part II: Exegesis,” 374, n. 14.
67
Fletcher-Louis, Glory of Adam, 355, n. 89, and 362; Himmelfarb, Ascent to
Heaven, 62 and 136-37, n. 54; and Christopher C. Rowland, “The Vision of the Risen
Christ in Rev. i. 13ff.: The Debt of an Early Christology to an Aspect of Jewish
Angelology,” JTS, n.s., 31 (1980): 6-7.
68
Fletcher-Louis, Glory of Adam, 356-91.
69
For Mark see Fletcher-Louis, “Messiah: Part II,” 66-70. For John cf., e.g.,
Bond, “Discarding the Seamless Robe,” 183-94; Heil, “Unique High Priest,” 729-45;
Kerr, Temple, 319-21; and Ignace de la Potterie, “La tunique ‘non divisée’ de Jésus,
symbole de l’unité messianique,” in The New Testament Age: Essays in Honor of Bo
Reicke, ed. William C. Weinrich (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1984), 1:132-
33.
70
Peter J. Leithart, “Womb of the World: Baptism and the Priesthood of the New
Covenant in Hebrews 10.19-22,” JSNT 78 (2000): 58. Cf. Craig R. Koester, Hebrews:
A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, AB 36 (New York: Doubleday,
2001), 217.
71
Stökl, “Yom Kippur,” 365. Cf. idem (as Stökl ben Ezra), Impact of Yom
Kippur, 160.

22
James72 and John73 and the disciple Mark74 in works by later Christians. Consequently,

the attractiveness and potential usefulness of an exegetical approach to Revelation

utilizing dress analysis for ascertaining a high priestly identity for Jesus is not only

reasonable but self-evident.

Justification for the Research

This study would be significant for at least six reasons. First, the distinctiveness

of the dress of the high priest contributed to the electric influence it conveyed during the

time of the Second Temple. Martha Himmelfarb observes that during the Second

Temple period “the high priest’s vestments were the object of considerable interest.” 75

72
See the discussion of early Christian accounts of James wearing the golden
ornament (pe,talon) worn on the forehead by the high priest—as well as only linen and
never woolen garments—in, e.g., Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The
Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006), 445-51; idem,
“Papias and Polycrates on the Origin of the Fourth Gospel,” in The Testimony of the
Beloved Disciple: Narrative, History, and Theology in the Gospel of John (Grand
Rapids: Baker, 2007), 33-72, particularly 39-49 (originally published in a slightly
different form in JTS, n.s., 44 [1993]: 24-69, particularly 31-42); J. H. Bernard, A
Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to St. John, ed. A. H.
McNeile, ICC (New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1929), 2:595-96; Eisenman, James the
Brother of Jesus, 256, 310-313, 322-23, 344-47, 478-79, 565-66; John J. Gunther, “The
Elder John, Author of Revelation,” JSNT 11 (1981): 12; and Stökl ben Ezra, Impact of
Yom Kippur, 246-50.
73
John was described towards the end of the second century by Polycrates,
bishop of Ephesus (Eusebius Hist. eccl. 3.31.3 and 5.24.3), who noted that he wore the
pe,talon. See the discussion in, e.g., Bauckham, “Papias and Polycrates,” 33-37, 39-44;
Bernard, John, 2:594-97; Gunther, “The Elder John,” 12-13; Lupieri, Commentary on
the Apocalypse, 259; Maria-Luisa Rigato, “L’«apostolo ed evangelista Giovanni»,
«sacerdote» levitico,” Revista biblica 38 (1990): 451-83, particularly 461-64; and Stökl
ben Ezra, Impact of Yom Kippur, 256.
74
Bernard, John, 2:595-96.
75
Himmelfarb, Ascent to Heaven, 19.

23
Both Ben Sira (Sir 50:5-12) and Aristeas (Let. Aris. 96-99), for instance, rapturously

wrote of the almost overwhelming impact of the dress of the high priest on them as they

observed the high priest in his cultic responsibilities. Furthermore, the dress of the high

priest was such a potent force during the time of the Roman occupation of Judea that the

Romans treated it as a plausibly dangerous political icon; Josephus indicates that the

high priest’s multicolored vestments, understood to represent the cosmos, were kept

under lock and key for significant portions of time during the Roman control of Judea in

the first century CE (A.J. 15.403-409; 18.90-95; 20.6-16).76 This study would

underscore the significant role such dress plays in Revelation.

Second, there remains no current scholarly consensus as to whether high priestly

imagery with reference to Jesus Christ even exists in Revelation. Both proponents and

opponents of such a position have staked out their relatively brief claims, and there

appears to be no resolution in sight. Moreover, despite the sometimes heated scholarly

convictions regarding the presence or absence of high priestly imagery in relation to

Jesus, I am not aware of any sustained scholarly work on the topic.77 This study could

76
See, e.g., the discussion by Miriam Pucci Ben Zeev, “La sovranità sopra i
paramenti del sommo sacerdote: un capitolo nei rapporti ebraico-romani,” in Gli ebrei
nell’impero romano: saggi vari: a cura di Ariel Lewin, ed. D. Asheri, A. Lewin, and R.
Volponi (Florence: Giuntina, 2001), 99-112; E. Mary Smallwood, “The Date of the
Dismissal of Pontius Pilate from Judæa,” JJS 5 (1954): 12-21; idem, The Jews Under
Roman Rule: From Pompey to Diocletian: A Study in Political Relations (Boston: Brill,
2001), 74, 149, 172-73, 260-61; and James C. VanderKam, From Joshua to Caiaphas:
High Priests after the Exile (Minneapolis: Fortress; Assen: Van Gorcum, 2004), 432-
434.
77
One of the few who has attempted a detailed case for Christ’s high priestly
ministry from the book of Revelation is Mario Veloso (“The Doctrine of the Sanctuary
and the Atonement as Reflected in the Book of Revelation,” in The Sanctuary and the
Atonement: Biblical, Historical, and Theological Studies, ed. Arnold V. Wallenkampf

24
both fill in the gap and help provide a resolution to the scholarly standoff.

Third, I am unaware of any published study that utilizes dress allusion and/or

dress meaning in order to ascertain in a detailed manner the role-related identity of any

character in Revelation. The dress of Jesus in Revelation has not been analyzed in order

to ascertain any role-related meaning or identity for him. Such an analysis could

provide answers to the question of whether Revelation portrays a high priestly identity

for Jesus.78

Fourth, this study would help further elucidate the theological relationship

between the two most cultic works in the NT: the Epistle to the Hebrews, and

Revelation. As mentioned earlier, some christologies of Revelation have seen no

significance in any potential high priestly imagery for Jesus.79 The results of this study

would enable scholars to better relate the high priestly theology of Hebrews to high

priestly imagery for Jesus in the book of Revelation.

Fifth, such a study would potentially force a re-opening of the debate regarding

the origin of high priestly christology in Hebrews. The earlier one dates Revelation, the

and W. Richard Lesher [Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1981], 394-419). This
work, however, does not focus on Christ’s ministry as high priest. Rather, the emphasis
is on the overall sanctuary symbolism in Revelation.
78
Alberto Treiyer is one who does not believe that dress analysis would help:
“The symbolism of the priestly garments could not be applied to Jesus, without causing
confusion in a time when people had the twisted picture of the rabbinic tradition” (The
Day of Atonement and the Heavenly Judgment: From the Pentateuch to Revelation
[Siloam Springs, AR: Creation Enterprises International, 1992], 100, n. 95).
79
E.g., Edwards, “Christological Perspectives,” 139-54; Guthrie, “Christology,”
397-409; and Talbert, “Christology of the Apocalypse,” 166-84.

25
more significant this question would be.80 In any case, exegetes would need to add the

question of the origins of high priestly christological imagery in Revelation to the

overall equation. But no matter what date is assigned to either Hebrews or Revelation,

the relationship between Hebrews and Revelation in terms of the utilization of high

priestly christological imagery would need to be addressed.

Finally, the results from this study would potentially provide a stronger

exegetical basis from the book of Revelation for a broader and richer understanding of

the high priestly activity and ministry of Jesus that one finds so explicit in the Epistle to

the Hebrews.81 Some who see high priestly imagery for Jesus in Rev 1 go no further

with this christological theme.82 It is also unfortunate that a number of books and

80
George H. van Kooten observes that “there seems to be a growing conviction
of an early, Neronian date of Revelation” among some recent commentators (“The Year
of the Four Emperors and the Revelation of John: The ‘pro-Neronian’ Emperors Otho
and Vitellius, and the Images and Colossus of Nero in Rome,” JSNT 30 [2007]: 209, n.
9). Nevertheless, scholars typically date Revelation in the mid-60s or the mid-90s, with
the consensus supporting the mid-90s. For a succinct survey of these possibilities, see
Grant R. Osborne, “Recent Trends in the Study of the Apocalypse,” in The Face of New
Testament: A Survey of Recent Research, ed. Scot McKnight and Grant R. Osborne
(Grand Rapids: Baker; Leicester, UK: Apollos, 2004), 479-80, and idem, Revelation, 6-
9. For the purposes of this study, I assume that the mid-90s is the date by which time
the canonical Revelation was completed.
81
Despite Veloso’s detailed description of Jesus’ high priestly ministry as
described and inferred from Revelation (“Doctrine,” 402-11), he equates the angel of
Rev 8:3-5 with Jesus in his high priestly ministry by flatly asserting that “no doubt it
was Christ” (ibid., 404), but he provides no argument or even evidence for his assertion.
82
Joy D. Tetley subscribes to the possibility that Rev 1:12-16 may be attempting
to portray Jesus as high priest, but then she concludes that “there is no obvious
development of a sacerdotal Christology in the rest of the work” (“The Priesthood of
Christ as the Controlling Theme of the Epistle to the Hebrews” [PhD diss., University of
Durham, 1987], 85). Cf. the similar conclusion earlier by Holtz, Christologie, 119.
Stuckenbruck’s solution to this apparent dilemma presupposes that John saw this
imagery to be angelomorphic instead of priestly (Angel Veneration, 228, n. 63). On the

26
articles that do subscribe to a high priestly identity of Jesus in Revelation focus on and

explain in detail Revelation’s sanctuary architecture, furnishings, or cultic calendar

rather than demonstrating a rationale for and evidence of his high priestly identity. 83

This study would help rectify such a deficiency.

Scope and Delimitations of the Research

In order to focus and prudently manage such a study as this, one must delimit its

scope. I have, consequently, delimited three aspects of its potential scope: its

methodology, its terminology, and its textual focus.

Delimitations of Methodology

Delimiting this study’s methodology involves two facets of high priestly dress

analysis that I will pursue. First, though a discussion of the meaning of the dress of the

meaning of angelomorphic christology, see, e.g., Charles A. Gieschen, who has

identified angelomorphic christology as “the identification of Christ with angelic form
and functions, either before or after the incarnation, whether or not he is specifically
identified as an angel” (Angelomorphic Christology: Antecedents and Early Evidence,
Arbeiten zur Geschichte des antiken Judentums und des Urchristentums 42 [Leiden:
Brill, 1998], 28; cf. ibid., 7-25). More recently, Hoffmann has defined it as “a means of
portraying a figure by relating it to the angelic world without implying that it actually
represents an angel” (The Destroyer and the Lamb, 28; cf. ibid., 1-28). It was Jean
Daniélou who first utilized the term translated in English as “angelomorphic
christology” in 1957 (“Trinité et angélologie dans la théolgie Judéo-Chrétienne”
Recherches de science religieuse 45 [1957]: 41). See also his Théologie du Judéo-
Christianisme: Histoire des doctrines Chrétiennes avant Nicée, Bibliothèque de
théologie (Tournai: Desclée, 1958), 198. John A. Baker later translated this work into
English (The Theology of Jewish Christianity, trans. and ed. John A. Baker [London:
Darton, Longman & Todd, 1964], 146).
83
Of the works cited near the beginning of this introductory chapter that support
the high priestly identity of Jesus from the standpoint of Revelation, not one attempts a
detailed examination of this theme in the book of Revelation.

27
high priest is a foundational part of this study, such an overview could easily

overshadow or even overwhelm the rest of the research, since scholars have written

detailed works on both the general dress of the high priest84 as well as more narrowly

focused studies on various aspects of such dress.85 For this reason my discussion here is

not an exhaustive analysis of all aspects of the high priest’s dress but rather a more

generalized survey or overview.

And second, primary texts I survey focus mostly on those that do not date

beyond 100 CE, a somewhat arbitrary terminus ad quem that generally agrees with the

scholarly consensus regarding the date of the Revelation.86 Thus, primary sources here

84
E.g., Christine Elizabeth Palmer’s 196-page thesis, “Garments of Glory: The
High Priestly Reflection of Yahweh” (M.A. thesis, Gordon-Conwell Theological
Seminary, 1997).
85
E.g., ranging from Cornelis Houtman’s “On the Pomegranates and the Golden
Bells of the High Priest’s Mantle” (VetT 40 [1990]: 223-29) to Cornelis Van Dam’s
296-page monograph, The Urim and Thummim: A Means of Revelation in Ancient
Israel (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1997).
86
I work with the assumption that the mid-90s is the date by which time the
canonical Revelation was completed (the contemporary academic consensus). For
recent discussion outside of the commentaries on the dating of Revelation, cf. Henk Jan
de Jonge, “The Apocalypse of John and the Imperial Cult,” in Kykeon: Studies in
Honour of H. S. Versnel, ed. H. F. J. Horstmanshoff et al., Religions in the Graeco-
Roman World 142 (Leiden: Brill, 2002): 127-41; Jörg Frey, “The Relevance of the
Roman Imperial Cult for the Book of Revelation: Exegetical and Hermeneutical
Reflections on the Relation Between the Seven Letters and the Visionary Main Part of
the Book,” in The New Testament and Early Christian Literature in Greco-Roman
Context: Studies in Honor of David E. Aune, ed. John Fotopoulos, NovTSup 22
(Leiden: Brill, 2006), 233-36; Steven J. Friesen, Imperial Cults and the Apocalypse of
John: Reading Revelation in the Ruins (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 136-
51; Mark L. Hitchcock, “A Defense of the Domitianic Date of the Book of Revelation”
(PhD diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 2006); John W. Marshall, Parables of War:
Reading John’s Jewish Apocalypse, Studies in Christianity and Judiasm / Études sur le
christianisme et le judaïsme 10 (Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2001),
88-97; Floyd O. Parker, “‘Our Lord and God’ in Rev 4,11: Evidence for the Late Date

28
include germane texts from the HB and LXX, the Apocrypha, the DSS, the writings of

Philo and Josephus, the NT, and selections of the Pseudepigrapha and Apostolic

Fathers. Nevertheless, since later traditions (including the Gnostic corpus, Rabbinic

writings, Merkabah literature, and the Avodah piyyutim) do at times contain material

that scholars have traced back to earlier traditions, these are not ignored.87

of Revelation?” Bib 82 (2001): 207-31; Gonzalo Rojas-Flores, “The Book of Revelation

and the First Years of Nero’s Reign,” Bib 85 (2004): 375-92; Thomas B. Slater, “Dating
the Apocalypse to John,” Bib 84 (2003): 252-58; Kooten, “Year of the Four Emperors,”
205-48; Mark Wilson, “The Early Christians in Ephesus and the Date of Revelation,
Again,” Neotestimentica 39 (2005): 163-93; and Thomas Witulski, Die
Johannesoffenbarung und Kaiser Hadrian: Studien zur Datierung der
neutestamentlichen Apokalypse, Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und
Neues Testaments 221 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2007).
87
On the difficulties of dating rabbinic material and their relationship to the NT,
see especially Jacob Neusner, Rabbinic Literature & the New Testament: What We
Cannot Show, We Do Not Know (Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1994).
He contends, for instance: “I call into question errors, not of fact but of method, that
render historically useless scholarship on New Testament history and exegesis that calls
uncritically upon rabbinic literature. That means, of course, most scholarship that
appeals to rabbinic literature at all” (ibid., x). In discussing the targumic and midrashic
evidence adduced by Beale in his discussion of the “beasts of the earth” in Rev 6:8,
Stephen Pattemore concludes that they “can only be used with caution, since the texts
themselves are too late to constitute a cognitive environment for Revelation” (The
People of God in the Apocalypse: Discourse, Structure, and Exegesis, SNTMS 128
[Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004], 72). On the uncertainties involved in
dating the targums, cf. also Martin McNamara, “Some Targum Themes,” in The
Complexities of Second Temple Judaism, vol. 1 of Justification and Variegated
Nomism, ed. D. A. Carson, Peter T. O’Brien, and Mark A. Seifrid, WUNT, 2nd ser., 140
(Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001), 303-306; and idem,
Targum and Testament Revisited: Aramaic Paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible: A Light
on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010), 129-38.
As for the historicity of the Mishnah in terms of its version of temple rituals, see
Stökl Ben Ezra, Impact of Yom Kippur, 19-28, who compellingly concludes that its
problematic references and “rabbinic inventions” sometimes stem from exegesis or
ritualistic analogy rather than historical recollection (ibid., 23). Cf., however, Louis H.
Feldman, “Rabbinic Sources for Historical Study,” in Judaism and Hellenism
Reconsidered, JSJSup 107 (Leiden: Brill, 2006), 763-81 (originally published in
Judaism in Late Antiquity, Part 3: Where We Stand: Issues and Debates in Ancient

29
 Delimitation of Terminology

Is what one wears all that matters when it comes to describing and analyzing

clothing? Social scientists would reply in the negative. Such terms as appearance,

adornment or ornament, apparel, clothing, costume, dress, and fashion capture the

spectrum of possible taxonomical approaches to use in this study. 88 At first glance use

of the terminology of costume appears preferable, since costume includes dress for such

things as ceremonies, festivals, and rituals,89 and one could not deny that the dress of the

Judaism [Leiden: Brill, 1999], 213-30).

Cf. also Philip S. Alexander, “Jewish Aramaic Translations of Hebrew
Scriptures,” in Mikra: Text, Translation, Reading and Interpretation of the Hebrew
Bible in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity, ed. Martin Jan Mulder, Compendia
rerum iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum, sec. 2, vol. 1 (Assen/Maastricht: Van
Gorcum; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1988), 238-47; Andrew Chester, Divine Revelation and
Divine Titles in the Pentateuchal Targumim, Texte und Studien zum antiken Judentum
14 (Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 1986), 252-59; idem, “Jewish Messianic
Expectations and Mediatorial Figures and Pauline Christology,” in Paulus und das
antike Judentum: Tübingen-Durham-Symposium in Gedenken an den 50. Todestag
Adolf Schlatters (H19.Mai 1938), ed. Martin Hengel and Ulrich Heckel (Tübingen:
J.C.B. Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 2001), 40, 80-81; Bruce D. Chilton, “Rabbinic Literature:
Targumim,” DNTB (2000), 902-909; and Jacob Neusner, “Rabbinic Literature: Mishnah
and Tosefta,” DNTB (2000), 896-97.
An excellent English introduction to the Avodah piyyutim literature, which
contains detailed poetic descriptions of the high priest’s garments, is Michael D. Swartz
and Joseph Yahalom, eds. and trans., Avodah: An Anthology of Ancient Poetry for Yom
Kippur, The Penn State Library of Jewish Literature (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania
State University Press, 2005).
88
See Mary Ellen Roach-Higgins and Joanne B. Eicher, “Dress and Identity,” in
Dress and Identity, ed. Mary Ellen Roach-Higgins, Joanne B. Eicher, and Kim K. P.
Johnson (New York: Fairchild, 1995), 7-18, particularly 7-10 on the taxonomy of dress
(originally published in Clothing and Textiles Research Journal 10 [1992]: 1-8). I refer
to the reprinted essay.
89
Roach-Higgins and Eicher proposed that “costume be reserved for use in
discussion of dress for the theater, folk or other festivals, ceremonies, and rituals” (ibid.,
10). Cf. Hilda Kuper, who earlier suggested that the term “costume” could be reserved

30
Jewish high priest was certainly associated with such activities.

Upon further reflection, however, such terminological usage is not appropriate in

describing the dress of the high priest. Rather, contemporary social scientists and

cultural historians more typically use “costume” to refer to dress by actors, attendees at

science fiction conventions, dress associated with Halloween, etc.90 These connotations

effectively negate the usefulness of costume as an appropriate and comprehensive term

for the high priest’s dress. Consequently, I utilize the broader term “dress” in this study.

“for clothing necessary for the effectiveness of rituals (defined as performances with a
mystical or sacred quality)” (“Costume and Identity,” Comparative Studies in History
and Society 15 [1973]: 349), and Susan B. Kaiser, who more recently defines costume
as “a style of clothes belonging to a particular cultural or historical context (often used
to refer to ethnic or historical clothing, as well as clothing designed for performances or
rituals-drama, Halloween, etc.)” (The Social Psychology of Clothing: Symbolic
Appearances in Context, 2nd ed. [New York: Fairchild, 1997], 4).
90
Cf. Joanne B. Eicher, “Influences of Changing Resources on Clothing,
Textiles, and the Quality of Life: Dressing for Reality, Fun, and Fantasy,” in Combined
Proceedings, Eastern, Central, and Western Regional Meetings of the Association of
College Professors of Textiles and Clothing (Burke, VA: The Association, 1981), 36-
41; Joanne B. Eicher and Kimberly A. Miller, “Dress and the Public, Private, and Secret
Self: Revisiting a Model,” in Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the International
Textiles and Apparel Association, October 19-23, 1994, Minneapolis, MN, ed. Christine
M. Ladisch (Monument, CO: International Textiles and Apparel Association, 1994),
145; Kimberly A. Miller-Spillman, “Playing Dress-Up: Childhood Memories of Dress,”
in The Meanings of Dress, ed. Mary Lynn Damhorst, Kimberly A. Miller-Spillman, and
Susan O. Michelman (New York: Fairchild, 2005), 274-75, 279-80; and Kimberly A.
Miller, Cynthia R. Jasper, and Donald R. Hill, “Costume and the Perception of Identity
and Role,” Perceptual and Motor Skills 72 (1991): 807-13.
That the high priest’s dress would not be considered costume can be seen in
Nathan Joseph’s assertion that “the characteristic of a costume that differentiates it from
all other forms of apparel is its open proclamation of departures in behavior” (Uniforms
and Nonuniforms: Communicating Through Clothing, Copenhagen International
Seminar 61 [New York: Greenwood, 1986], 184). He further defines this by making the
following clarification: “Whereas ordinary dress and uniforms declare their wearers’
group affiliations and statuses, costume announces that the wearer is stepping out of
character and into a new constellation of imaginary or unusual social relationships”
(ibid.).

31
 As such, it is more appropriate to refer to the dress of the high priest in terms of

occupational or role-related dress.91 In this study I use the latter terminology to address

this narrowed focus on identity via dress.92 An American police officer’s uniform, for

instance, exemplifies role-related dress, since most Americans have a generally clear

picture of what she or he would wear.93 Such terminology applied to high priestly dress

would consequently include not only body enclosures (e.g., a robe) but also such dress

items as headgear (e.g., a crown or turban) and accessories (e.g., hand-held items).94

Delimitation of Textual Focus

The perception and interpretation of dress can aid one in establishing personal,

social, and role-related identities.95 High priestly identity is primarily a role-related

91
Notice Roach-Higgins and Eicher’s reference to this latter terminology in their
defense of dress as a gender-neutral collective noun (“Dress and Identity,” 16, n. 1).
92
I see role-related dress as a better fit with clerical (i.e., clergy, priests, etc.)
identity than occupational dress, since occupational terminology is less neutral and has
more secular connotations.
93
With regard to role-related dress, see Kimberly A. Miller-Spillman, “Dress in
the Workplace,” in Meanings of Dress, 221.
94
On analyzing accessories in dress interpretation, see, e.g., Neufeld, “Under the
Cover,” 68; Roach-Higgins and Eicher, “Dress and Identity,” 7; and Grace Q. Vicary,
“The Signs of Clothing,” in Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Nonverbal Communication,
ed. Fernando Poyatos (Toronto: C. J. Hogrefe, 1988), 293-94.
95
See, e.g., Marilyn J. Horn and Lois M. Gurel, The Second Skin: An
Interdisciplinary Study of Clothing, 3rd ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981), 30-34
and 186-204; Kaiser, Social Psychology of Clothing, 272, 321; Neufeld, “Under the
Cover,” 68; Roach-Higgins and Eicher, “Dress and Identity,” 11; Jane Schneider and
Annette B. Weiner, “Introduction,” in Cloth and Human Experience, ed. Annette B.
Weiner and Jane Schneider (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1989), 1; and
Penny Storm, Functions of Dress: Tool of Culture and the Individual (Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1987), 102-208.

32
identity. The question is thus whether dress imagery in Revelation indicates a high

priestly role-related identity for Jesus Christ.

Revelation contains relatively few explicit references to “Jesus” (1:9; 12:17;

14:12; 17:6; 19:10; 20:4; 22:16, 20, 21), “Christ” or “Messiah” (11:15; 12:10; 20:4, 6),

Jesus Christ (1:1, 2, 5), or “Lord” when clearly a reference to Jesus (11:8; 17:14; 19:16;

22:20, 21).96 At the same time, the most ubiquitous title for Jesus in Revelation,

“Lamb” (avrni,on), occurs twenty-eight out of twenty-nine times in reference to

him—more than all of the previous references combined. 97 Yet Revelation contains no

explicit or obvious dress imagery in relation to the Lamb.

Though it would initially appear that an investigation of possible role-related

dress imagery with regard to Jesus in the book of Revelation would be a futile endeavor,

this conclusion is premature. One must look more broadly than simply at textual units

in which “Jesus,” “Christ,” “Messiah,” or “Lord” occur. For instance, John’s

description of the visionary one described as o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou (“like a son of

man”) in 1:13-16 contains clear dress imagery, and though there are no explicit

96
For other references to ku,rioj (“Lord”), see 1:8; 4:8, 11; 7:14; 11:4; 11:15, 17;
14:13; 15:3, 4; 16:7; 18:8; 19:6; 21:22; and 22:5, 6.
97
See 5:6, 8, 12, 13; 6:1, 16; 7:9, 10, 14, 17; 12:11; 13:8; 14:1, 4 (2x), 10; 15:3;
17:14 (2x); 19:7, 9; 21:9, 14, 22, 23, 27; and 22:1, 3. The other text in which it occurs
is in 13:11, where the Land Beast has two horns “like a lamb” ( o[moia avrni,w)| . John in
this verse also mentions that the Land Beast “was speaking like a dragon” ( evla,lei w`j
dra,kwn), but this alludes back to the Dragon mentioned most recently in 13:2.
Consequently, one could similarly conclude that the reference to the Land Beast having
horns like a lamb is also an implicit comparison and contrast to the Lamb most recently
mentioned in 13:8; cf., e.g., Beale (Revelation, 707), Boxall (Revelation of Saint John,
193), and Osborne (Revelation, 511), who agree, with David E. Aune, Revelation 6-16,
WBC 52B (Nashville: Nelson, 1998), 757, and Robert Mounce (Revelation, 255), who
disagree.

33
identifications of this visionary being as Jesus Christ, exegetical opinion is of the

consensus that it is.

The primary arena of scholarly contention regarding whether Revelation

contains high priestly imagery for Jesus is Rev 1. Consequently, primary research in

this study entails exegetical study and analysis of elements of this chapter that contain

possible high priestly dress imagery, particularly 1:12-16.98 In this passage John

describes the one o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou as dressed in a foot-length robe (podh,rhj

[1:13]),99 wrapped around his chest with a golden belt/sash (periezwsme,non pro.j toi/j

98
Dress or appearance that one cannot specifically associate—either explicitly or
implicitly—with high priestly role-related dress is not discussed in detail. This would
include, for instance, the one o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou describing himself in 1:18 as
having the keys of Death and Hades (cf. Jesus later being described as having the key of
David [3:7]). In these latter two references, John does not visually describe Jesus as
holding keys. “Key” imagery occurs only three times in the OT (Judg 3:25; 1 Chr 9:27;
Isa 22:22) and explicitly appears there once in connection with the Levitical gatekeepers
of the temple (1 Chr 9:27). The Isaiah Targum understood Isa 22:22—the allusive
background to Rev 3:7—to refer to “Eliakim” being given the key of the sanctuary
(Aune, Revelation 1-5, 235; see the discussion of the targum’s interpretation in Bruce D.
Chilton, The Isaiah Targum: Introduction, Translation, Apparatus and Notes, The
Aramaic Bible 11 [Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, 1987], 45). Furthermore, Beale,
for one, has suggested that there may be priestly concerns associated with Isaiah’s
prophecy about Eliakim (Revelation, 285). He notes that later Jewish tradition (Midr.
Rab. Exod. 37.1) understood Eliakim as a high priest (ibid.). In a related vein, 2 Bar.
10:18 says that the priests are to take the keys of the sanctuary and cast them to heaven,
and in 4 Bar. 4:4-5 Jeremiah throws the keys of the temple to the sun. Cf., e.g., 3 Bar.
11:2; b. Taan. 29a; Lev. Rab. 19:6; Abot R. Nat. 4. On this key motif, see, e.g., Rivka
Ulmer, “Construction, Destruction, and Reconstruction: The Temple in Pesiqta
Rabbati,” in The Temple of Jerusalem: From Moses to the Messiah: In Honor of
Professor Louis H. Feldman, ed. Steven Fine, Brill Reference Library of Judaism 29
(Leiden: Brill, 2011), 116; Steven Weitzman, Surviving Sacrilege: Cultural Persistence
in Jewish Antiquity (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005), 138 and 185, n. 1.
Despite these intriguing possibilities, I will not discuss these texts further because
Revelation does not visually portray keys as dress imagery.
99
On the podh,rhj, see LXX Exod 25:7; 28:4, 31; 29:5; 35:9; Zech 3:4; Sir 45:8;
Wis 18:24.

34
mastoi/j zw,nhn crusa/n [1:13]),100 barefoot (1:15),101 and with feet like calkoliba,nw|

(1:15).102 Determining whether or not dress imagery here yields a role-related, high

priestly identity for Jesus would potentially indicate whether it would be fruitful to look

elsewhere for high priestly dress imagery for him.

Methodology of the Research

Throughout the entire dissertation, primary and secondary sources are the basis

for my examination. The approach that I follow in this study is primarily exegetical.

This exegetical approach includes such aspects as the examination of words (e.g.,

semantics, morphology, syntax), figures of speech, literary structures, contextual

indicators, and background concepts and issues. I utilize all of these exegetical aspects

100
On the belt/sash, see Barker, who cites Josephus (A.J. 3.159) as proof that
only the high priest wore a sash interwoven with gold (Revelation, 84-85). Cf. Rev
15:5, in which John describes the seven plague angels wearing golden sashes around the
chest/breast (periezwsme,noi peri. ta. sth,qh zw,naj crusa/j) similar to the one o[moion
ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in 1:13.
101
Since the feet (oi` po,dej) of him can be seen, he is barefoot. Priests walked
barefoot in the tabernacle and temple. See the discussion in Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar,
“Bare Feet and Holy Ground: Excursive Remarks on Exodus 3:5 and Its Reception,” in
The Revelation of the Name YHWH to Moses: Perspectives from Judaism, the Pagan
Graeco-Roman World, and Early Christianity, ed. George H. van Kooten, Themes in
Biblical Narrative: Jewish and Christian Traditions 9 (Leiden: Brill, 2006), 17-36.
102
This term, unique in the NT and absent from extant Greek literature before
that time, is typically understood to have a meaning ranging from “brass” (GNB) and
“fine brass” (KJV) to “bronze” (CEV, NIV, NLT) or “burnished bronze” (NASB, NJB,
NRSV). Fletcher-Louis claims that it “attests to the enduring association of the high
priesthood with incense” (Glory of Adam, 365). In chap. 5 I devote considerable space
to investigating this unusual word.
As for the sword extending from the mouth of the one o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou
and the seven stars in his right hand, these could be classified as metaphorical dress
accessories, but they are not distinctive of high priestly identity.

35
in order to draw from the text its intended meaning.103

In chap. 2 I review the contemporary scholarly discussion of dress, primarily in

the fields of anthropology and sociology. This includes a discussion of the widespread

and repeated contemporary recognition that dress can communicate vast amounts of

information to the observer. Here I also illustrate how contemporary scholars

overwhelmingly understand dress not only to communicate, but to communicate identity

and, more specifically, role-related identity. A survey of this understanding is crucial

for the topic at hand, since it demonstrates that it is not only possible but reasonable to

perceive the role-related identity of Jesus in the book of Revelation via descriptions of

his clothing.

But what do contemporary understandings of dress have to do with the ancient

world? In chap. 3 I survey examples from the ancient world in order to demonstrate that

such contemporary discussion regarding the interrelationship of dress and identity

resonates with ancient understandings of the same. By providing a number of examples

from the ANE, the OT, Jewish extrabiblical writings up to 100 CE, the Roman world,

and the NT,104 I demonstrate: (1) how contemporary understandings of dress are, in

many ways, applicable to ancient understandings of dress in regard to personal, social,

and role-related identities; and (2) how pervasive the relationship between dress and

identity was in the ancient world.

103
In this study I attempt to isolate the intended dress code meaning (i.e.,
authorial intent) as opposed to one’s immediate translation of that dress code,
irrespective of original context or contexts (i.e., reader-response).
104
While I discuss ANE and Greco-Roman backgrounds, they do not constitute a
major portion of this study.

36
 In chap. 4 I survey primary texts that explicitly discuss the dress of the high

priest. Here I make no attempt to either provide a comprehensive, in-depth study of

each element of his dress or focus on their theological meaning. Rather, this survey is

necessary in order to detect what could be reasonably understood to be background

references to high priestly dress items in Revelation. Texts outside of Revelation in

which some have suggested high priestly dress imagery is in view—but where the text

itself is not discussing the high priest’s dress—are not the focus of this preliminary

survey. The specific goal in this chapter is rather to lay a broad and clear foundation

upon which to compare dress imagery in Revelation.

The focus of chap. 5 is the exegesis of selected verses in Rev 1:12-16 where

dress imagery suggests the dress of the high priest. It is in this passage that the case for

or against high priestly dress imagery for Jesus in Revelation is either confirmed or

denied. In this chapter I take into consideration matters of grammar, syntax, text-critical

issues, literary and theological contexts, and Jewish backgrounds.105 My primary intent

here is to exegetically determine whether one can detect in this textual passage role-

related dress imagery distinctive of the high priest. Any positive results here will allow

an exploration of possible high priestly activity or functionality within the broader

context of this passage.

Finally, I summarize the exegetical conclusions and contributions of this study,

note its wider implications, and suggest areas in need of further study.

105
Since the focus of this study is on high priestly dress imagery, I focus on
Jewish instead of Greco-Roman backgrounds.

37
 CHAPTER 2

DRESS AND IDENTITY IN CONTEMPORARY DISCUSSION

Introduction

It is clear that Revelation frequently utilizes imagery from the Jewish tabernacle

and temple cult. But while John explicitly refers to contemporary believers as priests

(1:6; 5:10; 20:6), it appears anomalous that John does not identify anyone as high priest,

particularly when the Epistle to the Hebrews repeatedly refers to Jesus as high priest.

Why would John explicitly mention not only the tabernacle and temple structures

themselves, but also the outer court, ark, lampstands, altar(s), censer, and incense—and

even the cultic personnel of the priests—but not the high priest? 1

In order to pursue the possibility of an implicit identification of Jesus as high

priest, I have focused my research on one of Baigent’s four evidentiary criteria for

ascertaining high priestly identity: distinctive clothing or dress.2 But what does one

1
Cf. tent/tabernacle (h` skhnh,: 13:6; 21:3), tent/tabernacle of witness (th/j
skhnh/j tou/ marturi,ou: 15:5), temple (o` nao,j: 3:12; 7:15; 11:1, 2, 19; 14:15, 17;
15:5, 6, 8; 16:1, 17; 21:22), outer court (11:2: th.n auvlh.n th.n e;xwqen tou/ naou/), ark
of the covenant (h` kibwto.j th/j diaqh,khj: 11:19), lampstand(s) (h` lucni,a: 1:12, 13,
20; 2:1, 5; 11:4), altar (to, qusiasth,rion: 6:9; 8:3, 5; 9:13; 11:1; 14:18; 16:7), censer
(o` libanwto,j: 8:3, 5), incense (h` qumi,ama: 5:8; 8:3, 4), and priests (o` i`ereu,j: 1:6;
5:10; 20:6). For discussion as to whether there is one altar or two distinct altars
mentioned in Revelation, see the commentaries.
2
For his four criteria, see Baigent, “Jesus as Priest,” 34.

38
mean when one speaks of clothing or dress? Furthermore, what light can contemporary

academics and specialists in the study of dress shed on dress and its significance? And

how might texts in Revelation with dress imagery that may communicate role-related

information about Jesus be better understood and appreciated through the lens of such

contemporary discussions on dress?

One does not have to look far to recognize that academic discussions of dress

make it clear that the nexus between distinctive dress and sacral, role-related identity

remains an investigative imperative. This is illustrated well by Angelika Berlejung’s

assertion: “Clothing increases the complexity of the optical appearance of its wearer. It

visualizes and makes more precise the wearer’s characteristics, hierarchical position,

social, religious, political, or ethnic identity, gender, and social function.” 3 Thus, in

ancient Israel one did not function as high priest (or even priest) without distinctive

dress, as Heather A. McKay has astutely observed: “In the cult where divine power is

channeled through cultic officials all the transactions are facilitated by special robes and

insignia.”4 Consequently, it is important at this juncture to survey what academics are

saying about dress and, in particular, what dress means and what it communicates.

I will begin by noting the literary field’s longstanding interest in both dress in

3
Angelika Berlejung, “Clothing and Vestments: Religious Studies,” Religion
Past & Present: Encyclopedia of Theology and Religion, ed. Hans Dieter Betz et al.
(Leiden: Brill, 2007), 3:252-53.
4
Heather A. McKay, “Gendering the Body: Clothes Maketh the (Wo)man,” in
Theology and the Body: Gender, Text and Ideology, ed. Robert Hannaford and J’annine
Jobling, Canterbury Books (Leominster, UK: Gracewing, 1999), 99. Cf. idem,
“Gendering the Discourse of Display in the Hebrew Bible,” in On Reading Prophetic
Texts: Gender-Specific and Related Studies in Memory of Fokkelien van Dijk-Hemmes,
ed. Bob Becking and Meindert Dijkstra, BIS 18 (Leiden: Brill, 1996), 185-89, 196-98.

39
general as well as the linkage between dress and identity in particular. Then I will

survey the more recent study of dress in academia, primarily noting contemporary

academic interest in the ability of dress to communicate identity and, more specifically,

role-related identity. Finally, I will point out some potential obstacles to the correct

perception of identity via dress about which scholars have expressed caution, as well as

note some of their suggested solutions to overcoming those obstacles.

Dress, Communication, and Identity

Literature has had much more of an interest in dress and its meaning than such

academic fields as anthropology, psychology, or sociology, in part because of the sheer

sweep of its extensive history.5 Valentine Cunningham summarizes literature’s

longstanding fascination with dress and its meaning by noting that clothing and dress

have been thought of as pervasive markers of personality through all of the history
of story-telling. This is a faith in clothes as signifiers of the human which comes to
a peak with the western realist novel. But the deployment of clothing as sign
throughout the whole history of literature manifests writing’s unending investment
in, its perpetual gamble on, the knowability of persons. By their suits shall ye know
them.6

5
On studies of dress in literature, cf., e.g., Rosy Aindow, Dress and Identity in
British Literary Culture, 1870-1914 (Surrey, UK: Ashgate, 2010); Claire Hughes,
Dressed in Fiction (Oxford: Berg, 2005); Cynthia Kuhn and Cindy Carlson, eds.,
Styling Texts: Dress and Fashion in Literature (Youngstown, NY: Cambria, 2007);
Peter McNeil, Vicki Karaminas, and Catherine Cole, eds., Fashion in Fiction: Text and
Clothing in Literature, Film, and Television (Oxford: Berg, 2009); and Lou Taylor, The
Study of Dress History, Studies in Design (Manchester: Manchester University Press,
2002), 90-114.
6
Valentine Cunningham, “If the Cap Fits: Figuring the Space of the Human,” in
The Anthropological Turn in Literary Studies, ed. Jürgen Schlaeger, vol. 12 of REAL:
Yearbook of Research in English and American Literature, ed. Winfried Fluck et al.
(Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 1996), 45-46.

40
 Writing about the uncanny ability of the hat as a piece of dress headgear to

express and underscore more than the expected about what is truly human, Cunningham

notes that “it’s no surprise that hats are commonly offered to readers of literature as key

authenticating markers, central evidence in literature’s business of identifying and

knowing persons, in its great anthropological project.” 7 He illustrates his contention

with reference to such literary works as Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist and Dombey

and Son, Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, George Eliot’s Adam Bede and

Middlemarch, Joseph Conrad’s “The Secret Sharer,” Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway,

and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.8

One literary example surveyed by Cunningham that illustrates the intricate

relationship between identity and dress is particularly striking. In 1978 the

Czechoslovakian writer Milan Kundera finished his work Kniha smíchu a zapomnení,

and after a French translation in 1979, it was translated into English (The Book of

Laughter and Forgetting) in 1980 and again in 1996.9 Kundera begins this work with

7
Ibid., 52.
8
Ibid., 49-57.
9
Milan Kundera, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, trans. Aaron Asher
(New York: HarperCollins, 1996). It was originally published as Le livre du rire et de
l'oubli, trans. François Kérel (Paris: Éditions Gallimard, 1979). It was later translated
from the Czech into English (The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, trans. Michael
Henry Heim [New York: Knopf, 1980]) and later published in Czech (Kniha smíchu a
zapomnení [Toronto: Sixty-Eight Publishers, 1981]). After a revised French version
(Paris: Éditions Gallimard, 1985) for better accuracy, the new English translation by
Asher from the French revised version was published. I have used the translation by
Asher, since Kundera stated regarding Asher’s newer translation: “At last I recognized
my book” (HarperCollins edition, vii).

41
what Cunningham aptly calls “the little parable”: 10

In February 1948, the Communist leader Klement Gottwald stepped out on the
balcony of a Baroque palace in Prague to harrangue hundreds of thousands of
citizens massed in Old Town Square. That was a great turning point in the history
of Bohemia. A fateful moment of the kind that occurs only once or twice a
millennium.
Gottwald was flanked by his comrades, with [Vladimir] Clementis standing close
to him. It was snowing and cold, and Gottwald was bareheaded. Bursting with
solicitude, Clementis took off his fur hat and set it on Gottwald’s head.
The propaganda section made hundreds of thousands of copies of the photograph
taken on the balcony where Gottwald, in a fur hat and surrounded by his comrades,
spoke to the people. On that balcony the history of Communist Bohemia began.
Every child knew that photograph, from seeing it on posters and in schoolbooks and
museums.
Four years later, Clementis was charged with treason and hanged. The
propaganda section immediately made him vanish from history and, of course, from
all photographs. Ever since, Gottwald has been alone on the balcony. Where
Clementis stood, there is only the bare palace wall. Nothing remains of Clementis
but the fur hat on Gottwald’s head.11

Cunningham emphasizes the ability of the hat in Kundera’s story to be an extension of

Clementis himself, but ironically not to be able to transform Gottwald into a new

Clementis:

This material object (the fur cap), transformed into text (the photograph), marks the
place, the site, figures the space, of the actual person whom time and history have
conspired to remove. “He, being dead, yet speaketh”: the hat, the sign, the mark, of
Clementis’s absence is also, and most irkingly for all regimes whether political or
merely critical and theoretical, the awkward sign of an awkwardly persistent
presence. And there’s more, much more, that’s pertinent here. For instance, the hat
fits its new owner, more or less. But it does not turn Gottwald into Clementis.
That’s a great part of the story’s ironic point. 12

Cunningham’s analysis is just a brief indication of the power of literature over more

10
Cunningham, “If the Cap Fits,” 47.
11
Kundera, Laughter and Forgetting, 3. Cunningham wrongly quotes the date of
the event in Kundera’s story as taking place in 1949.
12
Cunningham, “If the Cap Fits,” 48.

42
than a millennium to convey the intriguing and complex relationship between dress and

identity.

The Rise of the Academic Study of Dress

In comparison to literature, the modern academic study of dress is relatively

recent. French cultural critic Roland Barthes lamented in 1959 that bibliographic

indicators alone led one to the conclusion that the study of dress was a disappointing

subject and that it had been “never truly an object of sociological inquiry.” 13 In 1969

Herbert Blumer, having concluded that only a handful of sociologists had studied

fashion with anything more than cursory concern, urged sociologists to study it more

earnestly.14 In discussing the impact Blumer’s essay made, Kimberly A. Miller and

Scott A. Hunt indicated that his call to action suggested that one of the misperceptions

that perhaps impeded the study of fashion was that it was “trivial both substantively and

theoretically.”15

The sociological landscape has changed since Blumer raised his concerns. Now

13
Roland Barthes, “Language and Clothing,” in The Language of Fashion, trans.
Andy Stafford, ed. Andy Stafford and Michael Carter (Oxford: Berg, 2006), 20. This
essay was originally published in Critique 142 (March 1959): 243-52. Barthes stated
that true scientific research on dress began around 1860 (“History and Sociology of
Clothing: Some Methodological Observations,” in Language of Fashion, 3; this article
was originally published in Annales 3 [July-September 1957]: 430-41).
14
Herbert Blumer, “Fashion: From Class Differentiation to Collective Selection,”
Sociological Quarterly 10 (1969): 275-91, particularly 275.
15
Kimberly A. Miller and Scott A. Hunt, “Cultures, Identities, and Dress: A
Renewed Sociological Interest,” Sociological Inquiry 67 (1997): 321 (see also p. 320).
Miller and Hunt briefly discuss the history of sociological interest in dress in the
twentieth century.

43
no one needs to urge sociologists to study dress, and dress studies have rightfully taken

their place within academia. Miller and Hunt, for example, admit that “the sociology of

dress is a vibrant field, exploring intriguing theoretical, methodological, and empirical

domains.”16

Definition, Nomenclature, and Taxonomy

Although social scientists and historians of clothing have refined their

understanding of the definition, nomenclature, and taxonomy of clothing and related

terms over the last few decades, significant differences still exist.17 Nevertheless, the

work that has become foundational on this subject was written by Mary Ellen Roach-

Higgins and Joanne B. Eicher in 1992.18 They differentiated between dress, appearance,

16
Ibid., 321. Nevertheless, Miller and Hunt, in reaction to a series of recent
articles on dress and appearance, suggest that dress “could be incorporated into a variety
of sociological subfields, such as the sociology of culture, gender, deviance and crime,
social problems, identity, collective behavior, race and ethnicity, social movements,
formal organizations, body, and sexuality” (ibid., 322).
17
So Kim K. P. Johnson, Nancy A. Schofield, and Jennifer Yurchisin,
“Appearance and Dress as a Source of Information: A Qualitative Approach to Data
Collection,” Clothing and Textiles Research Journal 20 (2002): 125, n. 1. For a
discussion of the difficulty in providing a “final or rigid definition” of these and related
terms, see Malcolm Barnard, Fashion as Communication, 2nd ed. (London: Routledge,
2002), 10-11.
18
See Roach-Higgins and Eicher, “Dress and Identity,” 7-18, particularly 7-10 on
the taxonomy of dress (originally published in Clothing and Textiles Research Journal
10 [1992]: 1-8). I refer to the reprinted essay.
Many scholars have accepted this research as the standard in the field. See, e.g.,
Mary Lynn Damhorst, “In Search of a Common Thread: Classification of Information
Communicated Through Dress,” Clothing and Textiles Research Journal 8, no. 2
(Winter 1990): 1; Joanne B. Eicher, Sandra Lee Evenson, and Hazel A. Lutz, The
Visible Self: Global Perspectives on Dress, Culture, and Society, 3rd ed. (New York:
Fairchild, 2008), 5-6; Kim K. P. Johnson and Sharron J. Lennon, “Introduction:
Appearance and Social Power,” in Appearance and Power, ed. Kim K. P. Johnson and

44
adornment or ornament, clothing, apparel, costume, and fashion, and they favored the

term “dress” over all other related terms because they believed that none of the other

terms was as accurate or as comprehensive in nature.19

As for their definition of dress, Roach-Higgins and Eicher favored a definition

that was “unambiguous, free of personal or social valuing or bias, usable in descriptions

across national and cultural boundaries, and inclusive of all phenomena that can

Sharron J. Lennon, DBC (Oxford: Berg, 1999), 1; Nancy Lindisfarne-Tapper and Bruce
Ingham, “Approaches to the Study of Dress in the Middle East,” in Languages of Dress
in the Middle East, ed. Nancy Lindisfarne-Tapper and Bruce Ingham (Surrey, UK:
Curzon, 1997), 3; Johnson, Schofield, and Yurchisin, “Appearance and Dress,” 125, n.
1; George B. Sproles and Leslie Davis Burns, Changing Appearances: Understanding
Dress in Contemporary Society (New York: Fairchild, 1994), 7; and Mai Yamani,
“Changing the Habits of a Lifetime: The Adaptation of Hejazi Dress to the New Social
Order,” in Languages of Dress, 55.
Their work, however, is not without criticism. Barnard critiques Roach-Higgins
and Eicher’s influential study because of its lack of any stand-alone definition, for their
definitions must be distinguished from a host of other related words (Fashion as
Communication, 11). He suggests that these terms may well be both resistant to
singular definition and difficult to clearly separate from one another (ibid., 11-12).
For other definitions of clothing, dress, and related terms, see Barnard’s brief
summary (ibid.), as well as: Fred Davis, Fashion, Culture, and Identity (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1992), 25, n. 4, who distinguishes between clothing (the
garments themselves) and dress (“the distinctive properties of particular assemblages of
garments, i.e., the practices and expectations regarding their combination and wearing
venues”); Robert Hillestad, who subsumes dress and the body under the overarching
concept of appearance and further divides dress into articles of clothing and articles of
adornment (“The Underlying Structure of Appearance,” Dress 6 [1980]: 117-25);
Rebecca H. Holman, “Apparel as Communication,” in Symbolic Consumer Behavior:
Proceedings of the Conference on Consumer Esthetics and Symbolic Consumption, ed.
Elizabeth C.Hirschman and Morris B. Holbrook (Ann Arbor, MI: Association for
Consumer Research, 1980), 7-9; and Kaiser, Social Psychology of Clothing, 3-11.
19
Roach-Higgins and Eicher, “Dress and Identity,” 9. See their comparison and
contrast of the term “dress” with “adornment” or “ornament,” “apparel,” “appearance,”
“clothing,” “costume,” and “fashion” in ibid., 9-10.

45
accurately be designated as dress.”20 Their resultant definition, while simple, was yet

broad in what it included: “an assemblage of modifications of the body and/or

supplements to the body.”21 This definition consequently included not only garments,

jewelry, and accessories, but also such body modifications as hair treatments, colored

skin, body piercings, and fragrances and scents applied to the body.22

A few years before Roach-Higgins and Eicher set forth what came to be their

foundational understanding of dress, Grace Q. Vicary wrote that

the term “clothing” includes any artefactual addition to the body which changes its
appearance. These additions can be garments (dress, costume, apparel, including
headwear, footwear, underwear, designed for work, play, or formal occasions in a
variety of environments); ornaments (beads, gems, chains, straps, buttons, metal
bands, buckles, feathers, ribbons, laces, furs); cosmetics (dyes, paints, powders, oils,
perfumes); devices (wigs, corsets, braces, padding, dentures, plastic fingernails);
treatments (mutilations, massage, tattoos, hair dyeing, thinning, removing,
straightening, curling); equipment (eyeglasses, watches, ice skates, pocketbooks,
cameras, pipes, backpacks, masks, handkerchiefs, gloves, crutches); and
tools (knives, combs, mirrors, scissors, pens, toothpicks, fans).23

Though there were differences in nomenclature and a different bias in foundational

definitions, Roach-Higgins and Eicher remained generally in line with Vicary’s overall,

expansive approach. What constitutes “dress” is thus very broad, much more

20
Ibid., 7.
21
Ibid. That their definition is very wide, cf. Lindisfarne-Tapper and Ingham,
“Study of Dress,” 3.
22
Roach-Higgins and Eicher, “Dress and Identity,” 7. Kuper, in the introduction
to her research article on Swazi dress in Swaziland, observes that clothing “can be
described as part of the total structure of personal appearance which includes hairstyles,
ornaments, masks, decorations and mutilations” (“Costume and Identity,” 348). For a
full discussion of Roach-Higgins and Eicher’s categorization of dress, see Eicher,
Evenson, and Lutz, Visible Self, 3-29.
23
Vicary, “Signs of Clothing,” 293-94.

46
comprehensive than what one typically thinks of when one views a coat, dress, hat, pair

of pants, pair of shoes, or shirt that another is wearing.24

Dress Communicates

Academicians of dress frequently stress that dress communicates.25 First

impressions of people, for instance, typically include the “reading” of dress. Vicary

notes that “in random public encounters, clothing is usually perceived before voice can

be heard or gestures and facial expressions seen. Thus clothing and adornment, as they

modify appearance, become a universal, primary, nonverbal communication system.” 26

24
For an excellent discussion of the problems one encounters in attempting to
formally study dress, see ibid., 294-305.
25
This assertion is virtually universal. Cf. Linda Baumgarten, What Clothes
Reveal: The Language of Clothing in Colonial and Federal America: The Colonial
Williamsburg Collection, Williamsburg Decorative Arts Series (Williamsburg, VA: The
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; in association with Yale University [New Haven,
CT], 2002), 54; Patrizia Calefato, The Clothed Body, trans. Lisa Adams, DBC (Oxford:
Berg, 2004), 5-13; Davis, Fashion, Culture, and Identity, 3-4, 191; Eicher, Evenson,
and Lutz, Visible Self, 28; Johnson, Schofield, and Yurchisin, “Appearance and Dress,”
125; Alison Lurie, The Language of Clothes, rev. ed. (London: Bloomsbury, 1992), 3;
Suzanne G. Marshall et al., Individuality in Clothing Selection and Personal
Appearance (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson / Prentice Hill, 2004), 102-115; John
Norton, “Faith and Fashion in Turkey,” in Languages of Dress, 149-77, especially pp.
149-51; Robert Ross, Clothing: A Global History: Or, The Imperialists’ New Clothes
(Cambridge, UK: Polity, 2008), 6-7; Sproles and Burns, Changing Appearances, 5 and
218-24; and Storm, Functions of Dress, 102.
26
Vicary, “Signs of Clothing,” 292. Vicary further notes that such
communication is not typically ambiguous, since dress communication is “as complex,
and precise, as most verbal language” (ibid., 293).
Not all agree, however, that dress should be compared to a language. For a
study that discusses the problems with comparing dress to language, see Grant
McCracken, “Clothing as Language: An Object Lesson in the Study of the Expressive
Properties of Material Culture,” in Material Anthropology: Contemporary Approaches
to Material Culture, ed. Barrie Reynolds and Margaret A. Stott (Lanham, MD:
University Press of America, 1987), 103-28, particularly 113-14 and 117. McCracken

47
Novelist Alison Lurie also highlighted the priority of dress over verbal language:

For thousands of years human beings have communicated with one another first
in the language of dress. Long before I am near enough to talk to you on the street,
in a meeting, or at a party, you announce your sex, age and class to me through what
you are wearing—and very possibly give me important information (or
misinformation) as to your occupation, origin, personality, opinions, tastes, sexual
desires and current mood. I may not be able to put what I observe into words, but I
register the information unconsciously; and you simultaneously do the same for me.
By the time we meet and converse we have already spoken to each other in an older
and more universal tongue.27

In Nathan Joseph’s work Uniforms and Nonuniforms,28 he contends that dress

communicates through signs—things that stand for something else. He further

distinguishes between two types of signs: signals (“a simple cognitive link between

things”)29 and symbols (“a more complex and abstract sign that conveys information

about values, beliefs, and emotions”). 30 He notes that while a red light orders us to stop

and is thus a signal, a swastika is a symbol, since it conjures up not only emotions but is

based on certain understandings of values derived from past history. Dress thus

communicates via signals and symbols, and elements of dress can incorporate one or

does state, however, that dress “is apparently possessed of semiotic advantages that
make it more appropriate than language for certain communicative purposes” (ibid.,
122). While declaring that “it is inappropriate or misleading to speak of ‘clothing as
language,’” Kaiser nevertheless notes that “it is useful to compare clothing and
appearance to language” (Social Psychology of Clothing, 239).
27
Lurie, Language of Clothes, 3.
28
Nathan Joseph, Uniforms and Nonuniforms: Communicating Through
Clothing, Contributions in Sociology 61 (New York: Greenwood, 1986).
29
Ibid., 9.
30
Ibid.

48
both of them, or it may shift from one to another.31

While some assert that dress cannot “say” much, 32 most agree that the quantity

of information conveyed nonverbally33 by dress is impressive. Notice Stephanie

Paulsell’s personal observations on the communicative power of dress in her high

school:

Clothing can yield up a surprising amount of information; ask any teenager. In

my high school, brand names, style of clothes and certain color combinations
distinguished preppies from potheads from jocks. How important it was to us all to
dress in a way that identified us with the security of a particular group, even those
who considered themselves least bound by the requirements of fashion. Preppies
dressed in relentlessly cheerful pastel pinks and greens that spoke of satisfaction
with the way things were. Potheads (and other kids on the margins) wore flannel
shirts and jeans, dark colors and dark makeup.34

Neufeld, in his social-scientific discussion of clothing in the book of Revelation, is even

more specific and detailed regarding the expansive scope of information that can be

transmitted:

Attire and adornment have a vocabulary because of their inherent symbolism.

Consider the scope of information possible: one’s sex, age, group, nationality,
religious affiliation, means of livelihood, social, economic, and marital status,
political or military rank, personal achievements, loyalties, beliefs, and values,
family connections, and trade or profession (red fingernails, rompers, lederhosen,

31
Ibid., 10.
32
See, e.g., Ross, Clothing: A Global History, 6: “It forms a language, if a
restricted one. There are relatively few things that can be ‘said’ through clothes, but
they are very important things.”
33
Other nonverbal forms of communication include: facial expressions, kinetics
(physical movement and actions), proxemics (the physical distance people keep away
from others), paralinguistics (how the voice sounds during verbal communication), and
hand gestures (Mary Lynn Damhorst, “Dress as Nonverbal Communication,” in
Meanings of Dress, 79). Cf. Vicary, “Signs of Clothing,” 292-93.
34
Stephanie Paulsell, Honoring the Body (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004), 61-
62.

49
 fireman’s helmet, sports headgear, club tie, sable coat, wedding ring, judge’s robes,
sergeant’s stripes, cap and gown, political buttons, the tartan kilt, veil, sun glasses,
miter, etc.).35

Despite the “phenomenal amount of information” that dress communicates, Mary Lynn

Damhorst affirms that information overload is not necessarily a danger, since “human

beings have an amazing capacity to make sense of a substantial amount of detail in a

very short time.”36

Dress Communicates Identity

While dress communicates specific pieces of information, what is important for

this study is that dress can communicate identity.37 Diana Crane, for instance, begins

35
Neufeld, “Under the Cover,” 68. Cf. Calefato, Clothed Body, 15-25; Davis,
Fashion, Culture, and Identity, 191; Horn and Gurel, The Second Skin, 30-34 and 186-
204; Johnson and Lennon, “Introduction,” 2; Kaiser, Social Psychology of Clothing,
272, 321; Roach-Higgins and Eicher, “Dress and Identity,” 11; Schneider and Weiner,
“Introduction,” 1; and Storm, Functions of Dress, 102-208.
36
Damhorst, “Dress as Nonverbal Communication,” 67. Cf. Douglas J. Davies’s
study on the multivocal nature of Mormon dress in his “Gestus Manifests Habitus:
Dress and the Morman,” in Dressed to Impress: Looking the Part, ed. William J. F.
Keenan, DBC (Oxford: Berg, 2001), 129-30.
37
Cf. Barbara Burman and Carole Turbin, “Introduction: Material Strategies
Engendered,” Gender & History 14 (2002): 371-81; Davis, Fashion, Culture, and
Identity, 25; Sandra Lee Evenson, “Dress and Identity,” in Global Perspectives, ed.
Joanne B. Eicher, vol. 10 of Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion, ed. Joanne B.
Eicher (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), 52, 54-55, 57; Bruce Ingham, “Mens
[sic] Dress in the Arabian Peninsula: Historical and Present Perspectives,” in Languages
of Dress, 40-42; Kuper, “Costume and Identity,” 365-66; Lindisfarne-Tapper and
Ingham, “Study of Dress,” 4-5; Lurie, Language of Clothes, 27; Marshall et al.,
Individuality in Clothing Selection, 72, 76, 91; and Jane Schneider, “The Anthropology
of Cloth,” Annual Review of Anthropology 16 (1987): 412. For surveys of
anthropological studies that include several underscoring the identifying powers of
dress, cf. Joanne B. Eicher, “The Anthropology of Dress,” Dress 27 (2000): 59-70; and
Karen Tranberg Hansen, “The World in Dress: Anthropological Perspectives on
Clothing, Fashion, and Culture,” Annual Review of Anthropology 33 (2004): 369-92.

50
her work on fashion by declaring that clothing “performs a major role in the social

construction of identity.”38 And Phyllis Culham, in her discussion of ancient dress,

concluded: “There is surely no other item which identifies a person so immediately in so

many ways as clothing.”39 More specifically, Peter Corrigan, in describing the primary

nature of the sense of sight in making distinctions and providing meaning with regard to

clothing, observed: “The social order is a dressed order: occupation, class, age group,

sexuality, gender, region, religious affiliation, activity, sub-group membership and so

forth are all announceable and readable through appearance.” 40

What one wears can thus very well identify who one is.41 One can often identify,

for instance, whether or not two people are twins simply by the identical dress they

wear.42 And over forty years ago Gregory P. Stone mused about how the names of

38
Diana Crane, Fashion and Its Social Agendas: Class, Gender, and Identity in
Clothing (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 1 (see also pp. 1-4). Notice also
the relationship between clothing and identity in Stella Bruzzi, Undressing Cinema:
Clothing and Identity in the Movies (London: Routledge, 1997), 14, 69-70, 102-103,
142-43, and 199.
39
Phyllis Culham, “Again, What Meaning Lies in Colour!” Zeitschrift für
Papyrologie und Epigraphik 64 (1986): 244. Roach-Higgins and Eicher also note that
dress has “a certain priority over discourse in the establishing of identity” because it can
be seen before one says (or, writes) anything (“Dress and Identity,” 12 [see also p. 13]).
Cf. Gregory P. Stone, who writes about the different kinds of responses that clothing
mobilizes: “identities are placed, values appraised, moods appreciated, and attitudes
anticipated” (“Appearance and the Self,” in Human Behavior and Social Processes: An
Interactionist Approach, ed. Arnold M. Rose, International Library of Sociology and
Social Reconstruction [Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1962], 101).
40
Peter Corrigan, The Dressed Society: Clothing, the Body and Some Meanings
of the World, Theory, Culture & Society (London: SAGE, 2008), 5.
41
Paulsell, Honoring the Body, 62. Paulsell observes that “not only do we have
clothes, we are, in some sense, defined by our clothes” (ibid., 60).
42
As noted by Roach-Higgins and Eicher, “Dress and Identity,” 13.

51
famous politicians had been established by—and consequently associated with—various

articles of dress: Teddy Roosevelt and his pince-nez, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his

cigarette holder, and Thomas Dewey and his moustache.43 And thus Hilda Kuper

concludes that “it is no wonder that persons should view their clothing almost as an

extension of themselves.”44

Dress has such a powerful communicative effect that it can alter or completely

change the observer’s perception of another’s identity from what it really is. People can

change their perceived personal identity by cloaking or disguising themselves. People

can also alter their perceived social identity by changing their dress.

One of the more glaring cases of the consequences that develop when one

attempts to change one’s social identity via clothing took place in 1999, when vice

president (and then presidential candidate) Al Gore tried to offer his “authentic identity”

to the American public “by throwing off drab Washington duds for snazzier suits (if

sans Mylar) as well as chinos and polo shirts.” 45 Gore’s adoption of various “costumes”

in his attempt to “buff his image” met with widespread derision and political sneering. 46

His ill-fated attempt at identity transformation ended up being perceived by many

43
Stone, “Appearance and the Self,” 95.
44
Kuper, “Costume and Identity,” 366.
45
Frank Rich, “Send in More Clowns,” New York Times, October 23,1999, late
edition, sec. A, p. 17.
46
Ibid. Cf. Godfrey Sperling, “A Campaign Briefing,” Christian Science
Monitor, November 16, 1999, Opinion sec., p. 9., and the discussion in Ruth P.
Rubinstein, Dress Codes: Meanings and Messages in American Culture, 2nd ed.
(Boulder, CO: Westview, 2001), 4-5.

52
observers as a bald attempt at identity fabrication.47

Another case of an attempt to use dress to promote a certain social identity

involved the brouhaha over presidential candidate John McCain’s selection of Sarah

Palin as his running mate in 2008. The revelation that the Republicans had spent about

$150,000 on a dress makeover for Palin generated a flurry of comment. For instance,

Eric Wilson noted that her look “has not changed dramatically from a ‘Working Girl’

formula of authoritative jackets paired with feminine skirts that seem calculated to

suggest that she is ready to go to work on Day 1.”48 While Wilson indicated that it was

not clear at that point in the campaign “what message her clothes were meant to

broadcast,” he later revealed what he had already read about her identity from her

“awkward-yet-efficient, zip-close jackets”: “nothing says maverick like red leather.” 49

Nevertheless, Cathy Horyn observed that Palin was “whacked for being a pretender in

plushy clothes, and for not having the presence of mind to tell the McCain campaign

handlers to buzz off. She may have needed some new clothes, and an update to her

beehive, but Ms. Palin already looked great—a babe in jeans, a pro in a suit.” 50 As

47
On the phenomena of identity fabrication via dress, in particular, with
occupational identity (e.g., with physicians, police officers, and the clergy), see
Rubinstein, Dress Codes, 57-59. On the omnipresence of image-makers in public life,
see Calefato, Clothed Body, 23.
48
Eric Wilson, “Look Is the Same; the Labels Have Changed,” New York Times,
October 23, 2008, late edition, sec. A, p. 22.
49
Ibid.
50
Cathy Horyn, “Wrapped in Their Identities,” New York Times, December 27,
2009, late edition, sec. ST, p. 1.

53
Horyn concluded in her comparison of the fashion sense of Palin and First Lady

Michelle Obama, dress communicates powerful social cues: “Fashion is message. Do I

look rich? Do I look available? Do I look like I get it?” 51

Another more recent example of the power of dress to communicate social

identity was the reaction among some observers to the sweater vests worn by

presidential candidate Rick Santorum during the 2012 Republican primaries. In an

article in The Washington Times, Samantha Sault commented that “Rick Santorum is

known primarily for two things: his social conservatism and his sweater vests.” 52 Julia

Felsenthal observed in the online magazine Slate, however, that the sweater vest “seems

riddled with contradiction” since the look it produces “is both boyish and grandfatherly,

sporty and fusty, conservative and eccentric, old-fashioned and hip.” 53 She suggested

that its use by Santorum appeared to be sending mixed signals since “the range of

responses to Santorum’s knitwear has been wide.” 54 Sault, noting that dress

communicates such things as confidence and power, warned that the sweater-vest sends

the wrong message for a presidential candidate, since it is, among other things, “the

51
Ibid.
52
Samantha Sault, “Seriously, Santorum: Di-vest Now: A Man of the People Still
Needs to Look Presidential,” The Washington Times, March 4, 2004,
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/mar/4/seriously-santorum-di-vest-now/
(accessed March 8, 2012).
53
Julia Felsenthal, “Go Vest, Young Man: What Does It Mean That Rick
Santorum Wears a Sweater Vest?” Slate.com, February 10, 2012, http://www.slate.com/
articles/arts/fashion/2012/02/santorum_s_sweater_vest_what_does_it_mean_that_the_
gop_ candidate_always_wears_one_.single.html (accessed March 8, 2012).
54
Ibid.

54
dress-up attire of little boys and the uniform of the consummate preppy. It’s the choice

of football coaches and golfers, who seem to think it hides the middle-age gut but really

emphasizes it.”55 Sault ultimately concluded that “the sweater vest evokes a number of

images, but ‘president’ is not one of them.” 56

As the preceding brief discussion makes apparent, the ability of dress to

communicate identity is thus a double-edged sword: it can inform, but it can also

misinform. Furthermore, it can even deceive, as noted by Vicary, who strikingly

observed that it is our primary means of lying about ourselves.57 Nevertheless, its power

to communicate is fundamental and does not take place on the periphery. No wonder

one is apt to say, as another tries on an article of dress, “It’s you!” 58

Dress Communicates Role-Related Identity

But beyond dress indicating one’s personal identity (i.e., “That silhouette

belongs to none other than Sherlock Holmes!”), or one’s social identity (i.e., “Only a

wealthy person can wear clothes like that!”), dress can communicate information about

other identities (e.g., one’s ethnic, national, and political identity). 59 Of interest here is

55
Sault, “Seriously, Santorum.”
56
Ibid.
57
Vicary, “Signs of Clothing,” 296.
58
Cf. Cunningham, “If the Cap Fits,” 51.
59
On dress in regard to ethnic and national identity, see Taylor (Study of Dress
History, 209-28). On political identity, see Roach-Higgins and Eicher (“Dress and
Identity,” 14), who observed that the ritual wearing of robes, crowns, and scepters by
modern monarchical figures reveals their public identities as political representatives of

55
role-related identity.60 Robert Ross simplified the matter this way: “Essentially, people

use clothes to make two basic statements: first, this is the sort of person I am; and

secondly, this is what I am doing.”61 Illustrative of this is the comment made by a

painter to Gregory P. Stone during an interview: “I dress the same as anybody does in

their profession. People see me, and they know I’m a painter.” 62 Similarly, it is

improbable that at first glance one would doubt that an individual wearing the dress of

an astronaut or a police officer truly was an astronaut or a police officer.63 As Richard

Wentz observes, “The little boy is given toy soldiers and astronauts for his birthday. He

knows those persons by their clothing. The professor wears a shapeless herringbone

jacket with tan cotton twill pants, shoes with thick rubber soles—for comfort, he tells

us. He looks like a professor.”64

their countries and has a similar function to the public dress of those in the judiciary and
military, in that the latter also assert their political identity as representatives of the state.
60
Role-related dress is similar to what others term “occupational dress”: dress
that communicates one’s occupation or work responsibilities. I prefer to use the
terminology of role-related dress. On this type of identity, see, e.g., Jennifer Craik,
Uniforms Exposed: From Conformity to Transgression, DBC (Oxford: Berg, 2005),
119-21, 131-38; Holman, “Apparel as Communication,” 8; Johnson, Schofield, and
Yurchisin, “Appearance and Dress,” 135; Joseph, Uniforms and Nonuniforms, passim;
Kaiser, Social Psychology of Clothing, 240; Miller-Spillman, “Dress in the Workplace,”
221; and Gregory P. Stone, “Clothing and Social Relations: A Study of Appearance in
the Context of Community Life” (PhD diss., University of Chicago, 1959), 291-92.
61
Ross, Clothing: A Global History, 6-7.
62
Stone, “Clothing and Social Relations,” 292.
63
Cf. Richard Wentz, “Clothed in the Beauty of Possibility,” Parabola 19 (Fall
1994): 80.
64
Ibid.

56
 The use of dress by the Ottoman Turks is a classic example of the ability of dress

to distinguish an immense assortment of role-related identities. Not too long after the

capture of Constantinople in 1453, Sultan Mehmed II decreed that the civil and military

hierarchies were to be distinguished by their dress. According to Raphaela Lewis, these

sumptuary laws were closely followed—with only minimal variation—until 1826. 65

She describes the kaleidoscope of color and style that signified not only role-related

identity but also social class in this way:

Thus, the upper ranks had turbans of various colours wound round tall felt caps;
members of the ulema had lengths of dazzling white muslim [sic] bound round gold-
embroidered skull-caps, which gave the completed turban a much flatter shape.
These snowy turbans and the sombre black gowns of the religious dignitaries and
medrese students, the rich caftans and head-dresses of the aghas, the naval officers
and Arsenal guards with knives in their belts, the dervishes in homespun, the street
scavengers in red leather smocks, with brooms and wooden shovels, the gipsies with
their dancing bears, all contributed to the vivid scene.66

The variegated types of headgear worn (including turban, skull-cap, busby, helmet, and

fez) numbered more than one hundred, causing one observer to rhapsodize that this

exotic plumage looked “like so many parrots of Nepal, Bengalees, the blue magpies of

the Himalayas, birds of paradise, blue-headed parakeets, pennant parakeets of Australia.

The whole of Turkey seemed an ornithological department spread over this immense

zoological garden of the world.”67 John Norton observes that this complex spectrum of

65
Raphaela Lewis, Everyday Life in Ottoman Turkey (London: Batsford; New
York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1971), 88.
66
Ibid.
67
Luigi Olivero, Turkey Without Harems, trans. Ivy Warren (London:
Macdonald, 1952), 111-12. Cf. Norton, “Faith and Fashion,” 150.

57
dress distinctions nevertheless provided “instant identification” of civil, religious, and

military roles and occupations, sometimes striking fear and terror among the common

citizens, and unfortunately leading too often to violent clashes between various social

groups.68

But it was not only the Ottoman Empire in which headgear communicated

critical information. Notice Cunningham’s trenchant observation on the ability of hats

as dress items to communicate status and identity:

Of course, class, profession, social role, religion, gender are all of them distinctly
markable and remarkable by this or that hat. Soldiers, kings, queens, chieftains,
maids, railway porters, postmen, policemen, dons, cardinals, Quakers, members of
the Salvation Army, horse-riders, American Football players, boxers’ sparring
partners, archbishops, rabbis, and so on and on: their hats do indeed place,
categorize, rank them.69

At times dress has become unusually successful at providing an indication of

one’s role-related identity. As a result, the name of a piece of dress has evolved into the

name of a person’s role or occupation. And as such, the particular feature of dress

becomes a synecdoche, describing not just that particular article of dress but the whole

person in order to convey identity: “bobby-soxer, zoot-suiter, redcoat, brown shirt, hard

hat, blue-collar worker, blue stocking, man of the cloth, sans-culotte.” 70

In another vein, a particular sartorial element may stand for the entire set in the

68
Norton, “Faith and Fashion,” 150. See also his description of how
identification of dress and appearance with regard to various political and religious
affiliations and convictions also later contributed to violent reactions in the latter part of
the twentieth century (ibid., 165-66).
69
Cunningham, “If the Cap Fits,” 56.
70
Calum M. Carmichael, “Forbidden Mixtures,” VetT 32 (1982): 406.

58
construction of one’s role-related identity. For instance, a crown may symbolize the

king and even the whole institution of the monarchy. This rhetorical use of metonymy

consequently organizes the remaining elements of the sartorial set into foreground and

background, “thereby obviating the need to examine every item of an individual’s attire

in minute detail to place him socially.” 71 In the illustration just mentioned, the crown is

usually enough to provide identification of the whole, while a scepter and other sartorial

elements of royalty fade into the background. Here the crown as a “working symbol” in

the foreground becomes what is known as a key or salient symbol.72

The use of salient symbols is important to this study, since dress tools and

equipment are frequently working symbols in the foreground and thus salient symbols.

A medical intern’s prominently displayed stethoscope is both a tool and a working

symbol in the sartorial foreground which greatly helps one decode and interpret her or

his role-related identity. Tools and equipment, however, are not always thought of as

being part of one’s dress.73 Nevertheless, Vicary’s categorization of dress into

garments, ornaments, cosmetics, devices, treatments, equipment, and tools is critical to

keep in mind here.74

71
Joseph, Uniforms and Nonuniforms, 20.
72
Ibid., 21. Other salient symbols include a police officer’s badge, a military
person’s insignia, or a mace, staff, or wand carried by the faculty marshal at college and
university graduation services.
73
For instance, I have never seen tools or equipment referred to as part of the
Jewish high priest’s dress—despite the fact that such tools or equipment were used (cf.
Lev 16:12; Num 16:37-39, 46).
74
Vicary, “Signs of Clothing,” 293-94.

59
 The transference of salient symbols from one person to another during rites of

passage symbolizes changes in upward—or downward—social and role-related

mobility. The transference of insignia of status and rank for officers, daggers for SS

recruits in Nazi Germany, and bullets for new police force officers are modern examples

of upward mobility cited by Joseph.75 On the other hand, the removal or destruction of

parts of a uniform during degradation or demotion ceremonies—such as military

cashiering by ripping off epaulettes from one’s shoulders, stripping one of badges or

insignia, or breaking one’s sword76—is a sure sign of downward mobility.77

Joseph divides occupational or role-related dress into two broad categories:

uniforms and nonuniforms. According to Joseph, the formal uniform has four

characteristics: (1) it is an emblem indicative of membership in a group; (2) it reveals

and conceals status position; (3) it is a certificate of legitimacy (typically by a

government); and (4) it suppresses individuality.78 The dress of military and police

officers are classic examples of formal uniforms. With regard to nonuniforms, Joseph

differentiates between four sub-categories: nonbureaucratic dress, occupational dress,

75
Joseph, Uniforms and Nonuniforms, 24.
76
See an example of this with regard to François Achille Bazaine, Marshal of
France, during the French Third Republic as detailed in Michael Knox Beran, Forge of
Empires: 1861-1871: Three Revolutionary Statesmen and the World They Made (New
York: Free Press, 2007), 365. Marshal Bazaine was tried for treason and sentenced to
such military degradation (which also included the firing squad).
77
See the discussion of salient symbols in rites of passage in Joseph, Uniforms
and Nonuniforms, 24.
78
Ibid., 66-68.

60
leisure dress, and costumes. Since the topic of my research, the dress of the high priest,

appears closest to a kind of uniform, and since Joseph observes that uniforms are easily

confused with the nonuniform sub-category of occupational/role-related dress,79 I will

ignore his discussion of nonbureaucratic dress, leisure dress, and costumes.

Joseph categorizes the nonuniform sub-category of occupational dress into four

further sub-categories:80 quasi-uniforms, standardized dress, career apparel, and dress

codes. With regard to the first sub-category, Joseph states that quasi-uniforms are

similar to uniforms, except that they do not have the legitimating emblemization of a

government authority but instead are typically associated with private bureaucracies;

Joseph suggests that examples here include nurses, nuns,81 merchant marine officers,

and airline and railroad personnel.82

Joseph’s second nonuniform sub-category of occupational dress is “a pattern of

dress arising among members of an organization, or family of occupations, partly

79
Ibid., 144: “Occupational clothing is dress that indicates participation in a
specific type or general category of jobs.” Cf. the summary of organization dress,
differentiated between uniforms and occupational dress, in Sproles and Burns
(Changing Appearances, 156-57), who appear to do exactly what Joseph warns against:
confusing the uniform with the nonuniform of occupational dress.
80
Joseph, Uniforms and Nonuniforms, 143-44. Other schematizations have been
suggested. Cf., e.g., the discussion in Craik, Uniforms Exposed, 17, 104, and 126-28.
81
Craik deems ecclesiastical garb, “not usually defined as uniforms,” as a
uniform: “It is clear that the precise codification and elaboration of types of garments,
choice of fabric, ornamentation, colour and difference from lay dress means that
ecclesiastical dress conforms to the definition of uniforms—albeit ones concerned with
spiritual well-being” (ibid., 16; cf. 106-108).
82
Joseph, Uniforms and Nonuniforms, 143, 149.

61
because they share similar social and physical conditions.” 83 Examples here would

include the dress of bakers and chefs, cowboys, firefighters, and mechanics.

His third sub-category, career apparel, “is an adaptation of sports or informal

clothing, often designer made, for corporate use.” 84 Joseph notes that within this

category companies “furnish clothing similar in color, fabric, or style to white-collar

employees, especially those in contact with the public,” and the allowance for mixing

and matching dress elements retains freedom of choice and some individuality. 85

Finally, Joseph’s last nonuniform sub-category of occupational dress comprises

“the most unstructured form” of role-related dress in that such dress codes set

generalized limits of acceptable dress that are comprised of “ordinary or conventional

clothing.”86 As we will see, while the role-related dress of a Jewish priest would be

considered a uniform in Joseph’s classification scheme (despite it being ecclesiastical), 87

the role-related dress of the Jewish high priest fits completely into none of Joseph’s

categories, while it mirrors elements of some of them.

Uniform or not, ecclesiastical dress typically provides an adept way of

communicating role-related identity. Roach-Higgins and Eicher note that “religious

83
Ibid., 144.
84
Ibid.
85
Ibid.
86
Ibid.
87
Cf. Craik’s contrary contention that ecclesiastical dress is a uniform (Uniforms
Exposed, 16).

62
groups may include requirements for dress that clearly distinguish religious leaders from

followers.”88 As we will see, the religious leaders in Judaism associated with the

Mosaic tabernacle and the Solomonic temple and its successors certainly had religious

dress—including robes and a crown—that differentiated them from the average adherent

of Judaism.89

Obstacles to the Perception of Identity via Dress

The relationship between dress and identity is neither automatic nor always

correct. Despite blanket assertions that identifying people’s role-related identity via

dress can be “easily made,”90 or that dress items communicate “a clear message,” 91 the

potential for one to misread the “text” of dress is real and all too common: identification

via dress is not always a “slam dunk.” In the understated yet stark words of Joseph,

“Complications ensue.”92 There are numerous obstacles that impede the decoding of

88
Roach-Higgins and Eicher, “Dress and Identity,” 14.
89
On the importance of dress in the identification of religious or ecclesiastical
specialists, see Eicher, Evenson, and Lutz, Visible Self, 250-52.
90
McKay, “Gendering the Body, 91: “The identification of people’s roles,
functions and activities is easily made from the observer’s perspective.” This is not
always the case, and so this generalization is faulty.
91
Jopie Siebert-Hommes, “Without words they [items of dress] give a clear
message to the reader” (“‘On the Third Day Esther Put On Her Queen’s Robes’ [Esther
5:1]: The Symbolic Function of Clothing in the Book of Esther,” lectio difficilior 3, no.
1 [2002], par. 2, http://www.lectio.unibe.ch/02_1/inhalt_e.htm [accessed March 8,
2012]). Here she is specifically referring to literary messages communicated to the
reader via dress descriptions.
92
Joseph, Uniforms and Nonuniforms, 152. Note his observation with regard to
occupational dress: “Clothing as a means of communication works only when the

63
dress indicators, but here I will touch on only eight in order to illustrate both the

potential problems facing the interpreter of dress and possible ways of overcoming these

obstacles.93

Dress Ambiguity

One source of interpretive distortion is the complex nature of dress itself. Both

the individual elements of dress as well as the overall combination of the various

components of dress may not automatically or through labored effort yield an overall

clear identity.94 Damhorst cautions that because of the nonsequentiality and nonlinearity

of dress messages, they

resist precise cataloging and identification of single cues which trigger the
inferences. In other words the whole of a message sent through dress is greater than
the simple sum of the physical, visible parts of dress.
The intricate structure or form of dress makes the study of dress meanings a
complex endeavor. Simply adding up the messages transmitted by separate
components presented in a single appearance does not always yield the overall
meaning. The interaction of component parts is crucial to determination of the
message.95

This particular problem is compounded because of the multivocality of

public can recognize occupational dress and the wearer can predict the response of the
public. When one or the other of these conditions is not met, sartorial communication
breaks down” (ibid., 163). Cf. Ross, Clothing: A Global History, 7.
93
The obstacles selected overlap in places, illustrating again the complexity and
multifaceted nature of dress analysis.
94
Cf. McCracken (“Clothing as Language,” 116-17) and Schneider
(“Anthropology of Cloth,” 414).
95
Damhorst, “Common Thread,” 2. Cf. Eicher, Evenson, and Lutz, Visible Self,
28.

64
dress—the multiple meanings different articles of dress may have. 96 Thus Susan B.

Kaiser asserts that “seldom is only one meaning associated with an appearance

message.”97 She suggests that the recognition by one of another’s role-related identity

as a police officer via dress indicators occurs not because any one of the components of

the police officer’s uniform (e.g., hat, shirt, badge, belt, pants, shoes, tools, weapons) is

overwhelmingly distinctive as to the police officer’s role and occupation; rather, “the

effect [the police officer’s uniform] has on our perception is derived from the whole

ensemble.”98 Kaiser consequently concludes that in order to understand what one’s

appearance means, one must do three things: (1) take apart the appearance into its

constituent parts and analyze the meaning of each one; (2) identify how different

elements associate (e.g., compare and contrast) with each other; and (3) compare the

meaning of the resultant “whole” appearance with other “whole” appearances. 99

In his reflections on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s literary creation Sherlock

96
At the same time, other studies have shown that while most people link one
dress cue with one item of information, there are fewer instances when one dress cue
was linked with numerous items of information (Johnson, Schofield, and Yurchisin,
“Appearance and Dress,” 133). Cf. Craik (Uniforms Exposed, 136-38) and Sproles and
Burns (Changing Appearances, 223-24). With regard to literary criticism, cf.
Cunningham, “If the Cap Fits,” 52, 58-62.
97
Kaiser, Social Psychology of Clothing, 238; see also p. 241. Furthermore,
because of its polysemic nature, the wearer and the observer may not agree as to all of
the meanings that are possibly included in one appearance (Damhorst, “Dress as
Nonverbal Communication,” 69).
98
Kaiser, Social Psychology of Clothing, 217. Here Kaiser apparently sees less
value in the concepts of foregrounding/backgrounding and saliency than others do (e.g.,
Joseph, Uniforms and Nonuniforms, 20-21).
99
Kaiser, Social Psychology of Clothing, 217-18.

65
Holmes, George Fletcher observed that it is only “the symbols of the world’s great

religions [that] are more widely known than Sherlock Holmes’s deerstalker cap, caped

traveling coat, and smoking pipe.”100 In this particular case, none of the three items

would necessarily or clearly identify the character of Holmes by itself. Rather, it is their

combination in an overall dress ensemble—the clothing of both the deerstalker’s cap

and the traveling coat, and the accessory of the smoking pipe—that communicates

Holmes’s personal identity to the reader. 101

Contextual Disintegration

A second potential obstacle in the way of successfully interpreting dress relates

to the context or contexts of dress.102 Possible contexts include appearance, cultural,

gender, historical, locative, social, spatial, and temporal contexts.103 Viewing items of

dress—both salient and non-salient—in isolation from their context(s) may well distort

one’s understanding of the information dress is conveying.

One can illustrate the critical nature of the need for contextual integration in

several ways. The age of the wearer, for instance, may have a decisive role in one’s

100
George Fletcher, afterword to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Memoirs of
Sherlock Holmes (Pleasantville, NY: Reader’s Digest Association, 1988), 251.
101
This observation on the collaborative or holistic nature of dress must be
tempered, however, with the understanding that some elements of dress are more salient
than others. See Joseph, Uniforms and Nonuniforms, 20-21.
102
Cf. Damhorst (“Dress as Nonverbal Communication,” 72-75) and Kaiser
(Social Psychology of Clothing, 30).
103
Cf. Kaiser, Social Psychology of Clothing, 241, 245-46.

66
positive or negative evaluation of dress, even though it technically has nothing to do

with dress per se. Damhorst nevertheless points out the crucial nature of the temporal

context when she observes, for instance, that an ice cream stain on an infant or toddler is

certainly more cute than an ice cream stain on a forty-two-year-old.104 Consequently, an

ice cream stain in isolation, hampered by contextual disintegration, can well lead to

distortion in one’s overall analysis. 105 Or notice how the calendar could obscure the

role-related interpretation of dress if the day in which one observed such dress were on

“casual” or “dress down” day (often Friday). Moreover, contextualization takes on

added importance when nonuniform role-related dress comes into play. Whereas the

uniform of the police officer can be decoded in virtually any context, Joseph notes that a

white jacket worn in a hospital has a very different connotation than a white jacket worn

in a beauty parlor.106

One must consequently be cognizant of a variety of contextual indicators in

relation to the observed dress, such as the occasion and place of the dress appearance

and the wearer’s age, culture, gender, spatial surroundings, and even moods, else one

risks contextual disintegration and resultant sartorial misunderstanding. 107 An

awareness and integration of contextual information into one’s overall dress analysis

104
Damhorst, “Dress as Nonverbal Communication,” 73.
105
As another example, Davis observes that a piece of black gauze in a funeral
veil does not convey the same message as an identical piece of black gauze sewn into a
nightgown (Fashion, Culture, and Identity, 8).
106
Joseph, Uniforms and Nonuniforms, 147.
107
Cf. Davis, Fashion, Culture, and Identity, 8.

67
can consequently limit such overall interpretive distortion.

Foreground / Background Confusion

While Kaiser’s observation mentioned earlier 108 has merit in that one must

analyze the “total package” of dress in order to correctly reach identity perception,

individual dress elements may at times actually trump the composite picture. Patrizia

Calefato relates a bizzare example of this one-trumps-all dynamic:

In the summer of 1994 the Italian Foreign Office refused to issue a diplomatic
passport to a newly elected Euro-MP because it was thought that the photograph on
it didn’t correspond to the actual person. An incredible decision, since what made
the photo an inadequate representation of the politician was the fact that he wasn’t
wearing a tie! The civil servants working in the diplomatic passports office
maintained that the absence of a tie was sufficient to call the MP’s personal identity
into question. The tie thus assumed the role of a distinctive feature on the body,
with the same status as a beard, hair colour, age, weight, glasses or plastic surgery.109

Here, while Calefato stated that the (missing) tie took on the “same status” as other

aspects of the MP’s dress, in fact it trumped them all in the minds of the civil servants.

Roach-Higgins and Eicher emphasized that “meanings communicated by dress

may emanate from its basic type, one of its properties (e.g., color, shape), or a composite

of its component types and/or properties.” 110 They illustrated this by observing that “the

color (a single property) of a businessman’s tie may be a more important indicator of his

identity than is his total ensemble of suit, shirt, tie, socks, and shoes.” 111 Thus, while the

108
Kaiser, Social Psychology of Clothing, 217-18.
109
Calefato, Clothed Body, 23.
110
Roach-Higgins and Eicher, “Dress and Identity,” 11.
111
Ibid. For a revised version, cf. Eicher, Evenson, and Lutz, Visible Self, 28.

68
possibility exists that a composite dress ensemble may in its entirety be the key to

decoding dress messages, on the other hand it may indeed send mixed and confusing

signals; one salient element may well be the key to identity, instead of the other dress

components combined.

At the same time, when dress components communicate inconsistent meaning or

do not seem to “go together,” observers may be tempted to explain away the apparent

inconsistencies and then focus on the most salient component of the remaining items of

dress.112 This indicates that salience may be the result of the process of deduction,

potentially brought on by ambiguity or misunderstanding. While there is a need for

balance in weighing both the dress ensemble as a unit and the individual elements

themselves, this dynamic indicates that there may be no clear-cut and certain way to

decode some forms of dress.

Incorrect Expectations

Misleading, unrealistic, or quixotic expectations can precipitate dress identity

misperceptions. Who has not met someone and—because that person was wearing

different dress than expected—been unable to recognize that person? 113 Moreover,

Joseph notes that when background signs clash with one’s expectations, they can usurp

the proper role and function of foreground signs.114 This can lead not to non-recognition

112
McCracken, “Clothing as Language,” 115-16.
113
Cf. Calefato, Clothed Body, 23.
114
Joseph, Uniforms and Nonuniforms, 20.

69
but to identity misinterpretation. Joseph illustrates this by relating the story of how an

enlisted Marine wore a nonregulation pistol, custom-made boots, an ivory swagger

stick, and binoculars—all background signs of an officer’s role-related dress—without

the explicit foreground element of an officer’s insignia. In due course the unexpected

background elements, overwhelming the observers’ ability to detect the absence of an

officer’s salient foreground insignia, resulted in other enlisted men erroneously saluting

him as an officer.115

Expectations by observers that workers should “look the part” are normal. But

when expectations do not match reality, negative interrelational issues swiftly rise to the

fore. Jennifer Craik observes that “we would not trust the dentist with grubby overalls

and dirty nails; we would be sceptical of a legal defender in a hot pink mini and low-cut

top; and we would wonder if the plumber in a polo shirt and chinos could really unblock

the drains.”116 And Paul Fussell writes about his shock and dismay when he came into

contact with a doctor dressed not in the traditional uniform but rather in a tweed jacket

and khakis: “I felt both uncertain of the roles we were playing and a bit annoyed at

being cheated.”117

Stereotypical Understandings

Stereotypical or idealized understandings of dress present another obstacle to the

115
Ibid.
116
Craik, Uniforms Exposed, 120.
117
Paul Fussell, Uniforms: Why We Are What We Wear (Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 2002), 158.

70
interpretation of dress. Stereotyping is highly selective and favors one role over another

and, according to Joseph, results from “the homogenization of symbols which uses a

single image to describe a range of uniforms and ignores the variation due to

chronological change, unit distinctions, or individual nonconformity.” 118 When the

historic dress of an American Indian, for example, focuses on the Indian as a warrior in

his warrior regalia, other necessary roles are not only overshadowed but in danger of

being ignored entirely.

Temporal and Locative Instability

Another potential source of distortion is the temporal and locative instability of

dress perception. Linda Baumgarten observes: “Most scholars agree that, although it

can and does say things, clothing’s message is more subtle and unclear; it shifts with

time and place and is without fixed rules of grammar like a true language.” 119 Thus

Davis notes that “the very same apparel ensemble that ‘said’ one thing last year will

‘say’ something quite different today and yet another thing next year.” 120

Since it is often difficult to recapture dress perceptions from centuries ago, the

118
Joseph, Uniforms and Nonuniforms, 104.
119
Linda Baumgarten, What Clothes Reveal, 54. Cf. Davis, Fashion, Culture,
and Identity, 5. After noting that written language itself can be misunderstood,
Baumgarten surprisingly concludes: “The uncodified rules that dictated what to wear for
various occasions in the past, or that govern what people wear today, are almost as rigid
as grammatical rules” (What Clothes Reveal, 54).
120
Davis, Fashion, Culture, and Identity, 6. Cf. Kaiser, Social Psychology of
Clothing, 245-46. Both Davis (Fashion, Culture, and Identity, 9) and Holman
(“Apparel as Communication,” 9) note that translators of dress from varying social
systems and/or differing time periods may not agree on the meaning of the dress code.

71
continuing passage of time consequently makes the process of unraveling the meanings

of dress in such cultures more difficult.121 Nevertheless, Damhorst acknowledges that

“dress in traditional cultures tends to change slowly over time and may incorporate

long-used symbols that are steeped with meanings.” 122 This helps explain why, on the

one hand, those who understand the centuries-long code of the Japanese kimono readily

understand its meaning, while on the other hand, the occupational role of police and

military uniforms of the United States are similarly clear in meaning, though less

longstanding in usage.123

Anachronistic Misinterpretations

Anachronistic interpretations of dress and its symbols may also impede

meaningful dress analysis. One way this occurs is by assuming that current social

dynamics, standards, and practices existed in the past. Joseph points to the fact that

some have interpreted the amount of gold lace or braid on the uniforms of seventeenth

century British generals as indicative of a higher rank in the military hierarchy. The

reality, however, was that there were no dress regulations at that point in time, and more

121
Linda Baumgarten, What Clothes Reveal, 56. Cf. Damhorst, “Dress as
Nonverbal Communication,” 69.
122
Damhorst, “Dress as Nonverbal Communication,” 69. On the extended
stability of fashions in the ancient world, see also Leona Glidden Running, “Garments,”
ISBE (1982), 2:401. Notice how it is much more difficult to decode dress today, since
many consumers “mix and match,” borrow dress from distant cultures, and are unafraid
to break established dress codes. Cf. Damhorst, “Dress as Nonverbal Communication,”
77; and Susan B. Kaiser, “Identity, Postmodernity, and the Global Apparel
Marketplace,” in Meanings of Dress, 89-90.
123
Damhorst, “Dress as Nonverbal Communication,” 69.

72
gold lace/braid instead indicated greater social affluence, based on greater power and

wealth. The contemporary perspective thus becomes anachronistic when it attempts to

impose upon the past a bureaucratized system of precise insignia for each rank. 124

In another illustration, Joseph writes that observers at the first mass celebrated

by a newly ordained priest interpreted the vestments of around a dozen other celebrant

priests—the same except for slight differences in embroidery—as demonstrative of the

celebrant priests’ membership in several clerical orders. The truth, however, was that

the vestments had accumulated over time, and the differing embroidery simply stemmed

from the tastes of the original owners. The anachronistic, bureaucratic outlook—natural

for a contemporary group of observers—had misinterpreted the “uniform” differences as

indicative of institutional membership in various components of the organization. 125

Another type of anachronistic misinterpretation is roughly the reverse of the

former dynamic: assuming what was true in the past should match present reality.

Fussell writes about the “strange” experience he had when his understanding of the

proper dress of nurses—correct at one time in history—was not realized:

In a hospital recently, I was struck by a memorable oddity. The nurses appeared not
in their traditional uniform (white shoes and hose, white dress, all-important
starched white cap, and navy blue cape for outdoors), but dressed any old way,
including blue jeans, as if they were ashamed of any sign of education or distinction
let alone simple identification. The impulse may have been a desire to fit in with the
floor moppers and trash collectors and not be recognized as trained professionals,
members of a formerly proud sorority. This novel phenomenon struck me as
misguided, when, as a bed patient, I wanted to see a nurse now and then and the only

124
Joseph, Uniforms and Nonuniforms, 112-13.
125
Ibid., 113. Cf. ibid., 114-16.

73
 caregivers I could raise looked like charladies.126

Fussell’s anachronistic expectation no longer matched current reality, and this clearly

upset him, since, as he noted, patients “feel cheated when assigned a nurse visibly not

qualified.”127 The nurse was qualified, though; the styles of nursing dress, however, had

radically changed.

Duodirectional Communicative Purposes

Finally, while dress reveals through its communicative properties, it may also

conceal.128 What is the communicative purpose of one or more articles of dress? Does

an article of dress—or the composite dress ensemble as a whole—reveal the identity of

the one so dressed? Or does it mask and camouflage the identity of the one wearing it?

While misreading a masking purpose for a revelatory one will not distort the intended

message(s) being sent, it will nevertheless bring one to a mistaken understanding of the

real identity of the one so dressed.

Summary and Conclusions

While literature over the millennia has repeatedly conveyed and discovered

meaning in dress, the academic study of dress is scarcely more than a century old.

Despite the popular understanding of dress, scholars in the human sciences have

repeatedly concluded that dress includes more than what one wears; it can include

126
Fussell, Uniforms, 156.
127
Ibid., 157.
128
Schneider and Weiner, “Introduction,” 1, 3.

74
garments, ornaments, cosmetics, devices, treatments, equipment, and tools.

Furthermore, dress communicates. One of the many sociological indicators that dress

communicates is identity. And while dress can communicate age, ethnic, gender,

political, socioeconomic, and other identities, it can also communicate a role-related

identity.

At the same time, in the perception of identity via dress, there are a number of

obstacles that can potentially prevent one from a correct interpretation, including dress

ambiguity, contextual disintegration, foreground and background confusion,

stereotypical or idealized understandings of dress by observers, temporal and locative

instability of dress, incorrect expectations on the part of dress observers, anachronistic

misinterpretations by those who analyze dress, and the duodirectional communication

purposes of dress. These potential obstacles underscore the need for caution and

balance in the formal interpretation of dress.

Contemporary scholars of dress understand that the ability of dress to

communicate is neither trivial nor insignificant. As Culham astutely notes, “It may look

suspicious at first glance to attribute so much significance to mere matters of clothing

and color, but, as symbols, these are really quite potent.” 129 Consequently, applying

some of these conclusions of social scientists regarding dress to texts in Revelation

describing dress will be potentially useful in determining whether or not high priestly

imagery is present or not.

129
Culham, “What Meaning,” 244.

75
 CHAPTER 3

DRESS AND IDENTITY IN THE BIBLICAL WORLD1

Introduction

What do the modern cities of Milan, New York, Paris, Rome, London, Los

Angeles, and Hong Kong have to do with ancient Jerusalem? In terms of dress, plenty.

In a fascinating discussion of the sartorial sacred and profane, Crispin H. T. Fletcher-

Louis describes his perspective on how this comparison works:

For Second Temple Jews the temple offered the nearest equivalent to the modern
fashion industry. At the risk of being judged irreverent, we should compare the
inner precincts of the temple to the catwalks of Paris and Milan. The awe and
otherworldly regard in which our own “supermodels” are held has a socio-religious
parallel in ancient Judaism. The high priest’s garments were reserved for use within
the temple precincts, and the laity, women and gentiles are carefully cordoned off
from the priesthood, the “fashion elite,” in much the same way that our fashion
industry separates its stars physically and economically from the rest of us. Of
course, the ideological superstructure of the two worlds—the ancient Jewish
priesthood and the modern fashion industry—is different, but there are unmistakable
commonalities between their respective social structures.2

1
For the purposes of this paper, I define the “biblical world” to include cultural
artifacts and literary texts that impacted or were produced by Jewish and Judeo-
Christian people up until ca. 100 CE. It would thus encompass the ANE (primarily in
the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian areas), the OT (including both the MT and the
LXX, and thus the Apocrypha), extrabiblical Jewish literature of the Second Temple
period, the Roman world and the NT.
2
Fletcher-Louis, Glory of Adam, 59-60. Cf. Michaël N. van der Meer, who, in
his discussion of the luxury items in Isa 3:18-23, compares the literary picture to “a few
leading ladies walking on the catwalks of Jerusalem and Alexandria” (“Trendy
Translations in the Septuagint of Isaiah: A Study of the Vocabulary of the Greek Isaiah

76
While these modern cities are hundreds—if not thousands—of miles away from

Jerusalem, and while they are certainly centuries beyond ancient Jerusalem, they do

share some fundamental sartorial dynamics, perceptions, and reflexes.

The ability to better understand and appreciate texts containing dress imagery in

Revelation via the lens of contemporary discussions on dress, communication, and role-

related identity is not anomalous but rather is part of a widespread and long-standing

means of communication. Consequently, in this chapter I will demonstrate how

contemporary scholarly discussion regarding the relation between dress and identity

provides an interpretive framework for examining and understanding dress and identity

issues in the biblical world in general and, in particular, the book of Revelation. I will

first survey examples from the biblical world exclusive of the book of Revelation in

order to demonstrate the resonance between it and contemporary discussion regarding

the interrelationship of dress and identity.3 I will then briefly survey the repeated

references to dress in Revelation in order to verify its import in terms of identity issues.

I will illustrate how John’s rhetoric in Revelation utilizes dress imagery as one means of

communicating the identity of various characters inhabiting his text.

Dress and Identity in the Biblical World

Observers today give less attention to how dress communicates—not to mention

3,18-23 in the Light of Contemporary Sources,” in Die Septuaginta, ed. Karrer and
Kraus, 596.
3
Since the purpose of this chapter is to survey the connection between dress and
identity in the ancient world, the contemporary interpretations of biblical passages that I
refer to here should be seen as possible interpretations illustrating such a connection and
not the final word on the texts under discussion; other interpretations exist.

77
how it communicates identity—than those who lived in the ancient world. 4 In

contrasting ancient and contemporary society, Klaus Berger asserts that “one can

certainly say that, at the time of the New Testament, clothing played an indispensable

sociopsychological function, little of which remains among us today.” 5 Part of the

reason for this is that the significance and value of dress has changed so drastically over

time. While two of the primary purposes of dress are to protect from the inclement

elements of nature and to provide some means of personal privacy,6 there were many

other dimensions to the purpose of dress that humans in the biblical world found to be

just as important.7

Importance of Dress

Dress is a fundamental image in the biblical world. Sebastian Brock asserts that

“the entire span of salvation history can be expressed in terms of clothing imagery.” 8

4
Klaus Berger observes that this function of dress to provide crucial information
regarding, for example, social status, has been largely superceded by other means in
contemporary society and is thus easily overlooked (Identity and Experience in the New
Testament, trans. Charles Meunchow [Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003], 40-42).
5
Ibid., 41.
6
See Roy R. Jeal, “Clothes Make the (Wo)man,” Scriptura 90 (2005): 685,
where he asserts that these two purposes are at “the most obvious level.”
7
Cf. ibid.; and John J. Pilch, “Clothes,” The Cultural Dictionary of the Bible
(Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 1999), 20.
8
Brock, “Clothing Metaphors,” 11. His sweeping conclusion is made in light of
Syriac interpretation of biblical and extrabiblical texts, such as Gen 3:7, 21; Sir 50:11; 1
Enoch 62:15; Matt 22:12; Rom 13:14; and Gal 3:27 (ibid., 12-15). Brock notes in
particular clothing language used in this tradition with reference to Adam, Christ as the
second Adam, individual Christians, and the eschatological kingdom (ibid., 22). For an
illustrative synopsis of Syriac interpretations, see ibid., 23-28.

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Focusing dress imagery further, with reference to the critical nature of dress as an

indicator of identity, Thomas A. J. McGinn succinctly writes: “In classical antiquity,

you were what you wore.”9 The Hebrew sage Ben Sira aphoristically noted the decisive

identity-communicating properties of dress in Sir 19:30 (NRSV): “A person’s attire and

hearty laughter, and the way he walks, show what he is.” This particular work

illustrates the proverbial and well-known ability of dress to communicate definitive

information about a person. Ben Sira later stated that there were four necessities in life:

water, bread, clothing, and a house (Sir 29:21). Thus, in these two brief texts, Ben Sira

epitomized the pervasive importance of dress that has continued through time and

across borders.10

ANE dress, which frequently communicated metaphoric meaning11 and/or

9
Thomas A. J. McGinn, Prostitution, Sexuality and the Law in Ancient Rome
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 162; cf. Douglas R. Edwards, “Dress and
Ornamentation,” ABD (1992), 2:238.
10
Cf. Kelly Olson, who forcefully observes that Roman fashion (in the sense of
dress) shaped its wearer and actually established one’s identity (Dress and the Roman
Woman: Self-Presentation and Society [London: Routledge, 2008], 1).
11
Metaphoric dress occurs when subjects are described as dressed in essentially
non-dress items or concepts (i.e., a god dressed in light or glory). Ancient expressions
of metaphorical dress included such concepts as Mesopotamian melammu (a crown-like
radiance portrayed as head-gear) and pulhu (a supernatural radiance portrayed as a
garment), both of which could describe the dress of gods, kings, and priests. On this
and other metaphoric dress, cf., e.g., H. A. Brongers, “Die metaphorische Verwendung
von Termini für die Kleidung von Göttern und Menschen in der Bibel und im Alten
Orient,” in Von Kanaan bis Kerala: Festschrift für Prof. Mag. Dr. Dr. J. P. M. van der
Ploeg O. P. zur Vollendung des siebzigsten Lebensjahres am 4. Juli 1979: Überreicht
von Kollegen, Freunden und Schülern, ed. W. C. Delsman et al., Alter Orient und Altes
Testament 211 (Kevelaer: Butzon & Bercker; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1982),
61-74; Elena Cassin, La splendeur divine: Introduction à l’étude de la mentalité
mésopotamienne, Civilisations et Sociétés 8 (Paris: Mouton, 1968), 118; Menahem
Haran, “The Shining of Moses’ Face: A Case Study in Biblical and Ancient Near

79
symbolic meaning,12 had a distinctive significance. Dressing statues of the gods

correctly, for instance, was of such paramount importance that ancient rulers were given

that critical responsibility.13 But in comparing the communicative role of dress in

Eastern Iconography,” in In the Shelter of Elyon: Essays on Ancient Palestinian Life and
Literature in Honor of G. W. Ahlström, ed. W. Boyd Barrick and John R. Spencer,
JSOTSup 31 (Sheffield: JSOT, 1984), 167-68; A. Leo Oppenheim, “Akkadian
pul(u)h(t)u and melammu,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 63 (1943): 31-34;
Thomas Podella, Das Lichtkleid JHWHs: Untersuchungen zur Gestalthaftigkeit Gottes
im Alten Testament und seiner altorientalischen Umwelt, FAT 15 (Tübingen: J. C. B.
Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 1996), 4-9; Seth L. Sanders, “Old Light on Moses’ Shining Face,”
VT 52 (2002): 404-405; Nahum M. Waldman, “A Note on Ezekiel 1:18,” JBL 103
(1984): 614-618; idem, “The Imagery of Clothing, Covering, and Overpowering,”
JANES 19 (1989): 161-70, particularly 162; and Wilder, “Illumination and Investiture,”
63-64.
12
Dress with symbolic meaning is different from metaphoric dress in that the
subject is described with real dress items, and these dress items (or, the actions related
to these dress items) symbolize something other than the dress item itself. See Paul A.
Kruger, “The Hem of the Garment in Marriage: The Meaning of the Symbolic Gesture
in Ruth 3:9 and Ezek 16:8,” Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages 12 (1984): 79;
idem, “The Symbolic Significance of the Hem (kanaf) in 1 Samuel 15.27,” in Text and
Context: Old Testament and Semitic Studies for F. C. Fensham, ed. W. Claassen,
JSOTSup 48 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1988), 106; Harry O. Maier, “Kleidung II
(Bedeutung),” RAC (2006), 21:22; J. N. Postgate, “Assyrian Uniforms,” in Veenhof
Anniversary Volume: Studies Presented to Klaas R. Veenhof on the Occasion of His
Sixty-Fifth Birthday, ed. W. H. van Soldt, Uitgaven van het Nederlands
Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul 89 (Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor
het Nabije Oosten, 2001), 374; and Karel van der Toorn, “The Significance of the Veil
in the Ancient Near East,” in Pomegranates and Golden Bells: Studies in Biblical,
Jewish, and Near Eastern Ritual, Law, and Literature in Honor of Jacob Milgrom, ed.
David P. Wright, David Noel Freedman, and Avi Hurvitz (Winona Lake, IN:
Eisenbrauns, 1995), 327-39. Cf. Wilder, “Illumination and Investiture,” 59, n. 22.
13
Stefan Zawadzki, Garments of the Gods: Studies on the Textile Industry and
the Pantheon of Sippar According to the Texts from the Ebabbar Archive, Orbis biblicus
et orientalis 218 (Fribourg: Academic Press; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht,
2006), 140. The first investigation into the ritual clothing of images was made by A.
Leo Oppenheim, “The Golden Garments of the Gods,” JNES 8 (1949): 172-93. For
more recent works, see, e.g., David Lorton, “The Theology of Cult Statues in Ancient
Egypt,” in Born in Heaven, Made on Earth: The Making of the Cult Image in the
Ancient Near East, ed. Michael B. Dick (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1999), 123-

80
society in general with its communicative role in ANE and OT literary texts, Jopie

Siebert-Hommes suggests that “the impact of clothing objects and other insignia [in

literary texts] may be even more crucial [than in society in general], because authors and

writers often intentionally make use of special details about dress and garments to

convey certain information about the main characters.” 14 The significant role of

investiture in both the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Tale of Adapa,15 as well as the jewel-

encrusted garments taken off and then put back on at the beginning and end of Ištar’s

Descent to the Netherworld,16 provides famous examples of the crucial and powerful

210, particularly 138 and 144; Eiko Matsushima, “Divine Statues in Ancient
Mesopotamia: Their Fashioning and Clothing and Their Interaction with the Society,” in
Official Cult and Popular Religion in the Ancient Near East: Papers of the First
Colloquium on the Ancient Near East—The City and Its Life, Held at the Middle
Eastern Culture Center in Japan (Mitaka, Tokyo), March 20-22, 1992, ed. Eiko
Matsushima (Heidelberg: C. Winter, 1993), 209-19; idem, “Some Remarks on the
Divine Garments: kusītu and nahlaptu,” Acta sumerologica 17 (1995): 233-49; and
Herbert Sauren, “Die Kleidung der Götter,” in Representations of Gods, vol. 2 of
Visible Religion, ed. H. G. Kippenberg et al. (Leiden: Brill, 1983), 95-117.
14
Siebert-Hommes, “‘On the Third Day,’” par. 1.
15
For discussion of investiture in these two texts, see Robert A. Oden, Jr., “Grace
or Status? Yahweh’s Clothing of the First Humans,” in The Bible Without Theology:
The Theological Tradition and Alternatives to It, New Voices in Biblical Theology (San
Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987), 101-103.
16
See, e.g., Simo Parpola’s discussion of the dress imagery in this ancient myth
in the context of the so-called Hymn of the Pearl (the latter embedded in the much later
Acts of Thomas) in his “Mesopotamian Precursors of the Hymn of the Pearl,” in
Mythology and Mythologies: Methodological Approaches to Intercultural Influences:
Proceedings of the Second Annual Symposium of the Assyrian and Babylonian
Intellectual Heritage Project Held in Paris, France, October 4-7, 1999, ed. R. M.
Whiting, Melammu Symposia 2 (Helsinki: The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project,
2001), 181-93, particularly pp. 182, 185, 190, and 192. For Parpola’s discussion of
Ištar’s Descent to the Netherworld, in terms of its stripping metaphor, see his Assyrian
Prophecies, State Archives of Assyria 9 (Helsinki: Helsinki University Press, 1997),
xxxii-xxxiii, and xci, n. 112.

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importance of dress motifs in the ANE literary texts.

In the OT the extensive vocabulary for dress17 and the frequent references to

dress18—both literal as well as metaphoric19 and symbolic20—illustrate its critical nature

17
OT dress terms have been translated into the English equivalents of armlet,
armor, band, belt, bracelet, breeches, chain, cloak, crescent, crown, diadem, earring,
embroidery, fringes, garment, girdle, handkerchief, insignia, leather, mantle, necklace,
nose ring, ornament, pendant, (finger) ring, robe, sandal, sash, seal, signet ring, tassel,
tunic, turban, various precious stones, veil, etc. See Running (“Garments,” 401-407) for
a detailed summary of the Hebrew and Greek terminology.
18
For summary discussions of the significance of dress during both the OT and
NT periods, see, e.g., Edwards, “Dress and Ornamentation,” 2:232-38; Edgar Haulotte,
Symbolique du Vêtement selon la Bible, Théologie 65 (Paris: Aubier, 1966), 79-89;
Kim, Significance of Clothing Imagery, particularly 10-69 and 106-223; Maier,
“Kleidung II (Bedeutung),” 21:22-40; Christoph G. Müller, “Kleidung als Element der
Charakterzeichnung im Neuen Testament und seiner Umwelt: Ein Streifzug durch das
lukanische Erzählwerk,” Studien zum Neuen Testament und seiner Umwelt 28 (2003):
187-214; and Running, “Garments,” 401-407. For discussions dealing particularly with
the NT world, see Jeal, “Clothes Make the (Wo)man,” 685-99; Bruce J. Malina and
Jerome H. Neyrey, “Honor and Shame in Luke-Acts: Pivotal Values of the
Mediterranean World,” in The Social World of Luke-Acts: Models for Interpretation, ed.
Jerome H. Neyrey (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1991), 54-55; and Barbara E. Reid,
“The Transfiguration: An Exegetical Study of Luke 9:28-36” (PhD diss., Catholic
University of America, 1988), 189. Cf. Nils Alstrup Dahl, “Kleidungsmetaphern: der
alte und der neue Mensch,” in Studies in Ephesians: Introductory Questions, Text- &
Edition-Critical Issues, Interpretation of Texts and Themes, ed. David Hellholm,
Vemund Blomkvist, and Tord Fornberg, WUNT 131 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2000),
389-92; Nils Alstrup Dahl and David Hellholm, “Garment-Metaphors: The Old and the
New Human Being,” in Antiquity and Humanity: Essays on Ancient Religion and
Philosophy Presented to Hans Dieter Betz on His 75th Birthday, ed. Adela Yarbro
Collins and Margaret M. Mitchell (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2001), 139; and Milton L.
Torres, “The Stripping of a Cloak: A Topos in Classical and Biblical Literature,”
Hermenêutica 1 (2001): 53-54.
19
For a brief yet detailed synopsis of the metaphorical understanding of dress in
the OT, see Neufeld, “Under the Cover,” 69.
20
For the symbolic nature of dress, particularly in the Joseph cycle of stories in
Genesis, see Nelly Furman, “His Story Versus Her Story: Male Genealogy and Female
Strategy in the Jacob Cycle,” Semeia 46 (1989): 144, 146; and Mois A. Navon, “Beged
or Simlah—Is There a Difference?” JBQ 32 (2004): 266-69. Victor H. Matthews and
Don C. Benjamin suggest that the message King Josiah communicated in 2 Kgs 22:11

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in the more focused arena of Israelite society.21 Because dress communicated such

important information as association with the sacred, commerce and finance, economic

and political status, emotion, and honor or shame, one must not ignore or automatically

downplay the numerous identity issues being communicated via various dress codes. 22

At the same time, the polysemous and potentially ambiguous reality of such dress

information provides a cautionary note for interpreters.23

Examples from the writings of Luke and Josephus demonstrate the powerful and

evocative nature of dress even after centuries of Israelite history.24 Of the writers of the

when he tore his clothes in response to Shaphan’s reading of the book of the law
symbolized independence from Assyrian suzerainty (Social World of Ancient Israel:
1250-587 BCE [Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1993], 243), but this could more easily be
seen as one of mourning, particularly in light of 22:19 (cf., e.g., Gen 37:34; 2 Sam 1:11-
12; 14:2; Esth 4:1).
21
Edwards, “Dress and Ornamentation,” 2:232, 235, 238; Matthews and
Benjamin, Social World, 147. Cf. Kim, Significance of Clothing Imagery, 11; and M.
E. Vogelzang and W. J. van Bekkum, “Meaning and Symbolism of Clothing in Ancient
Near Eastern Texts,” in Scripta Signa Vocis: Studies about Scripts, Scriptures, Scribes
and Languages in the Near East, Presented to J. H. Hospers by his Pupils, Colleagues
and Friends, ed. H. L. J. Vanstiphout et al. (Groningen: Egbert Forsten, 1986), 272.
22
For a discussion of this and illustrative OT texts, see Edwards, “Dress and
Ornamentation,” 2:232-34, 238. Cf. Victor H. Matthews, “The Anthropology of
Clothing in the Joseph Narrative,” JSOT 65 (1995): 25, 36.
23
For example, the barefoot portrayal of a person could indicate such things as
captivity or slavery (e.g., Isa 20:2-4), a state of mourning (cf. 2 Sam 15:30; Ezek 24:17,
23), or proximity to holy ground (cf. Exod 3:5; Josh 5:15). While priests wore a tn<toK.
(tunic: cf. Exod 28:4; Ezra 2:69), so did such non-priestly people as Joseph (Gen 37:3),
David’s daughter Tamar (2 Sam 13:18-19), and Hushai the Archite (2 Sam 15:32).
24
For a compact survey of dress and its meaning during the Second Temple
period, see Maier, “Kleidung II (Bedeutung),” 21:27-31. Joseph and Aseneth is one
work during this period in which dress plays a critical role (e.g., 2:4; 3:6; 4:1; 5:5; 10:8-
11, 14; 13:2-5; 14:9—15:2; 15:10; 16:18; 18:5-6; 20:6; 21:5; textual references are
based on the longer group of mss., and on this see the discussion in C. Burchard,
“Joseph and Aseneth: A New Translation and Introduction,” in OTP, 2:178, 180-81;

83
NT Gospels, Luke exhibits a particularly strong interest in dress. Luke’s association of

dress with Jesus is so strong that Robert J. Karris has suggested that “in a sense Luke

describes Jesus’ life from beginning to end by means of the theme of clothing.” 25

Furthermore, James L. Resseguie proposes that even Jesus’ own dress—whether it is the

clothes with which he was wrapped at birth (2:7), the clothes which gleamed white like

a lightning flash at his transfiguration (9:29), the radiant robes placed on him during his

mocking by the Romans (23:11), or the linen cloths cast off and left behind at his

resurrection (24:12)—was fundamental to understanding him, since it disclosed his

social status and/or inner nature or character during critical, transitional moments in his

earthly life.26

and idem, “The Text of Joseph and Aseneth Reconsidered,” JSP 14 [2005]: 83-96). On
the dating of this work before 100 CE, cf. George J. Brooke, “Men and Women as
Angels in Joseph and Aseneth,” JSP 14 (2005): 172-76; Collins, “Joseph and Aseneth,”
106, 109-111; and Docherty, “Joseph and Aseneth,” 31.
The NT documents written during the first century CE intersected not only with
Judaism but also with the Roman world, with its particular perspectives on and
understandings of dress, and thus one cannot look simply to Judaism as the background
for understanding NT statements on and references to dress. Cf. Edwards, “Dress and
Ornamentation,” 2:235; and Lucille A. Roussin, “Costume in Roman Palestine:
Archaeological Remains and the Evidence from the Mishnah,” in The World of Roman
Costume, ed. Judith Lynn Sebesta and Larissa Bonfante, Wisconsin Studies in Classics
(Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1994), 182-90, in which she makes the
following baffling assertion: “Early Christian written sources contain only two
references [Mark 9:3; 2 Tim 4:13] to Jewish costume” (p. 182). Jeri DeBrohun
concludes that Roman dress was more symbolically loaded than Greek dress (“Power
Dressing in Ancient Greece and Rome,” History Today 51 [February 2001]: 20).
25
Robert J. Karris, Luke: Artist and Theologian: Luke’s Passion Account as
Literature, Theological Inquiries: Studies in Contemporary Biblical and Theological
Problems (New York: Paulist, 1985), 86.
26
James L. Resseguie, “Clothing: A Map of the Spiritual Life,” in Spiritual
Landscape: Images of the Spiritual Life in the Gospel of Luke (Peabody, MA:
Hendrickson, 2004), 91-94.

84
 For Josephus dress also carried much weight, not only with regard to Jewish

societal sensibilities but also within the broader Roman world.27 Josephus indicates that

dress could be used in an attempt to powerfully control the reactions of people. For

example, in his brief narrative account about Herod Agrippa I’s last speech and

shocking death (also found in Acts 12:19-23),28 he describes in much more detail than

Luke the clothing that Agrippa wore—that it was woven completely out of silver, and

that it was radiant and glittering—and that its resultant effect on Agrippa’s audience was

to create a sense of fear and awe in them (A.J. 19.344). Here one finds a case of dress-

related impression management: Agrippa attempted to control the effect on and

response of his audience via the dress he wore so that they would realize that he was not

one to be treated lightly or flippantly.29

Josephus’s writings also give evidence that dress not only conveyed signs of

27
Douglas R. Edwards notes that “Josephus’ literary uses of dress or costume
reflect his involvement in the status-conscious, symbol-laden world of first-century
Roman society and the tradition-laden Jewish world from which he came” (“The Social,
Religious, and Political Aspects of Costume in Josephus,” in World of Roman Costume,
153). Dress in the Roman world went beyond clothing to encompass “beards,
hairstyles, and wigs, perfumes and cosmetics, jewellery and accessories, and colour,
whether of clothing, hair dye, or skin treatments (tattoos, for example)” (DeBrohun,
“Power Dressing,” 18-19). Those who lived within the wider world of the NT
consequently did not utilize dress merely for warmth or protection but also for making
statements and affirming their identity, status, and role in society.
28
When the people of Tyre and Sidon made a trip to Herod’s residence in
Caesarea in order to ask for peace, he “put on his royal robes” ( evndusa,menoj evsqh/ta
basilikh.n [12:21]) and delivered an oration to them. But his audience shouted out that
they had heard the voice of a god and not a man. Luke narrates that because Agrippa
did not give God the glory, he died a horrible death (12:22-23).
29
So Neufeld, “Sumptuous Clothing,” 669. Cf. also ibid., p. 670 and idem,
“Under the Cover,” 70.

85
prestige and status but also political, cosmic, and spiritual gravity. 30 A revealing

example occurs in his discussion of the attempt by the Levites to appropriate the linen

robes worn by the priests and Herod Agrippa II’s subsequent granting of their request.

Josephus indicated that this violation of the traditional dress code was a major cause for

the defeat of the Jewish nation in its conflict with Rome (A.J. 20.216-18). And in terms

of cosmic31 and spiritual meaning, Josephus concludes, for example, that while the high

priest’s clothing symbolized the intersection of heaven and earth (cf. A.J. 3.181-86), it

also provided an ongoing, chastening reminder of the apostasy of the nation, since for

over two hundred years the providential flash of light from the high priest’s ephod had

not occurred (A.J. 3:215-17).

Dress in the biblical world is thus a goldmine of crucial information for

understanding human customs and practices, aspirations and hopes, and concerns and

worries. Furthermore, one cannot completely understand the character, status, and

overall identity of an ancient individual if one purposefully downplays or excludes

references to that individual’s dress. While this is not necessarily the case today, with

our global fashions, consumer orientation, “mix and match” desires, transitory fads, and

so on, it was certainly much more the case in the ancient world.

30
It was particularly during Second Temple Judaism that the dress of the high
priest was explicitly understood to have cosmic and other meanings. See Edwards’s
discussion in “Costume in Josephus,” 155-57.
31
Cf. also, for example, the cosmic description of the high priest’s garments in
Wis 18:24-25.

86
 Dress Communicates Identity

As contemporary academicians have noted, dress not only communicates, but it

communicates identity. In fact, it communicates many types of identity. This was also

true of the biblical world. Some of the types of identity that dress signaled include

personal, status, group, ethnic, and gender identities.

Dress and Personal Identity

As in contemporary society, in the ancient world one’s perception of

dress—even the negation of dress32—had an extraordinary ability to help one decode the

identity of another person. This could occur because dress was frequently an extension

32
Nakedness has been commonly understood to be symbolic of the loss of
personal identity and thus shameful. The classic narrative on this particular theme is
that of the tragic story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:6-11, 21). See
Vogelzang and van Bekkum, “Meaning and Symbolism, 273. Cf., e.g., Gildas Hamel,
“Poverty in Clothing,” in Poverty and Charity in Roman Palestine, First Three
Centuries C.E., University of California Publications: Near Eastern Studies 23
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990), 73-75; Haulotte, Symbolique du
Vêtement, 79-89; McKay, “Gendering the Display,” 190-91, 196; Neufeld, “Sumptuous
Clothing,” 674-76; idem, “Under the Cover,” 69; and H. Viviers, “Clothed and
Unclothed in the Song of Songs,” Old Testament Essays 12 (1999): 617-20. For other
understandings of nakedness in the story of Adam and Eve, see Dietmar Neufeld, “The
Rhetoric of Body, Clothing and Identity in the Vita and Genesis,” Scriptura 90 (2005):
679-84, who expresses dissatisfaction that despite a number of studies on the
significance of Adam and Eve’s dress, no books have “dealt in a significant way with
body, clothing and identity” (p. 681).
For the interpretation of nakedness as a “costume” in the ancient world, see
Larissa Bonfante, “Classical Nudity in Italy and Greece,” in Ancient Italy in Its
Mediterranean Setting: Studies in Honour of Ellen Macnamara, ed. David Ridgway et
al., Accordia Specialist Studies on the Mediterranean 4 (London: Accordia Research
Institute, University of London, 2000), 271-93, in particular, 271-72; and idem, “Nudity
as a Costume in Classical Art,” American Journal of Archaeology 93 (1989): 543-70, in
particular, p. 544. As a costume nakedness would not be a negative perspective of
dress.

87
of one’s personhood or personal identity. 33 For instance, in the ANE not only were

various types of garments utilized exclusively for some of the gods and others for some

of the goddesses, but certain garments were restricted to a particular god or goddess.34

Dress also plays a striking role as a synecdochical extension or revealer of personal

identity in the OT stories35 about Joseph,36 King Saul and the future King David,37 and

33
Dress was so co-extensive with personal identity that it could reveal internal
emotions. See Müller, “Kleidung als Element,” 203-204, and cf. Åke Viberg, “Saul
Exposed by Irony: A New Understanding of 1 Samuel 15:27 Based on Two Symbolic
Acts,” Svensk exegetisk årsbok 70 (2005): 307.
34
Zawadzki, Garments of the Gods, 193-98; cf. also Matsushima, “Some
Remarks,” 233, 234. See also Oppenheim (“Akkadian pul(u)h(t)u and melammu,” 33)
and Ferris J. Stephens (“The Ancient Significance of SÎSÎTH,” JBL 50 [1931]: 64; cf.
Stephanie Dalley, “Ancient Assyrian Textiles and the Origins of Carpet Design,” Iran
29 [1991]: 125).
35
Pilch, “Clothes,” 19; Christine E. Palmer, “Clothes,” NDBT (2000), 416-17.
For a discussion of several examples, see Wilder, “Illumination and Investiture,” 59-60.
36
Furman, “His Story,” 143-44, 146. John R. Huddleston reinforces the
observation made by others that the motif of dress “is arguably more prominent in chs.
37-39 than elsewhere in the Joseph story or Genesis” (“Divestiture, Deception, and
Demotion: The Garment Motif in Genesis 37-39,” JSOT 98 [2002]: 52).
37
See Ora Horn Prouser, “Suited to the Throne: The Symbolic Use of Clothing
in the David and Saul Narratives,” JSOT 71 (1996): 28-37; and idem, “Clothes Maketh
the Man: Keys to Meaning in the Stories of Saul and David,” Bible Review 14 (February
1998): 23-27. When David cut off the hem of King Saul’s cloak, for example, he
perceived that he had in fact harmed Saul, and that is why he immediately felt remorse
(1 Sam 24:1-10). Cf. the discussion of this story in Jacob Milgrom, “Of Hems and
Tassels: Rank, Authority and Holiness Were Expressed in Antiquity by Fringes on
Garments,” BAR 9 (May-June 1983): 61; Podella, Das Lichtkleid JHWHs, 51-53;
Prouser, “Suited to the Throne,” 28-29; idem, “Clothes Maketh the Man,” 24; and
Stephens, “Ancient Significance of SÎSÎTH,” 69-70. See also the relationship between
dress and personal identity in the story of Saul and the Witch of Endor in 1 Sam 28;
Prouser notes that Samuel’s garment known as the ly[im. (2:19; 15:27; 28:14) was “the
only external attribute ascribed to him in the book of Samuel” (“Suited to the Throne,”
29; cf. p. 33). Cf. Viberg, “Saul Exposed by Irony,” 301-308.

88
the prophet Elijah.38 The same is true for Luke’s stories about both Jesus 39 and the

apostle Paul.40

Dress could, however, provide miscues and thus frustrate the decoding process.

One finds an example of this in Gen 38, where Judah (mis)read the dress of his

(unrecognized) daughter-in-law, Tamar.41 Here it is not her revealed identity but her

38
See 2 Kgs 1:1-8, in which King Ahaziah is able to identify Elijah by his
description as a hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.
39
The relationship between person and dress is explicit in the story of the woman
with the flow of blood and her encounter with Jesus (Luke 8:43-48). Luke records that
the woman touched the fringe of his garment, but immediately Jesus asked “Who
touched me?” (ti,j o` a`ya,meno,j mouÈ [8:45; cf. 8:46]). Touching the fringe of Jesus’
garment was equivalent to touching him. See, e.g., the discussion in Reid,
“Transfiguration,” 191-92. The fringe (kra,spedon) that the woman touched (Luke 8:44;
see also Matt 9:20; cf. Matt 14:36; 23:5; Mark 6:56) was the same as the “fringe” (e.g.,
KJV, NRSV) or “tassel” (e.g., NASB, NIV) mentioned in LXX Num 15:38-39 and Deut
22:12 (kra,spedon).
40
According to Acts 19:12, handkerchiefs or aprons (souda,ria h' simiki,nqia)
that had touched Paul’s skin (crwto.j) were taken to the sick and, as extensions of
Paul’s personal identity, were instrumental in their healing from disease and deliverance
from evil spirits. Richard Strelan discusses these terms and concludes that the
sudarium, worn around the neck, “was part of the uniform of an orator and was worn
and used for effect as much as it was for practical purposes” of mopping up the sweat
from one’s brow (“Acts 19:12: Paul’s ‘Aprons’ Again,” JTS, n.s., 51 [2003]: 155). The
semicinctium was apparently a girdle or belt worn around the area of the stomach and
the genitals (ibid., 155-156). Paul, debating in the lecture hall of Tyrannus in Ephesus
(Acts 19:9), had worn these clothes because they were the accepted dress of an orator
(Strelan, “Acts 19:12,” 156-57). Cf. idem, Strange Acts: Studies in the Cultural World
of the Acts of the Apostles, Beiheft zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche
Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche 126 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2004),
195-98.
41
Note that she puts on her different wardrobe after she has removed her
“garments of widowhood” (Ht'Wnm.l.a; ydeg>Bi [Gen 38:14]).

89
veiled identity that is crucial to the narrative plot.42 While some scholars assert that the

dress associated with Tamar clearly identified her as a prostitute, others disagree and

compellingly argue that the issue is not really one of identification but rather

concealment or disguise, the flip side of identification.43 Thus Tamar’s dress in this

story concealed her personal identity, a necessary component of her strategy of

deception.44

42
Phyllis A. Bird is one who notes that the narrator does not state that she was
dressed as a harlot, prostitute, or whore, instead leaving the inference up to Judah (“The
Harlot as Heroine: Narrative Art and Social Presupposition in Three Old Testament
Texts,” Semeia 46 [1989]: 123). On Tamar’s disguise and the difference between a
courtesan, a harlot, a whore, one who engages in illicit sex, and/or a ritual prostitute in
this story, cf. ibid., 124-25; Mieke Bal, Lethal Love: Feminist Literary Readings of
Biblical Love Stories, Indiana Studies in Biblical Literature (Bloomington, IN: Indiana
University Press, 1987); Furman, “His Story,” 144-45; and Huddleston, “Divestiture,”
47-62.
43
See, e.g., Carmichael, who observed that Tamar’s dress was “no minor element
in the story” and continued by suggesting that “any reader, ancient or modern, is aware
that a prostitute’s clothing declares who she is. As an anonymous person she is known
by her garb; it is the means by which she communicates her [role-related] identity”
(“Forbidden Mixtures,” 409). For more advocates of this position, see the list in John
R. Huddleston, “Unveiling the Versions: The Tactics of Tamar in Genesis 38:15,”
Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 7, art. 4 (2001), http://www.jhsonline.org/Articles/
article_19.pdf (accessed March 8, 2012), n. 2.
Huddleston asserts, however, that “the veil was not part of a prostitute’s
costume.” Instead, he notes that “the ancient view [was] that the veil was intended only
to hide her identity” (“Divestiture,” 58). Huddleston suggests that it was her clothing
(that is, her veil) that concealed her identity, while her location at Enaim “conveyed her
harlot status” (“Unveiling the Versions,” par. 2). On the veil as an indicator of social
standing in Assyria, see Toorn, “Significance of the Veil,” 338.
44
Here personal identity issues revolve not only around Tamar but also around
Judah, for it is his signet, cord, and staff that Tamar asked for as a pledge and then
publically revealed as his (38:18, 25). See Elizabeth E. Platt, “Jewelry, Ancient
Israelite,” ABD, 3:829: “In both instances they are definite signs of Judah’s identity.”

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Dress and Social Identity

Dress was an important means of one person interpreting another’s social

identity and status in the ancient world. This was not only true for the ANE 45 in general,

but it can also be amply illustrated from biblical literature well into the time of the

Roman Empire.46 Dress was thus so communicatively powerful that one could often

determine another’s social status by either observing it (decoding the signals) 47 or by

45
Cf. Mary Harlow and Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, “Pre-Islamic Dress Codes in the
Eastern Mediterranean and Southwest Asia,” in Central and Southwest Asia, ed. Gillian
Vogelsang-Eastwood, vol. 5 of Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion, ed. Joanne
B. Eicher (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), 24; Hamel, “Poverty in Clothing,”
73; Kruger, “Hem of the Garment,” 79; idem, “Symbolic Significance,” 106-107;
Postgate, “Assyrian Uniforms,” 373-74, 384; Siebert-Hommes, “‘On the Third Day,’”
par. 1; Viviers, “Clothed and Unclothed,” 609-611; and Vogelzang and van Bekkum,
“Meaning and Symbolism,” 265-72. See also the discussion with regard to dress being
critical in distinguishing between various socioeconomic classes in Ebla in Alfonso
Archi, “Clothes in Ebla,” in Michael: Historical, Epigraphical and Biblical Studies in
Honor of Prof. Michael Heltzer, ed. Yitzhak Avishur and Robert Deutsch (Tel Aviv -
Jaffa: Archaeological Center Publications, 1999), 45-54.
46
On the social identity role resulting from the importatation of foreign fashions
into Athens, for example, see Margaret C. Miller, Athens and Persia in the Fifth
Century BC: A Study in Cultural Receptivity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1997), 153-55. On the importance of dress codes in the Roman world in the context of
the NT, see the extensive discussion in Bruce W. Winter, Roman Wives, Roman
Widows: The Appearance of New Women and the Pauline Communities (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 2003).
47
With regard to group identification, the dress code of the Essenes, for instance,
allowed them to identify themselves not only to the world but to each other (A. I.
Baumgarten, “He Knew That He Knew That He Knew That He Was an Essene,” JJS 48
[1997]: 57-58; cf. Jodi Magness, The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls
[Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002], 195-206; and Reid, “Transfiguration,” 190). While
the wearing of phylacteries by pious Jews signaled that they were persons observant of
the covenant (so Malina and Neyrey, “Honor and Shame,” 55; and Neyrey, “The
Symbolic Universe of Luke-Acts: ‘They Turn the World Upside Down,’” in Social
World of Luke-Acts, 283), Baumgarten also suggests that the broad phylacteries and

91
simply referring to it (sending the coded signals).

Resseguie, discussing the meaning of dress in the Gospel of Luke, observes how

pervasive and crucial dress was for decoding social and socioeconomic status:

In the ancient world, the quality of the fabric (wool, linen, cotton, or silk), the
condition and length of the garment, the color of the dyes, and the type of
ornamentation indicated social status. Linen and fine silk were expensive fabrics
available only to those of high social status. Umblemished garments were essential
for social and religious duties. The color and quality of dyes testified to social
status; purple dye was very expensive and available only to the wealthy. A “fulled”
garment was thoroughly washed and bleached in a special clay to make it as white as
possible. This was a costly process and thus available only to a very few persons of
means. On the other hand, unbleached garments—dark brown and gray—were the
standard of the poor and hoi polloi. The length of the garment was also an
important indicator of social status. The poor and slaves dressed with short tunics
and cloaks, while long cloaks and tunics were common among the rich and
dignitaries. Footwear and ornamentation also signaled social status. Long fringes,
ornate hems, rings and headgear, for instance, were common among the wealthy and
those of high status, while slaves not only lacked all ornamentation but also went
barefoot.48

For example, one could identify the Jewish heroine Judith by “the garments of

her widowhood” (ta. i`ma,tia th/j chreu,sewj auvth/j [Jdt 8:5; cf. 10:3]). In another

passage describing the fear, perplexities, and worry that characterize human life, Sir

fringes of the Pharisees apparently were part of their own dress code criteria for
identification (A. I. Baumgarten, “He Knew,” 58, n. 19; cf. Matt 23:5).
48
Resseguie, “Clothing,” 89-90. With regard to the Roman world, cf. Larissa
Bonfante and Eva Jaunzems, “Clothing and Ornament,” in Civilization of the Ancient
Mediterranean: Greece and Rome, ed. Michael Grant and Rachel Kitzinger [New York:
Scribner’s, 1988], 3:1401); A. T. Croom, Roman Clothing and Fashion (Stroud, UK:
Tempus, 2000), 145; Olson, Roman Woman, 96-99; and Maria Wyke, “Woman in the
Mirror: The Rhetoric of Adornment in the Roman World,” in Women in Ancient
Societies: An Illusion of the Night, ed. Léonie J. Archer, Susan Fischler, and Maria
Wyke (New York: Routledge, 1994), 135. Men’s jewelry was distinguished from
women’s jewelry, since the former indicated social rank while the latter was considered
only used for adornment (Olson, Roman Woman, 55).

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40:4 spans the socioeconomic spectrum by describing those who wore either a turban

and the golden head ornament (MT49)—or, hyacinth (bluish purple50) and a crown

(LXX51)—to those who were wrapped in or who otherwise wore coarse linen. 52 And in

Jas 2:2, James, in a denunciation of the practice of Christians in favoring the rich over

the poor, does not identify the rich as rich per se but rather points to their dress as their

49
The turban (@ynIc)' and golden head ornament (#yCi) were worn only by the high
priest (cf. Zech 3:5 and Exod 28:36; 39:30; Lev 8:9).
50
The modern color purple (reddish or Tyrian purple: !m'G"r>a; / porfu,ra) was
frequently associated with royalty and royal authority (cf., e.g., Judg 8:26; Esth 8:15;
Dan 5:7, 16, 29; 4QProto-Estherc ar [4Q550b] 5). Yet it was not a color worn solely by
royalty (cf., e.g., Exod 28:5, 6; Prov 31:22; Jer 10:9; 1 Esdr 3:6). On the distinctions
between modern violet (bluish/hyacinthine purple: tl,k;T. / u`a,kinqoj) and modern
purple (reddish/Tyrian purple), cf. Manfried Dietrich, “Trumpet Snails and Purple
Snails as an Indication of the Transfer of Religion and Technology in the Eastern-
Mediterranean Region,” in Homeland and Exile: Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern
Studies in Honour of Bustenay Oded, ed. Gershon Galil, Mark Geller, and Alan Millard,
VTSup 130 (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 51-54; I. Irving Ziderman, “Seashells and Ancient
Purple Dyeing,” Biblical Archaeologist 53 (June 1990): 98-101; and idem, “Purple
Dyeing in the Mediterranean World: Characterisation of Biblical Tekhelet,” in Colour in
the Ancient Mediterranean World, ed. Liza Cleland and Karen Stears with Glenys
Davies, British Archaeological Reports International Series 1267 (Oxford: Hedges,
2004), 40-45. Wearing purple indicated high status (Herbert Block, “The Missing
Thread of Blue,” JBQ 31 [2003]: 247; Jane Bridgeman, “Purple Dye in Late Antiquity
and Byzantium,” in The Royal Purple and the Biblical Blue: Argaman and Tekhelet:
The Study of Chief Rabbi Dr. Isaac Herzog on the Dye Industries in Ancient Israel and
Recent Scientific Contributions, ed. Ehud Spanier [Jerusalem: Keter, 1987], 159).
51
With reference to the Greek version, the high priest wore this color of hyacinth
(bluish purple) on his robe (Exod 28:31; 39:22) and a wreath or crown ( ste,fanoj: Sir
45:12).
52
In this verse Ben Sira does not identify their socioeconomic status except by
noting their customary garb, but it appears that he is comparing the high priest to those
lower on the sociological scale, since in the previous verse he has alread mentioned the
one who sits on the throne—the king.

93
distinguishing mark of socioeconomic identity, comparing the reception of “a gold-

ringed man [dressed] in a bright/shining garment” ( avnh.r crusodaktu,lioj evn evsqh/ti

lampra/) with that of “a poor man [dressed] in a filthy garment” ( ptwco.j evn r`upara/|

evsqh/ti).53

Dress and Status Transitions

Dress also marked transitions from one social or spiritual identity to another. 54

The more important the goddess or god in the ANE, the higher the quality of the dress

s/he wore, and one can probably deduce changes in her/his relative status in the local

pantheon in part from the type of dress supplied to that particular goddess or god. 55

Changes in dress critically marked Joseph’s changes in both personal and social identity

during his transitions from being in his father’s care, to slavery in Egypt, and to the

status of an Egyptian courtier (Gen 37:3; 39:12-18; 41:42).56 At one point in his life,

53
The explicit mention of the rich appears later, where James reminds his
audience that the rich (oi` plou,sioi [2:6]) are their oppressors and the ones who drag
them into court.
For an ancient non-biblical reference to those who attempted to disguise their
social identity and worth by adorning themselves with various fashionable types of
clothing, see Aristotle Eth. nic. 1125a 27-33.
54
See Resseguie, “Clothing,” 89-94. Social and spiritual identities frequently
overlap. Wilder agrees (“Illumination and Investiture,” 67-68) with Oden (“Grace or
Status?” 101) that God clothing Adam and Eve in Gen 3:21 indicated God’s gracious
act of raising their status from that of the level of vegetative life (fig leaves) to that of
animal life (garments of skin), a status investiture.
55
So Zawadzki, Garments of the Gods, 156-57. Cf. the clothing of cult statues as
described in Jer 10:9 and Ezek 16:17-18.
56
Matthews discusses this in his “Anthropology of Clothing,” 28-36. See also
Carmichael (“Forbidden Mixtures,” 408, 413), Furman (“His Story,” 143-44),

94
King Jehoiachin was identified by his distinctive prison dress or “clothes of

imprisonment” (Aal.ki ydeg>Bi [2 Kgs 25:29; Jer 52:33]), and changing his clothes

indicated a radical change in social status. In the Roman world, the wearing of the toga

virilis indicated the transition from youth to manhood as well as full Roman

citizenship.57 In the NT Luke is particularly interested in utilizing dress imagery to

convey this transitional aspect of identity,58 using it to narrate, for example, the

transition of the demoniac from spiritual abasement to spiritual regeneration (8:26-39) 59

as well as the generous status enhancement the younger son received when he returned

home in the parable of the Prodigal Son (15:11-32). The transformation of spiritual

identity via dress occurs in a significant manner as well in the Pauline corpus. 60

Huddleston (“Divestiture,” 60), and McKay (“Gendering the Body,” 94). McKay
observes that “it will come as no surprise to discover that changes of dress often
accompany, or even determine, changes of societal role or gender role” (ibid.).
57
Cf. Kim, Significance of Clothing Imagery, 94-95; and J. Albert Harrill,
“Coming of Age and Putting on Christ: The Toga Virilis Ceremony, Its Paraenesis, and
Paul’s Interpretation of Baptism in Galatians,” NovT 44 (2002): 255-66.
58
See the discussion by Resseguie in “Clothing,” 89-94. For more discussion of
the meaning of dress in Luke, see also Karris, Luke: Artist and Theologian, 85-87;
Michael P. Knowles, “What Was the Victim Wearing? Literary, Economic, and Social
Contexts for the Parable of the Good Samaritan,” BI 12 (2004): 155-58; and Reid,
“Transfiguration,” 189-93. Cf. Müller, “Kleidung als Element,” 187-214.
59
Luke highlights this through his narration of the demoniac’s transition from
being naked to being “clothed and in his right mind” ( i`matisme,non kai. swfronou/nta
[8:35]). Cf. Hamel, who suggests that the reference to his initial lack of clothing may
have been a respectful way of indicating that he was mentally ill (“Poverty in Clothing,”
74).
60
For instance, in 1 Cor 15:51-52 Paul describes the Christian’s future
transformation from mortality to immortality by twice utilizing the verb avlla,ssw,
which can refer to both a generic change or to a change of dress (BDAG, s.v.

95
 Such actions as ripping, stripping, and branding—along with their consequent

visual appearance—were also highly capable of communicating identity transitions.

The tearing of the Babylonian dress item known as a sisiktu is a classic example of an

action directed at one’s dress, changing that one’s positional status in society. 61 Within

the HB an unusual levirate law came into play when a man refused to marry his

brother’s widow: The widow would publicly spit on that man and remove his sandal

(Deut 25:5-9), and his household would forever be socially degraded and known as the

“house of the pulled-off sandal” (l[;N"h; #Wlx] tyBe [25:10]).62 And branding by fire

“with the ivy-leaf symbol of Dionysus” those who refused to participate in the cult of

Dionysus being propagated by Ptolemy IV Philopator indicated that those so branded on

“avlla,ssw” [cf. secs. 1 and 2]). Furthermore, in the next two verses (15:53-54) Paul
describes the future human transformation from a perishable body to an imperishable
one utilizing evndu,w, a verb of dress. See the discussion in Kim (Significance of
Clothing Imagery, 203-205) and Wilder (“Illumination and Investiture,” 65). For a
more comprehensive discussion of the use of dress language to describe spiritual
identity and transformation in the Pauline corpus, cf. Berger (Identity and Experience,
40-43), Dahl and Hellholm (“Garment-Metaphors,” 139-58), Jeal (“Clothes Make the
[Wo]man,” 685-99), and Kim (Significance of Clothing Imagery, 106-226).
61
Stephens, “Ancient Significance of SÎSÎTH,” 65. Cf. Viberg, “Saul Exposed
by Irony,” 302-305.
62
For discussions of this custom, see Calum M. Carmichael, “A Ceremonial
Crux: Removing a Man’s Sandal as a Female Gesture of Contempt,” JBL 96 (1977):
321-36; Paul A. Kruger, “The Removal of the Sandal in Deuteronomy XXV 9: ‘A Rite
of Passage’?” VT 46 (1996): 534-39; Donald A. Leggett, The Levirate and Goel
Institutions in the Old Testament with Special Attention to the Book of Ruth (Cherry
Hill, NJ: Mack, 1974), 55-62; Anthony Phillips, “The Book of Ruth—Deception and
Shame,” JJS 37 (1986): 12-13; and Åke Viberg, Symbols of Law: A Contextual Analysis
of Legal Symbolic Acts in the Old Testament, Coniectanea Biblica: Old Testament
Series 34 (Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1992), 145-65.

96
their bodies had received a status reduction and did not have equal citizenship with the

Alexandrians (3 Macc 2:29-30).63

Dress and Gender Identity

Within Israelite society dress could communicate gender identity, and on some

occasions certain dress was forbidden to certain genders when it communicated a gender

different from that of the person wearing it. The clearest evidence for this is the

sartorial legislation that prohibited men and women from wearing each other’s dress

(Deut 22:5).64 At the same time, certain articles of dress were not gender-specific and

could be worn by both women and men.65 In such situations the dress by itself would

not communicate gender identity.66

63
Cf. the discussion in Shaye J. D. Cohen, “‘Those Who Say They Are Jews and
Are Not’: How Do You Know a Jew in Antiquity When You See One?” in Diasporas
in Antiquity, ed. Shaye J. D. Cohen and Ernest S. Frerichs, Brown Judaic Studies 288
(Atlanta: Scholars, 1993), 6.
64
See, e.g., P. J. Harland, “Menswear and Womenswear: A Study of
Deuteronomy 22:5,” ExpTim 110 (1998): 73-76. Harland concludes by providing one
interpretation—that this was based on a “rejection of actions which might confuse or
mix sexual identity” (ibid., 76).
65
E.g., both Adam and Eve wore “tunics of skin” ( rA[ tAnt.K' [Gen 3:21]; cf. the
woman in Song 5:3); and Tamar wore a certain type of robe (ly[im. [2 Sam 13:18])
frequently associated with men (e.g., Exod 28:4; 1 Sam 18:4; Job 1:20; Ezek 26:16).
66
Cf. Furman, who notes the differing messages dress could communicate for
men and women in Genesis (“His Story,” 147). Here she summarizes the use of dress in
the stories of Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Judah, as well as Rebekah, Tamar, and
Potiphar’s wife. Notice also the dress catalog in Isa 3:18-23, which contains only a few
items that were exclusively associated with women’s dress, but many of the articles
were associated only with men and were the insignia of official positions and roles they
played in society. See Platt, “Jewelry, Ancient Israelite,” 3:830-32; idem, “Jewelry of
Bible Times and the Catalog of Isa 3:18-23,” Parts I and II, AUSS 17 (1979): 71-84,

97
 More specifically, hairstyles, and in particular, the length of one’s hair, could

socially communicate one’s gender in the ancient world. 67 The Jewish author who

wrote what is known as The Sentences of Pseudo-Phocylides,68 who “was not a

philosopher, but a purveyer of conventional ideals,” 69 remarked about the gender

identity that one’s hair length could communicate, and the moral dangers it could

produce (lines 210-214):70

Do not grow locks in the hair of a male child.

Braid not his crown or the cross-knots on the top of his head.

189-201. Cf. Pilch, “Cosmetics and Jewelry,” Cultural Dictionary, 31; and Running,
“Garments,” 406-407.
67
Cf., e.g., 1 Cor 11:14-15; 1 Tim 2:9; 1 Pet 3:1-3; David E. Blattenberger III,
Rethinking 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 Through Archaeological and Moral-Rhetorical
Analysis, Studies in the Bible and Early Christianity 36 (Lewiston, NY: Mellen, 1997),
52-53; and Loren T. Stuckenbruck, “Why Should Women Cover Their Heads Because
of the Angels? (1 Corinthians 11:10),” Stone-Campbell Journal 4 (2001): 205-34
(particularly 210-12, 227-30).
68
For an overview of the issues surrounding its Jewish authorship, see P. W. van
der Horst (“Pseudo-Phocylides: A New Translation and Introduction,” in OTP, 2:565-
71) and Walter T. Wilson (The Sentences of Pseudo-Phocylides, Commentaries on Early
Jewish Literature [Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2005], 3-8). On its date cf. P. W. van der
Horst, The Sentences of Pseudo-Phocylides: With Introduction and Commentary, Studia
in Veteris Testamenti pseudepigraphica 4 (Leiden: Brill, 1978), 82; idem, “Pseudo-
Phocylides,” 2:568, where he repeats his belief stated earlier (Sentences of Pseudo-
Phocylides, 82) that it is best dated between 30 BCE and 40 CE; and Wilson, Sentences
of Pseudo-Phocylides, 7, where he suggests that the evidence points to a time
somewhere between 100 BCE and 100 CE.
69
John J. Collins, “Life After Death in Pseudo-Phocylides,” in Jerusalem,
Alexandria, Rome: Studies in Ancient Cultural Interaction in Honour of A. Hilhorst, ed.
García Martínez and Gerhard P. Luttikhuizen, JSJSup 82 (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 85.
70
English translation quoted from Wilson, Sentences of Pseudo-Phocylides, 200.
See the discussion of this text in ibid. (pp. 208-209), Blattenberger (Rethinking 1
Corinthians 11:2-16, 52-53), and Cohen (“‘Those Who Say,’” 6).

98
 For men to wear long hair is not seemly, just for sensual women.
Protect the youthful beauty of a handsome boy;
For many rage with lust for sex with a male.

Hair was not simply a style, or part of one’s body, but an element of one’s overall dress

and a tightly constructed and guarded sign that was supposed to communicate the social

identity of gender to observers.71

Dress and Ethnic Identity

Was one an Israelite? An Egyptian? A Persian? An “Oriental”? 72 A human?73

Dress could frequently enable one to decode such ethnic identities.74 Joseph, for

71
Cf. comparisons to the “loose” or “spread out” hair of women in Apoc. Zeph.
4:4 and 6:9 (O. S. Wintermute, “Apocalypse of Zephaniah: A New Translation and
Introduction,” in OTP, 1:511 and 512, n. 6b). Wintermute suggests that this apocalypse
was written after 100 BCE and before 70 CE (ibid., 1:500-501). See also the
comparison of the hair of the locusts in Rev 9:8 to women’s hair ( tri,caj gunaikw/n).
72
The Athenians, for example, emphasized “Orientals” having sleeves, since
sleeves were not characteristic of other cultures with which they interacted (Miller,
Athens and Persia, 156).
73
In terms of the former, in Heb 5:2 the author unexpectedly and strikingly writes
that the earthly high priest can deal gently with those who are ignorant and have gone
astray since he is “clothed with weakness” ( peri,keitai avsqe,neian; cf. this meaning for
peri,keimai in BDAG and LSJ, s.v. “peri,keimai,” and Attridge, Hebrews, 144). The
author has no interest in the magnificent dress of the high priest (see the next chapter for
one possible exception to this conclusion; Jewish sources [e.g., Sir 45:7-8; 50:5-11]
rhapsodized about the glorious and stunning vestments of the earthly high priest).
Rather, the author’s focus is in the high priest’s metaphorical dress—being clothed with
the weakness that is a function as well as an indicator of his social identity as a member
of the human race. Cf. Attridge (Hebrews, 144), Koester (Hebrews, 286-87, 296-97),
and Vanhoye (Old Testament Priests, 139).
74
Kenneth E. Bailey stated that “Jewish and non-Jewish costumes could be
differentiated by sight in Palestine in the first century” (Through Peasant Eyes: More
Lucan Parables, Their Culture and Style [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980], 42-43).
Cohen, however, asserted that one could not distinguish between the dress of Jews and

99
instance, not only acted but also dressed as an Egyptian (Gen 41:14, 42; 43:31-32); the

result was that even his own brothers had a difficult time perceiving his true identity (cf.

42:7-8). Similarly, the “code of clothing” 75 at work in the book of Esther helps explain

why Queen Esther did not wear the more culturally appropriate dress of sackcloth (as

her relative Mordecai had done [4:1]) when faced with a fullblown crisis for her people,

the Jews: She needed to maintain her “Persian” identity by wearing her royal robes

(5:1).76 In addition, when the Persian king honored Mordecai, Mordecai wore a royal

robe that the king had worn (6:7-11); but as David J. A. Clines notes, this dress

announced “his identity as Persian—as Persian as it is possible for a Jew to be.” 77

Gentiles during this time period (“‘Those Who Say,’” 3-8, 39-41). But Philip F. Esler
convincingly argues against Cohen’s thesis in “Jesus and the Reduction of Intergroup
Conflict: The Parable of the Good Samaritan in the Light of Social Identity Theory,” BI
8 (2000): 337-38; cf. also the discussion in Knowles, “Victim,” 158-60; and Magness,
Archaeology of Qumran, 195-206.
75
The term comes from David J. A. Clines, “Reading Esther From Left to Right:
Contemporary Strategies for Reading a Biblical Text,” in The Bible in Three
Dimensions: Essays in Celebration of Forty Years of Biblical Studies in the University
of Sheffield, ed. David J. A. Clines, Stephen E. Fowl, and Stanley E. Porter, JSOTSup
87 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1990), 38.
76
On this verse see also Siebert-Hommes, “‘On the Third Day.’” In this article
Siebert-Hommes discusses the role of dress communication with regard to the
characters of Ahasuerus, Vashti, Mordecai, Esther, and Haman. With regard to this
verse (5:1), she suggests that the Hebrew terminology tWkl.m; rTes.a, vB;l.Tiw,: which is
frequently translated as “Esther put on her royal robes” (e.g., NIV, NRSV), should really
be translated as “Esther put on [or, clothed herself with] kingship” (ibid., under “Queen
Esther: Dressed With Her Kingship”). This would highlight Esther’s role-related
identity instead of her social identity as a Persian.
77
Clines, “Reading Esther,” 39. On the confusing descriptions in the Hebrew
and the Greek texts of the dress that Mordecai wore in 8:15, cf. Kristin De Troyer, “On
Crowns and Diadems from Kings, Queens, Horses, and Men,” in IX Congress of the
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies: Cambridge, 1995, ed.

100
 The lack of dress could cause a rupture in the decoding process of the ethnic

identity of another—with devastating results. For instance, in the parable of the Good

Samaritan (Luke 10:30-36), thieves beat a man and stripped him (evkdu,santej auvto.n

[10:30]) of his dress.78 While neither the priest not the Levite may have wanted to have

become ritually impure by coming into contact with an apparent corpse,79 one possibility

is that because they were unable to ethnically or socially identify the man, their

consequent actions were predicated on this decoding problem.80 According to Michael

P. Knowles,81 the actions of the Samaritan contrast “with the ironic inability of priest or

Bernard A. Taylor, SBLSCSS 45 (Atlanta: Scholars, 1995), 355-67; and Alison

Salvesen, “rt,K, (Esther 1:11; 2:17; 6:8): ‘Something to Do with a Camel’?” Journal of
Semitic Studies 44 (1999): 35-46.
Cf. the Jewish romance Artapanus, in which the author writes that the fictional
Egyptian king Chenephres died of elephantiasis as a result of forcing the Jews to wear
linen clothing and not put on any woolen clothing, his purpose in this sumptuary law
being to make them ethnically conspicuous so he could punish them (fragment
preserved in Eusebius PE 9.27.20; see John J. Collins, “Artapanus: A New Translation
and Introduction,” in OTP, 2:901). On its third-century BCE date, see ibid., p. 891. A
more recent version of this type of sumptuary law took place during the 1930s and
1940s when the Nazis forced European Jews to wear armbands with the star of David in
order to target their ethnicity.
78
Since they were thieves, they wanted to steal something. But the narrative
describes nothing stolen. One could deduce that they stole his clothes and that this is
why they stripped him of them.
79
On the ritual dangers of corpse contamination, see, e.g., Roy Gane, Leviticus,
Numbers, NIVAC (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 658-59; Baruch A. Levine,
Numbers 1-20: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, AB 4 (New
York: Doubleday, 1993), 468-79.
80
“To ask what the victim had been wearing turns out to be not only the wrong
question, but one that leads—against all expectation—to unrighteous conduct”
(Knowles, “Victim,” 171). Cf. Pilch, “Clothes,” 19.
81
Knowles, “Victim,” 170.

101
Levite to see beyond external appearances: with no social cues to guide them, they do

nothing to help.”

Dress Communicates Role-Related Identity

It is clear that dress can reveal various social identities, such as socioeconomic

status, gender, and ethnicity. But as contemporary scholars have demonstrated, dress

can also communicate role-related identity. While the contexts, expressions, and details

are in many ways different, in general it was as true thousands of years ago as it is today.

Again, there are many ways to illustrate this.

The early usage of the kusîtu garment shifted from secular to ceremonial towards

the end of the first millennium BCE, becoming the dress of gods, kings, and priests. 82

While Neo-Babylonian texts restricted its use to female deities, Neo-Assyrian texts

understood it differently: It identified the wearer as king.83 Another ANE dress item, a

piece of jewelry known as a “city of gold” or mural crown, was a crown in the shape of

a turreted city, and it was worn by or associated primarily with female deities.84 But

82
Oppenheim, “Golden Garments,” 179. On the different renderings of this
word, see ibid, n. 20, and cf. the usage in Matsushima, “Some Remarks.”
83
Oppenheim, “Golden Garments,” 179; cf. Albrecht Goetze, “The Priestly Dress
of the Hittite King,” Journal of Cuneiform Studies 1 (1947): 177-79.
84
E.g., the Hittite goddess Katahha, the Assyrian goddess Nikkal, the Anatolian
goddess Cybele, and the Roman goddess Roma. For its use with male deities, see H. A.
Hoffner, Jr., “The ‘City of Gold’ and the ‘City of Silver,’” IEJ 19 (1969): 179. For
further support, see the next note.

102
sometimes it was worn by females of royal or high and wealthy rank,85 even within later

rabbinic Judaism.86 Here both socioeconomic and role-related identities come into play.

The dress of the priesthood in the OT, whether the high priest or the common

priests, was particularly revelatory with regard to role-related identity.87 With regard to

the role-related identity of the high priest, Lev 21:10 underscores a particular legal

statute for the high priest by designating him in three ways, the third of which states that

he has been consecrated “to put on the garments” ( ~ydIg"B.h;-ta, vBol.li). This

accentuates the point that the dress of the high priest was indicative of his role-related

identity.

But priestly dress imagery also extended to those who were not priests from the

85
E.g., the Ugaritic queen Ahatmilku; an Elamite, Naqia-Zakuti (wife of
Assyrian king Sennacherib and mother of the future king Ešarh addon), and Libbališarrat
(wife of Assyrian king Aššurbanipal). See the discussion on this dress item in Hoffner,
“‘City of Gold,’” 178-80; S. M. Paul, “Jerusalem—A City of Gold,” IEJ 17 (1967):
259-63; idem, “Jerusalem of Gold—Revisited,” in “‘I Will Speak the Riddles of Ancient
Times’: Archaeological and Historical Studies in Honor of Amihai Mazar on the
Occasion of His Sixtieth Birthday, ed. Aren M. Maeir and Pierre de Miroschedji
(Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2006), 2:787-94; and Hayim Tawil, “Two Biblical
Architectural Images in Light of Cuneiform Sources (Lexicographical Note X),”
BASOR 341 (February 2006): 42-43. I have followed Tawil’s more recent
transliteration and nomenclature with regard to the listed names when he has differed
from Paul.
86
Paul, “Jerusalem,” 259-61; and idem, “Jerusalem of Gold—Revisited,” 787-89.
87
For dress communicating role-related identity in the OT, cf. McKay,
“Gendering the Body,” 94; and idem, “Gendering the Discourse,” 182. With regard to
priestly dress, Kim asserts that its ability to distinguish those who wore it as priests was
one of its “most obvious features” (Significance of Clothing Imagery, 18). Cf.
Knowles, “Victim, 162. An example of this is when King Saul told Doeg the Edomite
to kill eighty-five priests at Nob, but these priests are significantly described solely in
terms of their dress: they were the ones who wore the linen ephod (1 Sam 22:18). On
this point, see Prouser, “Suited to the Throne,” 33.

103
priestly tribe of Levi. The blue “cords” (NASB, NIV, NRSV) which the Israelites were

commanded to wear on their clothing (Num 15:37-41),88 for example, were extensions

of the fringe or hem and indicated both a national and spiritual application of role-

related identity. Despite the visual boundaries between the priests and the rest of the

nation with regard to the dress one could wear,89 Jacob Milgrom concluded that “by

using the combination of [the otherwise forbidden combination of] wool and linen in the

tassel, the ordinary Israelite was, . . . in a small way, wearing a priestly garment.” 90 This

is noteworthy, since it indicates that one element of priestly dress could communicate

role-related identity. Thus, the wearing of the blue cord indicated that while most

Israelites did not have an official priestly occupation, they had a priestly role and truly

were a kingdom of priests (Exod 19:6).91

This ability of dress to communicate role-related identity continued into and

The language here is confusing among the translations. On the @n"K' (“border”
88

[e.g., KJV] or “corner” [e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV]) of their clothing was to be a tciyci
(“fringe” [e.g., KJV, NRSV] or “tassel” [e.g., NASB, NIV]). Upon or attached to that
was a blue lytiP' (“cord” [e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV] or “ribband” [e.g., KJV]). Levine
explains the syntax of the Hebrew: “a cord of blue was to be added to or included
among the ordinary tassels. Its striking color would make it stand out from the other
fringes” (Numbers 1-20, 401).
89
See Milgrom, “Hems and Tassels,” 65; and Nissan Rubin and Admiel Kosman,
“The Clothing of the Primordial Adam as a Symbol of Apocalyptic Time in the
Midrashic Sources,” HTR 90 (1997): 163.
90
Milgrom, “Hems and Tassels,” 65.
91
Ibid. Cf. Neufeld, who suggests that these cords were to communicate not only
status but also piety (“Sumptuous Clothing,” 669), and the discussion in Cohen, “‘Those
Who Say,’” 6-8.

104
beyond the time of the Exile.92 Maccabean literature indicates that the diadem

(dia,dhma) was one of the salient indicators of kingship and political rule (cf. Sir 11:5). 93

And there were numerous ways in which this role-related status via dress was

formulated and recognized in the Roman world.94 Both Caligula and Nero, for example,

restricted the use of hues of purple to the emperor and his family.95 Moreover, Miriam

92
For another example before the Second Temple period, see the story of Jehu,
who after he became king of Israel deviously gathered the worshipers of Baal together in
the house of Baal in Samaria (2 Kgs 10:17-21). These Baal worshippers were able to
recognize that there were no worshipers of YHWH in attendance because the keeper of
the wardrobe had provided vestments for the Baal worshipers (2 Kgs 10:22-23). It is
probable that this distinctive dress was also the way in which the executioners of these
worshipers were able to identify them and not allow any to escape (cf. 2 Kgs 10:24-25).
On the terminology for the “keeper of the wardrobe,” see the discussion in Mordechai
Cogan and Hayim Tadmor, II Kings: A New Translation with Introduction and
Commentary, AB 11 (New York: Doubleday, 1988), 115; and John Gray, I & II Kings:
A Commentary, 2nd ed., OTL (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1970), 561.
93
Notice in 1 Macc 6:15 that Antiochus IV Epiphanes gave Philip, the newly
appointed regent for Antiochus IV’s son Antiochus, the diadem ( to. dia,dhma), the robe
(th.n stolh.n), and the signet ring (to.n daktu,lion). See also 1 Macc 8:14, where it is
putting on the diadem or dressing oneself with purple which indicated kingship ( ouvk
evpe,qento auvtw/n ouvde. ei-j dia,dhma ouvde. perieba,lonto porfu,ran [“not one of them
has put on a crown or worn purple” (NRSV)]).
94
The use of the toga praetexta was reserved for magistrates and high priests
(Croom, Roman Clothing, 41; cf. Bonfante and Jaunzems, “Clothing and Ornament,”
3:1406; Lloyd Jensen, “Royal Purple of Tyre,” JNES 22 [1963]: 115; Kim, Significance
of Clothing Imagery, 94). Three forms of shoe could only be worn by patricians,
senators, and equestrians (Croom, Roman Clothing, 61). As in the time of Tamar,
wearing certain types of dress could brand a woman as a prostitute (McGinn,
Prostitution, 334; cf. Shelley Stone, “The Toga: From National to Ceremonial
Costume,” in World of Roman Costume, 13). Another example is the fillet, or cloth
headband, the use of which could indicate one’s athletic status (Cynthia L. Thompson,
“Hairstyles, Head-coverings, and St. Paul: Portraits from Roman Corinth,” Biblical
Archaeologist 51 [June 1988]: 102). One could list a number of other examples of this.
95
Judith Lynn Sebesta, “Tunica Ralla, Tunica Spissa: The Colors and Textiles of
Roman Costume,” in World of Roman Costume, 70. Cf. Croom, Roman Clothing, 25;

105
T. Griffin asserts that “the most tangible indication of the way the Emperor and his

subjects regarded his role was his dress.”96 Such an expansive understanding of dress in

both the Second Temple and Roman orbits could hardly have had a negligible effect on

the writers of the NT.

One of the classic examples of NT dress disclosing role-related identity is the

brief description of John the Baptist: “And John was clothed with camel’s hair and a

leather belt around his waist [kai. h=n o` VIwa,nnhj evndedume,noj tri,caj kamh,lou kai.

zw,nhn dermati,nhn peri. th.n ovsfu.n auvtou/] and was eating locusts and wild honey”

(Mark 1:6; cf. Matt 3:4). While Mark does not say anything about what the dress of

John means, this succinct description still communicates the role-related identity John

was attempting to disclose:

The skin garments of John the Baptist create an appearance-related impression by

which he communicates something about his perceived role and identity within a
community. The leather garments do not just fall on the Baptist involuntarily but
involve a deliberate choice in which his perceived identification with the classical
prophets determines the selection of what he wears—an appearance-related
impression that communicates his role as a prophet.97

While John’s dress conveyed to observers his prophetic role in society, Mark’s brief

literary description, implicitly alluding to the dress of Elijah (cf. 2 Kgs 1:8), similarly

and Jensen, “Royal Purple of Tyre,” 115.

96
Miriam T. Griffin, Nero: The End of a Dynasty (New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press, 1985), 222.
97
Neufeld, “Under the Cover,” 70-71.

106
conveyed to his audience John’s Elijah-like role. 98

The trials of Jesus also include dress imagery that communicates role-related

identity. The robe(s) put on Jesus at the time of his trial(s) and scourging are variously

described as a scarlet cloak (clamu,da kokki,nhn [Matt 27:28; cf. 27:31]), purple (that is,

a purple robe or garment: porfu,ran [Mark 15:17, 20]; i`ma,tion porfurou/n [John

19:2; cf. 19:5]), or a bright/shining robe (evsqh/ta lampra.n [Luke 23:11]).99 Despite

these varied descriptions, they point to role-related identity issues at play, whether

indicative of Jesus being perceived by the Roman forces as royal, insane, or innocent. 100

98
Knowles, “Victim,” 170. In the time of the prophet Zechariah, prophets were
known to wear hairy dress (MT: r['fe tr,D,a;; LXX: de,rrin trici,nhn [Zech 13:4]).
On the comparison between the dress of Elijah and John, see also Paul Joüon, “Le
costume d’Elie et celui de Jean Baptiste: étude lexicographique,” Bib 16 (1935): 74-81;
James A. Kelhoffer, The Diet of John the Baptist, WUNT 176 (Tübingen: Mohr
Siebeck, 2005), 4, n. 8; and Neufeld, “Sumptuous Clothing,” 668-70.
99
With regard to Luke’s terminology referring to the color white in 23:11, see
Paul Joüon, “Luc 23,11: estheta lampran,” RSR 26 (1936): 80-85; and Karris, Luke:
Artist and Theologian, 86-87.
100
On the possibility of the perception of insanity via his dress, see Justin J.
Meggitt, “The Madness of King Jesus: Why Was Jesus Put to Death, But His Followers
Were Not?” JSNT 29 (2007): 379-413. This is not that much different from the royal
imagery, in that several “delusional,” “insane,” or “mad” people were garbed in faux
royal or imperial dress. See the discussion of Philo’s account of Carabas (Flacc. 36-41)
in Meggitt, “Madness of King Jesus,” 397-98, 404.
With regard to the dress indicating innocence, see, e.g., Karris (Luke: Artist and
Theologian, 87) and Reid (“Transfiguration,” 192). Reid’s suggestion that it may also
infer heavenly status appears to contradict the data: Why would Herod dress him in
heavenly dress after ridiculing him and mocking him? Or is it an ironic reference by
Luke?

107
Role-Related Dress Investiture

Clothing one in fine dress during a formal ritual—investiture—frequently

accompanied a change in one’s role, and it often involved issues of inheritance and

rulership.101 The transfer of the high priestly dress from Aaron to his son Eleazar (Num

20:25-28) indicated the transfer of the role and office of high priest from Aaron to

Eleazar.102 When Jonathan Maccabeus put on the “the sacred vestments” ( th.n a`gi,an

stolh.n [1 Macc 10:21]),103 he effectively became the nation’s high priest (10:20). 104

And the removal of Enoch’s earthly dress and his investiture in glorious dress in 2

101
Palmer, “Clothes,” 417. See also the discussion in Wilder, “Illumination and
Investiture,” 60, particularly n. 23.
102
On the dress of the high priest as a way of distinguishing the role the high
priest played, see, e.g., Kim, Significance of Clothing Imagery, 19.
103
While the terminology (th.n a`gi,an stolh.n) is singular, it refers to the
distinctive wardrobe of the high priest (cf., e.g., LXX Exod 28:2-4).
104
It is unlikely that the high priestly vestments had been kept by King Alexander
I Balas (cf. 1 Macc 3:49) and so the purple (porfu,ran) and the golden crown
(ste,fanon crusou/n) given by him to Jonathan in this verse must refer to another mark
of honor. Cf. 1 Macc 10:62. 1 Macc 14:41-47 refers to the largely tripartite role of
Simon Thassi (see 2:3) as high priest (avrciereu,j or i`ereu,j, and related verbs; cf. 14:38,
41, 47; 15:1-2), military leader (strathgo,j; cf. 14:42, 47), and ethnarch (evqna,rchj; cf.
14:47, 15:1-2) of the Jews. In 14:43-44, Simon was to be dressed in purple ( porfu,ran)
and to wear gold (crusoforh/|), but none of the people (tou/ laou/)/ or priests (tw/n
i`ere,wn) were to be dressed in purple (porfu,ran) or to wear a golden brooch (po,rphn
crush/n). Reference to the purple and gold does not indicate the dress of the high priest,
but rather it points to role-related dress denoting the ruling authority during this era in
Jewish history (cf. 8:14; 10:20, 62, 64), similar to that of Simon’s brother Jonathan, who
earlier in Maccabean history also was dressed in purple and wore a golden brooch
(11:57-58).

108
(Slavonic) Enoch 22:8-10105 became “the outward expression of a transformed identity,”

one Fletcher-Louis suggests is not only angelomorphic but also high priestly in nature. 106

The transfer of the prophet Elijah’s mantle to Elisha indicated the transference of

Elijah’s status and role as prophet to Elisha (1 Kgs 19:19; 2 Kgs 2:8-15). 107 The robe

and sash of the King Hezekiah’s official Shebna were to be transferred to Eliakim, thus

105
A strong case for this work being dated before the end of the first century CE
is made by Andrei A. Orlov, “Noah’s Younger Brother Revisited: Anti-Noachic
Polemics and the Date of 2 (Slavonic) Enoch,” in From Apocalypticism to Merkabah
Mysticism: Studies in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha, JSJSup 114 (Leiden: Brill, 2007),
379-96 (essay reprinted from Henoch 26 [2004]: 172-87). Orlov dates it prior to 70 CE.
Cf. F. I. Anderson, “2 (Slavonic Apocalypse of) Enoch: A New Translation and
Introduction,” in OTP, 1:94-97; and Charles A. Gieschen, “The Different Functions of a
Similar Melchizedek Tradition in 2 Enoch and the Epistle to the Hebrews,” in Early
Christian Interpretation of the Scriptures of Israel: Investigations and Proposals, ed.
Craig A. Evans and James A. Sanders, JSNTSup 148 / SSEJC 5 (Sheffield: Sheffield
Academic, 1997), 366-69.
106
Fletcher-Louis, Glory of Adam, 59. He suggests that his investiture is
indebted in part to anointing rituals for the priesthood in Exodus and the divestiture and
investiture of the high priest Joshua’s dress in Zech 3 (ibid., 20-24).
2 (Slavonic) Enoch, in an apparent anti-Noah polemic, also describes the critical
investiture of Enoch’s descendant Methuselah (69:8; I follow Orlov’s translation of
names in “Noah’s Younger Brother Revisited”), the latter’s fictitious grandson Nir (and
Noah’s purported younger brother [70:4, 13]), and Melchizedek, the miraculously born
son of Nir’s wife Sothonim (71:19-20). They are invested with priestly
garments—garments which not only initiated them into the priesthood but identified
them as priests. On the importance of these acts of investiture, see Orlov, “Noah’s
Younger Brother Revisited,” 382; idem, “‘Noah’s Younger Brother’: The Anti-Noachic
Polemics in 2 (Slavonic) Enoch,” in From Apocalypticism, 361-78, particularly 369-72
(essay reprinted from Henoch 22 [2000]: 259-73); and idem, “The Heir of
Righteousness and the King of Righteousness: The Priestly Noachic Polemics in 2
Enoch and the Epistle to the Hebrews,” JTS, n.s., 58 (2007): 52, n. 12. For a discussion
of the possibility of priestly dress being associated with Noah in 1QapGen 6:4 and 1Q19
13 2, see Fletcher-Louis, Glory of Adam, 44-45.
107
On the mantle as representing the status and identity of the one wearing it, see
Viberg, Symbols of Law, 134. Cf. also Rubin and Kosman, “Primordial Adam,” 164.

109
indicating a transfer of authority as well as role (Isa 22:15-21).108 On the other hand,

investing one with the king’s signet or seal indicated a transfer of authority and royal

power from the king to the one so invested, but not a transfer of royal identity. 109

Examples here include not only Joseph (Gen 41:39-42)110 but also Haman (Esth 3:10)

and Mordecai (Esth 8:2, 8-10).111

With regard to the transfer of authentic royal identity, investiture with the

“upright tiara” of the Achaemenid kings in Persia “was to declare oneself king—and

there is no suggestion in literature that a woman, even a queen, could wear it.” 112

Alexander the Great’s generals began their dynasties by putting on or investing

themselves with diadems (diadh,mata) after his death (1 Macc 1:9). The inauguration of

Ptolemy VI Philometer’s rule over Asia began when he “put on the diadem of Asia”

(perie,qeto to. dia,dhma th/j VAsi,aj [1 Macc 11:13]).113 Finally, the relationship of

108
In the case of Shebna, it was not investiture but divestiture—removal from
office—signified by his loss of offical dress (Palmer, “Clothes,” 417).
109
See also King Jehoiachin (Jer 22:24) and Zerubbabel (Hag 2:23), but these are
called (or, compared to) the seal or signet ring of YHWH.
110
Cf. Platt, “Jewelry, Ancient Israelite,” 3:830.
111
As mentioned earlier, Mordecai was also invested with the king’s robes (Esth
6:7-11). Cf. Fletcher-Louis (Luke-Acts, 219) and Platt (“Jewelry, Ancient Israelite,”
3:830).
112
Salvesen, “rt,K,, ” 38.
113
Cf. also Alexander VI Dionysus and Diodotus Tryphon (or, Trypho) described
as inaugurating their reigns by “putting on the diadem of Asia” in 1 Macc 11:54; 12:39;
13:31-32. On other headgear used with periti,qhmi, cf. Prov 1:9 and Sir 6:31. Cf. the
different nuances in BDAG, s.v. “periti,qhmi,” secs. 1 and 2.

110
dress to role-related identity (and even morality) was so intertwined for the Roman

emperor that Shelley Hales astutely observes:

The rise of would-be emperors is marked by a sequence of telling costume changes

as they change from usurpers into emperors (Tacitus Hist. 2.89). Challengers who
forget to make the change, or who fail to assume the right clothes, lose (Tacitus
Hist. 2.20). Even if they make the costume, failure to live up to the actions
prescribed for that outfit marks imposters (Tacitus Hist. 4.59; Dio 73.6; Suet. Aug.
10 cf. Caesar 64). It is at these moments that such men show their clothes to be
nothing but costume and disguise.114

Role-Related Dress Disguise

Disguising one’s role via dress appears as a crucial motif several times in the OT

narratives of the kings of Israel and Judah.115 Saul disguised his role-related royal

identity by putting on “other clothes” ( ~yrIxea] ~ydIg"B). , that is, non-royal garments, when

he met with the Witch of Endor (1 Sam 28:8).116 King Jeroboam’s wife disguised

herself when she met with the blind prophet Ahijah (1 Kgs 14:1-6). King Ahab was

114
Shelley Hales, “Men Are Mars, Women Are Venus: Divine Costumes in
Imperial Rome,” in The Clothed Body in the Ancient World, ed. Liza Cleland, Mary
Harlow, and Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (Oxford: Oxbow, 2005), 133.
115
For a good overview, see Richard Coggins, “On Kings and Disguises,” JSOT
50 (1991): 55-62.
116
On the disguise of Saul, see Coggins, “On Kings and Disguises,” 56-57; and
Pamela Tamarkin Reis, “Eating the Blood: Saul and the Witch of Endor,” JSOT 73
(1997): 6-9, 15-16. Reis suggests that the reference to Saul putting on other garments
after the note about him disguising himself implies that he has clothed himself with
treachery (dg:B)' , since both that verb and the word used here for clothing (dg<B), have the
same root (ibid., 6-7). Here the dress disguise not only indicates role-related identity
but also implies spiritual identity, that is, treachery against YHWH. Reis reiterates this
point when she further suggests that parallels between Saul’s daughter Michal
disguising a teraphim as David and Saul’s self-disguise imply that Saul has become “a
hollow man, a fake, an abomination” (ibid., 16).

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unable to recognize one of the “sons of the prophets” because he had disguised himself

with a bandage over his eyes (1 Kgs 20:35-41). Ahab later disguised his own royal

identity in battle but urged his ally, King Jehoshaphat, to not disguise himself but

continue wearing his royal robes (1 Kgs 22:30; 2 Chr 18:29);117 nevertheless, it was

Ahab who was struck by an arrow from an archer and died. Similarly, King Josiah’s

attempt to disguise his royal identity during battle with Neco II of Egypt did not prevent

him from being killed (2 Chr 35:22-24). In all of these cases, disguise of role-related

dress was associated with or led to disaster.118

Role-Related Dress Miscues

It is one thing to disguise one’s real role via dress, but it is another to wear dress

that inadvertently communicates the wrong role. A classic example is illustrated in 1

Tim 2:9-10. Here Christian women are urged to “dress themselves in a respectable

manner with modesty and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive

clothes, but through good deeds, which is appropriate for women who profess to being

religious.”119 This text does not rail against women wearing gold or pearls or expensive

clothes in general, as some have interpreted it, nor does it deny the feminine gender the

117
While the MT of both of these texts indicates that these are Jehoshaphat’s
robes (^yd,g"B. vb;l. hT'a;w> [“you put on your robes”]), the LXX indicates that what
Jehoshaphat is to wear is Ahab’s clothing (su. e;ndusai to.n i`matismo,n mou [“you put
on my clothing”]).
118
Coggins, “Of Kings and Disguises,” 59-61.
119
evn katastolh/| kosmi,w| meta. aivdou/j kai. swfrosu,nhj kosmei/n e`auta,j( mh.
evn ple,gmasin kai. crusi,w| h' margari,taij h' i`matismw/| polutelei/( avllV o] pre,pei
gunaixi.n evpaggellome,naij qeose,beian( diV e;rgwn avgaqw/nÅ

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right to braid their hair. Rather, working from the standpoint of the Roman world, it

urges women to dress in a morally acceptable way and not as the Roman “new women.”

It was these “new women” whose relatively new financial freedom had caused them to

defy social customs of feminine and marital decorum by claiming the right to sexually

indulge themselves as “women of pleasure.” 120 And it was the latter, the hetairai, who

were known for wearing brazen and indecent dress, extravagant and outrageous

hairstyles, and excessive and luxurious jewelry (including gold and pearls). 121

Christians who wore this type of dress, at this time in history and in this geographic and

cultural context, brought upon the Christian community a public relations disaster,

resulting from the role-related identification of the one so dressed as sexually

immoral.122

Role-Related Dress Caution

Although one can discover numerous examples of dress communicating various

role-related identities, at the same time caution is necessary. Two examples from the

120
See the lengthy discussion in Winter, Roman Wives, Roman Widows (here, pp.
21-22).
121
Ibid., 100 (cf. his discussion on this text in ibid., 97-109). For documentation,
see McGinn, Prostitution, 154-70.
122
In noting the ability of dress to communicate morality in the Roman world,
Hales observes: “The way in which an emperor dressed was an obvious starting point
for determining whether he was a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ emperor” (“Men Are Mars,” 131-42
[here, 132]). Similarly, a Vestal Virgin’s departure from her standard dress “suggested
a departure from her sacred, virginal status into the domain of sexual misconduct
regularly associated, in moralising discourse, with Roman women’s close attention to
their physical appearance” (Wyke, “Woman in the Mirror,” 143). Cf. DeBrohun,
“Power Dressing,” 22.

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NT will suffice to illustrate this point. First, Luke’s story of the woman who was a

“sinner” (7:37; cf. 7:39)123 brings up the issue of this intriguing woman’s occupation or

role in life. Standing behind Jesus at a banquet and weeping, she began to wash his feet

with her tears, “and she was wiping them with the hair of her head” (kai. tai/j qrixi.n

th/j kefalh/j auvth/j evxe,massen [7:38]), kissing his feet, and anointing them with the

perfume from her alabaster jar.

As we have seen, hair (including its length, color, adornment, and overall style)

is one of the elements of dress. This Lukan narrative thus raises a number of questions

relative to dress and role-related identity, including: (1) was her hair initially unbound,

or did she unbind it during this narrative; and (2) what did her obviously loose hair

symbolize in that society?124 Since Luke’s narrative classifies her as a “sinner,” did her

already unbound hair—or, her act of unbinding her hair—broadcast that she was a

prostitute? Charles H. Cosgrove summarizes his investigation of Greco-Roman societal

data on the subject by noting that the communicative meaning of unbound hair or the

unbinding of hair was not uniform and could indicate a number of things:

123
Of the biblical stories of a woman anointing Jesus (Matt 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-
9; Luke 7:36-50; John 12:1-8), only Luke and John refer to the woman’s hair (Luke
7:38, 44; John 12:3), used to wipe his feet (Luke 7:38, 44-46; John 12:3).
124
For a recent discussion of these and other related issues, see Charles H.
Cosgrove, “A Woman’s Unbound Hair in the Greco-Roman World, With Special
Reference to the Story of the ‘Sinful Woman’ in Luke 7:36-50,” JBL 124 (2005): 675-
92. Notice the prohibitions concerning priestly hair in Lev 10:6 and 21:10 as well as
reference to the priest unbinding a suspected adulteress’s hair in Num 5:18 (on the
similarities between the latter narrative in Numbers and Luke’s story, see Gane,
Leviticus, Numbers, 526-28).

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 This can be a sexually suggestive act, an expression of religious devotion, a hairstyle
for unmarried girls, a sign of mourning, a symbolic expression of distress or
proleptic grief in the face of impending danger (and a way of pleading with or
currying the favor of those in power, whether gods or men), a hairstyle associated
with conjury, a means of presenting oneself in a natural state in religious initiations,
and a precaution against carrying demons or foreign objects into the waters of
baptism.125

Cosgrove’s conclusion is that her action was “not sexually provocative, indecent, or

even a breach of etiquette.”126 Nevertheless, this particular narrative element of the

woman’s hair accentuates the role-related identity issues involved in correctly and

sensitively exegeting the passage.

Second, when Jesus warned his disciples to “Beware of the scribes, who like to

walk around in long robes” (ble,pete avpo. tw/n grammate,wn tw/n qelo,ntwn evn

stolai/j peripatei/n [Mark 12:38; cf. Luke 20:46127]), he was not indicating that this

particular type of dress was worn exclusively by scribes. The NT indicates that stolai,

were worn not only by scribes but by angelic messengers (Mark 16:5), the Prodigal Son

upon his return (Luke 15:22), and the saints in the book of Revelation (6:11; 7:9, 13, 14;

22:14).128 In her monograph on scribes, Christine Schams concludes that this dress

reference is more generic than exclusive: “The reference to the ‘robes of scribes’ should

125
Cosgrove, “A Woman’s Unbound Hair,” 691.
126
Ibid.
127
In his comments on this version of Jesus’ saying in Luke, Resseguie declares
that the strutting rich found their identity in their dress (“Clothing,” 94; cf. p. 89).
128
“The term can designate any luxury garments, the garments of soldiers,
Levites, priests, or kings, but also garments of women” (Christine Schams, Jewish
Scribes in the Second-Temple Period, JSOTSup 291 [Sheffield: Sheffield Academic,
1998], 156).

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therefore be understood as distinguished garments of men of eminence and standing

and/or wealth, rather than a specifically scribal robe.” 129 This article of dress thus points

more to a socioeconomic status rather than a role-related one. This again points out the

need for sartorial awareness and the avoidance of exegetical overreach in making

exclusive identifications.

Summary of Dress and Identity in the Biblical World

Ancient literature, including that from the ANE, the OT, extrabiblical Jewish

literature, the Roman world, and the NT, provide numerous examples of the importance

of dress in society and its powerful ability to provide keys to identity. Dress was

considered one of the basic necessities of life.130 Repeated usage of dress terminology

and dress motifs underscores the importance of dress in communicating. As McKay

succinctly observed, “The garments speak silently, but speak they do.” 131

Dress communicated diverse kinds of personal, social, and role-related identity

to in-text observers as well as to the readers and auditors of those texts. On occasion

only one salient piece of the overall dress ensemble provided the key to identity. Dress

could also disguise one’s identity; here dress meanings communicated correctly, but

they were coded for the purpose of deception and thus false identification. At the same

time, dress decoding was not fail-proof, for it was possible to misread intentional dress

129
Ibid.
130
Cf. Exod 21:10: “If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish the
food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife” (NRSV).
131
McKay, “Gendering the Body,” 93.

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cues. The multivalent nature of dress in the biblical world thus provides one with both

opportunity and caution in the interpretation of sartorial messages.

Dress and Identity in the Book of Revelation

In line with what we have seen in the ANE, the OT, Jewish extrabiblical

writings up to the time of Revelation, the Roman world, and the rest of the NT, it should

not be unexpected that dress imagery plays an important role in the book of Revelation.

Indeed, in Revelation it proves provocative, rich, and compelling. Neufeld, who has

written the seminal studies on dress imagery in Revelation,132 agrees with social

scientists and cultural historians that dress reveals “philosophical, civil, national, and

religious identity. Dress and ornamentation provides important social, cultural, and

religious information concerning power, status, group identity, manufacture, and

trade.”133 Thus one should not be surprised to see Revelation utilizing dress to

communicate identity.

132
Neufeld, “Sumptuous Clothing,” 664-89; idem, “Under the Cover,” 67-76.
For further on the significance of dress in Revelation outside of the commentaries, cf.,
e.g., Charles A. Gieschen, “Baptismal Praxis and Mystical Experience in the Book of
Revelation,” in Paradise Now: Essays on Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism, ed.
April D. DeConick, Society of Biblical Literature Symposium Series 11 (Atlanta:
Scholars, 2006), 349-52; Resseguie, “Clothing,” 92, 93; idem, The Revelation of John:
A Narrative Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2009), 36-38; idem, Revelation
Unsealed: A Narrative Critical Approach to John’s Apocalypse, Biblical Interpretation
Series 32 (Leiden: Brill, 1998), 41-42; and Royalty, Streets of Heaven, 173.
133
Neufeld, “Sumptuous Clothing,” 665. Cf. K. C. Hanson, “Blood and Purity in
Leviticus and Revelation,” Listening: Journal of Religion and Culture 28 (1993): 224;
and Bruce J. Malina and John J. Pilch, Social-Science Commentary on the Book of
Revelation (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2000), 60, 118.

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 Importance of Dress

Neufeld notes that “a predominate feature of the New Testament are [sic] the

references to clothing and adornment in an apocalyptic and eschatological context.” 134

Compared to the rest of the NT, both dress terminology and dress imagery are unusually

pervasive throughout Revelation.135 The basic reason for this is that Revelation is

clearly a visionary work.136 Near the very beginning of Revelation, reference is made to

the fact that John testified to all that he saw (o[sa ei=den [1:2]). Not much later a loud,

trumpet-like voice orders John to write down what he sees and send it to the seven

churches (1:11). Throughout the work numerous references to what John sees or views

in vision occur.137 Since John repeatedly sees various characters in his visions, and

since dress is a powerful communicator of meaning, values, and identity, it is no wonder

that John describes dress so frequently.

Revelation’s numerous references to dress encompass not only the presence of

134
Neufeld, “Sumptuous Clothing,” 676.
135
Cf. ibid., 677.
136
This does not deny other aspects of Revelation, such as its auditory
characteristics. On the auditory and oral nature of Revelation, see Harry O. Maier’s
extensive discussion in his Apocalypse Recalled: The Book of Revelation after
Christendom (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2002), 91-122. Maier describes the overall book
of Revelation as “the New Testament’s noisiest book” (ibid., 91).
Neither does this observation assert that all dress imagery is related to John’s
visionary experiences. See, e.g., 16:15 and 22:14.
137
With regard to blevpw, see 1:11, 12 and 22:8 (2x). With regard to o`ra,w, see
1:2, 12, 17, 19, 20; 4:1; 5:1, 2, 6, 11; 6:1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 12; 7:1, 2, 9; 8:2, 13; 9:1, 17; 10:1,
5; 13:1, 2, 11; 14:1, 6, 14; 15:1, 2, 5; 16:13; 17:3, 6 (2x); 8, 12, 15, 16, 18; 18:1; 19:11,
17, 19; 20:1, 4 (2x), 11, 12; 21:1, 2, 22; 22:4.

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such dress terminology and imagery but also the absence or negation of the same

conceptual motifs. With regard to the latter, it is the absence of dress138 that four times

constitutes the basis of either a condemnation or judgment (3:17; 17:16) or a warning

(3:18; 16:15).139 Nakedness is shameful (aivscu,nh [3:18]; avschmosu,nh [16:15]) and can

be rectified by being dressed in white garments (i`ma,tia leuka. [3:18]);140 the implied

contrast to the shamefulness of nakedness is that dress is understood to be accompanied

not only with propriety but with honor. These explicit and repeated warnings against

the absence of dress thus draw attention to the import of the presence of dress within the

overall rhetoric of Revelation.141

Revelation also contains numerous descriptive references to the presence of

dress with regard to the various beings that populate Revelation’s narratives, visions,

and exhortations. In more than eighty different verses, Revelation refers to the explicit

or implied dress of a cast of generalized as well as specific characters.142 A number of

138
See the use of gumno,j (“naked” [3:17, 16:15, 17:16]) and gumno,thj
(“nakedness” [3:18]).
139
Notice also the use of the verb poie,w in 17:16 to describe the stripping off of
clothes.
140
Gieschen suggests that “it is very probable that the clothing with white also
has its roots in priestly clothing” (“Baptismal Praxis,” 350).
141
Neufeld notes that priests were particularly singled out in the requirement to
cover up one’s nakedness (“Sumptuous Clothing,” 675; cf. Exod 20:26); this is
intriguing within the light of Revelation’s identification of God’s people as priests (1:6;
5:10; 20:6).
142
This dress imagery includes garments, ornaments, treatments, equipment, and
tools (on which, see Vicary, “Signs of Clothing,” 293-94.). See, e.g., Rev 1:13, 14, 15,
16, 18, 20; 2:1, 10, 12, 16, 18, 27; 3:1, 4, 5, 7, 11, 12, 17, 18; 4:4, 10; 5:8; 6:2, 4, 5, 11;

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nouns and adjectives describe articles of dress such as cloth and clothing, 143 crowns and

victory wreaths,144 and jewelry and precious stones.145 Metaphorical dress includes a

7:2, 3, 9, 13, 14; 8:3, 5; 9:1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 17; 10:1, 2; 11:1, 3; 12:1, 3; 13:1, 16, 17; 14:1, 9,
11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19; 15:2, 6; 16:2, 15; 17:1, 3, 4, 5, 16; 18:12, 16; 19:8, 12, 13, 14,
15, 16, 20, 21; 20:1, 4; 21:2, 9, 11, 15, 19, 20, 21; 22:14. Cf. Neufeld, who counted
only sixteen of these occasions (“Sumptuous Clothing,” 677-78). It is probable that part
of the reason for this discrepancy is because of the narrower dress definitions Neufeld
utilized.
143
I.e., bu,ssinoj (“fine linen”: 18:12, 16; 19:8, 14), ko,kkinoj (“scarlet”: 17:4;
18:12, 16 [in 17:3 the word refers to the color of the beast upon which the prostitute
rides, not to dress]), leuko,j (“white”: 3:4), li,non (“linen”: 15:6; the textual variants
here [linou/n (“made of linen”) or li,qon (“stone”)] do not change the imagery of
something that is worn; see the discussion in Beale, Revelation, 804-805), podh,rhj
(“foot-length robe”: 1:13), porfu,ra (“purple [cloth/garment]”: 18:12), porfurou/j
(“purple” or “purple [clothing]”: 17:4; 18:16), sa,kkoj (“sackcloth”: 11:3), siri,kon
(“silk/silken”: 18:12), and stolh, (“robe”: 6:11; 7:9, 13, 14; 22:14).
144
I.e., dia,dhma (12:3; 13:1; 19:12), and stefa,noj (2:10; 3:11; 4:4, 10; 6:2; 9:7;
12:1; 14:14). With regard to the imagery of the stefa,noj, Gregory M. Stevenson
emphasizes its communicative importance in Greco-Roman culture when he states that
it could express “at least four different concepts: victory, royalty, divine glory, and
honor” (“Conceptual Background to Golden Crown Imagery in the Apocalypse of John
[4:4, 10; 14:14],” JBL 114 [1995]: 258). On the polysemic nature of such imagery in
Revelation, see ibid., 269-72. Cf. J. R. Harrison, “The Fading Crown: Divine Honour
and the Early Christians,” JTS, n.s., 54 (2003): 495-96.
145
I.e., a;rguroj (“silver”: 18:12), li,qoj ti,mioj (“precious stone”: 17:4; 18:12,
16; 21:11, 19), margari,thj (“pearl”: 17:4; 18:12, 16; 21:21), crusi,on (“gold” or “gold
ornaments/jewelry”: 17:4; 18:12, 16), and cruso,j (“gold”: 18:12; cf. 9:7). With regard
to the syntax of 18:12, one could argue that all eight of the first articles of cargo
mentioned refer to articles understood primarily in terms of dress and personal
adornment (“cargo of gold, and silver, and precious stone, and pearls, and fine linen,
and purple, and silk, and scarlet” [ go,mon crusou/ kai. avrgu,rou kai. li,qou timi,ou kai.
margaritw/n kai. bussi,nou kai. porfu,raj kai. sirikou/ kai. kokki,nou]). In this
verse the syntax combines them all in a group (two more phrases in this verse begin
with kai. pa/n), and the last four are certainly articles of dress.
The precious stone (li,qoj ti,mioj) imagery in 21:11 and 19 refer to the
adornment and appearance of the New Jerusalem, but the language comes from that of
dress. The same is true for the pearls in 21:21, which are part of the “necklace” of the

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cloud (nefe,lh [10:1]) and the sun (h[lioj [12:1]).146 Moreover, the frequency of various

verbs of dress is not less than conspicuous, appearing twenty-one times. 147 The

cumulative weight of these scattered, repeated, and sometimes striking references to

dress in the book of Revelation indicates that dress must carry significant

bride, the New Jerusalem. Cf. 21:2, where the New Jerusalem is adorned
(kekosmhme,nhn) like a bride, while the foundations of the city are adorned
(kekosmhme,noi) with precious stones.
146
In 10:1 the Mighty Angel is “clothed with a cloud” ( peribeblhme,non
nefe,lhn), while in 12:1 the Woman is “clothed with the sun” ( peribeblhme,nh to.n
h[lion). Royalty observes that “clothing functions as a metaphor in Revelation for
moral condition” (Streets of Heaven, 173), but here he refers to texts like Rev 3:4, 5, 18.
147
I.e., forms of evndu,w (“I dress, clothe” [1:13; 15:6; 19:14]), kosme,w (here, “I
adorn, decorate” [21:2, 19]), periba,llw (here, “I put around, on” [3:5, 18; 4:4; 7:9, 13;
10:1; 11:3; 12:1; 17:4; 18:16; 19:8, 13]), perizw,nnumi (“I gird about” [1:13; 15:6]), and
cruso,w (“I make golden, guild, adorn with gold” [17:4; 18:16]).
At least three other verbs are not typically dress verbs, but in Revelation (as in
some other NT texts) they carry this meaning. The first one, poie,w (“I make, do”) is
used in 17:16 to describe the stripping off of clothes.
The second one, e;cw (“I have”), has a dress meaning in 9:9, 17. In those texts it
respectively describes locusts and mounted troops wearing protective breastplates (cf.
BDAG, s.v. “e;cw,” sec. 4). Revelation also utilizes the verb to describe those who have
hand-held items which could be classified as accessories or, according to Vicary’s
classification scheme (“Signs of Clothing,” 293-94), dress treatments, equipment, or
tools, e.g., 1:16 (stars [cf. 3:1]; sharp, two-edged sword [cf. 2:12]), 18 (keys; cf. 3:7 and
20:1); 5:8 (harps and bowls of incense); 6:2 (bow), 5 (scales); 8:2 (censer), 13:17
(mark); 14:1 (name), 14 (crown and sickle), 17-18 (sickle); 15:2 (harps); 17:4 (golden
cup); 19:12 (name), 16 (name); 20:1 (key and chain); 21:9 15 (measuring rod]).
The third verb, lamba,nw (“I take, receive”), is also not typically a dress verb, but
in John 13:12 it has the meaning of “put on” with reference to Jesus putting on his
garments after washing his disciples’ feet. In several texts in Revelation lamba,nw also
works as a dress verb (14:9, 11; 19:20; 20:4; cf. 2:17). Most of these texts refer to the
reception of the mark of the beast, and in these cases the verb works as a periphrasis for
the passive form “be marked” (cf. BDAG, s.v. “lamba,nw,” sec. 10, part C).
Consequently, since the mark of the beast is similar to a brand or tatoo (cf. Aune,
Revelation 6-16, 455 [on 7:3], 456-59, and 766-68 [on 13:16b]), this verbal usage would
indicate verbal dress imagery.

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communicative weight within its overall rhetoric.

It is even more remarkable that on two occasions the primary identification or

characterization of various figures in Revelation occurs via dress imagery alone. First,

in 7:13 one of the heavenly elders asks John who “the ones clothed in white robes” ( oi`

peribeblhme,noi ta.j stola.j ta.j leuka.j) were and where they had come from. In 7:9-

10 John had previously seen and described this large company of people in five different

ways: (1) they were a large group that no one could number; (2) they came from every

nation, tongue, language, and people; (3) they stood before the throne (of God) and

before the Lamb; (4) they were clothed in white robes; and (5) palm branches were in

their hands. Nevertheless, in 7:13 the description of white robes is the only identifying

characteristic that the elder mentions in asking John his question(s) about this group. 148

Apparently the white robes had become part of the sartorial foreground, while the palm

branches in their hands had receded to the background. As such, it was the white robes

that were the salient sartorial symbol.

And second, in 19:14 the only characterization of the armies of heaven that

follow the Rider on the White Horse is that they are “dressed in fine linen, white [and]

clean” (evndedume,noi bu,ssinon leuko.n kaqaro,n). This is a surprisingly brief

description. The first army described in Revelation, mentioned in John’s description of

the terrors of the sixth trumpet, was dressed in breastplates of “fiery red, and hyacinth

148
The ones so clothed are “those who have emerged [see Aune, Revelation 6-16,
430, on the tense of the present participle] from the great tribulation” ( oi` evrco,menoi evk
th/j qli,yewj th/j mega,lhj [7:14]), and John climactically describes this group as
before God’s throne, sheltered by him, and serving him constantly (7:9, 15-17).

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[or, bluish purple], and sulfury yellow” (puri,nouj kai. u`akinqi,nouj kai. qeiw,deij

[9:17]).149 The picture of the heavenly armies in 19:14, in contrast, is sublimely

monochromatic, made more noticeable by its simplicity in comparison to the complex

dress description of their leader, the Rider on the White Horse (19:12-16).

The former example demonstrates that it was possible for one to identify

characters in a mixed group150 based on their dress alone. The latter one, however,

indicates that dress as the sole description of some of the beings John saw in vision was

apparently adequate for descriptive purposes. Moreover, the revelation of identity via

dress alone certainly underscores its importance in the book of Revelation.

Dress Communicates Identity

Resseguie emphasizes the importance of dress in Revelation, since both the type

and condition of it “highlights the character, status, or moral qualities of a person.” 151

149
Whether this description refers to both the horses and the riders (cf., e.g.,
Beale, Revelation, 510; Beckworth, Apocalypse, 568; Osborne, Revelation, 382) or just
the riders (e.g., Boxall, Revelation of Saint John, 148; Gordon D. Fee, Revelation, New
Covenant Commentary Series [Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2011], 135; Robert
Mounce, Revelation, 196; Smalley, The Revelation to John, 239; Henry Barclay Swete,
The Apocalypse of St John: The Greek Text with Introduction Notes and Indices, 3d ed.
[1909; repr., Commentary on Revelation: The Greek Text with Introduction Notes and
Indices, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1977], 123; Trafton, Reading Revelation, 98) is a point
of dispute. The description of the breastplates is also under discussion among
commentators: (1) Does it describe color, or material? (2) If colored, are the breastplates
multicolored, or singularly-colored (i.e., some are one color, others are another color)?
On these questions, cf., e.g., Robert Mounce (Revelation, 196) and Swete (Apocalypse
of St John, 123).
150
Cf. 7:11-12: The scene also includes angels, elders, and the four living
creatures.
151
Resseguie, Revelation of John, 75.

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And Neufeld notes that in Revelation “clothes and jewelry are a part of each character’s

identity kit that aids in playing out assigned social roles.” 152 Furthermore, Neufeld

believes that dress in some texts in Revelation, such as the first part of John’s inaugural

vision in 1:13, provides “clues” to the identity of the one so dressed. 153 For him,

Revelation’s pervasive dress signifiers also present an “ever present semiotic for

expressing identity and intention, for upholding the status quo or subverting it.” 154

Dress works as a means of revealing identity numerous times in Revelation.

This is particularly true, for example, with reference to the color white (leuko,j). Those

who are worthy in the church of Sardis will walk with Jesus “in white” ( evn leukoi/j

[3:4]), and whoever overcomes “will be dressed in white clothes” ( peribalei/tai evn

i`mati,oij leukoi/j [3:5]). The twenty-four elders are dressed “in white clothes” ( evn

i`mati,oij leukoi/j [4:4]). Each of the martyrs under the fifth seal is given a “white

robe” (stolh. leukh. [6:11]). The huge, uncountable multitude is clothed with “white

robes” (stola.j leuka.j [7:9; cf. 7:13-14]). And, as mentioned earlier, the armies of

heaven are “dressed in fine linen, white (and) clean” ( evndedume,noi bu,ssinon leuko.n

kaqaro,n [19:14]). In discussing these visible white garments in relation to purity, K. C.

Hanson concludes that they “symbolize group membership as well as status and honor,

152
Neufeld, “Sumptuous Clothing,” 679 (see also 678, 686). Cf. Resseguie,
Revelation of John, 38.
153
Neufeld, “Sumptuous Clothing,” 679.
154
Ibid., 678. Cf. Resseguie, Revelation of John, 36-37.

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and therefore, purity is expressed as ‘in-group’ and social hierarchy.” 155

Dress Communicates Role-Related Identity

In line with other ancient understandings, dress in Revelation also reveals role-

related identity. Two examples will suffice to illustrate this. First, John describes two

witnesses who prophesy for 1,260 days “dressed in sackcloth” ( peribeblhme,noi

sa,kkouj [11:3]). Sackcloth was a coarse cloth typically made out of goat or camel

hair.156 As indicated earlier, John the Baptist wore clothes made from camel’s hair

(Matt 3:4; Mark 1:6), and he himself followed the example of Elijah in wearing hairy

garments (cf. 2 Kgs 1:8; Zech 13:4). As such, the dress of these witnesses indicates in

part that their role is that of prophesying a message of repentance, in line with similar

messages given by Elijah (1 Kgs 18:21, 37, 39) and John the Baptist (cf. Matt 3:1-2, 8,

11; Mark 1:4).157

Second, a classic example of role-related identity concerns the Great Prostitute

(17:1). John describes her as “clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and

and precious stone and pearls” (peribeblhme,nh porfurou/n kai. ko,kkinon kai.

kecruswme,nh crusi,w| kai. li,qw| timi,w| kai. margari,taij [17:4]). Here is an example

of dress that is multivalent in meaning, since it connotes not only socioeconomic status

155
Hanson, “Blood and Purity,” 224. Cf. Craig R. Koester, “The Message to
Laodicea and the Problem of Its Local Context: A Study in the Imagery in Rev 3.14-22,”
NTS 49 (2003): 423-24.
156
BDAG, s.v. “sa,kkoj, ou, o`.”
157
See, e.g., Beale (Revelation, 576) and Osborne (Revelation, 420).

125
but also royal and even high priestly imagery.158

But in 17:4 John also describes her as holding a golden cup “filled with the

abominations and unclean things of her sexual immorality [ ge,mon bdelugma,twn kai. ta.

avka,qarta th/j pornei,aj auvth/j]” and mentions in 17:5 that her title reveals her to be

the “mother of prostitutes [ h` mh,thr tw/n pornw/n].” Ultimately, the revelatory angel

defines her as “the prostitute [ th.n po,rnhn]” in 17:16. True to this designation, the

woman’s ornate dress imagery also symbolizes sexual immorality and compounds her

verbal description as a prostitute. In Jer 4:30 the prophet similarly portrayed Israel as a

wanton nymphomaniac, a sexually immoral woman who wore scarlet clothes and

golden ornaments and painted her eyes for her multiple lovers.159 As Stephen S.

Smalley concisely concludes with regard to the Great Prostitute’s dress in Rev 17, “the

woman looks the part.”160

158
On the socioeconomic aspect, cf. Rev 18:16-17, a reference to the wealth of
Babylon. For other connotations, cf., e.g., Beale (Revelation, 854-57), Ford (Revelation,
278-79), Lupieri (Commentary on the Apocalypse, 254-55), Malina and Pilch (Social
Science Commentary, 204-205), Osborne (Revelation, 610-14), and Smalley (The
Revelation to John, 430).
159
Scarlet and golden ornaments are not exclusively the dress of sexually
immoral women (see 2 Sam 1:24). Nevertheless, cf. Isa 1:15-22, where scarlet and red
are associated with a Jerusalem described as sexually immoral (1:21). With regard to
painting one’s eyes, two other references to such a practice (2 Kgs 9:30; Ezek 23:40)
refer to one who is sinful and ultimately doomed. Finally, the word for “lovers” here
(~ybig>[o) occurs elsewhere in the HB only in Ezek 23:5, 7, 9, 12, 16 (2x), and 20, where
the cities of Jerusalem and Samaria are characterized as adulterous.
160
Smalley, The Revelation to John, 430. Cf., e.g., Aune (Revelation 17-22, 935)
and Boxall (Revelation of Saint John, 242). On the meaning of Babylon’s sexual
immorality here, see, e.g., Osborne, Revelation, 608, 613.
With regard to the Greco-Roman world, Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar notes that

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 Summary of Dress and Identity in Revelation

Neufeld observes that the narrative of Revelation “is liberally strewn with

clothes.”161 What is important for this study is not only that Revelation exhibits an

interest in dress that fits in well with what one finds in literature centuries earlier than it,

but that Revelation also utilizes dress in order to communicate identity, supporting the

well-known maxim that “you are what you wear.” In his discussion of dress in

Revelation, Neufeld concludes, in part, that “clothing and ornamentation serve an

important function in the Apocalypse. They make vivid through items of covering and

decoration not only identity but also the loyalty of those who are followers of either

Satan or the lamb.”162 Such being the case, one should expect that dress in Revelation

may provide numerous clues about the various identities of the wearer(s).

Summary and Conclusions

From the ANE to the Roman world, and from the HB to the NT, abundant

according to neo-Pythagorean dress codes “especially the colours red and purple, as well
as dresses streaked with gold, are frowned upon, since that kind of dress was regarded
as the dress of the hetaerae” (“The White Dress of the Essenes and the Pythagoreans,” in
Jerusalem, Alexandria, Rome, ed. Florentino García Martínez and Gerard P.
Luttikhuizen, JSJSup 82 [Leiden: Brill, 2003], 305). Cf. Winter, Roman Wives, Roman
Widows, 103-108. Similarly, the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (fl. ca. 60-30 BCE)
recorded a legend about the lawgiver Zaleucus, who stopped licentious behavior at Locri
by enacting a law forbidding, in part, women from wearing gold jewelry or a garment
with a purple border—unless they were courtesans (Diodorus Siculus 12.21.1); see the
brief discussion in Winter, Roman Wives, Roman Widows, 100.
161
Neufeld, “Under the Cover,” 71.
162
Ibid., “Sumptuous Clothing,” 686.

127
evidence exists that dress was understood to be an important necessity. While people

utilized it for warmth and protection, evidence also demonstrates that people across

numerous cultural, geographical, and religious settings understood dress to

communicate much critical information. Dress conveyed decisive information that

could help one formulate a number of identity constructions. For example, one could

identify various individuals based on their dress, and dress frequently worked as an

extension of one’s personality. Dress also revealed one’s socioeconomic status of

poverty or wealth. Ethnic identities could be ascertained via dress decoding. Certain

dress was restricted to men or women, and hair length signified gender in some cultures.

Various societal roles and functions also came to light through dress interpretation.

Furthermore, dress could communicate transitions from one social, political, or religious

status to another. As such, dress in the biblical world functioned in similar ways to that

of the contemporary world; in fact, it functioned even more directly and efficiently than

it does in today’s society because of such modern realities as globalization, mass

advertising, “mix and match,” etc.

While dress interpretation was a complex endeavor during this ancient swath of

history, people were able to decode and make sense of dress messages and construct

meaningful identities as a result. Nevertheless, dress interpretation did not necessarily

lead to foregone or even automatic conclusions. Dress could send the wrong signals, for

instance, and disguises could thwart dress decoding.

In light of the repeated use of dress language and imagery in the ANE, the OT,

extrabiblical Jewish literature, the Roman world, and the NT—in particular, the book of

128
Revelation—the pursuit of possible evidence for Baigent’s criteria with regard to

distinctive clothing or dress as an indicator of high priestly identity appears fruitful for

research. Based on his readings of Mark 9:1-12 and Rev 1:13-16, Fletcher-Louis has

suggested that one can associate some descriptions of Jesus’ dress with priestly

concerns: “In early Christology, passages which show any interest in Jesus’ glorious

attire also reflect a priestly background.”163 Texts in Revelation that consequently

evince interest in the dress of Jesus are potentially significant as high priestly identity

markers.

163
Fletcher-Louis, Glory of Adam, 59, n. 13. Cf. idem, “Sacral Son of Man,”
294-95. Fletcher-Louis supports his contention that bright, iridescent, or glorious dress
of Jesus in Mark 9:1-12 and Rev 1:13-16 reflects priestly interests by referring to such
texts as Sir 50:6-7; 4QpIsad (4Q164) on Isa 54:12a; 4Q405 23 II, 7-10; 4Q175; Let. Aris.
97; Josephus A.J. 3:216-7; L.A.B. 26:9; 2 En. 22:8-10; and 3 En. 12 (“Sacral Son of
Man,” 294-95).

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 CHAPTER 4

THE RITUAL DRESS OF THE HIGH PRIEST

Introduction

Biblical and extrabiblical texts do not hesitate to describe in some detail the

dress of the high priest.1 In the culture of the time, such a description carried significant

weight, since it communicated a tremendous amount of information, including status

and identity.2 As one can clearly see by comparing Lev 16:32 and 21:10, to be high

1
Ben Sira, Philo, and Josephus are three who write significantly on the dress of
the high priest. An in-depth study of this topic in any of these works would be beyond
the bounds of this study; nevertheless, I will discuss salient points from them. For the
Hebrew text of Ben Sira, I have utilized Pancratius C. Beentjes, The Book of Ben Sira in
Hebrew: A Text Edition of All Extant Hebrew Manuscripts and a Synopsis of All
Parallel Hebrew Ben Sira Texts, VTSup 68 (Leiden: Brill, 1997); cf. Israel Lévi, ed.,
The Hebrew Text of the Book of Ecclesiasticus, 3d ed., Semitic Study Series 3 (Leiden:
Brill, 1969). Furthermore, I refer to “Ben Sira” when addressing the Hebrew text and
“Sirach” when addressing the Greek text; when addressing the book as a whole, I
default to “Ben Sira.” For Philo and Josephus I use the following Greek texts: Philo,
trans. F. H. Colson, G. H. Whitaker, and Ralph Marcus, LCL; and Josephus, trans. H.
St. J. Thackeray, Ralph Marcus, and L. H. Feldman, LCL.
Other later significant treatments of the high priest’s vestments by early
Christians—beyond the scope of this research—were written by Justin, Tertullian,
Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Epiphanius, and Jerome (see Robert Hayward, “St
Jerome and the Meaning of the High-Priestly Vestments,” in Hebrew Study: From Ezra
to Ben-Yehuda, ed. William Horbury [Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1999], 91, n. 5).
2
Cf. Edwards, “Dress and Ornamentation,” 2:233; Michael D. Swartz, “The
Semiotics of the Priestly Vestments in Ancient Judaism,” in Sacrifice in Religious
Experience, ed. Albert I. Baumgarten, Studies in the History of Religions (Numen Book
Series) 93 (Leiden: Brill, 2002), 59-60. Note, e.g., the implied change in the status of
Aaron’s son Eleazar when Aaron died and Moses placed Aaron’s garments on him

130
priest was to wear dress appropriate to and communicative of that role; consequently, to

wear the garments was to be high priest.3 But only some of the elements of the high

priest’s dress ensemble were unique to him, clearly setting him apart from the other

priests.4 These unique dress elements of the high priest were immediately recognizable.

From a sartorial standpoint, the high priest thus belonged to two overlapping

(Num 20:26-28; cf. Jub. 32:3-9, where Levi’s priestly appointment is partly mediated by
receiving the dress of priesthood).
See also the surprising narrative of Josephus (A.J. 11.325-39) describing how the
dress of the high priest Jaddua impacted Alexander the Great when the latter met the
former at the head of a Jewish delegation in procession from Jerusalem. Jaddua was
dressed in the same high priestly dress (blue and gold robe, headgear with golden plate
inscribed with the name of YHWH) that Alexander had seen someone (Jaddua? the
heavenly high priest?) wearing in an earlier dream of his. For discussion of this
intriguing (and problematic) narrative, cf. Shaye J. D. Cohen, “Alexander the Great and
Jaddua the High Priest According to Josephus,” Association for Jewish Studies Review 7
(1982): 41-68; Frances Flannery-Dailey, Dreamers, Scribes, and Priests: Jewish
Dreams in the Hellenistic and Roman Eras, JSJSup 90 (Leiden: Brill, 2004), 207-209;
Crispin H. T. Fletcher-Louis, “Alexander the Great’s Worship of the High Priest,” in
Early Jewish and Christian Monotheism, ed. Loren T. Stuckenbruck and Wendy E. S.
North, Early Christianity in Context, JSNTSup 263 (London: T & T Clark, 2004), 72-
102; Tae Hun Kim, “The Dream of Alexander in Josephus Ant. 11.325-39,” JSJ 34
(2003): 425-42; Arnaldo Momigliano, “Flavius Josephus and Alexander’s Visit to
Jerusalem,” Athenaeum 57 (1979): 442-48; Cecilia M. Peek, “Alexander the Great
Comes to Jerusalem: The Jewish Response to Hellenism,” BYU Studies 36 (1996-97):
99-112; Richard Stoneman, “Jewish Traditions on Alexander the Great,” SPhilo 6
(1994): 37-53; and VanderKam, From Joshua to Caiaphas, 63-85.
3
Lev 16:32 shows that the person was ordained in order to: (1) serve as high
priest (instead of his father); and (2) to wear the high priestly garments. Lev 21:10
shows that the ordination was for the purpose of wearing the high priestly
dress—synonymous with serving in the role of high priest (cf. Exod 28:41; 29:9, 29;
Lev 8:33; Jub. 32:3; 4Q213b 6 [4QLevic ar 6]; T. Levi 8:10). See also T. Levi 8:2,
where the patriarch Levi is clothed in the dress of the high priest, indicative of his status
as high priest (on this, see, e.g., Jordi Latorre i Castillo, “Leví sacerdote en los
Testamentos de los Doce patriarcas,” Estudios bíblicos 62 [2004]: 70).
4
Compare texts focusing on the dress of the high priest (e.g., Exod 28:4-39, 42-
43; 39:2-31; Lev 8:6-9; 16:4) with texts focusing on the dress of the common priests
(e.g., Exod 28:40-43; 39:27-29; Lev 6:10; 8:13).

131
classifications: on the one hand he wore some dress items that identified him as a

priest, while on the other hand he wore some dress items that distinguished him from all

other priests.

In 1992 E. P. Sanders noted that “the dress of the priests, like everything else if

one tries to describe it in detail, presents difficulties.” 5 Despite this informed warning, a

textual6 catalogue and discussion7 of the various elements of the high priest’s dress

ensemble8 remains necessary for this study. Such a survey will provide a foundation for

5
Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 92.
6
Some discussions include important archaeological and iconographic
information relative to priestly and high priestly dress. See, e.g., Christine Elizabeth
Palmer, “Garments of Glory: The High Priestly Reflection of Yahweh” (M.A. thesis,
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 1997). In this current study, however, I will
focus primarily on textual data.
7
Besides commentaries and encyclopedias, specialized studies on the general
topic of priestly and high priestly dress include: Johannes Gabriel, Untersuchungen über
das alttestamentliche Hohepriestertum mit besonderer Berücksichtigung des
hohepriesterlichen Ornates, Theologische Studien der Österreichischen Leo-
Gesellschaft 33 (Vienna: Mayer, 1933); Menahem Haran, “The Priestly Image of the
Tabernacle” HUCA 36 (1965): 191-226; idem, Temples and Temple-Service in Ancient
Israel: An Inquiry into the Character of Cult Phenomena and the Historical Setting of
the Priestly School (Oxford: Clarendon, 1978); Haulotte, Symbolique du Vêtement,
particularly 44-54 and 167-75; Palmer, “Garments of Glory”; Sanders, Judaism:
Practice and Belief, 92-102; Siegfried Schemel, “Die Kleidung der Juden im Zeitalter
der Mischnah: nebst einem Anhange: Die Priesterkleidung Swartz” (PhD diss.,
University of Rostock, 1912); Swartz, “Semiotics,” 57-80; and John A. Tvedtnes,
“Priestly Clothing in Bible Times,” in Temples of the Ancient World: Ritual and
Symbolism, ed. Donald W. Parry (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co.; Provo, UT:
Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1994), 649-704.
8
A number of texts describe characters not clearly designated as high priests with
what appears to be high priestly dress imagery, but I will not examine these texts in this
chapter. For instance, in the Apocalypse of Abraham, the author describes the angel
Yaoel as wearing a kidaris or turban on his head (11:3). While the high priest wore the
kidaris (cf. LXX Exod 28:4; 28:39; Lev 16:4; Jdt 4:15; Sir 45:12; Zech 3:5), the author
of this apocalypse does not clearly designate Yaoel as a high priest. Characters not
designated as high priests—but with apparently high priestly dress imagery—may not

132
investigating possible high priestly dress imagery relative to Jesus Christ and/or

angelomorphic figures in the book of Revelation.

In this chapter I will survey data primarily from the HB about the daily and the

yearly ritual dress of the high priest, with no attempt to either provide a comprehensive,

in-depth study of each element of his dress or focus on their theological meaning.

Nevertheless, I will focus on some elements of the high priest’s ritual dress, particularly

those elements that: (1) have been understood in different ways; (2) have undergone

development over time; and (3) are potentially significant in view of the overall purpose

of this study with regard to the book of Revelation. I will also explore some overlooked

or ignored elements of the high priest’s ritual dress in both ancient and contemporary

discussions. Finally, I will summarize this chapter’s exploration of the ritual dress of

the high priest and provide some conclusions.

Daily Ritual Dress of the High Priest

From a temporal standpoint, the ritual dress of the high priest was of two basic

kinds: (1) dress that he wore on a daily basis during the course of the year; 9 and (2)

necessarily be being portrayed as high priests. Note, e.g., that Bohak compares the
purple, violet, scarlet, and linen coloring of the wings of certain bees in Jos. Asen. 16:18
to the dress of the high priest (Jewish Temple in Heliopolis, 11), but Brooke denies that
the text can bear the weight of such an identification (“Men and Women as Angels,”
JSP 14 [2005]: 170-71).
9
Within the corpus of the HB, one finds the clearest descriptions of the high
priest’s daily dress in the books of Exodus and Leviticus (cf. sporadic descriptions in 1
Samuel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah), with the most detailed description of
the high priest’s dress found in Exodus.
Menahem Haran asserts that the high priest wore the same clothing as the
common priests when ministering at the sacrifices offered on the altar of burnt offering,
with only his special sash and turban distinguishing him from them, while the other,

133
dress worn specifically for the once-a-year observance of the Day of Atonement, Yom

Kippur (Lev 16:4). Ancient through modern analyses have traditionally broken down

the daily ritual dress of the high priest into eight “garments” or “vestments,” with four

other garments used only on the annual Yom Kippur (Lev 16:4).10 The HB does not,

however, enumerate in any one place the complete dress catalog of the high priest.

The breakdown of the high priest’s regular dress into eight garments frequently

stems from rabbinic discussions such as are found in m. Yoma 7:5, which indicated that

the high priest “serves in eight garments.” 11 According to this traditional perspective,

additional garments were added and worn on only two occasions each day, in the
morning and the evening (“The Complex of Ritual Acts Inside the Tabernacle,” in
Studies in the Bible, ed. Chaim Rabin, Scripta hierosolymitana 8 [Jerusalem: Magnes,
1961], 279). The reasons he gives for this distinction are that: (1) the additional
garments generally matched the interior workmanship of the sanctuary in terms of their
use of gold and mixed fabrics; that (2) it would be difficult to wear the heavy additional
garments at the altar of burnt offering; and that (3) these additional dress items were
ritual objects in their own right, even as the altar, the lampstand, and the table (ibid.,
279-83).
10
Cf., e.g., Menahem Haran, “Priestly Vestments,” Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd
ed. (2007), 16:512; idem, “Complex of Ritual Acts,” 279; idem, Temples and Temple-
Service, 166. A distinction was made between the anointed high priest and the high
priest of many garments (m. Hor. 3.4). Margaret Barker suggests that the tradition of
anointing the high priest in the Second Temple period must have not been observed,
since other statements (b. Hor. 12a; b. Ker. 5b) indicate that the anointing oil had been
hidden away during the reign of Josiah (Barker, “The Temple Roots of the Christian
Liturgy,” in Christian Origins: Worship, Belief and Society: The Milltown Institute and
the Irish Biblical Association Millennium Conference, ed. by Kieran J. O’Mahony,
JSNTSS 241 [Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 2003], 33).
11
Translation in Jacob Neusner, The Mishnah: A New Translation (New Haven,
CT: Yale University Press, 1988), 277. Cf. Swartz, “Semiotics,” 61-62. See also
Himmelfarb, Ascent to Heaven, p. 132, n. 74, where she notes that the work known as
the Alphabet of Metatron describes Enoch-Metatron as garbed in eight garments, here
traditionally understood to refer to the dress of the high priest.

134
the first four were worn by both the common priest and the high priest: 12 (1)

undergarments; (2) tunic; (3) sash or waistband; and (4) turban.13 Furthermore,

according to the traditional interpretation, the high priest alone wore the last four of

these eight garments, which were sometimes designated as the “golden garments”: 14 (5)

robe; (6) ephod; (7) breastpiece; and (8) head ornament.15

Though this summary of eight garments is still standard and typical, it is neither

original nor universal. The first mention of the dress of Aaron as (high) priest in the HB

(Exod 28:4), for example, lists only six items to be made.16 On the other hand, the more

condensed narrative in Lev 8:7-9 lists nine actions of Moses in putting, girding,

clothing, and placing nine items of dress on Aaron during Aaron’s vesting at his

12
For reference to martial dress worn by the seven Aaronic priests—dress that
specifically was to be brought into the sanctuary—see 1QM 7 9-11.
13
Cf. Josephus, who asserts that the high priest is dressed in the same way as the
common priest—though with other items of dress (A.J. 3.159).
14
Cf. m. Yoma 7:3-4 (translation in Neusner, The Mishnah, 277) and Lev. Rab.
21:10. On the ANE “golden garments,” see Oppenheim, “Golden Garments,” 172-93.
15
Terminology for priestly dress is not uniform in contemporary discussion. Cf.
the dress terminology, e.g., in Neusner (The Mishnah, 277) and in William H. C. Propp
(Exodus 19-40: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, AB 2A [New
York: Doubleday, 2006], 522 (Propp’s terms are listed second): (1) tunic = shift; (2)
underpants = [same]; (3) head covering = hat; (4) girdle = sash; (5) breastplate =
“pectoral pouch called hosen”; (6) apron = Ephod; (7) upper garment = Robe; and (8)
frontlet = Blossom. With regard to these dress items, I shall use the following
nomenclature and order in this study: (1) undergarments; (2) tunic; (3) sash; (4) robe;
(5) ephod; (6) breastpiece; (7) headgear; and (8) head ornament.
16
Natalio Fernández Marcos discusses the imitative descriptions of the high
priest’s dress in this biblical passage by the Letter of Aristeas, Ben Sira, Philo, and
Josephus as examples of ekphrasis in his “Rewritten Bible or Imitatio? The Vestments
of the High Priest,” in Studies in the Hebrew Bible, Qumran, and the Septuagint
Presented to Eugene Ulrich, ed. Peter W. Flint, Emanuel Tov, and James C.
VanderKam (Leiden: Brill, 2006), 321-36.

135
inauguration as high priest.17 In this latter list the undergarments are missing, while the

“decorated band of the ephod (NRSV)” and the Urim and Thummim are listed. 18 Table

1 sets forth this particular listing of ritual dress elements.

The HB utilizes the phrase dr'F.h; ydeg>Bi (“finely worked vestments,” NRSV)

three times to categorize both the high priest’s and the common priest’s garments (Exod

31:10, 35:19; 39:41).19 Nevertheless, from a linguistic standpoint, the HB frequently

differentiates the dress of the high priest from that of the regular priesthood. Aaron’s

garments are called “holy garments” or “sacred vestments” in numerous texts in Exodus

17
While some items are placed or put on top of other items, as opposed to being
just “put on,” the effect is the same in terms of the enumeration. For more on the
English translations of the dress items, see the discussion below.
18
These latter elements do not appear in the summary list in Exod 28:4, but they
do appear later in that same chapter (Exod 28:27, 28, and 30). Some other lists are
dissimilar as well. T. Levi 8:2-10 and L.A.B. 13:1 list seven and five items, respectively.
In the two accounts of Levi’s visionary investiture by seven (angelic) men in white, T.
Levi 8:2 lists “the robe of priesthood, and the crown of righteousness, and the
breastplate of understanding, and the garment of truth, and the plate of faith, and the
turban of (giving) a sign, and the ephod of prophecy,” while 8:4-10 lists “a staff of
judgment,” “a holy and glorious robe,” “a linen vestment like an ephod,” “a girdle like
(a) purple (robe),” “a branch of rich olive,” “a crown,” and “a diadem of the priesthood”
(translation from Harm W. Hollander and M. de Jonge, The Testaments of the Twelve
Patriarchs: A Commentary, Studia in Veteris Testamenti Pseudepigrapha 8 [Leiden:
Brill, 1985], 149). L.A.B. 13:1 refers to Moses arranging “all the vestments of the
priests, the belt and the robe and the headdress and the golden plate and the holy crown”
(D. J. Harrington, “Pseudo-Philo: A New Translation and Introduction,” in OTP, 2:321).
The ephod, breastpiece, and precious stones are also mentioned earlier in this
verse—but they appear between mention of the altar of incense and the laver. Even if
this text were listing the unique high priestly dress items, it would not match the fuller
lists in the HB.
19
The last word in this phrase is difficult to translate (cf. Haran, “Priestly Image,”
213-15). For an excellent summary of the discussion, see Propp, Exodus 19-40, 490-91.
Propp favors translating the phrase as “Textile Garments” (ibid.).

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Table 1. Dress actions and dress items in Leviticus 8:7-9

Dress Action Dress Item

MT LXX English MT LXX English

v. 7 !TeYIw: evne,dusen he put / tn<ToKuh;-ta, to.n citw/na the tunic

he dressed

rGOx.Y:w: e;zwsen he girded jnEb.a;B' th.n zw,nhn with the sash /

the sash

vBel.Y:w: evne,dusen he dressed ly[iM.h;-ta, to.n u`podu,thn the robe /

the undergarment

!TeYIw: evpe,qhken he put / dpoaeh'-ta, th.n evpwmi,da the ephod

he put on

rGOx.Y:w: sune,zwsen he girded / dpoaeh' bv,xeB. th.n poi,hsin with the decorated
he girded th/j evpwmi,doj band of the ephod /
together the work [or] doing
of the ephod

v. 8 ~f,Y"w: evpe,qhken he put / !v,xoh;-ta, to. logei/on the breastpiece /

he put on the oracle

!TeYIw: evpe,qhken he put / ~yrIWah'-ta, th.n dh,lwsin the Urim and the
he put on `~yMiTuh;-ta,w> kai. th.n Thummim /
avlh,qeian the Manifestation
and the Truth

v. 9 ~f,Y"w: evpe,qhken he put / tp,n<c.Mih;-ta, th.n mi,tran the turban /

he put on the mitre

~f,Y"w: evpe,qhken he put / bh'Z"h; #yci tae to. pe,talon the golden
he put on to. crusou/n blossom /
the golden leaf

vd,Qoh; rz<nE to. (the) holy crown /

kaqhgiasme,n the holy dedication
a[gion [or] consecration

Note: For the English translations, if there is a slash (“/”), the MT is indicated first and
the Greek is after the slash. If there is no slash, the translation works for both MT and
LXX.

137
and Leviticus, while the dress of the common priests is not so described. 20

The varying enumerations of the specific dress items of the high priest in the HB

are paralleled by the varying enumerations of the high priest’s dress found in scholarly

analyses of the biblical and extrabiblical data.21 This is also true with regard to the

categorization of the more generalized dress forms as shared with the common priests or

unique to the high priest. When scholarly treatments of the dress of the high priest

20
The terms for “holy garments” or “sacred vestments” are: vd,qo-ydeg>bi (Exod
28:2, 4; Lev 16:4); and vd,Qoh; ydeg>bi (Exod 29:29; 31:10; 35:19, 21; 39:1, 41; 40:13; Lev
16:32).
21
Bond suggests that Exod 28 lists nine high priestly garments, but the “outer
chequered coat” disappeared “in later literature” and possibly was not in use in the
Second Temple period (“Discarding the Seamless Robe,” 416, n. 30). Rachel Elior
asserts that there were not eight but seven high priestly garments in The Three Temples:
On the Emergence of Jewish Mysticism (Oxford: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization,
2004), 41, 243. In Podella’s analysis of Lev 8:7-9, he lists only seven instead of nine
dress items (see Das Lichtkleid JHWHs, 60-64 [list on p. 63]). Stephen D. Ricks
incorrectly notes that Exod 29:5-6 contains reference to “eight sacred garments” when it
instead lists seven (“The Garment of Adam in Jewish, Muslim, and Christian
Tradition,” in Temples, 715).
Furthermore, Louis H. Feldman, in discussing Josephus’s arrangement of the
biblical material on the high priest’s dress according to the order in which the high
priest would put them on, strangely classifies biblical references in Exod 28:39-42 of
“the tunic, the sash, the headdress, and the breeches” as “undergarments”
(“Rearrangement of Pentateuchal Material in Josephus’ Antiquities, Books 1-4,” in
Judaism and Hellenism Reconsidered, JSJSup 107 [Leiden: Brill, 2006], 384 [essay
originally published in HUCA 70-71 {1999-2000}: 129-51]). And Sanders’s discussion
is confusing, since he ends up designating five items of the high priest’s ensemble as
tunics: As undergarments he lists “breeches, full-length linen tunic, full-length blue
tunic”; on top of those he lists “linen tunic, blue tunic, ephod (a very abbreviated
tunic),” and then he adds the breastpiece and headgear, the latter including the turban,
covering cloth, and three-tiered crown (Judaism: Practice and Belief, 100). This does
not agree with his summary of Josephus’s description (ibid., 93), nor his later
discussion. Since he does not include the sash (in actuality he lists a “second sash”
[ibid., 99]) or the head ornament in this catalog, his number of dress items significantly
exceeds the proverbial “golden eight.”

138
follow the standard enumeration of eight “golden garments,” they frequently make a

clear demarcation between the four dress items worn with all the priesthood and the four

dress items worn solely by the high priest among the priesthood.22 But while this typical

differentiation remains generally descriptive of the data (i.e., the high priest wore at

least some dress items different from the common priests), not only is the general

enumeration problematic, but the categorical enumeration is clearly incorrect. All of

this is an indication that—at a bare minimum—traditional catalogs of the high priest’s

dress are not necessarily obvious from a textual standpoint. Furthermore, as I will

demonstrate, such a breakdown into eight “garments” or “vestments” is thus not only

stereotypical but also artificial and incongruent with contemporary analyses of dress. 23

In the Pentateuch24 three of the eight traditional dress item forms that the high

priest wore on a daily, ritual basis were common to each priest of the tribe of Levi:

undergarments, tunic, and sash.25 But as I will demonstrate below, even though some of

22
See, e.g., Haran, Temples and Temple-Service, 169-71. Swartz suggests that
one can also divide the garments according to materials and functions, but he objects
that it is “unwise to divide too sharply between utilitarian objects, such as the robe, and
ornamental objects, such as the breastpiece” (“Semiotics,” 62).
23
E.g., the head ornament, typically considered a plate or rosette of gold, would
not be considered a “garment” or “vestment” any more than a bracelet or set of earrings.
All of the aforementioned articles, however, would be considered dress elements.
24
See also discussion about the high priest’s garments in Second Temple sources
(e.g., Josephus A.J. 3.151-78 and B.J. 5.228-36; Let. Aris. 96-99; Philo Mos. 2.109-35
and Spec. 1.82-97). Primary consideration in this study, however, will be given to
sources from the HB, with reference to other sources when significant to issues
regarding the development of—or interpretational difficulties about—such ritual dress.
25
Not all discussions on the high priest’s ritual dress clearly categorize his dress
ensemble. For instance, in Haran’s analysis, the “turban” is considered one of the four
“undergarments” common to all the priests: “There is an all-important difference in
quality between the four undergarments [of the high priest] common to all the priests

139
these same articles of dress were worn by both the common priests and the high priest,

those belonging to or worn by the high priest are described differently: They have a

different texture or weave, or they contain other specified or unique elements. In this

sense, then, the daily dress of the high priest contains no dress items that precisely

match those of the regular priests.

The second category of the daily ritual dress worn by the high priest includes

five traditionally recognized items of dress: (1) the robe; (2) the ephod; (3) the

breastpiece; (4) the headgear; and (5) and the head ornament. From the standpoint of

linguistics and craftsmanship, these five traditional dress items ascribed to the high

priest were exclusive to him.26 Nevertheless, in their basic form the evidence presented

will substantiate that some of these were not necessarily worn by the high priest alone

but by other dignitaries.

It was particularly these latter garments that became politicized during the

Roman occupation, becoming part of a power-play dynamic. For significant portions of

the time when Judea was under Roman domination, the high priest’s garments were

kept under lock and key, the exceptions being the three yearly festivals (Passover,

and Aaron’s four overgarments” (Temples and Temple-Service, 171; cf. 169-70).
Treiyer’s analysis is similarly confused: He also classifies the high priest’s mitre or tiara
as one of the four “undergarments commons [sic] to every priest,” though with a
footnote attempting to implicitly clarify how it can be classified as a common
undergarment and yet be a completely different Hebrew word from that for the common
priests (Day of Atonement, 78).
26
Texts outside of the Pentateuch (e.g., 1 Sam 2:18; 2 Sam 6:14; 1 Chr 15:27)
indicate the ephod was utilized by others than the high priest. Some texts indicate that it
was carried rather than worn (cf. Judg 17:5; 18:14, 17-20; 1 Sam 23:6, 9; 30:7).

140
Weeks/Pentecost, Booths/Tabernacles) and the fast day (Yom Kippur).27 This use of the

high priest’s garments for political purposes underscores the role of his garments as a

substitute for his social identity.

The Undergarments

The first article of ritual dress common to both the high priest and the common

priests was comprised of the undergarments (~yIs;n"k.mi).28 These are typically described

27
See 1 Macc 10:20-21; Josephus A.J. 15.403-409, 18.90-95, 20.6-16. Other
than general references to the priestly garments that were kept under these conditions,
Josephus mentions “all his [the high priest’s] ornaments” ( to.n pa,nta auvtou/ ko,smon
[18.90]), the “foot-length tunic” (to.n podh,rh citw/na [20.6]; cf. to.n citw/na to.n
podh,rh [Exod 29:5]) known elsewhere as the robe or the robe of the ephod, “the priestly
garments” (th.n i`era.n stolh,n [20.6]; cf. the same terminology understood as a
collective in 20.7 and 9), and “the crown” ( to.n ste,fanon [20.12]). See Brutti,
Development, 273, n. 18; Fletcher-Louis, “Messiah: Part I,” 169; Lupieri, Commentary
on the Apocalypse, 254; Pucci Ben Zeev, “La sovranità,” 99-112; Sanders, Judaism:
Practice and Belief, 326; Smallwood, “Date of the Dismissal,” 12-21; idem, Jews
Under Roman Rule, 74, 149, 172-73, and 260-61; Swartz, “Semiotics,” 60; VanderKam,
From Joshua to Caiaphas, 432-434; and Paul Winter, On the Trial of Jesus, 2nd ed., ed.
T. A. Burkill and Geza Vermes, Studia judaica 1 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1974), 21-
26.
The priestly vestments had been kept in different places over the centuries:
during the time of the First Temple, in the chambers adjacent to the inner courtyard
during the time of Solomon’s Temple (cf. Lev 6:4, and Ezek 42:14 and 44:19); during
the time of the Second Temple, in the birah or baris (“citadel,” “fortress”) built by John
Hyrcanus north of the temple; and later, from Herod’s time onward, in the Antonia
fortress (Josephus A.J. 15.403-408, 18.93, 20.6-16). See Rivka Nir, The Destruction of
Jerusalem and the Idea of Redemption in the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch, Society of
Biblical Literature Early Judaism and Its Literature 20 (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 45-46,
particularly 46, n. 12. On the terminology of birah or baris, see, e.g., Daniel R.
Schwartz, “‘Stone House,’ Birah, and Antonia during the Time of Jesus,” in Jesus and
Archaeology, ed. James H. Charlesworth (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006), 341-48.
28
Exod 28:42 (cf. v. 43); 39:28; Lev 6:3; 16:4; Ezek 44:18. N. L. Tidwell
conjectures that these undergarments “are the direct descendant of the old db dwpa and
represent a relic of the older form of priestly dress” (“The Linen Ephod: 1 Sam. II 18
and 2 Sam. VI 14,” VT 24 [1974]: 507). On the opaque etymology of this Hebrew term,
see S. David Sperling, “Pants, Persians, and the Priestly Source,” in Ki Baruch Hu:

141
as being made out of linen (db').29 The purpose of these garments was to cover the

(bare) flesh or nakedness of the priests (cf. Exod 20:26),30 and they consequently

reached from the loins or waist to the thigh area of the body (28:42).

The textual data, however, indicate that while the undergarments were common

to both the high priest and the common priests, those of the high priest were

distinguished from those of the other priests. Exodus 39:28 describes the

undergarments as being made out of a specific type of linen, rz"v.m' vve (“fine, twisted

linen”). But in the next verse this same descriptor defines “the sash / waistband

Ancient Near Eastern, Biblical, and Judaic Studies in Honor of Baruch A. Levine, ed.
Robert Chazan, William W. Hallo, and Lawrence H. Schiffman (Winona Lake, IN:
Eisenbrauns, 1999), 381-82.
The terminology Josephus uses (to.n manaca,shn [“the undergarment”]; see A.J.
3.152) is not that of the LXX but is a somewhat modified transliteration of the Hebrew
terminology (~yIs;n"k.mi). As to why Josephus utilized such transliterations rather than
LXX terminology for this and other high priestly dress items, see Stuart Dunbar
Robertson, “The Account of the Ancient Israelite Tabernacle and First Priesthood in the
‘Jewish Antiquities’ of Flavius Josephus” (PhD diss., Annenberg Research Institute,
1991), 204-206.
The term “breeches” typically refers to 17 th-19th-century knee-length trousers and
is thus anachronistic. Contra Sperling (“Pants,” 373-82), while the term used by
Josephus (avnaxuri,daj [“trousers”]) to describe this priestly dress item is the same as
one used by Herodotus to describe one element of Persian military dress, one would not
today designate a garment that extends from the waist to the thighs (Exod 28:42; cf.
Josephus A.J. 3.152 and B.J. 5.231) as “trousers.” Cf. Robertson, “Account,” 206, n.
47.
29
Exod 28:42; 39:28; Lev 6:10; 16:4. On the ancient appreciation of (white)
linen, see John E. Farrell, “The Garment of Immortality: A Concept and Symbol in
Christian Baptism” (PhD diss., Catholic University of America, 1974), 227-57,
particularly 231-35 and 249-60. The color of linen has been described in terms as “off-
white, bone-white, or slightly yellowish” (Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 96-98,
here 97), as well as silver (Knowles, “What Was the Victim Wearing?” 162).
30
For a brief discussion on the role of the priestly undergarments in controlling
their sexuality, see McKay, “Gendering the Body,” 99.

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[jnEb.a;h']” belonging to none other than the high priest. 31 Despite the contention of

Menachem Haran that the undergarments (Haran’s “breeches”) were an exception to the

rule that the linen garments of the high priest were “somewhat different and more

elaborate . . . than those of ordinary priests,” 32 the description here of the undergarments

being made out of fine, twisted linen would naturally be understood to belong solely to

the high priest because of other high priestly dress items like the ephod and sash being

made out of the same type of fabric.33

The Tunic

Another article of dress that the high priest wore was the tunic (tn<ToK)u .34 This

was not a rare or unusual dress item, since, as D. N. Freedman and M. P. O’Connor

31
This same terminology appears both in descriptions of the tabernacle and court
curtains (Exod 26:1; 27:9, 18; 36:8, 9; 38:16, 18) and in descriptions of other high
priestly dress items (Exod 28:6, 8, 15; 39:2, 5, 8).
32
Haran, “Priestly Image,” 213.
33
This is apparently how Sir 45:8 understands it, since it lumps the linen
undergarments (periskelh/), the robe, and the ephod together as objects or instruments
of strength or authority (skeu,esin ivscu,oj); since only the latter two dress elements are
unique to the high priest, the undergarments must have been differentiated from that of
the common priests as well for the argument to work. Notice the comment of Jacob
Milgrom that the undergarments of the common priests may indicate that they were not
considered an article of their sacred dress (Leviticus 1-16: A New Translation with
Introduction and Commentary, AB3 [New York: Doubleday, 1991], 1017).
34
The basic term is used for the high priest’s tunic in Exod 29:5 as well as in Lev
8:7 (in the latter text it is called “the tunic” [ tn<ToKuh;-ta,]) and 16:4 (where it is called a
“sacred/holy linen tunic” [ vd,qo dB;-tn<toK]. ). As for the non-priestly, archaic ~ySiP; tn<toK.
(“coat of many colours” [KJV]; “long robe with sleeves” [NRSV]) form (Gen 37:3, 23,
32; 2 Sam 13:18-19; cf. Gen 37:31, 33), see the discussion in D. M. Freedman and M.
P. O’Connor, “tn<ToK,u ” TDOT (1995), 7:384-86. There they discuss how the one worn
by David’s daughter Tamar (2 Sam 13:18) may be related to the ly[im. (ibid., 7:385).

143
have noted, the word tn<ToKu “is the Hebrew equivalent of one of the most common terms

in the civilized world.”35 Tunics were also worn by the common priests,36 and all of the

priestly tunics were fabricated with greao (“woven”) craftsmanship from vve (“fine linen”

[Exod 28:39; 39:27]).37 Tunics were not, however, restricted to the priesthood alone;

one finds clear evidence that the Hebrew term was used in describing the dress of Adam

and Eve (Gen 3:21),38 Hushai the Archite (2 Sam 15:32), Job (Job 30:18), the woman in

Song 5:3, and King Hezekiah’s royal steward (Isa 22:21; cf. 2 Kgs 19:1-2). 39

While the other priests also wore tunics, the textual data indicate that the high

priest’s tunic was of a clearly different construction. In Exod 28:4 it is first expressly

described as being uniquely “checkered” or “interwoven” ( #Bev.T;).40 Second, Exodus

35
Freedman and O’Connor, “tn<ToK,u ” 7:383. Note this sartorial term in Akkadian,
Arabic, Aramaic (Imperial and Jewish), Ethiopic, Mandaean, Mycenaean Linear B,
Greek, Ionian, Latin, Phoenician, Sumerian, Syriac, and Ugaritic (ibid., 7:383-84).
36
Exod 28:40; 29:8; 40:14; Lev 8:13; 10:5; Ezra 2:69; Neh 7:70, 72.
37
In 39:27 the definite Hebrew article is associated with tunics for both the high
priest and the common priests; but the LXX here (36:34) is anarthrous (citw/naj
bussi,nouj [“fine linen tunics”]).
38
See Freedman and O’Connor (“tn<ToK,u ” 7:384-85) on this tunic’s nature.
39
The typical Greek equivalent to the Hebrew tn<tok. or tn<toku (citw,n; cf. the
pluralized transliteration coqwnwq in Neh 7:70, 72) also appears in descriptions of the
dress of King Ahab (1 Kgs 20:27 [MT 21:27]), the “daughters of Zion” (Isa 3:16, 24),
high court officials in the time of King Hezekiah (Isa 36:22), pagan priests (Ep Jer
1:29), Andronicus (2 Macc 4:38), Jewish warriors (2 Macc 12:40), and others (4 Macc
9:11).
40
The word #Bev.T; is a hapax legomenon in the HB. Cf. the discussion in
Freedman and O’Connor, “tn<ToK,u ” 7:386, where they suggest that it had blue, purple,
scarlet, and gold threads running through it; the HB does not, however, mention this.

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later describes the high priest’s tunic as being embroidered or woven ( tn<toK.h; T'c.B;viw>

[28:39]).41 Nothing comparable is stated with regard to the tunics of the common

priests. And third, the high priest’s tunic is singled out from all similar tunics belonging

to the common priests, labeling it as “the tunic” ( tn<ToKuh;-ta, [Exod 28:39; cf. 29:5; Lev

8:7]).42 Every indication thus demonstrates that while the tunic was not exclusive to the

priesthood, the high priest’s tunic was differentiated from those of the common priests

through a unique description and fabrication.

Excursus: The High Priest Tearing

His Clothes

The most familiar NT reference to the dress of the high priest is that of the high

priest tearing his robes (or, clothes) during the interrogation of Jesus.43 In fact, this is

41
The NIV translates this as “weave the tunic,” while the NRSV translates it as
“you shall make the checkered tunic.” The rare verb #b;v' occurs only twice in this
chapter with regard to the dress of the high priest. Notice that earlier in v. 20 the verb is
used participially of the precious stones of the high priest’s breastpiece: They are
“woven,” or, in this case, “set” or “mounted” with gold ( bh'z" ~yciB'vum.). Cornelis
Houtman believes that the basic meaning of the verb does not deal with a certain kind of
weaving but rather has the sense that “the tunic is to be shaped by sewing, it is to have
folds or creases, so that it will fit tightly around the body” (Exodus, Historical
Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. Sierd Woudstra [Kampen, The Netherlands:
Kok; and Leuven: Peeters, 1993-2002], 3:475). He believes that its basic meaning
relates well to the idea of “setting” or “mount” as found in twcbvm (ibid.).
42
The LXX of Exod 28:39 pluralizes the reference to the tunic, interpreting it to
refer to the fringes / tassels of the tunics (oi` ko,sumboi tw/n citw,nwn) of all the priests.
The difference between the singular and the plural in the Hebrew, however, is simply
one of vocalization: tn<toK.h; (singular) vs. tnOt.K'h; (plural). On the anomalous text of
LXX Exod 29:5, see the discussion below.
43
For a good survey of the issues involved here, see Raymond E. Brown, The
Death of the Messiah: From Gethsemane to the Grave: A Commentary on the Passion
Narratives in the Four Gospels (New York: Doubleday, 1994), 1:517-19.

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the most explicit reference in the entire NT to the dress of the high priest. The reason

for this item’s discussion here is that Mark narrates that the high priest tore “his clothes

(tou.j citw/naj auvtou/ [14:63].”44 Mark’s use of the plural45 of the Greek term for the

tunic of the high priest indicates that no one particular garment is meant; 46 reference to

one tunic would refer to the high priest’s inner clothing, but here the plural probably

refers to his clothing in general.47

Matthew’s narrative of the same event 48 describes the high priest tearing not

tou.j citw/naj auvtou/ but ta. i`ma,tia auvtou/ (26:65). This terminological difference

The term citw,n translates the tntk of the high priest in LXX Exod 28:4, 39;
44

29:5; 35:19; 36:34; Lev 16:4. Outside of Mark 14:63, citw,n in the NT describes the
dress of non-priests (particularly in Jesus’ teachings to his disciples regarding their
dress: cf. Matt 5:40; 10:10; Mark 6:9; Luke 3:11; 6:29; 9:3; Acts 9:39; Jude 1:23) and
the dress of Jesus at his crucifixion (John 19:23).
45
Typically only one tunic was worn by a person; Matt 10:10, Mark 6:9, and
Luke 3:11 and 9:3 refer to two tunics, but these probably refer to the use of a spare and
not two at once (John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew, NIGTC [Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans; Bletchley, UK: Paternoster, 2005], 1132). Cf. Josephus, who refers to some
who wore two of these articles of dress (A.J. 17.136).
46
Josephus (A.J. 3.153, 159) indicates that the high priest wore two tunics (using
the term citw,n for both of them)—one like the common priests, and a hyacinth-colored
one.
47
Cf. Brown, Death of the Messiah, 1:519; Robert H. Gundry, Mark: A
Commentary on His Apology for the Cross (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 914; idem,
Matthew: A Commentary on His Handbook for a Mixed Church under Persecution, 2nd
ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994), 546; and Nolland, Gospel of Matthew, 1132. It is
possible that the high priest could have opened up his outer garments and torn his inner
garments; according to Josephus (J.W. 2.322), on one particular occasion the chief
priests tore their garments (tw/n evsqh,twn) and consequently had bare chests (ta.
ste,rna). Cf. Ep Jer 1:30 (Eng. 1:31), where the priests of pagan temples sit in their
temples “having [their] clothes torn” ( e;contej tou.j citw/naj dierrwgo,taj).
48
Luke’s parallel narrative does not refer to the high priest’s dress at all.

146
suggests that Matthew utilized a more familiar generic term for clothing and similarly

was not referring to a particular dress item.49 Matthew may have changed Mark’s

account50 to refer to the clothes the high priest would more naturally tear—his outer

clothing, rather than his inner clothing.51

In any case, some have set forth theological reasons for concluding that the high

priest was wearing his ritual dress when he tore his clothes; this would supposedly

demonstrate that the high priest broke the Torah (despite the fact that Lev 10:6 and

21:10 are not parallel).52 Nevertheless, it does not appear that ritual dress was involved

here, since the Sanhedrin was meeting at the high priest’s house (Mark 14:53-54; cf.

Matt 26:3-4, 57-58; Luke 22:55), where such garments would not normally be worn. 53

49
Nolland, Gospel of Matthew, 1132. Ulrich Luz concludes that Matthew’s
usage does not indicate that the high priest was wearing official robes (Matthew 21-28:
A Commentary, trans. James E. Crouch, ed. Helmut Koester, HCHCB [Minneapolis:
Fortress, 2005], 430, n. 45). In Lev 16:4 the four high priestly dress items reserved for
Yom Kippur were called holy garments (i`ma,tia a[gia,). Use of such plural terminology
appears to confirm that no particular dress item is in view in Matthew.
50
Markan priority is assumed.
51
Gundry, Matthew, 546. Notice the use of both terms in Matt 5:40, and cf. Luke
6:29 (on these two verses, see Gundry, Matthew, 67) as well as LXX Lev 16:4 and Isa
61:10. See also John 19:23, where the soldiers at Jesus’ crucifixion divide Jesus’
clothing (ta. i`ma,tia auvtou/) into four parts, while they cast lots to see who gets his tunic
(to.n citw/na). It does not appear likely that Matthew is alluding to the decrees (LXX
Lev 10:6; 21:10) forbidding the priests or the “anointed” priest (the one who has been
consecrated to wear the garments) from tearing their garments (ta. i`ma,tia), since such
tearing was forbidden specifically with regard to mourning for the dead.
52
Luz, Matthew 21-28, 434.
53
So Gundry, Mark, 914. On possible locales for the high priest’s residence, see
Brown, Death of the Messiah, 1:349-50. Josephus indicates (A.J. 18.91-92) that when
the high priest went out into the city, he did not wear his official robe but instead wore
ordinary or “private” garments (th,n ivdiwtikh,n); he uses this terminology in reference
to the practice of Hyrcanus (ibid.). For other corroborative accounts, see m. Hor. 3:5

147
 The Sash

The third article of ritual dress common to the regular priests but also worn by

the high priest on a daily basis was the sash or waistband (jnEb.a;), an article of dress that

occurs nine times in the OT, with only one of those occurrences referencing dress of

someone other than the high priest or a common priest.54 The jnEb.a; was an item of

dress that was girded or wrapped around the hips, groin, and lower abdomen and over

and b. Hor. 12b; cf. Jacob Milgrom, Leviticus 17-22: A New Translation with
Introduction and Commentary, AB 3A (New York: Doubleday, 2000), 1814.
Nolland agrees that it is unlikely that the high priest was wearing ritual dress; he
argues that because of the Roman control of the vestments they would not be used at his
house even if they were in his possession at this time (Gospel of Matthew, 1132); for a
similar argument, cf. R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, NICNT (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 2007), 1029, n. 44. Josephus notes (A.J. 18.94) that the vestments were put
back in Roman control “after the first day of the feast” ( meta, mi,an th/j e`orth/j)—the
feast here being Passover (the other great feasts in which this took place were Pentecost
and Tabernacles). The two Gospels that indicate that the high priest tore his
robes—Matthew and Mark—are the same two that note that Jesus ate the Last Supper
on the first (prw,th|) day of the feast of Unleavened Bread, which was identified in the
Gospels with Passover (Mark 14:12, 14, 16; Matt 26:17-18; cf. Luke 22:1, 7-8, 13, 15).
Thus, while the high priest had previously had access to his robe on the day that Jesus
celebrated the Last Supper, by the time Jesus was later questioned, it is likely that he did
not have access to this robe, and it was back under lock and key.
Robert H. Stein agrees that the tearing would not have involved the ritual clothes
of the high priest, but then he suggests that they could have been “the inner tunics lying
under the liturgical garments” (Mark, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New
Testament [Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008], 685). This latter suggestion, however, does
not make sense, since the priests did not mix liturgical and non-liturgical garments. Cf.
the restriction in Ezek 42:14 and 44:19 prohibiting priests from wearing their vestments
even as close as the outer court of the temple.
54
Exod 28:4, 39, 40; 29:9; 39:29; Lev 8:7, 13; 16:4; Isa 22:21. The anomalous
text (Isa 22:21) is in reference to Shebna and Eliakim, the officials (!keSoh; [22:15]) in
charge of the royal palace. This sartorial terminology in 22:21 is part of the reason why
Tg. Isa. 22 understood these figures as priestly in nature (see, e.g., Bruce Chilton,
“Shebna, Eliakim, and the Promise to Peter,” in Jesus in Context: Temple, Purity, and
Restoration, ed. Bruce Chilton and Craig A. Evans [Leiden: Brill, 1997], 319-37).

148
the tunic.55 Heike Omerzu notes that “gender-specific systems of symbolization”

contributed to the meaning of sashes: For women, different types of girdles/sashes

reflected virginity, marriage, and birth, while for men, the belt/sash was frequently

associated with bearing arms and indicated the “ability and readiness to fight as well as

power in general.”56 Irrespective of gender, sashes communicated status and power: for

example, the more prominent a person’s social status, the more elaborately was the

related sash ornamented.57

With regard to the texts that describe priestly dress, on three occasions the sash

clearly describes a dress item of the common priests—either separate from or along with

that of the high priest (Exod 28:40; 29:9;58 Lev 8:13). In the five remaining references

55
While frequently described as a “girdle,” modern readers would possibly
confuse this term with a woman’s garment, and thus I do not utilize it here. Cf. also Sir
45:10 (MT), where the term rwza (“belt; waistcloth, loincloth”) occurs after reference to
the breastpiece of judgment and the ephod; rwza appears to be a synonym for the high
priest’s sash, and it refers to the leather belt Elijah wore (2 Kgs 1:8; cf. its related use
around one’s loins or waist in Job 12:18; Isa 5:27; 11:5; Jer 13:1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11; Ezek
23:15). Cf. Patrick W. Skehan and Alexander A. Di Lella, The Wisdom of Ben Sira: A
New Translation with Notes, Introduction and Commentary, AB 39 (New York:
Doubleday, 1987), 512.
56
Heike Omerzu, “Women, Magic and Angels: On the Emancipation of Job’s
Daughters in the Apocryphal Testament of Job,” in Bodies in Question: Gender,
Religion, Text, ed. Darlene Bird and Yvonne Sherwood (Aldershot, UK: Ashgate,
2005), 91 (an earlier version of this is “Das bessere Erbe: Die privilegierte Stellung der
Töchter Hiobs im Testament Hiobs,” in Körper und Kommunikation: Beiträge aus der
theologischen Genderforschung, ed. Katharina Greschat and Heike Omerzu [Leipzig:
Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2003], 57-93).
57
Omerzu, “Women, Magic and Angels,” 91.
58
Notice the use of the singular term for sash in the MT, in contradistinction to
the plural in the LXX, Syriac, and targumim. Because the preceding verse refers to
Aaron’s sons alone, the mention of Aaron here (“Aaron and his sons”) is, according to
Propp, “slightly odd” (Exodus 19-40, 350). Furthermore, reference to “Aaron and his
sons” is missing from the LXX.

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to the sash, it occurs as either: (1) a singular article of dress in a catalog of dress items

belonging to the high priest (Exod 28:4, 39; Lev 8:7; 16:4); or (2) a particular item of

dress in a catalog of both singular and plural dress items belonging to the priesthood,

whether the high priest or the common priests (Exod 39:29; cf. vss. 27-31).

At least three pieces of textual data further indicate that the high priest’s sash

was distinguished from that of the common priests in the HB.59 First, Exod 28:39

indicates that the Israelites fabricated the sash from woven or embroidered

craftsmanship (~qero hfe[]m; [“the work of an embroider”]), a type of craftsmanship not

utilized elsewhere for the common priests.60 The same terminology is also utilized more

elaborately in the 39:29: Embroidered craftsmanship (~qero hfe[]m;) was utilized in

fabricating the high priest’s sash out of fine, twisted linen ( rz"v.m' vve), along with blue,

purple, and crimson yarn made out of wool.61 And finally, 39:29 specifically designates

59
Cf. Josephus A.J. 3.154-55 and 159 and the discussion in b. Yoma 5b-6a (on
whose girding with the sash came first, and subsequently, whether the high priest’s sash
was the same material as the sash of the common priests) and both b. Yoma 12a (on
whether the sash of the high priest was the same as that of the common priest) and b.
Yoma 12b (on whether the sash of the high priest was the only garment different from
that of the common priests).
Milgrom (Leviticus 1-16, 519 and 548-49) and Propp (Exodus 19-40, 669)
believe that the sashes of the high priest and the common priests were the same.
60
This type of craftsmanship was also utilized with reference to both the
tabernacle’s outer veil, situated in front of the Holy Place (26:36; 36:37), and the screen
of the courtyard enclosure (27:16 and 38:18). Cf. 28:40 and 29:9 for the lack of such
craftsmanship in the fabrication of the sashes of Aaron’s sons.
61
1QM 7 9-10 describes the battle dress of the priests, and there their sashes are
embroidered with threads of these colors; but note that these vestments were not to be
taken into the sanctuary. Cf. Emil Schürer, who asserts that the sashes of the common
priests were “interwoven with purple, scarlet and blue ornaments” (The History of the
Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ [175 B.C.—A.D. 135] , rev. ed., ed. Geza
Vermes et al. [Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1979], 2:293).

150
the sash as “the sash” (jnEb.a;h'-ta,w>).62 The same is true for Lev 8:7: “and he girded him

with the sash” (jnEb.a;B' Atao rGOx.Y:w): .” These three texts demonstrate that in the HB the

high priest’s sash was differentiated from that of the common priests, even though the

basic dress form for both high priest and common priest was the same.63

Sanders, following Josephus’s description of the sash in the Second Temple

period, concludes that the high priest wore not only the four dress items worn by the

Sanders asserts that “the precise description of colours is very difficult—in fact,
impossible” (Judaism: Practice and Belief, 95). The colored yarns would be made out
of wool, since linen is not readily capable of being dyed (ibid., 95-96). While the
mixture of linen and wool was forbidden to the Israelites (Lev 19:19; Deut 22:11),
Josephus (A.J. 4.208) and the Mishnah (m. Kil. 9:1) indicate that priests were able to
wear these two fabrics (cf. Schürer, History, 2:293-94, n. 7). According to Ziderman,
the three colors typically described as blue, purple, and crimson, could have been blue-
purple (hyacinth), red-purple (Tyrian purple), and bluish red (crimson) (“Seashells,” 98-
101). Cf. Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 505-506, n. 10. On the symbolic
meaning of sacral colors, see Brenner, “On Color,” 200-207.
62
The LXX translates the Hebrew as referring to all the priests: ta.j zw,naj
auvtw/n (“their sashes”). But note that in the list of dress items in MT Exod 39:27-29,
the LXX has pluralized another singular element: in MT 39:28 “the turban, fine linen”
(vve tp,n<c.Mih;) = “the turbans of fine linen” (ta.j kida,reij evk bu,ssou) in LXX 36:35.
63
Josephus states that the common priest’s sash had the breadth of about four
fingers, that while it was situated at the breast it was wound a bit above the armpits, and
that it had the appearance of a serpent’s skin. Furthermore, it was interwoven with
multicolored flowers and embroidered with hyacinth, Tyrian purple, and crimson (A.J.
3.154; cf. 3.158-59). For a discussion of this particular passage, see Andrew R. Angel,
Chaos and the Son of Man: The Hebrew Chaoskampf Tradition in the Period 515 BCE
to 200 CE, Library of Second Temple Studies 60 (London: T & T Clark, 2006),183-84.
According to Sanders, the warp threads were of fine linen, while the weft threads
provided the decorations (Judaism: Practice and Belief, 95; cf. ibid., 99).
Based on later descriptions of the sash in Second Temple sources like Josephus,
Alfred Edersheim concluded that this item of the high priest’s dress “may be regarded as
the most distinctive priestly vestment, since it was only put on during actual
ministration, and put off immediately afterwards” (The Temple: Its Ministry and
Services as They Were at the Time of Jesus Christ [1874; repr., Grand Rapids: Kregel,
1997], 72).

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common priests (i.e., undergarments, tunic, sash, and headgear [a “simple cloth cap over

a linen turban”]),64 but also “a second sash,” colored like the sash of the common

priests, but including gold thread in its decoration (cf. A.J. 3.153-54, 158-59).65 If

Josephus is correctly describing what he has actually seen66—and there are no strong

indications here that he is distorting the record, particularly since he himself was a

priest—then this appears to be another development over what is described in the HB. 67

The Robe

The first traditionally understood article of dress worn only by the high priest in

the Israelite cult that I will explore is the ly[im.. Second Temple Jewish authors

sometimes described with rapturous tones the resplendent sight of the high priest, 68 and

it was this robe that often captivated their attention and caused them to marvel with

delight at the sheer beauty of it.69 In the HB this dress item is typically referred to either

64
Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 93.
65
Ibid., 99.
66
Sanders supports the account of Josephus for these reasons: (1) Josephus
described the dress elements in the order a priest would dress; (2) he is not dependent on
the LXX but typically has the Hebrew in mind, with some differences indicating that he
is not simply listing what is in that text; and (3) his description is detailed, indicative of
a close-up examination of the dress items themselves (ibid., 93).
67
See the next chapter for a more detailed description of the perspective of
Josephus regarding the sash(es).
68
Cf., e.g., Sir 45:6-13; 50:5-11; Let. Aris. 96-99. With regard to priestly figures
in general, Alicia J. Batten remarks that “if their garments were made according to the
biblical instructions, they must have been spectacular” (“Clothing and Adornment,”
Biblical Theology Bulletin 40 [2010]: 151).
69
Cf. Philo Ebr. 85-86; QE 2.107; Spec. 1.95 (the latter text refers in its wider
context not only to the foot-length robe but also to the ephod, the breastpiece with its

152
simply as the ly[im. (“robe”)70 or more specifically as the dpoaeh' ly[im. (“robe of the

ephod”).71 Neither of these two linguistic designations appears in descriptions of the

dress of the common priests within the Pentateuch.

The term ly[im. was not exclusive to the high priest. Those who wore it included

Samuel (1 Sam 2:19; 15:27; 28:14),72 Saul (1 Sam 24:4,11), Jonathan (1 Sam 18:4),

David (1 Chr 15:27), the Levites and levitical singers who accompanied David leading

the ark into Jerusalem (1 Chr 15:27), David’s daughter Tamar (2 Sam 13:18), Ezra

(Ezra 9:3, 5),73 Job and his friends (Job 1:20; 2:12; 29:14 [here, metaphorical]), and the

“princes of the sea” (Ezek 26:16).74 Since the Hebrew word itself would thus not

stones, and the Urim and Thummim [translated as the dh,lwsij and the avlh,qeia]).
70
Exod 28:4, 34; 39:23, 24, 25, 26; Lev 8:7; Sir 45:8. The term ly[m also occurs
in Sir 45:12: tpncmw ly[m zp trj[ (“golden crown, robe, and turban”). The LXX of
this text, however, does not refer to a robe of any kind. It is also possible to understand
ly[m here in terms of “to clothe” or “to wrap,” thus yielding the translation “a crown
wrapped with gold” (see Otto Mulder, Simon the High Priest in Sirach 50: An
Exegetical Study of the Significance of Simon the High Priest as Climax to the Praise of
the Fathers in Ben Sira’s Concept of the History of Israel, JSJ 78 [Leiden: Brill, 2003],
156-57, n. 220).
71
Exod 28:31; 29:5; 39:22. With regard to 28:31, Propp suggests that if the LXX
Vorlage had only ly[im. (which he assumes is probable), it would be the preferred
reading (Exodus 19-40, 347). He also notes that in 39:22, the MT—supported by the
Syriac—has dpoaeh' ly[im., while 4Q17 (4QExod-Levf) and the Samaritan text witness
ly[iM.h;, the latter of which he concludes is the more difficult reading because it is
different from the parallel in 28:31 (Exodus 19-40, 655).
72
This text provides the sartorial description of the spirit called up by the
necromancer of Endor (and understood by her and Saul to be Samuel).
73
For a summary of arguments supportive and opposing the thesis that Ezra was
a high priest, see VanderKam, From Joshua to Caiaphas, 45-47.
74
See also its metaphorical use (Ps 109:29; Isa 59:17; 61:10).

153
designate a high priestly garment, I would suggest that it was sometimes augmented and

associated with the ephod in order to clearly emphasize the uniqueness of this garment

vis-à-vis other non-high priestly occurrences of this dress item.

The ly[im. first appears in the Pentateuch without specific reference to the ephod

but imediately after that dress item: “a breastpiece and an ephod and a robe and a woven

tunic” (#Bev.T; tn<tok.W ly[im.W dApaew> !v,xo [Exod 28:4]). These first four items in the

larger six-item catalog list are listed in the reverse order of how the high priest would

put them on. On the other hand, the last reference to the singular term ly[im. in the

Pentateuch is part of a narrative that details the high priest’s dress ensemble at his

ordination in the logical order that it would be put on, and in this last reference the ly[im.

consequently appears before the ephod: “and he clothed him with the robe, and he put

the ephod on him” (dpoaeh'-ta, wyl'[' !TeYIw: ly[iM.h;-ta, Atao vBel.Y:w: [Lev 8:7; cf. 8:8-9]).

Fuller, augmented references to the ly[im. as the “robe of the ephod” in the HB

occur in three texts: (1) Exod 28:31 (dApaeh' ly[im.-ta,); 29:5 (dpoaeh' ly[im. taew>);75 and

75
But the LXX of this text separates the robe from the ephod (to.n podh,rh kai.
th.n evpwmi,da [literally, “the foot-length robe and the shoulder strap”]). On the ephod’s
suspension from the shoulders, see Exod 28:7, 12, 25, 27; 39:4, 7, 18, 20. In the LXX
the term typically used for the high priest’s ephod is evpwmij (Exod 25:7; 28:4, 6, 7, 8,
12, 15, 29; 29:5; 35:9, 27; 36:9, 11, 14, 15, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29; Lev 8:7; Sir 45:8), a term
which, when used extrabiblically with a sartorial sense, referred to the upper part of a
woman’s tunic that was fastened on the shoulder by either brooches or shoulder-straps,
or the tunic of a rower (LSJ, s.v. “evpwmi,j”). In Ezekiel it refers to the “shoulders” of
the temple doors and gates (40:48; 41:2, 3).
Propp hypothesizes about the purported LXX Vorlage of the list in Exod 29:5
(including a somewhat larger textual context: kai. to.n citw/na to.n podh,rh kai. th.n
evpwmi,da [“both the foot-length tunic and the ephod”]). He initially suggests that the
initial Greek kai is unexpected and may have reflected taw in the LXX Vorlage. But
without dwelling on that suggestion, he finally conjectures that the LXX Vorlage

154
(3) 39:22 (dpoaeh' ly[im.-ta,).76 The first and third texts begin detailed descriptions of

this dress item (28:31-35; 39:22-26).77 All of the rest of the references in the HB to the

high priest’s robe using only the term ly[im. occur within these two detailed descriptions

(28:34; 39:23, 24, 25, 26).

The high priest’s robe was dyed “entirely in blue” ( tl,keT. lyliK). ,78 and it was

appears instead to have approximated dpah-taw ly[mh taw tntkh-ta (“the tunic
and the robe and the ephod”), concluding that “compared to the MT, [this latter
reconstruction would be] a shorter, more ambiguous and arguably superior reading”
(Propp, Exodus 19-40, 350).
76
Propp supports the reading of 4Q17 (4QExod-Levf) 1 II and the Samaritan text
(ly[mh) over the longer MT (the Syriac is the same) because it is shorter and, in his
judgment, the more difficult reading (Exodus 19-40, 655).
77
James C. VanderKam suggests that since the robe is mentioned in Exod 28
only in vss. 31-35, whereas the ephod and breastpiece are described more extensively in
vss 5-30, it “seems to be regarded as part of the ephod, since it is termed ‘the robe of the
ephod’” (“Joshua the High Priest and the Interpretation of Zechariah 3,” in From
Revelation to Canon: Studies in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Literature,
JSTSup 62 [Leiden: Brill, 2000], 173; essay originally published in CBQ 53 [1991]:
553-70). I am not entirely convinced that the paucity of textual content is determinate
here, since: (1) the robe is listed separately in 28:4; and (2) the turban is described in
even fewer verses in this chapter (28:37, 39). Nevertheless, this dress item is clearly
described as the “robe of the ephod,” and as discussion below will demonstrate, this
terminology indicates an unusually close relationship between the two items.
78
Exod 28:31 and 39:22. Articles of dress could be understood by simply
referring to their color. Sir 40:4 (MT), for example, refers to the one who wears a
turban (@ynIc)' and a golden “head ornament” (#yCi), two dress items worn by the high
priest (cf. Exod 28:36; 39:30; Lev 8:9; Zech 3:5). In the LXX, however, the reference is
to one who wears two different items: the bluish-purple (u`aki,nqinoj) and a crown
(ste,fanoj). While both of these latter items could refer to royal emblems (cf. LXX
Ezek 23:6 on the color and 2 Sam 12:30 and Ps 121:1-3 for the crown), they are also
high priestly dress items (cf. LXX Exod 28:31 and 36:29 on the color and Sir 45:12 on
the crown). On the basis of the high priestly imagery in the MT, I would conclude that
the one who wears the u`aki,nqinoj here would likely be the one who wears the
hyacinth-colored high priestly robe, and thus the LXX would be using the color term to
refer to this robe via synecdoche. Cf. Skehan and Di Lella, Wisdom of Ben Sira, 470.

155
constructed in an greao style of craftsmanship, woven presumably with woolen threads

(Exod 28:32; 39:22).79 Unlike the tunic,80 it is described (28:32) as having a “mouth” or

collar (hP,),81 woven (greao hfe[]m;) apparently with some kind of border so that it would

not be torn ([;reQ'yI al{).82 It had no sleeves but rather had slits at the side for one’s arms

to go through. At the bottom hem of the robe and encircling it were bulb-shaped

ornaments with the appearance of pomegranates, made out of blue, purple and crimson-

colored woolen thread (28:33) along with twisted [linen83] (rz"v.m' [39:24]), while golden

bells interspersed the pomegranates (28:33-34; 39:25-26).84 The purpose of the golden

See also Josephus’s reference to o` u`a,kinqoj—that is, the high priest’s hyacinth-colored
robe—in A.J. 3.184; the translation by Thackery in LCL (Josephus, 3:405) is incorrect,
since it identifies the hyacinth as the color of the high priest’s linen tunic (cf. Louis H.
Feldman, Judean Antiquities 1-4: Translation and Commentary, vol. 3 of Flavius
Josephus: Translation and Commentary, ed. Steve Mason [Leiden: Brill, 2000], 281, n.
482).
79
See Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 99.

Sanders describes this ly[im. as the “second tunic” worn by the high priest
80

(Judaism: Practice and Belief, 99), creating a linguistic confusion of dress terms from
the standpoint of the Hebrew. From the standpoint of the Greek (i.e., Exod 29:5: to.n
citw/na to.n podh,rh), however, his terminology is accurate.
81
On the controversial translation of this as “anus,” cf., e.g., Jeffrey M. Cohen,
“A Samaritan Authentication of the Rabbinic Interpretation of Kephî Tahra,” VT 24
(1974): 361-66, and Propp, Exodus 19-40, 444.
82
Ps 133:2 appears to refer to the “mouth” or collar of the high priest’s robe. The
oil from Aaron’s anointing would pour down his beard to this opening (Exod 29:7; Lev
8:12; 21:10). Cf. Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 99.
83
On the missing “linen,” see Propp on this verse and 28:33 (Exodus 19-40, 655,
347).
84
Cf. Cornelis Houtman, “On the Pomegranates and the Golden Bells of the High
Priest’s Mantle,” VT 40 (1990): 223-29. The HB and LXX do not delineate the number
of bells, but later interpretation spoke of twelve, twenty-four, thirty-six, fifty, seventy,

156
bells was to protect the high priest from death when he entered and exited the holy place

before YHWH (28:35).

The high priest’s robe, with its golden pomegranates and multi-colored

pomegranates, was also described in Exod 28:35 as the robe he wore when he

ministered (trev'l). in the sanctuary. This is the only single, specific garment of his

dress ensemble so designated, even though there are references to both the holy

garments (vd,Qoh; ydeg>Bi-ta,) of Aaron and the garments of Aaron’s sons—not specified

as holy, yet designed “for ministering in the holy place” ( vd,QoB; trev'l). .85 These

“garments for ministering in the holy place” were necessary so that Aaron and his sons

could “minister as priests” (!hek;l.).86 Without these robes of office, the high priest and

the common priests could not fulfill their priestly roles.87 This indicates that the high

priest’s robe, with its multicolored pomegranates and golden bells encircling its hem, is

singled out as the robe that enables the high priest to officiate as high priest and to

perform his sacred ministry in the sanctuary.

seventy-one, seventy-two, or 360 bells (cf. ibid., 224; Robert Hayward, “St Jerome,” 97-
98). The LXX indicates that there were not only multicolored pomegranates but also
golden ones (r`oi,skouj crusou/j [LXX Exod 28:33]). It also describes (LXX Exod
28:34) floral decorations encircling the lower hem (kai. a;nqinon evpi. tou/ lw,matoj tou/
u`podu,tou ku,klw| [“and floral work on the fringe of the undergarment all around”]); cf.
Let. Aris. 96; Philo Migr. 103, Mos. 2.110 and 119-121, QE 2.120, Spec. 1.93-94).
85
Exod 35:19; 39:1, 41.
86
Exod 31:10; 35:19; 39:41.
87
Cf. Exod 29:1, 5-9 and Lev 16:32, where the ministry of Aaron and/or his sons
is contingent upon being anointed, consecrated, and vested in the garments of ministry.

157
The Robe as (the) podh,rhj

Several terms were used to either translate into Greek or describe the high

priestly ly[im., including u`poduthj (“undergarment”),88 u`poduthj podh,rhj (“foot-length

undergarment”),89 citw,n podh,rhj or podh,rhj citw,n,90 podh,rhj e;nduma (“foot-length

garment or robe”),91 podh,rhj (substantive adjective),92 stolh,93 and u`aki,nqoj.94 In the

LXX the most common Greek term for this high priestly dress item is u`podu,thj,

occurring nine times in eight texts.95 Since this term carries the meaning of an

undergarment, in regard to the high priest, it would refer to a garment worn under the

88
LXX Exod 28:33 (2x), 34; 36:29, 30, 31, 32, 33; Lev 8:7. For u`podu,thj as an
undergarment (i.e., a garment under something else), cf. LSJ (s.v. “ u`podu,thj”), Propp
(Exodus 19-40, 347), and John William Wevers (Notes on the Greek Text of Exodus,
SBLSCSS 30 [Atlanta: Scholars, 1990], 458-59).
89
LXX Exod 28:31.
90
E.g., LXX Exod 29:5; Josephus A.J. 20.6.
91
E.g., LXX Wis 18:24.
92
E.g., LXX Exod 25:7; 28:4, 31; 29:5; 35:9; Ezek 9:2, 3, 11; Zech 3:4; Sir 27:8;
45:8; Philo Fug. 185; Her. 176; Leg. 1.81; 2.56; Mos. 2.117, 118, 120, 121, 133, 143;
Mut. 43; Somn. 1.214; Spec. 1.85 (2x), 93, 94; Frg. 117 on LXX Exod 28:27 (latter text
in Philo, LCL, 12:257); Josephus A.J. 3.159; 8.93; B.J. 5.231.
93
E.g., Philo QE 2.107 and Ebr. 85-87.
94
E.g., Josephus A.J. 3.184. As indicated earlier, and contrary to Thackeray’s
translation in LCL, this is not describing the high priest’s linen tunic as made out of
hyacinth; rather, it speaks of the linen tunic and then the hyacinth (robe): avposhmai,nei
de. kai. o` tou/ avrciere,wj citw.n th.n gh/n li,neoj w;n, o` de. u`a,kinqoj to.n po,lon
(“And the high priest’s tunic likewise represents the earth, being [made out] of linen,
and the hyacinthine [robe symbolizes] the firmament”). Cf. Philo Mos. 2.118.
95
LXX Exod 28:33 (2x), 34; 36:29, 30, 31, 32, 33; Lev 8:7.

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ephod.96 Consequently, it is significant to note that in translating the ly[im., the

translators of the LXX typically used a word that was characterized by its relationship to

another article of dress that the high priest wore.

The other term used in Greek translations of Hebrew texts containing ly[im. is the

term podh,rhj.97 Typically adjectival in the LXX, its substantival use in translating

ly[im. in extant Hebrew texts occurs only once (Exod 28:4).98 Despite this singular fact,

its usage in reference to the high priest is much more substantial and—in some

cases—disputed.

The word podh,rhj is the adjectival cognate to the word for foot, pou,j, and thus

it typically describes or refers to a robe that is foot-length.99 This term serves in

96
Cf. LXX Exod 36:29 and Philo’s discussion in QE 2.117 and Spec. 1.94. In
Josephus B.J. 5.231 it apparently describes the linen tunic under the robe of the ephod.
97
While podh,rhj in general occurs more frequently than u`podu,thj in the LXX
(Exod 25:7; 28:4, 31; 29:5; 35:9; Ezek 9:2, 3, 11; Zech 3:4; Wis 18:24; Sir 27:8; 45:8),
the former term translates ly[im. only twice (Exod 28:4, 31).
98
LXX Exod 28:31 translates the high priestly ly[im. using both Greek words
(u`podu,thn podh,rh), thus specifying that the robe (underneath the ephod) is foot-length
(i.e., reaching down to the feet). And in LXX Exod 29:5 the phrase kai. to.n citw/na
to.n podh,rh kai. th.n evpwmi,da can hardly be said to be an exact translation of the
Hebrewdpoaeh' ly[im. taew> tn<ToKuh;-ta, (“the tunic and the robe of the ephod”).
99
BDAG, s.v. “podh,rhj, ej”; cf. LSJ, s.v. “podh,rhj.” Besides the LXX, see Rev
1:13; Let. Aris. 96; Philo Fug. 185, Her. 176, Leg. 1.81 and 2.56, Mos. 2.117, 118, 120,
121, 133, and 143, Mut. 43, Somn. 1.214, Spec. 1.85 (2x), 93, 94, and Frg. 117 on LXX
Exod 28.27 (text in Philo, LCL, 12:257); Josephus A.J. 3.153 and 159, 8.93, 20.6, and
B.J. 5.231; Barn. 7:9; T. Levi 8:2. Cf., e.g., Aeschylus Ag. 898 (Herbert Weir Smyth ed.
ref. = 887), 1594 (Herbert Weir Smyth ed. ref. = 1577); Appian B civ. 4.6.47 and Pun.
9.66; Euripedes Bacch. 833; Pausanius Descr. 1.19.1, 1.24.7, 5.19.6; Xenophon An.
1.8.9, and Cyr.6.2.9 and 6.4.2. For these latter Greek texts (except for Plutarch
Mor. 2.52c), see the Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/ hopper/
(accessed March 8, 2012).

159
generally two basic ways in ancient Greek literature: (1) adjectivally modifying the dress

term citw,n (“tunic,” “shirt”)100 or other words;101 or (2) standing alone as an articular or

anarthrous substantive.102 What this indicates for this study is that the LXX translator(s)

understood the ly[im. to be characterized as a foot-length robe—despite the fact that the

Hebrew term does not clearly include this idea.103

The term podh,rhj occurs once in the NT, and there it occurs in the book of

Revelation in the dress description of the one like a son of man (1:13). But the actual

100
See, e.g., Exod 29:5 (and the discussion below); Philo Somn. 214 and Spec.
1.85; Josephus A.J. 3.153, 3.159, 20.6. Cf. Pausanias Descr. 1.24.7 and Descr. 5.19.6
[= Elis 1]; Xenophon Cyr. 6.4.2. On citw,n, see BDAG, s.v. “citw,n, w/noj, o`.”
101
See, e.g., Exod 28:31 (u`podu,thn podh,rh); Wis 18:24 (podh,rouj evndu,matoj);
Philo Fug. 185 (tou/ podh,rouj evndu,matoj). In Appian B civ. 4.6.47 it modifies fine
linen, from which a priestly robe of Isis is woven, while in Euripides Bacch. 833 it
modifies pe,ploi (garments, mantles, or robes). It modifies a pillar in Aeschylus
Ag. 887, apparently emphasizing its stability. As an adjective modifying huge shields,
cf. Xenophon An. 1.8.9 and Cyr. 6.2.10.
102
For podh,rhj as an articular substantive, see, e.g., LXX Exod 25:7; 28:4; 35:9;
Ezek 9:3, 11; Let. Aris. 96; Philo Her. 176, Leg. 1.81 and 2.56, Mos. 2.117, 120, 121,
133, and 143, Mut. 43, Spec. 1.93 and 94, and Frg. 117 on LXX Exod 28.27 (text in
Philo, LCL, 12:257); Barn. 7:9; T. Levi 8:2.
For the word as an anarthrous substantive, see, e.g., Ezek 9:2; Zech 3:4; Sir
27:8; 45:8; Philo Mos. 2.118 and Spec. 1.85; Josephus A.J. 8.93; Rev 1:13. BDAG
(s.v.“podh,rhj, ej”) suggests that one could supply citw,n with it because it occurs in
association with the latter term on a number of occasions in classical, biblical, and
Second Temple literature (e.g., Exod 29:5; Josephus A.J. 3.153). Cf. Appian Pun. 9.66
and Pausanias Descr. 1.19.1.
103
Notice the careful reference by Kruger: “Seemingly the garment extended to
the feet (LXX ad Exod. 28.4, 31) with a skirt (kānāf) at the lower end” (“Symbolic
Significance,” 116, n. 42). It is possible that the Hebrew term for the high priest’s robe
(ly[im.) was more specific than we understand now and referred to a certain type of robe
that descended to the feet.

160
meaning of this term has been sharply disputed.104 Consequently, since podh,rhj is vital

in ascertaining whether or not high priestly imagery is evident in Rev 1:13, a more

detailed investigation of this term’s meaning and usage in the LXX and other post-

Septuagintal literature into the second century CE is necessary.

The term podh,rhj in the LXX

Lexical data about the podh,rhj within the LXX provide a mine of information

that remains essential in determining the semantic range and contextual meaning of the

word. It is these lexical data from the LXX, however, that have become a tangled web

of confusion in various scholarly analyses. Table 2 lists the textual references where the

word podh,rhj occurs in the LXX, the specific Greek terminology used in the relevant

portions of those texts, and the Hebrew text assumed—correctly or incorrectly—to be

associated with the LXX translation.105

Of the twelve textual references to podh,rhj in the LXX, eight clearly refer to

some dress aspect of the high priest.106 Of the remaining four, three refer to Ezekiel’s

mysterious “man clothed in linen” centrally involved in the judgment of the city of

104
Cf., e.g., Aune (Revelation 1-5, 93), Barker (Revelation, 84), Swete
(Apocalypse of St John, 15), Vanhoye (“L’Apocalisse,” 262; and idem, Old Testament
Priests, 281). But Patricia Ahearne-Kroll has asserted that “in the Septuagint
Pentateuch podh,rhj always refers to the robe of the ephod that only Aaron wears (Exod
25:7; 28:4; 28:31; 29:5; 35:9)” (“LXX/OG Zechariah 1-6 and the Portrayal of Joshua
Centuries after the Restoration of the Temple,” in Septuagint Research: Issues and
Challenges in the Study of the Greek Jewish Scriptures, ed. Wolfgang Kraus and R.
Glenn Wooden, SBLSCSS 53 [Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2006], 181).
105
My phrasing here is necessarily ambiguous, since the Greek does not
necessarily translate the Hebrew.
106
Exod 25:7; 28:4, 31; 29:5; 35:9; Zech 3:4; Wis 18:24; Sir 45:8.

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Table 2. podh,rhj in the LXX

Reference LXX MT

Exod 25:7 kai. li,qouj sardi,ou kai. li,qouj dpoael' ~yaiLumi ynEb.a;w> ~h;vo-ynEb.a;
eivj th.n glufh.n eivj th.n
(“and for the breastpiece”) !v,xol;w>
evpwmi,da kai. to.n podh,rh
(“the foot-length robe”)

Exod 28:4 kai. au-tai ai` stolai, a]j dApaew> !v,xo Wf[]y: rv,a] ~ydIg"B.h; hL,aew>
poih,sousin to. peristh,qion kai.
#Bev.T; tn<tok.W (“and a robe”) ly[im.W
th.n evpwmi,da kai. to.n podh,rh
kai. citw/na kosumbwto.n kai. jnEb.a;w> tp,n<c.mi
ki,darin kai. zw,nhn
Exod 28:31 kai. poih,seij u`podu,thn podh,rh t'yfi['w>
(“a foot-length undergarment”) (“the robe of the ephod”) dApaeh' ly[im.-ta,

Exod 29:5 evndu,seij Aarwn to.n avdelfo,n !roh]a;-ta, T'v.B;l.hiw>

sou kai.
(“the tunic”) tn<ToKuh;-ta,
to.n citw/na to.n podh,rh
(“and the robe of the ephod”) dpoaeh' ly[im. taew>
(“the foot-length tunic”) kai. th.n
evpwmi,da kai. to. logei/on !v,xoh;-ta,w> dpoaeh'-ta,w>
Exod 35:9 kai. li,qouj sardi,ou kai liqouj dApael' ~yaiLumi ynEb.a;w> ~h;vo-ynEb.a;w>
eivj th.n glufh.n eivj th.n
(“and for the breastpiece”) !v,xol;w>
evpwmi,da kai. to.n podh,rh

Ezek 9:2 kai. ei-j avnh.r evn me,sw| auvtw/n (“in linen”) ~yDIB ; vbul' ~k'AtB. dx'a,-vyaiw>
evndedukw.j podh,rh
(“in/with a foot-length robe”)

Ezek 9:3 kai. evka,lesen to.n a;ndra to.n (“in linen”) ~yDIB;h ; vbuL'h; vyaih'-la, ar'q.YIw:
evndeduko,ta to.n podh,rh

Ezek 9:11 o` avnh.r o` evndedukw.j ~yDIB;h; vbul. vyaih'

to.n podh,rh

Zech 3:4 kai. evndu,sate auvto.n podh,rh tAcl'x]m ; ^t.ao vBel.h;w>

(“festal robes, apparel; rich garments”)

Wis 18:24 evpi. ga.r podh,rouj evndu,matoj [no Hebrew text for Wisdom]
(“a foot-length garment or robe”)
h=n o[loj o` ko,smoj
Sir 27:8 kai. evndu,sh| auvto. w`j [no text in extant Hebrew mss.]
podh,rh do,xhj
(“robe of glory”)

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Table 2—Continued.

Reference LXX MT
a
Sir 45:8 evne,dusen auvto.n sunte,leian dw[..]b whrapyw trapt lylk whXyblyw
kauch,matoj kai. evstere,wsen
auvto.n skeu,esin ivscu,oj ly[mw (“tunic”) twntk ~ysnkm `zw[w
periskelh/ kai. podh,rh kai.
evpwmi,da

a
Lévi’s edition shows dwbkb (“in/with glory”) for dw[..]b (Hebrew Text, 61; cf. Beentjes, Book of Ben
Sira, 79).

Jerusalem (9:2, 3, 11), while one appears in a wisdom saying in Sirach (27:8). I will

examine not only these four latter occurrences of podh,rhj in order to determine whether

they refer to high priestly dress but also examine the remaining texts to further

determine what particular dress item of the high priest they are referring to.

Exodus 28:4 and 31. Of the twelve texts in the LXX in which the noun podh,rhj

occurs, it clearly translates or describes the ly[im. in only two of them: Exod 28:4 and

31.107 This is a rather surprising conclusion, considering the number of times podh,rhj

appears. Some have consequently asserted that the remaining LXX texts in which

podh,rhj occurs indicate that the term actually translates several other, distinct Hebrew

107
With regard to the phrase kai. to.n podh,rh kai. citw/na kosumbwto.n (“and
the robe and the fringed tunic”) in 28:4, MS B (Codex Vaticanus) has a minus for the
kai. Robertson incorrectly concludes that the LXX appears to take the Hebrew term for
“checker-work” (#Bev.T;) here to mean “‘ankle-length, fringed,’” i.e., podh,rh citw/na
kosumbwto,n, but his supposed reading of the LXX is actually that of MS B (“Account,”
209; cf. p. 212).
Aune’s assertion (Revelation 1-5, 93) that in the LXX podh,rhj translates dApae
in 28:31 is groundless. The Hebrew phrase is dApaeh' ly[im.-ta' (“the robe of the
ephod”), while the corresponding LXX phrase is u`podu,thn podh,rh (see table 2).

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terms that do not refer to the robe; podh,rhj can thus hardly be a terminus technicus.108

While podh,rhj does appear, at first glance, to translate not only the high priestly ly[im.

but also the high priestly breastpiece (Exod 25:7; 35:9), a linen robe (Ezek 9:2, 3, 11),

another type of robe that the high priest wears (Zech 3:4), and the high priestly tunic (Sir

45:8), I will demonstrate that such an assertion is at best overstated.

Exodus 25:7 and 35:9. With regard to Exod 25:7 and 35:9, the overall sartorial

sequence refers first to the two stones on the shoulders of the high priest, then to the

stones to be set in the ephod, and finally to the dress item under discussion here. The

LXX translator at first glance appears to translate !v,xo (“breastpiece”)—the last item in

the list of three sartorial elements—by podh,rhj. But this translation appears

problematic: How could the translator consider the breastpiece to be foot-length?

Another interpretation of the data, however, suggests a better solution: The

LXX’s version is not a word-for-word translation at all. 109 The term !v,xo is frequently

108
See, e.g., Aune, Revelation 1-5, 93. Stökl Ben Ezra dismisses Aune’s
assertion that the supposed five Hebrew terms underlying the Greek term podh,rhj
indicate that there is no priestly influence in Revelation, but he still agrees that there are
“five Hebrew words behind the Septuagint podh,rhj” (Impact of Yom Kippur, 196, n.
254). Cf. Barker, Revelation, 84; Hollander and Jonge, Testaments, 151; Meredith G.
Kline, Images of the Spirit, Baker Biblical Monograph (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980), 48;
M. Robert Mulholland, Jr., Revelation: Holy Living in an Unholy World, Francis Asbury
Press Commentary (Grand Rapids: Francis Asbury Press, 1990), 82, n. 13; Swete,
Apocalypse of St John, 15; Vanhoye, Old Testament Priests, 281; idem, “L’Apocalisse,”
262; and David Winston, The Wisdom of Solomon: A New Translation with
Introduction and Commentary, AB 43 (New York: Doubleday, 1979), 321.
109
Contra W. Dommershausen, “!v,xo,” TDOT (1986), 5:261.

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translated in the LXX with the noun logei/on (“oracle or speaking-place”).110 In Exod

25:7 and 35:9, however, the usage of podh,rhj is clearly anomalous, and consequently it

appears that it is not intended as a translation of the Hebrew term for the breastpiece.

John William Wevers has noted that it is more likely that the LXX translator saw the

breastpiece as part of the ephod;111 since the ephod had already been mentioned, the

reference to the breastpiece was thus deemed redundant in these verses.112 According to

this argument, the LXX translator consequently excised the supposedly glaring

redundancy (i.e., reference to the ephod via the breastpiece) and purposefully added

another sartorial element not mentioned in the Hebrew—the robe.

But this potential solution appears to open up another of the proverbial cans of

worms: It would indicate that the stones were not only on the shoulder-pieces of the

ephod, but also on the foot-length robe. From a technical standpoint, however, there

were no precious stones on the foot-length robe; the stones were attached to the

110
The term !v,xo occurs in Exod 28:4, 15, 22, 23 (no corollary in the LXX), 24
(no corollary in the LXX), 26 (no corollary in the LXX), 28 (no corollary in the LXX),
29, 30; 29:5; 35:9, 27; 39:8 (LXX 36:15), 9 (LXX 36:16), 15 (LXX 36:22), 16 (LXX
36:23), 17 (LXX 36:24), 19 (LXX 36:26), 21 (LXX 36:28); Lev 8:8. Other than 28:4,
only in 25:7 and 35:9—two passages identical in the LXX and virtually identical in the
MT (25:7 does not begin with a w> and dpoael' is written defectively)—does the term
podh,rhj appear instead of logei/on. In Exod 28:4 the LXX translates !v,xo with the
hapax legomenon peristh,qion (“breastband”: LSJ, s.v. “peristh,qion”), indicative of
where the lo,gion / logei/on was situated (Wevers, Greek Text of Exodus, 445).
Aquila’s version corrected this back to the standard translation (ibid.). Thus, the LXX
typically translates !v,xo as lo,gion / logei/on. Wevers states that logei/on is “an itacistic
spelling [for lo,gion] which really means ‘a speaking-place,’ and can hardly have been
intended” (Greek Text of Exodus, 451).
111
After all, from a visual standpoint precious stones in the breastpiece could be
perceived to be those attached to the ephod.
112
Ibid., 394-95.

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shoulder-pieces of the ephod and to the breastpiece. Does the proposed solution

actually make this textual conundrum more intractable?

In moving towards a conclusion here, there appear to be four basic possibilities.

First, the LXX translator never had the term !v,xo in his Hebrew text and translated what

he read (ly[im.?) reasonably well as podh,rhj. Second, the translator incorrectly

translated the !v,xo that he saw in his Hebrew text as the podh,rhj. Third, the translator,

recognizing that the breastpiece was closely attached to the ephod, and realizing that the

ephod had just been mentioned, simply determined to avoid redundancy by substituting

another dress item for the breastpiece—the robe. Here the translator possibly did not

recognize that the list was not a list of dress items but instead stones attached to various

dress items, and following this possibility to its logical conclusion, he was wrong. 113

Finally, another possible solution to the problem is to conjecture that the LXX translator

could have understood that the breastpiece, the ephod, and the robe were all associated

via close proximity and could be described interchangeably via metonymy.

Any proposed solution remains a conjecture. While there is no textual evidence

for the first option, it is true that the precious stone ~h;vo—which is the first dress item

in the lists in Exod 25:7 and 35:9—finds its corollary in LXX Exodus as sardi,on

(“carnelion, sard[ius]” [25:7; 35:9]), sma,ragdoj (“emerald”114 [28:9; 35:27; 36:13]),

and bhru,llion (“beryl” [28:20; 36:20])—not to mention elsewhere as o` li,qoj o`

pra,sinoj (“the light green [or, leek-green] stone” [Gen 2:12]), li,qouj soom (“stones of

113
Cf. Wevers, Greek Text of Exodus, 394.
114
The Greek term can also refer to other green stones (LSJ, s.v., “ sma,ragdoj”).

166
soom”115 [1 Chr 29:2]), o;nux (“onyx” [Job 28:16]), and ovnu,cion (“a kind of onyx”

[Ezek 28:13]).116 Certainly the ancients had immense difficulty interpreting precious

stones, but the variety just within Exodus is startling with regard to this stone; perhaps

the Hebrew Vorlage of LXX Exod 25:7 and 35:9 was radically different from our

current MT. Nevertheless, this option is not as likely as others. Of the remaining

possibilities, the theory that the LXX translator did not technically translate the !v,xo as

podh,rhj because of concern about redundancy is the most persuasive, largely because

such a supposed translation is not congruent with the use of podh,rhj elsewhere in LXX

Exodus. Assuming such conjecture to be the case, one could posit that the stones were

considered to be on the robe via a metonymous understanding of the robe and the ephod.

Exodus 29:5. Exodus 29:5 presents another problem, since the MT and the

LXX do not agree on how many high priestly dress items are listed. The MT refers to

four high priestly dress items that the high priest would wear: “the tunic” ( tn<ToKuh;-ta,),

“the robe of the ephod” (dpoaeh' ly[im. taew>), “the ephod” (dpoaeh'-ta,), and “the

breastpiece” (!v,xoh;-ta,). The LXX, however, describes him being clothed with not four

but three dress items: “the foot-length tunic” ( to.n citw/na to.n podh,rh), “the ephod”

(literally, “the shoulder strap”: th.n evpwmi,da),117 and “the breastpiece” (literally, “the

115
The word soom is an attempt at transliterating ~h;vo.
116
On the lexical definitions, cf. LSJ and BDAG. A broader issue with this latter
LXX text is that it is much more expansive than the Hebrew.
117
On the ephod’s suspension from the shoulders, see Exod 28:7, 12, 25, 27;
39:4, 7, 18, 20. In the LXX the term typically used for the high priest’s ephod is evpwmij
(Exod 25:7; 28:4, 6, 7, 8, 12, 15, 29; 29:5; 35:9, 27; 36:9, 11, 14, 15, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29;

167
oracle”: to. logei/on).118 Whether or not the LXX Vorlage here was different from the

MT, it remains clear that it was not unknown for some later Jewish authors on occasion

to describe the high priest’s robe as a foot-length tunic. 119

Ezekiel 9:2, 3, 11. Was the one Ezekiel referred to in 9:11 as “the man dressed

in linen” (~yDIB;h; vbul. vyaih') understood as a high priestly character?120 From the

Lev 8:7; Sir 45:8), a term which, when used extrabiblically with a sartorial sense,
referred to the upper part of a woman’s tunic that was fastened on the shoulder by either
brooches or shoulder-straps, or the tunic of a rower (LSJ, s.v. “ evpwmi,j”). In Ezekiel it
refers to the “shoulders” of the temple doors and gates (40:48; 41:2, 3).
118
Propp considers his suggested reconstruction of the Hebrew Vorlage behind
the LXX’s kai. to.n citw/na to.n podh,rh kai. th.n evpwmi,da to be a potentially superior
reading (dpah-taw ly[mh taw tntkh-ta) compared to the MT (Propp, Exodus 19-
40, 350). Notice the repetition of dpoaeh' in the MT. If such were the case, this text
would be one more to add to Exod 28:4 and 31, in which podh,rhj translates ly[im..
But even if one deemed such a reconstruction not compelling and much too
hypothetical, the fact is that The Three (Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion [hereafter
Q]) revised this Greek text so that it referred to something like “garment of the upper
garment [or ephod]”: Aquila has to. e;nduma tou/ evpendu,matoj (“the garment of the
upper garment”); Symmachus has to. evpe,nduma tou/ evpendu,matoj (“the upper garment
of the upper garment”); and Q has to.n evpendu,thn th/j evpwmi,doj (“the outer garment of
the ephod”); on this, see Wevers, Greek Text of Exodus, 468, n. 7; cf. ibid., 459, n. 34.
119
Notice Philo’s reference to to.n podh,rh citw/na of the high priest in Somn.
1.214. Cf. also his use of podh,rhj citw,n in Spec. 1.85 and Josephus’s reference in A.J.
3.159 to the hyacinth-colored, foot-length tunic: evpendusa,menoj d v evx u`aki,nqou
pepoihme,non citw/na, podh,rhj d v evsti. kai. ou-toj (“but he puts on a tunic made of
blue material. And this too reaches to the feet” [or, “and this is also a foot-length
garment”]).
120
Those who see this figure as a high priestly one include Walther Eichrodt,
Ezekiel: A Commentary, trans. Cosslett Quin, OTL (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1970),
130; Moshe Greenberg, Ezekiel 1-20: A New Translation with Interpretation and
Commentary, AB 22 (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1983), 180; and Walther Zimmerli,
Ezekiel 1: A Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, Chapters 1-24, trans.
Ronald E. Clements, ed. Frank Moore Cross and Klaus Baltzer with the assistance of
Leonard Jay Greenspoon, HCHCB (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979), 246-48 and 250. Cf.
Beale, Revelation, 209. There may have been a tradition of interpreting the associated

168
standpoint of the Hebrew text, one of the most striking aspects of this being’s

description is his portrayal as one clothed in linen, differentiating him from the other six

beings in the text.121 As an article or textual type of clothing, dB; frequently refers to

sacral—but not necessarily high priestly—fabric and attire. 122 Excluding texts in which

this term explicitly defines an article of dress,123 comparable texts utilizing this noun

executioners of Ezek 9 in high priestly terms; see, e.g., the remarks of James R. Davila,
who suggests that the reference to the seven chief angelic princes (or, angelic high
priests) in the Qumran liturgical work Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (e.g., 4Q403 1 I,
1-29) was inspired by “the seven angels in Ezek 9:1-2” (Liturgical Works [Eerdmans
Commentaries on the Dead Sea Scrolls 6; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000], 120).
Those who see him as a priestly figure include H.-J. Fabry, “ vbel',” TDOT
(1995), 7:467; Kim, Significance of Clothing Imagery, 11, n. 24; Karin Schöpflin,
“YHWH’s Agents of Doom: The Punishing Function of Angels in Post-Exilic Writings
of the Old Testament,” in Yearbook 2007: Angels: The Concept of Celestial
Beings—Origins, Development and Reception, ed. Friedrich V. Reiterer, Tobias
Nicklas, and Karin Schöpflin, Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature (Berlin: Walter
de Gruyter, 2007), 130, 132; Marvin A. Sweeney, “Ezekiel: Zadokite Priest and
Visionary Prophet of the Exile,” in Form and Intertextuality in Prophetic and
Apocalyptic Literature, FAT 45 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005), 136; and Ka Leung
Wong, The Idea of Retribution in the Book of Ezekiel, VTSup 87 (Leiden: Brill, 2001),
175, and the literature he cites there in support. Wong also sees the figure’s work in
scattering coals on Jerusalem in 10:2 as priestly (ibid., 175-78), as do Sweeney
(“Ezekiel: Zadokite Priest,” 136), and Zimmerli, Ezekiel 1, 250.
Others see the figure as a priestly angel. Cf., e.g., Lamar Eugene Cooper, Sr.,
Ezekiel, The New American Commentary 17 (N.p.: Broadman & Holman, 1994), 131;
and Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999), 146.
An “agnostic” perspective is exemplified by Daniel I. Block, who, while
recognizing that linen dress was utilized for both priestly and angelic beings, concludes
that it cannot be determined from the text whether the Man in Linen in Ezek 9-10 is
priestly or angelic, though he thinks the evidence of the following events in 10:1-8
supports the latter (The Book of Ezekiel: Chapters 1-24, New International
Commentary on the Old Testament [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997], 304-305).
121
Cf. ~yDIB; vbul' (9:2); ~yDIB;h; vbuL'h; (9:3); ~yDIB;h; vbul. (9:11; 10:2, 6, 7).
122
Exod 28:42; 39:28; Lev 6:10; 16:4, 23, 32; 1 Sam 2:18; 22:18; 2 Sam 6:14
(despite it being on David; cf. the next text); 1 Chr 15:27.
123
It describes the ephod’s fabric in 1 Sam 2:18; 22:18; 2 Sam 6:14; 1 Chr 15:27.

169
describe either: (1) the sacral dress of the high priest and other priests (Exod 28:42;

39:28; Lev 6:10; 16:4, 23, 32); or (2) the dress of visionary beings or heavenly

messengers (Ezek 9:2, 3, 11; 10:2, 6, 7; Dan 10:5; 12:6, 7). 124 Thus, while a high

priestly or priestly interpretation is within the semantic range of dB;, the terminology

alone does not clearly point in this direction in Ezekiel.

But it appears that this is not the case with the LXX. The cumulative weight of

at least three lines of reasoning support a high priestly understanding in LXX Ezek 9-10.

First, the way in which the LXX of Ezekiel uses podh,rhj to replace the sartorial dB;; in

9:2, 3, and 11 is highly suggestive. When one excludes Ezek 9 from consideration,

podh,rhj in the LXX clearly describes one of the components of dress worn not by the

common priests but by the high priest in at least eight out of the remaining nine

occurrences.125 One can thus tentatively conclude that within the Ezekielian context, the

LXX viewed dB;; in high priestly terms.126

124
If one takes these texts in which dB; is used to describe the dress of visionary
beings or heavenly messengers and excludes the texts in Ezekiel, the Greek translations
in Daniel (OG and Q) utilize a term frequently associated with priestly vestments. The
OG translates dB; with the adjective bu,ssinoj (“made of fine linen”), which emphasizes
the linen aspect of a dress element, while Q translates the Hebrew with baddin—a rough
transliteration of the Hebrew. The adjective and its cognate noun form (bu,ssoj [“fine
linen”]) are frequently used of priestly dress (for bu,ssinoj, see Exod 28:39; 36:34 [MT
39:27]; for bu,ssoj, see Exod 28:5, 6, 15, 33, 39, etc.).
125
Exod 25:7; 28:4, 31; 29:5; 35:9; Zech 3:4; Wis 18:24; Sir 45:8. See the
discussion below on the remaining occurrence in Sir 27:8.
126
Cf. the use of this dress element particularly in Lev 16:4, 23, 32. Zimmerli
(Ezekiel 1, 226, n. 6a) agrees that the LXX is utilizing the term from a priestly
standpoint in accordance with Exod 28:4 (where it is high priestly). Osborne is one who
avers, however, that Ezek 9:2 is “without priestly imagery” (Revelation, 89).

170
 A second line of reasoning supporting a high priestly interpretation of the

podh,rhj in Ezekiel relates to another item of the Man in Linen’s dress in chap. 9. One

of the unusual elements of the LXX version in 9:2 is its alternative description of the

Man in Linen as compared to the MT text. In this particular text, the MT’s Man in

Linen has “a writing case [rpeSoh; ts,q,w>; literally, “and a scribe’s writing case/palette”]

at his side.” The LXX, however, is radically different.

In the LXX that figure becomes a man clothed in a foot-length robe kai. zw,nh

sapfei,rou evpi. th/j ovsfu,oj auvtou/ (“and a lapis lazuli127 sash on his waist”). Rather

than assume that the LXX “succeeds in making nonsense of the [Hebrew] phrase,” 128 I

would suggest instead that it was attempting a reasonable contextual translation of its

Hebrew Vorlage.129 The only place outside of Ezekiel in which zw,nh occurs in close

127
On lapis lazuli being a better translation than sapphire, see Ross E. Winkle,
“Iridescence in Ezekiel,” Andrews University Seminary Studies 44 (2006): 56, n. 22. On
the other hand, for arguments supportive of sapphire, see, e.g., D. Ginzberg, “The
Mineralogical Identification of the Biblical Sapphire,” Eretz-Israel 17 (1984): 82-83
(English summary on p. 4*).
128
A. M. Honeyman, “The Pottery Vessels of the Old Testament,” Palestine
Exploration Quarterly (1939): 90.
129
On the significant differences between MT and LXX Ezekiel, see Tov, Text-
Critical Use, 250; idem, “Recensional Differences Between the Masoretic Text and the
Septuagint of Ezekiel,” in The Greek and Hebrew Bible: Collected Essays on the
Septuagint, VTSup 72 (Leiden: Brill, 1999), 397-410 (originally published as
“Recensional Differences Between the MT and the LXX of Ezekiel,” Ephemerides
theologicae lovanienses 62 [1986]: 89-101; I refer to the reprinted essay). On the
methodical and literal nature of the LXX translation of Ezekiel, cf., e.g., Johan Lust,
“Messianism in Ezekiel in Hebrew and in Greek, Ezek 21:15(10) and 20(15),” in
Emanuel: Studies in the Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, and Dead Sea Scrolls in Honor of
Emanuel Tov, ed. Shalom M. Paul et al., VTSup 94 (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 629; idem,
“Multiple Translators in LXX-Ezekiel?” in Die Septuaginta, ed. Karrer and Kraus, 668;
and Tov, Text-Critical Use, 250.

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association with the already-utilized podh,rhj is in Exod 28:4, and there it clearly

describes an element of the dress of the high priest.130 Once the LXX had utilized

podh,rhj in Ezek 9:2, it is possible that the difficult and potentially confusing Hebrew

term (ts,q,)131 was understood in light of the preceding high priestly interpretation to

refer to the polychromatic or rainbow-like (tv,q, [“bow, rainbow”]) belt or sash of the

high priest.132

Finally, while a number of scholars have viewed the Man in Linen in Ezek 9-10

as a priestly figure, LXX terminology regarding this figure in Ezek 10 is linguistically

precise, clearly showing that it views this figure as not merely a priestly but a high

priestly one. In 10:2 the LXX133 uses the phrase to.n a;ndra to.n evndeduko,ta th.n

stolh,n134 (“the man clothed with the garments/apparel”) instead of referring to the

130
See also Exod 28:31 (podh,rhj), 39 (zw,nh); and 29:5 (podh,rhj), 9 (zw,nh).
131
This word occurs only in Ezek 9:2, 3, 11.
132
For a lengthier examination of the issues addressed in this paragraph, see the
discussion in Winkle, “Iridescence in Ezekiel,” 56-70. On LXX contextual
interpretation when faced with difficult words, cf. Emanuel Tov, “Did the Septuagint
Translators Always Understand Their Hebrew Text?” in Greek and Hebrew Bible, 210-
13 (originally published in De Septuaginta: Studies in Honour of John William Wevers
on His Sixty-Fifth Birthday, ed. A. Pietersma and C. E. Cox [Mississauga, ON: Benben,
1984], 53-70; I refer to the reprinted essay); and idem, Text-Critical Use, 162-71.
133
The evidence for more than one translator of the LXX of Ezekiel is not too
strong, and thus I agree with those who posit a single translator for chaps. 9-10 (see,
e.g., Arie van der Kooij, “The Septuagint of Ezekiel and the Profane Leader,” in The
Book of Ezekiel and Its Influence, ed. Henk Jan de Jonge and Johannes Tromp
[Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2007], 43). Cf. Lust, “Multiple Translators,” 654-69, where
he cautiously suggests one or two translators of LXX Ezekiel.
134
A few manuscripts have a textual variant that reads ton podhrh here in 10:2
(but not in 10:6, 7); see Joseph Ziegler, ed., Ezechiel, 2nd ed., with an appendix by
Detlef Fraenkel, Septuaginta: Vetus Testamentum Graecum 16.1 (Göttingen:

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characteristic linen of the MT’s so-called Man in Linen ( ~yDIB;h; vbul. vyaih').135 The

LXX translation in 10:6 is somewhat different, but with the same overall meaning: tw/|

evndeduko,ti th.n stolh.n th.n a`gi,an (“to the one clothed with the sacred

garments/apparel”). Here, however, it further intensifies the sartorial description by

highlighting the sacrality of the high priest’s garments. The third and final reference to

this being in 10:7 contains only a case variation from 10:6: tou/ evndeduko,toj th.n

stolh.n th.n a`gi,an (“of the one clothed with the sacred garments/apparel”).

The explicitly stated emphasis on the sacrality of this designated dress in Ezek

10:6 and 7 (th.n stolh.n th.n a`gi,an) is exactly the same as that found in only one other

place in the LXX—Exod 28:3—but there it describes the overall dress ensemble of the

high priest Aaron.136 Furthermore, all other references in the LXX to a singular form of

Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1977), 124.

135
The conclusion by John William Wevers that the LXX “failed to identify the
man clothed in linen [10:2] as the one in 9.11, simply calling him ‘a man dressed in a
robe’” does not take into consideration the intertextual contact between these two dress
terms as found not only in 9:11 and 10:2 but also 10:6-7 (Ezekiel, The Century Bible:
New Series [London: Nelson, 1969], 87).
136
Cf. Zimmerli, Ezekiel 1, 226, n. 6a. In Exod 28:3 the Hebrew is plural, not
singular—but the reference to the dress being “holy” is missing ( !roh]a; ydeg>Bi-ta, [“the
clothes/garments of Aaron”]). On the collective singular for this dress term, cf. Wevers,
Greek Text of Exodus, 444. On the Greek in relation to the MT in Ezekiel, see F. Field,
Origenis Hexaplorum quae supersunt; sive veterum interpretum graecorum in totum
vetus testamentum fragmenta (1875; repr., Hildsheim: Georg Olms, 1964), 2:769; David
J. Halperin, The Faces of the Chariot: Early Jewish Responses to Ezekiel’s Vision,
Texte und Studien zum Antiken Judentum 16 (Tübingen: Mohr [Siebeck], 1988), 525,
n. f; Ziegler, Ezechiel, 124-125; and Zimmerli, Ezekiel 1, 226. On LXX Ezekiel
potentially using Pentateuchal material, see, e.g., the cautious discussion in Johan Lust,
“The Vocabulary of LXX Ezekiel and Its Dependence Upon the Pentateuch,” in
Deuteronomy and Deuteronomic Literature: Festschrift C.H.W. Brekelmans, ed. M.
Vervenne and J. Lust, Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 133
(Leuven: University Press, 1997), 529-46.

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stolh,,137 combined with a singular form of a[gioj, refer to either an element of the high

priest’s dress or his overall dress.138 Consequently, I would conclude that in Ezek 10 the

LXX understood the Man in Linen as not simply a priestly figure but rather a high

priestly figure.139

But I must note two caveats in this exploration of the podh,rhj in Ezek 9. First,

this conclusion does not indicate that the LXX translation was one of exact linguistic

equivalence, since the Greek term occurs nowhere else in the LXX as an equivalent for

dB;. The high priestly dress items made out of dB; were the undergarments worn on a

daily basis (Exod 28:42; 39:28) and the undergarments, tunic, sash, and turban worn on

Yom Kippur (Lev 16:4, 23, 32). If the LXX did not follow a different Hebrew text from

137
The plural of stolh,, referring to the high priest’s overall dress, occurs in LXX
Exod 28:4; 35:19, 21; 36:8; 39:18; 40:13.
138
See LXX Exod 28:2 (stolh.n a`gi,an), 4 (stola.j a`gi,aj); 29:29 (h` stolh. tou/
a`gi,ou); Lev 16:32 (stolh.n a`gi,an); 1 Macc 10:21 (th.n a`gi,an stolh.n); Sir 45:10
(stolh/| a`gi,a)| . It is probable that some of these singular references refer
synecdochically to the high priest’s overall “apparel” instead of a single dress item,
since the MT refers to the plural of dg,b, (“garment”) in Exod 28:2; 29:29; Lev 16:32. If
that were the case, the Greek terminology is still singular, but the meaning moves from
the part to the whole. Cf. Philo Ebr. 85 on the high priest’s two robes (stola.j).
Even though Ezek 10:2 has only the singular th.n stolh,n instead of combining
it with the adjective defining its sacrality, this shorter terminology was still used for
Aaron’s high priestly dress (Exod 29:21; Lev 16:24). On collective singulars of stolh,,
cf. LEH, s.v. “stolh,, -h/j,”; Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 527, n. 14 (referring
to this term in Josephus A.J. 20.6); and Wevers, Greek Text of Exodus, 444.
139
While each reference to the “holy garment” in the LXX does not necessarily
refer to the same dress element, the point here is not to assert that only one dress
element is in view (e.g., Lev 16:32 refers to linen dress worn only on Yom Kippur,
while Sir 45:10 apparently refers to the ephod). Rather, the terminology typically refers
to high priestly dress, and any dress element worn by the high priest was considered
holy. Notice, e.g., the differentiation between Aaron’s holy garments and the garments
for the rest of the priests in Exod 35:19 and 40:13-14 (the reference to Aaron’s sons in
Exod 28:4 may well refer to his high priestly successors; however, cf. 28:40-43).

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the MT here, it is possible that the LXX dynamically translated the understood, basic

dress form (dB;), meaning, “robe-made-out-of-the-fabric-of-linen,” into the foot-length

robe known as the high priestly podh,rhj.140 As such, it would have transformed the

high priestly tunic of Yom Kippur into the high priestly robe worn not only on Yom

Kippur but also in the daily rituals.

Also, it is possible that all three thematic elements (i.e., visionary beings,

heavenly messengers, and high priestly figures) coalesce in the LXX. Because angels

were seen as heavenly analogues to earthly priests,141 it is not necessary to strictly

differentiate between the two in a visionary context. At the same time, there is no

evidence that high priestly imagery here should be suppressed in favor of a strictly

angelic interpretation.142

Consequently, with regard to the sartorial specificity of podh,rhj in Ezek 9, I

would propose that—assuming the LXX’s Vorlage had dB; in these texts—podh,rhj

does not translate dB; in an equivalent manner. The Greek term never translates dB;

anywhere else in the LXX. Furthermore, the latter term refers primarily to fabric, while

the former refers to length. The LXX translation here would appear, at best, to be a

140
However, Anneli Aejmelaeus cautions that “it is possible to have both free
translation and a different Vorlage in the same text” (“Septuagintal Translation
Techniques—A Solution to the Problem of the Tabernacle Account?” in On the Trail of
the Septuagint Translators: Collected Essays, rev. ed. (Leuven: Peeters, 2007), 121
(originally published in 1990).
141
See, e.g., Barker, Great High Priest, 103-45; and A. J. McNicol, “The
Relationship of the Image of the Highest Angel to the High Priest Concept in Hebrews”
(PhD diss., Vanderbilt University, 1974).
142
Cf., e.g., John J. Collins, Daniel: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel, ed.
Frank Moore Cross, HCHCB (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1993), 373.

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loose one. In any case, while ambiguity may exist concerning the specific garment the

MT was referring to, the LXX points in the direction of the high priest’s dress.

Zechariah 3:4. Zechariah 3:4 indicates that the high priest Joshua is to have his

“filthy garments” taken from him and instead clothed with tAcl'x]m.; This word is a

feminine plural, and it occurs only here and in Isa 3:22. In the latter text it refers to one

of the fine garments worn by the wealthy “daughters of Zion” whom YHWH condemns

for their proud attitudes (3:16-24, particularly vs. 16).

There are two basic approaches to understanding tAcl'x]m; in Zech 3:4. One

approach is to suggest that it has the same root consonants as another word, attested in

Akkadian and Arabic, which conveys the meaning of purification.143 Thus, according to

this perspective, the term would refer to pure clothes that replace the filthy ones Joshua

is wearing.144 A different approach145 argues that since this term derives from the stem

clx (meaning “to draw off” and used for both women’s dress and the dress of the high

priest), “it is apparently a generic term that can be applied generally to such an outer

143
Cf. Ahearn-Kroll, “LXX/OG Zechariah 1-6,” 180; Mark J. Boda, Haggai,
Zechariah, NIVAC (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 252; Carol L. Meyers and Eric
M. Meyers, Haggai, Zechariah 1-8: A New Translation with Introduction and
Commentary, AB 25B (Garden City: Doubleday, 1987), 190; D. Winton Thomas, “A
Note on twclxm in Zechariah iii 4,” JTS 33 (1931-32): 279-80; and VanderKam,
“Joshua the High Priest,” 160-61.
144
Notice the plural dress (~ydIg"B.; i`ma,tia) with which Joshua is clothed in 3:5.
145
See, e.g., Marvin A. Sweeney, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai,
Zechariah, Malachi, vol. 2 of The Twelve Prophets, Berit Olam: Studies in Hebrew
Narrative & Poetry (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2000), 597.

176
garment”—such as a generic robe of state or the high priestly tunic or the robe. 146

It is not the concern here to make any determination about whichever approach

to understanding the plural Hebrew terminology is best; rather, it is the LXX translation

that is at issue. Intriguingly, the LXX translation uses the singular word podh,rhj.

Nevertheless, six considerations lead one to the conclusion that the LXX potentially

viewed the term tAcl'x]m; as referring to a particular high priestly item of dress. First, in

this passage Joshua is clearly identified as a high priest (3:1). Second, podh,rhj

typically refers to the dress of the high priest.147 Third, the turban which is placed on

Joshua’s head (3:5), while not the same Hebrew term as in the catalogs of high priestly

dress,148 is translated by the LXX with a Greek term (ki,darij) used for both priests and

high priests in the priestly dress catalogs.149 Fourth, certain Greek mss. transposed the

order of Joshua’s transformation in Zech 3:5 so that it mirrored the ordination of Aaron

146
Ibid. Cf., e.g., David L. Petersen, Haggai and Zechariah 1-8, OTL
(Philadelphia: Westminster, 1984), 196. Sweeney concludes that it appears to refer to
the latter dress item, since the robe covered the high priestly tunic, and the term in Zech
3:4 is referring to an outer garment (Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, 597).
147
On the attempt by the Nahal Hever fragments to reconcile the Greek and
Hebrew texts via another Greek dress term (metekdu,mata), see Ahearne-Kroll,
“LXX/OG Zechariah 1-6,” 181. Even if one could demonstrate that Exod 29:5 refers to
a foot-length tunic (as opposed to the robe), the Greek reference in Zech 3:4 would in
the very least imply a high priestly garment.
148
Cf. @ynIc' in Zech 3:5 and tp,n<c.mi in, e.g., Exod 28:4; 29:6; 39:28; Lev 8:9. For
a cogent argument as to why the difference does not indicate a different article of dress,
see Petersen, Haggai, 196-99.
149
Cf. LXX Exod 28:4, 39, 40; 29:9; 36:35; Lev 8:13; 16:4; Sir 45:12. For a
discussion of how this turban in Zech 3:5 may relate to the non-high priestly turban of
Ezek 21:26 (MT 21:31) and the crown in Zech 6:9-15, see Marko Jauhiainen, “Turban
and Crown Lost and Regained: Ezekiel 21:29-32 and Zechariah’s Zemah,” JBL 127
(2008): 506-507.

177
in the Pentateuch, thus emphasizing high priestly sartorial elements much more than the

MT of Zechariah.150 Fifth, as indicated above, the Hebrew term tAcl'x]m occurs

elsewhere in the HB only in Isa 3:22. Michaël van der Meer notes that the Greek

Tabernacle narrative in Exodus reveals “practically all of the luxury items that are

mentioned in LXX-Isa 3,18-23,”151 and thus one should not be surprised to see tAcl'x]m

translated by another term significant in the Tabernacle narrative— podh,rhj.152 Finally,

the combination of podh,rhj and ki,darij in the LXX occurs only in Zech 3:4 and Exod

28:4—the latter a high priestly dress catalog verse. The cumulative weight of these six

considerations thus clearly indicates that while the LXX considered the podh,rhj as a

high priestly garment, only one fits the criteria—the robe. 153

Wisdom 18:24. There is no Hebrew text undergirding Wis 18:24 since the latter

text was originally written in Greek. Referring to the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and

Abiram in Num 16, the text narrates the intercessory ministry of Aaron and reads as

follows: “For on his long robe [podh,rouj evndu,matoj] the whole world [or, the whole

universe: o[loj o` ko,smoj] was depicted, and the glories of the ancestors were engraved

150
See Ahearn-Kroll, “LXX/OG Zechariah 1-6,” 182-83. These mss. transpose
the verse so that Joshua is clothed with garments first, and then a clean turban is placed
on his head. The robe is placed on Aaron in Exod 29:5 and Lev 8:7, and only afterward
is the turban placed on his head (Exod 29:6; Lev 8:9). While the LXX does use the term
mi,tra instead of ki,darij for the turban (Exod 29:5-6; Lev 8:7, 9), the two terms appear
to be synonymous (see Ahearne-Kroll, “LXX/OG Zechariah 1-6,” 182).
151
Meer, “Trendy Translations,” 588.
152
Cf. Meer’s discussion in ibid., 587-88.
153
Ahearne-Kroll agrees that the LXX associates Joshua’s robe with the robe of
the high priest (“LXX/OG Zechariah 1-6,” 181 and 191).

178
on the four rows of stones, and your majesty was on the diadem upon his head”

(NRSV).154 Clearly, 18:24b refers to the ephod with the twelve jewels, while 18:24c

refers to Aaron’s headgear. So what does the podh,rhj in 18:24a refer to? It must be a

reference to the high priestly ly[im. of the HB, since the understanding that the whole

world (or, universe) was depicted on the garment—absent from either the HB or

LXX—appears almost identical to interpretive depictions of the equivalent to the high

priestly ly[im. in Philo.155 Furthermore, is it possible that the textual coup de grâce is a

Philonic reference in Fug. 185, in which the same, exact two Greek words (podh,rouj

evndu,matoj) indisputably refer to the robe?156

154
The LXX reads: evpi. ga.r podh,rouj evndu,matoj h=n o[loj o` ko,smoj kai.
pate,rwn do,xai evpi. tetrasti,cou li,qwn glufh/j kai. megalwsu,nh sou evpi.
diadh,matoj kefalh/j auvtou/ (“For on [his] foot-length robe the whole world was
[portrayed], and the glories of the fathers on the four rows of engraved stones, and your
majesty on the diadem of his head”).
155
See Philo Somn. 1.214-15 (in which to.n podh,rh citw/na “is a close imitation
of the whole heaven” [tou/ panto.j avnti,mimon o;nta ouvranou/], since it also includes or
is closely associated with the breastpiece, which itself is a reflection [or, representation]
and copy [avpeiko,nisma kai. mi,mhma] of the shining constellations [fwsfo,rwn
a;strwn]); and Spec. 1.84-85 (where Philo suggests that the high priestly podh,rhj. is like
a reflection [or, representation] and copy of the universe [avpeiko,nisma kai. mi,mhma
tou/ ko,smou]) and 1.94-96 (where it is a mi,mhma tou/ panto,j [“copy of the All”] and is
indicative of pa/j o` ko,smoj ministering with him). Cf. Philo Mos. 2.117 (where he
compares the larger high priestly dress ensemble [evsqh,j] as a whole and in its parts to
the avpeiko,nisma kai. mi,mhma tou/ ko,smou [cf. 2.118-21 and 135]); and Josephus A.J.
3.184-87. See the discussion in Jean Laporte (“The High Priest in Philo of Alexandria,”
SPhilo 3 [1991]: 74-77, 80) and Winston (Wisdom of Solomon, 321-22).
156
The text in Fug. 185 refers to the twelve jewels being placed on the
breastpiece “in the sacred vestment of the full-length garment” ( th|/ i`era|/ evsqh/ti tou/
podh,rouj evndu,matoj).

179
 Sirach 27:8. The Hebrew text for this proverbial verse is unfortunately not

extant, and this handicaps our investigation to some degree. Nevertheless, the LXX

reads eva.n diw,kh|j to. di,kaion katalh,myh| kai. evndu,sh| auvto. w`j podh,rh do,xhj (“if

you pursue justice you will attain and wear it as a foot-length robe of glory [or, glorious

foot-length robe]”).157 While any possible high priestly meaning is not obvious here,

several lines of argumentation point in the direction of high priestly dress.

First, linguistic statistics relating to the primary term suggest high priestly dress.

Since every other reference to podh,rhj in the LXX thus far discussed carries high

priestly sartorial meaning, one would assume that this text carries the same meaning

unless clearly shown otherwise.

Second, the term glory appears several times in relation to the high priest in

Sirach.158 In particular, LXX Sir 45:7 refers to Aaron’s glorious robe ( peristolh.n

do,xhj), and 50:11 clearly refers to the high priest’s robe(s) of glory ( stolh.n do,xhj).159

Assuming the latter reference to be a singular collective, one could view podh,rh do,xhj

in 27:8 as a reference to a specific dress item of the high priest.

157
The Hebrew lexemes related to the general concept of glory in the extant
portions of Ben Sira—the nouns trapt and dwbk, and the cognate verb rapth—are
frequently used in association with the concept of the priesthood (James K. Aitken,
“The Semantics of ‘Glory’ in Ben Sira—Traces of a Development in Post-Biblical
Hebrew?” in Sirach, Scrolls, and Sages: Proceedings of a Second International
Symposium on the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Ben Sira, and the Mishnah, held at
Leiden University, 15-17 December 1997, ed. T. Muraoka and J. F. Elwolde, STDJ 33
[Leiden: Brill, 1999], 1-24).
158
Cf. Sir 45:7, 20; 50:7, 11.
159
See the singular use of stolh, referring to the entire dress ensemble of Aaron
(Exod 28:2, 3; Lev 16:23, 24, 32; cf. this use in Lev 6:11 for the common priest).

180
 Third, the comparison of this sartorial item with judgment in Sir 27:8 is also

suggestive of high priestly dress. Exodus clearly states that the breastpiece of the high

priest was characterized by judgment (28:15, 29, 30; cf. Num 27:21). The foot-length

robe of the high priest was metonymically associated with the breastpiece, apparently

because of their close association both in terms of placement and viewing from a

distance.160 Consequently, when Sirach compares the pursuit of judgment to wearing a

foot-length robe, it is not without meaning in terms of high priestly dress.

Despite the saying in Sirach being proverbial, there is no clear evidence that

forces one to conclude that it cannot refer to high priestly dress. Consequently,

Alexander A. Di Lella suggests that “the image here calls to mind the splendid robes of

the high priest described in 45:7-13,” and he refers one’s attention also to the high

priestly dress imagery of this term in Wis 18:24.161 Such an interpretation is eminently

reasonable.

Sirach 45:8. In this text the term podh,rhj unquestionably appears as part of a

catalog of ritual dress elements for Aaron. This text nevertheless presents another

problem: the Hebrew text reads ly[mw twntk ~ysnkm (“undergarments, tunic, and

robe”), but the Greek text refers to the high priest being clothed with periskelh/ kai.

podh,rh kai. evpwmi,da (“undergarments and a foot-length robe and an ephod”). Both the

160
Notice the apparent use of metonymy to describe the foot-length robe of the
high priest in terms of other high priestly dress items in LXX Exod 25:7; 35:9; and
Philo Fug. 185; Her. 176; Leg. 1.81; Mut. 43; QE 2.108; Somn. 1.214-15. See the
discussion on these texts below.
161
Skehan and Di Lella, Wisdom of Ben Sira, 356.

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Hebrew and the Greek list high priestly dress elements in logical order, with each

successive one being one that would be placed over the previous one. But while

podh,rhj thus clearly refers to high priestly dress here, which dress item is it?

Despite the appearance that podh,rh here translates twntk, one cannot conclude

that it stands for any high priestly dress item other than ly[m. To assume the former

forces one to conclude that the translator compounded his unusual translation by

translating the third element, ly[m, as evpwmi,j. But this simply makes even more

questionable the dubious nature of the original hypothesis, since evpwmi,j never translates

ly[m anywhere else in the LXX.162 The podh,rhj in Sir 45:8 was thus likely either a

translation for ly[m that the LXX translator saw in his now non-extant Hebrew text

where the dress items are somewhat different and in a different order, or it is an

anomalous and perhaps simply incorrect translation.163

162
Contra Hollander and Jonge, Testaments, 152. Freedman and O’Connor
contend that the LXX sometimes translated tn<ToKu with podh,rhj, but they provide no
examples (“tn<ToK,u ” 7:384). Sir 45:8 appears to be one potential case, but my discussion
above argues against this (despite the assertion that it occurs in this verse by Hollander
and Jonge, Testaments, 151). For the possibility that during the intertestamental period
tn<ToKu became an inclusive term for any kind of outer garment (including the ly[im.), see
(Freedman and O’Connor and) Fabry, “tn<ToK,u ” 7:387; in my estimation, however, this
evidence is not only sparse but ineffective.
While it does not appear likely that evpwmi,j ever translates ly[m, see my
discussion below on Philo Her. 176, where it appears that he uses podh,rhj
metonymically for the shoulder-straps of the high priest’s ephod. Even if this latter
usage were considered legitimate and applied to Sir 45:8, compounding it by assuming
another unusual translation in this same verse (i.e., the prior podh,rh translating twntk)
violates Occam’s razor and becomes ludicrous.
163
Assuming podh,rhj in Sir 45:8 translates ly[m, it may be synonymous with the
stolh.n do,xhj (“robe of glory,” or, “glorious robe”) that the high priest Simon wears in
50:11, since the Greek term there is also singular (cf. the glorious tunic [ to.n th/j do,xhj

182
The podh,rhj in post-Septuagintal literature
to ca. 150 CE

But what about the use of podh,rhj in post-Septuagintal literature up until ca.

150 CE?164 Does it point to the dress of the high priest, or does it point to other types of

. . . citw/na] in Philo Leg. 2.56; earlier in this text, Philo clearly describes this garment
as the podh,rhj). Wisdom’s collar is like a “robe of glory” ( stolh.n do,xhj) in 6:29 and
is further worn like a “robe of glory” (stolh.n do,xhj) and put on like a “crown of joy”
(ste,fanon avgallia,matoj) in 6:31. A specifically priestly adorning or garment “of
glory” (do,xhj) appears also in 45:7 (peristolh.n do,xhj). This cognate term refers to a
covering, cloak, or robe (cf. LSJ, s.v. “peristolh,,” [suppl.]; LEH, s.v. “peristolh,, -
h/j”). Exodus 33:5-6 indicates that it is synonymous to the stolh,. Cf. Aitken,
“Semantics of ‘Glory,’” 7.
On the other hand, stolh, in Sir 50:11 may be either a collective singular, or it
may stand synecdochically for the overall apparel of the high priest, since in Exod 28:2
Aaron’s overall dress (MT: plural ydeg>bi; LXX: singular stolh.n) was to be fabricated for
glory (MT: dAbk'l;. LXX: do,xan). Cf. LEH, s.v. “stolh,, -h/j.” The same LXX
translation of the plural Hebrew noun into a singular Greek noun occurs in Lev 16:23,
24, 32; Num 20:26; Sir 45:10. If stolh, stood for the overall apparel of the high priest,
however, the term itself would still initially refer to a single dress item, but its meaning
would extend to the entire dress ensemble of the high priest.
164
Here I include texts from the Letter of Aristeas, Philo, Josephus, the Epistle of
Barnabas, and the Testament of Levi. I do not consider the use of podh,rhj via a Coptic
loanword (pipodhrh) in Apoc. Pet. 72:16 (which describes it as Peter’s robe), since this
Gnostic work is dated as early as the beginning of the second century (S. Kent Brown
and C. Wilfred Griggs, “Apocalypse of Peter,” Coptic Encyclopedia [1991], 1:161) and
as late as the 4th century (Andrea Lorenzo Molinari, “The Apocalypse of Peter and Its
Dating,” in Coptica—Gnostica—Manichaica: Mélanges offerts à Wolf-Peter Funk, ed.
Louis Painchaud and Paul-Hubert Poirier, Bibliothèque Copte de Nag Hammadi,
Section “Études,” no. 7 [Quebec City, QC: Les Presses de l’Université Laval; Louvain:
Éditions Peeters, 2006], 583-605), but probably dated somewhere “at the end of the 2 nd
century or the beginning of the 3rd” (Andreas Werner, “The Coptic Gnostic Apocalypse
of Peter,” in New Testament Apocrypha, rev. ed., ed. Wilhelm Schneemelcher, trans. R.
McL. Wilson [Cambridge, UK: James Clarke & Co.; Louisville: Westminster/John
Knox, 1989], 2:702). For the Letter of Aristeas, the Epistle of Barnabas, and the
Testament of Levi I use the following Greek texts: André Pelletier, Lettre d’Aristée à
Philocrate: Introduction, texte critique, traduction et notes, index complet des mots
grecs, Sources chrétiennes 89 (Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1962); The Apostolic Fathers:
Epistle of Barnabas, Papias and Quadratus, Epistle to Diognetus, and the Shepherd of
Hermas (ed. and trans. Bart D. Ehrman, LCL); and M. de Jonge, The Testaments of the

183
role-related dress? Also, where it does point to the dress of the high priest, does it point

to one element of his dress, or does the term refer to other elements of his dress as well?

Letter of Aristeas. Let. Aris. 96 is the only place within that work in which the

term podh,rhj occurs. In the first part of this verse, the author expresses his great

astonishment when he and the others with him saw the high priest Eliezar employed in

liturgical ritual, not only with regard to the elements of his dress but also with regard to

his glory, which was seen through the clothing of the tunic which he wore, as well as the

stones surrounding (or, in association with) it. The high priestly tunic itself, however,

did not have any precious stones associated with it. On the other hand, the robe,

described as the foot-length tunic in Exod 29:5 and Philo Somn. 1.214, did have stones

associated with it, but they were more precisely located on the shoulder-pieces of the

ephod and on the breastpiece attached to the ephod, the ephod itself being placed over

the foot-length robe. From a distance, however, one could reasonably conclude that the

stones were associated with this particular foot-length tunic.

Following this note, the author then uses podh,rhj as a substantive in a compact

description: crusoi/ ga.r kw,dwnej peri. to.n podh,rh eivsi.n auvtou/ (“for golden bells

are around the hem of it”). This description—detailing the golden bells hung around or

surrounding it—reveals that it is not the entire foot-length tunic that was in view here

(since it had already been mentioned) but only the hem of that tunic at the level of the

high priest’s feet. What this indicates is: (1) ancient descriptions of the high priest’s

Twelve Patriarchs: A Critical Edition of the Greek Text, Pseudepigrapha Veteris

Testamenti Graece 1 (Leiden: Brill, 1978).

184
dress were fluid and consequently not necessarily as precise as one might wish; and (2)

podh,rhj sometimes referred to the entire high priestly robe and sometimes to that robe’s

hem.

The author of Aristeas also knows that persons other than the high priest wore a

long garment. Let. Aris. 87 indicates that the common priests wore tunics of fine linen

reaching down to the ankles (me,cri tw/n sfurw/n bussi,noij citw/sin).165 A

comparison with Exod 28:40, however, does not yield this particular information with

regard to the common priests’ tunics. It remains significant, however, that the author

does not utilize the term podh,rhj in his description of these tunics of the common

priests.166 Though the linguistic evidence in Aristeas is indeed meager, this nevertheless

may suggest that the substantival use of podh,rhj by Aristeas with reference to the high

priest’s robe substantiates the more restrictive and technical nature of this term for him.

Philo. To complicate matters further, Philo contradicts Aristeas in regard to the

ankle- or foot-length tunics worn by the common priests.167 In Spec. 1.83 Philo states

165
R. J. H. Shutt’s translation, however, indicates that the priests were “swathed
up to the loins in ‘leather garments’” (“Letter of Aristeas,” in OTP 2:18). Shutt utilized
Thackeray’s translation of Aristeas (see OTP 2:8), but the text is the same in this portion
of the verse as that of Pelletier (cf. H. St. J. Thackeray, ed., “Letter of Aristeas,” in
Henry Barclay Swete, An Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek, rev. Richard
Rusden Ottley [1902; repr., New York: KTAV, 1968], 567). Sanders wryly noted that
this mistranslated reference to “leather loincloths” was a “new description” (Judaism:
Practice and Belief, 505, n. 1).
166
Cf. Philo Mos. 2.118-119, 121; the podh,rhj extends a;cri podw/n (“down to
the feet”), while the pomegranates, floral imagery, and bells are “at the ankles” ( kata.
ta. sfura.).
167
Furthermore, as I will demonstate below, Philo has a different understanding
of these tunics than Josephus exhibits later.

185
that the common priests wore not long but short tunics (citwni,skoij) so that their

ministry could be expedited (thus allowing for their undergarments to be seen). 168

Sanders opines that though this description appears “eminently reasonable,” it is

apparently wrong.169 Philo not much later (Spec. 1.85) describes the ly[im. of the high

priest in the HB as a podh,rhj citw,n.170 It is clear in this text that Philo is speaking of

this particular dress element and not the high priest’s tn<ToK,u since he describes it in the

same text as entirely bluish-purple or hyacinthine (o[lwn u`aki,nqinon) in color.

Second, Philo—unlike the LXX—favors usage of the term podh,rhj over

u`podu,thj in describing what the Hebrew text calls the ly[im.. In all, he utilizes the

former term seventeen times in works, whereas u`podu,thj appears but three times.171

168
Philo calls this a state of avnei,mwn—equivalent to being undressed or naked.
See LSJ, s.v. “avnei,mwn” and its use in Philo Somn. 1.99. For more discussion by Philo
on the undergarments (not the tunics) of the common priests being necessary to protect
against accidental nakedness during their quick movements, see Mos. 2.144-45.
169
Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 94. His argument here is largely based
on the description of Josephus in A.J. 3.153, in which the priest wears a foot-length
tunic (ibid., 93). Sanders believes that the extensive description by Josephus of priestly
dress “is a convincing description” and one “best explained as the memories of a man
who wore the clothes” (ibid., 94). On the other hand, Sanders believes that it is possible
that Philo “had forgotten precisely what he had seen [on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem] and
unconsciously ‘dressed’ the priests in costumes that he thought were reasonable;
perhaps his view of priestly garments was shaped by having seen pagan priests in short
tunics” (ibid.).
170
Cf. the discussion in Robertson, “Account,” 212-13.
171
Philo uses podh,rhj in Fug. 185; Her. 176; Leg. 1.81; 2.56; Mos. 2.117, 118,
120, 121, 133, 143; Mut. 43; Somn. 1.214; Spec. 1.85 (2x), 93, 94; Frg. 117 on LXX
Exod 28:27 (text in Philo, LCL, 12:257). In QE 2.107 it appears (despite the Greek
being no longer extant) that the term might have occurred four or more times. For
Philo’s use of u`podu,thj, see Migr. 103; Mos. 2.109, 110.

186
What is intriguing about Philo is that he sometimes defines the podh,rhj in terms of

other dress elements closely associated with it: the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, the

ephod itself, or the breastpiece.

This brings up the probable use of metonymy again. In Leg. 1.81 Philo provides

an intriguing reference to the podh,rhj in a discussion of Gen 2, and he begins by stating

“when he [Moses] speaks about the foot-length robe” ( o[tan evpi. tou/ podh,rouj fh/)| . In

what immediately follows, Philo apparently quotes from Exod 28:17, where one finds

the description of the stones that adorned the high priest’s breastpiece. At first glance it

appears that Philo is substituting the term podh,rhj for reference to the breastpiece

or—less likely—the ephod, since both dress items occur just a couple of verses earlier

(28:15). But it is highly unlikely that he is equating the podh,rhj here with the

breastpiece. Rather, his use of podh,rhj appears similar to the decision made by the

LXX translator in Exod 25:7 and 35:9, namely, that the stones were considered to be on

the robe via a metonymous understanding of the robe and the breastpiece. 172

172
On these verses, see the discussion above. The similarity between Philo and
the LXX of these two verses may be a result of the Alexandrian location of both Philo
and the LXX translation. His differences from Josephus may be partly explained by
Josephus writing from a Judean perspective and following a tradition that understood
the dress terminology differently.
The text Philo seems to quote from in Exodus is not exactly the same as the
LXX (28:17); whether or not this is a free paraphrase or not is unknown. The
differences between the unpunctuated texts are as follows (the LXX first, then Philo):

kai. kaqufanei/j evn auvtw/| u[fasma kata,liqon tetra,sticon sti,coj li,qwn

e;stai sa,rdion topa,zion kai. sma,ragdoj o` sti,coj o` ei-j (LXX)

“And you shall interweave in/with it a web/texture set with stones in four rows;
the first row of stones will comprise a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald.”

187
 In Somn. 1.214-15 Philo comments that to.n podh,rh citw/na is a close imitation

of the whole heaven (tou/ panto.j avnti,mimon o;nta ouvranou). But his real reason for

this interpretative conclusion is that this dress item is associated with the breastpiece,

which itself is a reflection (or, representation) and copy (avpeiko,nisma kai. mi,mhma) of

the shining constellations (fwsfo,rwn a;strwn).173

One finds a clearer example of probable metonymy in Her. 176. There Philo

states: “You also see the two emerald stones on the foot-length robe” ( o`ra|/j kai. tou.j

evpi. tou/ podh,rouj du,o li,qouj th/j smara,gdou).174 The foot-length robe technically

did not have two emerald jewels attached to it, a fact that Philo was well aware of (cf.

Mos. 2.109-112). I would assert that it is incorrect to postulate that Philo is here

defining the podh,rhj as the (shoulder-pieces of) the ephod. Rather, in Mos. 2.109 Philo

understood that the sacred dress (i`era.n evsqh/ta) of the high priest was twofold (ditta.)

kai. sunufanei/j evn auvtw/| li,qon tetra,sticon sti,coj li,qwn

e;stai sa,rdion topa,zion [ ] sma,ragdoj o` sti,coj o` ei-j (Philo)

“And you shall weave together in/with it [sets of] stone in four rows; the first
row of stones will comprise a sardius, a topaz, an emerald.”

Philo also comments on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod in QE 2.108, but here
he designates them as part of the sacred garment. While this work is extant only in
Armenian, one can make assumptions on the underlying Greek. Philo is—at first
glance—apparently speaking here of the ephod proper (cf. Exod 28:6-7). But he has
just finished commenting on the sacred garment (QE 2.107), the hyacinthine robe (as
opposed to the linen robe worn on Yom Kippur)—what he elsewhere calls the u`podu,thj
(e.g., Mos. 2.109), podh,rhj citw,n (Spec. 1.85) or podh,rhj (e.g., Mos. 2.121). This
association would not, however, be out of line with his association of the shoulder-
pieces with the podh,rhj in Her. 176 (see discussion below).
173
Cf. Philo Mos. 2.117 and Spec. 1.84-85, 94-96.
174
Cf. LXX Exod 28:9, where the two stones are located “on the shoulders of the
ephod” (evpi. tw/n w;mwn th/j evpwmi,doj).

188
in nature, comprised of both the u`podu,thj and the evpwmi,j. It was on the latter dress

element that the two emerald stones were situated (Mos. 2.112). But note that in Mos.

2.109 Philo describes the foot-length robe and the ephod as two closely related 175 parts

of one sacred vestment. Thus, it is not necessary for one to resort to the conclusion that

Philo was either mistaken or redefining terms in Her. 176; from a visual standpoint, the

precious stones were on (what looked like) the foot-length robe, and Philo described it

in such a manner via the use of metonymy.176

In another comment related to this topic in Mut. 43, Philo mentions that Moses

gave the great priest two (ditta.j) robes (stola,j): One was a linen one to be worn

“within [e;ndon]” (i.e., within the Most Holy Place), while the other was the

polychromatically embroidered one (th.n . . . poiki,lhn) “with the foot-length [meta.

tou/ podh,rouj]” (i.e., a hem or skirt down to the feet) to be worn “outside [ e;xw]” (i.e.,

outside the Most Holy Place).177 But there was no polychromatic robe of the high priest,

since the robe of the high priest was monochromatically hyacinthine in color.

Consequently, one may reasonably deduce from this that Philo is in actuality describing

175
The rare use of the term u[foj here (ta. dV u[fh ditta. h=n [“but the web was
twofold”]) would suggest such, since its primary meaning is “web,” but it can
metaphorically refer to a “series” of numbers or an author’s “text” (LSJ, s.v. “ u[foj”).
Philo does not use this term elsewhere in his corpus.
176
See also QE 2.108, where the two shoulder-pieces are part of the sacred
garment, which he has just defined in 2.107 as the foot-length robe. Cf. Fug. 185,
where the twelve jewels, engraved with inscriptions, are woven together on the
breastpiece “in the sacred dress of the foot-length garment” ( th|/ i`era/| evsqh/ti tou/
podh,rouj evndu,matoj).
177
Cf. Somn. 1.216, where Philo similarly notes that the High Priest divests
himself of the polychromatic robe (poiki,lhn evsqh/ta) when he enters the Most Holy
Place.

189
the latter robe as a combination of the polychromatic ephod along with what would look

like a foot-long skirt but which technically was a separate garment under the

ephod—the foot-length robe.

Thus, in all of Philo’s corpus, all but two of his references to the podh,rhj refer

to some element of the high priest’s dress, the two exceptions being Mos. 2.118 and

Spec. 1.85b. In both of these two texts he is comparing the “foot-length” characteristic

of the air to the “foot-length” aspect of the high priest’s robe that he has just mentioned.

In all of the other references in his corpus, he uses podh,rhj to clearly point to the foot-

length robe of the high priest, to metonymously associate it with other elements of the

high priest’s dress, or to refer to the skirt of the high priest’s long robe and not the robe

itself.

Josephus. An anomalous and surprising use of podh,rhj occurs in Josephus. In

A.J. 3.153 Josephus describes the common priest’s tunic as a foot-length tunic ( e;sti de.

tou/to to. e;nduma podh,rhj citw.n [“now this garment is a foot-length tunic”]). A bit

later (A.J. 3.159) Josephus uses podh,rhj again and says the high priest puts on a “tunic

made from hyacinth, and this also is foot-length” ( evx u`aki,nqou pepoihme,non citw/na,

podh,rhj d v evsti. kai. ou-toj).” That this latter tunic is clearly the ly[im. of the HB and

not the tn<ToKu is obvious for two reasons: (1) it is bluish-purple or hyacinth in color; and

(2) Josephus clearly identifies it as such in this same reference by transliterating the

Hebrew term ly[im. in order to show how it is spoken in their language (mee.ir kalei/tai

190
kata. th.n h`mete,ran glw/ssan [“it is called ‘meeir’ in our language”]).178

On the basis of this latter statement by Josephus, Jean-Noël Guinot concludes

that both the high priest’s tunic and robe are foot-length. 179 Thus, according to Josephus

the high priest would be wearing two separate robes that reached to the feet. This is a

striking conclusion, first, since Josephus is the only one who provides this information,

and second, because in doing so Josephus contradicts what Philo has stated concerning

the length of the common priest’s tunics.

As I have indicated earlier, there appears to be nothing in the HB that clearly

indicates that the garments of the high priest or the common priests were foot-length. 180

This characteristic appears instead in Greek translations and literature.181 In fact, Exod

28:42-43 indicates that priestly undergarments were necessary to prevent indecency and

thus incur guilt (!wO[') leading to death.182 It does not appear that this latter statement in

the HB implies that the other garments were necessarily short—though that is possible.

178
Josephus appears to be tracking LXX Exod 29:5, which speaks of the to.n
citw/na to.n podh,rh. Cf. MS B (Codex Vaticanus) of the Old Greek, which in Exod
28:4 witnesses to.n podh,rh citw/na instead of to.n podh,rh kai. citw/na in translating
the Hebrew ly[im..
179
Jean-Noël Guinot, “Sur le vêtement du grand prêtre: le dh/loj était-il une
pierre divinatoire?” Vetera Christianorum 26 (1989): 23, n. 2.
180
So Robertson, “Account,” 211 (cf. p. 207).
181
Again, it is possible that the Hebrew term for the high priest’s robe ( ly[im.)
was more specific than we understand now and referred to a specific type of robe that
descended to the feet. But then it may well have been necessary, in a different sartorial
culture, for the Greeks to be more specific in order to differentiate such foot-length
garments from other types of garments.
182
Cf. Robertson, “Account,” 211-12.

191
Certainly it states that areas of the priests’ flesh could otherwise be seen. 183

In any case, it is possible that sartorial development took place over the

centuries, so that the common priests as well as the high priest were clothed with foot-

length tunics. Many elements of Josephus’s description of priestly dress are clear (and

sometimes extensive) additions to the HB,184 and one would be hard-pressed to conclude

that Josephus, a priest himself, was fabricating descriptions wholesale. At the same

time, it is important to note that Josephus may well have creatively adapted aspects of

the high priest’s garments to his description of the dress of the common priests. 185

Despite Josephus’s referring to the podh,rhj only five times,186 one should note

that the singular usage of podh,rhj in reference to the common priests is not substantival

but attributive. In at least two of the other four references to podh,rhj, the term is used

substantivally.187 This suggests that podh,rhj—when used substantivally—refers to high

183
Cf. Propp, Exodus 19-40, 433 and figure 16 on p. 434.
184
See Feldman’s many references to Josephus’s “additions” to the text of the
HB in Judean Antiquities 1-4, 272-79.
185
For example, Josephus’s description (A.J. 3.156) of the neck opening of the
common priest’s tunic appears to track that of the LXX in its description of the high
priest’s long robe, particularly since he uses the word w;a (“border, collar”) only here for
the dress of the common priests when, in contrast, this same word occurs only in LXX
Exod 28:32, 36:30, and Ps 132:2—all in relation to the dress of the high priest. Cf. the
discussion in Feldman, Judean Antiquities 1-4, 273, and Robertson, “Account,” 214-15.
Is it possible that Josephus was confused?
186
Josephus A.J. 3.153, 159; 8.93; 20.6; B.J. 5.231.
187
Josephus A.J. 8.93 and B.J. 5.231. A.J. 3.159 (podh,rhj d v evsti. kai. ou-toj)
could also reflect a substantival usage (as opposed to a predicate usage). A.J. 8.93 is
highly unusual in that Josephus describes King Solomon as fabricating priestly garments
for the high priests, including foot-length robes (podh,resin), shoulder-pieces / ephodim
(evpwmi,si), a singular breastpiece (logi,w)| , and 1,000 precious stones (li,qoij cili,aj).
Is he here describing foot-length ephodim, merging the two dress elements like Philo

192
priestly garments, whereas an attributive usage infers length188 and could refer to the

dress of the common priests as well, as it does in A.J. 3.153.

Epistle of Barnabas 7:9. The singular use of the term podh,rhj by the Epistle of

Barnabas (early second century CE189) alludes to LXX Zech 3:5, thus supporting a high

priestly understanding of the term. Placed between the book of Revelation and the

Shepherd of Hermas in Codex Sinaiticus, Barnabas was apparently popular, respected,

and influential in certain centers of Christianity.190 Barn. 7:6-11 typologically interprets

the ritual involving the two goats on Yom Kippur as pointing to both Jesus Christ’s

death on the cross and his second coming. In this passage Barnabas parallels traditions

about the two goats not only in Rabbinic sources but also in Justin Martyr and

Tertullian.191

More specifically, according to Barnabas’s understanding of the real, evident

did? In any case, the plural references to foot-length robes—in contrast to the singular
breastpiece—are striking.
188
Cf. LXX Exod 28:31; 29:5; Wis 18:24; Philo Fug. 1.85, Somn. 1.214,
Spec. 1.85a; Josephus A.J. 3.153 and 20.6.
189
According to a recent summary of scholarship with regard to this work, when
one considers the issue of its date, “the developing consensus would seem to be for a
Hadrianic date some time in the 130s” (James Carleton Paget, “The Epistle of
Barnabas,” ExpTim 117 [2006]: 442-43).
190
Ibid., 441.
191
Cf. Helmut Koester, Ancient Christian Gospels: Their History and
Development (London: SCM Press; Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1990),
224-25; James Carleton Paget, The Epistle of Barnabas: Outlook and Background,
WUNT 64 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1994), 137-139; and Oskar Skarsaune, The Proof
from Prophecy: A Study in Justin Martyr’s Proof-Text Tradition: Text-Type,
Provenance, Theological Profile, NovTSup 56 (Leiden: Brill, 1987), 307-308.

193
meaning of the OT,192 when Jesus returns from heaven he will be “wearing the scarlet

foot-length robe” (to.n podh,rh e;conta to.n ko,kkinon). This interpretation

typologically derives from the ritual of the goat sent into the wilderness on Yom Kippur

(Lev 16:10, 20-22), which extrabiblical sources indicate had scarlet wool bound about

its head.193 According to Barnabas, when those who despised, abused, and crucified

Jesus see this long, scarlet robe on the returning Jesus, they will recognize him as the

one they were violently opposed to on Earth. The reason they recognize him is

because—according to Matt 27:28 (cf. v. 31)—Jesus was made to wear a crimson 194

cloak (clamu,da kokki,nhn) during his Passion: “It is precisely because Christ looks as

he did when he was put to death that he will be recognised (7:10).” 195 While Matthew’s

account—the only Gospel account that mentions ko,kkinoj—may be later than the

192
On Barnabas’s assertion of the importance of interpreting the OT correctly in
7:6—8:7, see Reidar Hvalvik, The Struggle for Scripture and Covenant: The Purpose of
the Epistle of Barnabas and Jewish-Christian Competition in the Second Century,
WUNT 82 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1996), 183-84.
193
Cf. Barn. 7:8a; m. Yoma 4:2, 6:6; Tertullian Marc. 3.7.7-8 and Adv. Jud. 14.9-
10; Hippolytus Fr. Prov. 75. See Pierre Prigent, Épître de Barnabé: Introduction,
traduction et notes, Greek text by Robert A. Kraft, Sources chrétiennes 172 (Paris:
Éditions du Cerf, 1971), 133-35; and Stökl Ben Ezra, Impact of Yom Kippur, 156-61.
194
With regard to Matthew’s account, Paget describes this robe as purple (Epistle
of Barnabas, 139), but that is clearly incorrect. Jesus’ robe is purple not in Matthew but
elsewhere: Mark 15:17, 20 (porfu,ra), John 19:2, 5 (porfurou/j), and Gosp. Pet. 3:7
(porfu,ra). For the Greek text of the Gospel of Peter, see Aurelio de Santos Otero, Los
Evangelios Apócrifos: Colección de textos griegos y latinos, versión crítica, estudios
introductorios y commentarios, 10th ed. (Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos,
1999).
195
Paget, Epistle of Barnabas, 139. Cf. Skarsaune, Proof from Prophecy, 309.

194
interpretation or tradition referred to in Barn. 7:9,196 when ko,kkinoj itself describes

fabric it typically carries priestly and/or royal connotations,197 and thus Barn. 7:9’s

reference to to.n podh,rh e;conta to.n ko,kkinon could still indicate both royal and high

priestly imagery for the returning Christ.198

While this may well explain the reference in Barnabas to Jesus’ robe being

scarlet, from where did the reference to him wearing the podh,rhj derive? The

consensus is that it derives from the use of podh,rhj for the high priest Joshua (LXX

VIhsou/j)199 in Zech 3:4.200 It is this text from Zechariah that implicitly provides the

strongest evidence for a high priestly perspective for Jesus Christ in Barn. 7:9.201

Testament of Levi 8:2. Finally, the term podh,rhj also occurs in T. Levi 8:2,

likely the work of Christian authorship or redaction, probably in the late second century

196
See, e.g., John Dominic Crossan, The Cross That Spoke: The Origins of the
Passion Narrative (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988), 132-33, 142, 157; and Helmut
Koester, Ancient Christian Gospels, 224-26.
197
See, e.g., LXX Exod 25:4; 26:1, 31, 36; 27:16; 28:5, 8, 15, 33; 31:4; 35:6, 25,
35; Num 4:8; 2 Sam 1:24; 2 Chr 2:6, 13; 3:14; Matt 27:28.
198
See Ferdinand R. Prostmeier, Der Barnabasbrief, Kommentar zu den
Apostolischen Vätern 8 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1999), 311-12.
199
Stökl Ben Ezra asserts that there is no support for the assumption that Jesus
Christ and the high priest Joshua/Jesus of Zech 3 were first associated in Greek
literature (Impact of Yom Kippur, 196, n. 257).
200
Cf. Cross (The Cross That Spoke, 120, 128), Paget (Epistle of Barnabas, 140),
Prostmeier (Der Barnabasbrief, 310-11), Skarsaune (Proof from Prophecy, 309-10),
and Stökl Ben Ezra (Impact of Yom Kippur, 160, 163, 165 [n. 95], 196). This is how
Tertullian understood it in Adv. Marc. 3.7.6 (so Crossan [The Cross That Spoke, 132]
and Skarsaune [Proof from Prophecy, 310, n. 155]).
201
Paget, Epistle of Barnabas, 216-17. On this text in Barnabas, see the detailed
discussion in Stökl Ben Ezra, Impact of Yom Kippur, 147-65, particularly 152-54.

195
CE.202 It uses podh,rhj as an articular substantive in its discussion of the priestly

investiture of the patriarch Levi. The usage of the term in this verse occurs as the

central item in a catalog of seven dress items, several of which were uniquely associated

with the high priest: the robe (or, garments: th.n stolh.n) of the priesthood, the crown

(to.n ste,fanon) of righteousness, the breastpiece (to. lo,gion) of understanding, the

foot-length robe (to.n podh,rh) of truth, the head ornament (to. pe,talon) of faith, the

turban (th.n mi,tran) of the sign, and the ephod (to. evfou.d) of prophecy.

The reference to the foot-length garment in T. Levi 8:2 indicates a priestly

investiture, but, as Stökl Ben Ezra indicates regarding the wider context of 8:1-18, “this

investiture deviates widely from the biblical prescriptions for priestly vestments.” 203

But while the investiture itself is problematic, the elements of dress in 8:2 are not as

obtuse. Consequently, one cannot deny that the reference to the podh,rhj here must be

understood as high priestly in nature.204 Furthermore, the most natural understanding of

the podh,rhj in this work would be to see it as equivalent to the ly[im. of the HB.

202
Cf. M. de Jonge, “Defining the Major Issues in the Study of the Testaments of
the Twelve Patriarchs” and “The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs as a Document
Transmitted by Christians,” in M. de Jonge, Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament as
Part of Christian Literature: The Case of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs and
the Greek Life of Adam and Eve, Studia in Veteris Testamenti pseudepigrapha 18
(Leiden: Brill, 2003), 71-83 and 84-106, respectively; and Michael E. Stone, “Aramaic
Levi Document and Greek Testament of Levi,” in Emanuel: Studies in the Hebrew
Bible, Septuagint, and Dead Sea Scrolls in Honor of Emanuel Tov, ed. Shalom M. Paul
et al., VTSup 94 (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 429-30.
203
Stökl Ben Ezra, Impact of Yom Kippur, 83, n. 20.
204
Hollander and Jonge, Testaments, 150-55.

196
Summary of podh,rhj

The term podh,rhj—typically used in the LXX and other extrabiblical Jewish

and Christian literature for the foot-length robe of the high priest—appears but once in

the NT in a text that describes the visionary appearance of Jesus Christ (Rev 1:13).

Despite its critical appearance there, it has not received the sustained discussion and

analysis that it deserves in terms of its usage elsewhere.

In light of the preceding, detailed survey of each of the occurences of podh,rhj in

the LXX, the lexical data thus demonstrate that podh,rhj apparently translates not five

but two Hebrew terms, ly[im. and tAcl'x]m,; the former being the closest technical

equivalency and the latter being the closest approximation. Other apparent translations

of different Hebrew words are either attempts to approximate high priestly dress or

possibly are incorrect translations. To assert that the term podh,rhj in the LXX does not

have a specific or technical meaning because it translates so many concepts widely

ignores the data that demonstrate that it translates either typical terms indicative of ritual

high priestly dress or unusual dress terms nevertheless associated with high priestly

dress. Furthermore, I would assert that when podh,rhj is used substantivally, it

describes high priestly dress, whereas when it is is used in an attributive sense, it

describes dress length and thus could refer to either priestly or high priestly dress.

Consequently, all LXX references to the podh,rhj point to high priestly dress or

assume high priestly imagery on the basis of the metonymous use of this high priestly

dress term. Putting it another way, using a static understanding of the podh,rhj as a high

priestly dress item in all its occurrences in the LXX does not necessarily distort or

197
destroy the interpretation of any of the texts in which it occurs.

The situation is overwhelmingly similar in other post-Septuagintal writings, yet

at the same time it is not unanimous that podh,rhj refers to high priestly dress. All of

the references to the podh,rhj in the Letter of Aristeas, Philo, the Epistle of Barnabas,

and the Testament of Levi refer directly or via a figure of speech to the dress of the high

priest. All but one of the references in Josephus indicate that a podh,rhj was part of the

daily ritual clothing of the High Priest.205 What this demonstrates is that an examination

of the use of podh,rhj indicates that it nearly unanimously points to the actual dress—or

the sartorial imagery—of the high priest.

The Ephod

Haran asserts that another high priestly dress item, the dpoae,206 was “the most

distinctive of the high priest’s exclusive garments.” 207 Propp similarly agrees that the

“ephod” was “the priestly vestment par excellence.”208 Ironically, it remains unclear as

to just what exactly the ephod was.209 Biblical references to ephodim are not uniform,

205
Consequently, the assertion that podh,rhj “always means the high priestly robe
of Yom Kippur” (Stökl, “Yom Kippur,” 365, n. 61) is demonstrably false by its apparent
restriction of the robe to usage on Yom Kippur.
206
Various attempts at transliterating the term ephod occur in the LXX. Cf., e.g.,
efwd (Judg 17:5; 18:14, 18, 20), efwq (Judg 8:27), and efoud (1 Sam 2:18, 28; 14:3,
18; 22:18; 23:6, 9; 30:7)—all without breathers or accents.
207
Haran, “Priestly Image,” 208.
208
Propp, Exodus 19-40, 432.
209
Ibid., 431. The literature on the problematic nature of the ephod is extensive.
See, e.g., George Dahl, “The Problem of the Ephod,” Anglican Theological Review 34
(1952): 206-10; Philip R. Davies, “Ark or Ephod in 1 Sam. XIV.18?” JTS 26 (1975):

198
and it appears that they occur in at least three basic contexts.210

The Contexts of the Ephod

In the first context it appears primarily as a sacral garment. A number of texts

describe it as part of the dress of the high priest, other priests, and non-Levitical

personnel associated with the tabernacle and its rituals.211 These texts sometimes

indicate that the ephod was made out of linen (1 Sam 2:18; 22:18; 2 Sam 6:14; 1 Chr

15:27) and on a few occasions specifically indicate that it was worn (rgx, “to gird”: 1

Sam 2:18; 2 Sam 6:14; cf. Lev 8:7).212

82-87; W. Dommershausen, “lr'AG,” TDOT (1977), 2:450-55; Theodore C. Foote, “The

Ephod,” JBL 21 (1902): 1-47; Julian Morgenstern, “The Ark, the Ephod, and the ‘Tent
of Meeting’ (Continued from Volume XVII): VII: The Ephod,” HUCA 18 (1943-44):
1-52; Anthony Phillips, “David’s Linen Ephod,” VT 19 (1969): 485-87; Alexander
Rofé, “‘No Ephod or Teraphim’—oude hierateias oude delon: Hosea 3:4 in the LXX
and in the Paraphrases of Chronicles and the Damascus Document,” trans. Simeon
Chavel, in Sefer Moshe: The Moshe Weinfeld Jubilee Volume: Studies in the Bible and
the Ancient Near East, Qumran, and Post-Biblical Judaism, ed. Chaim Cohen, Avi
Hurvitz, and Shalom M. Paul (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2004), 135-49; Diane M.
Sharon, “Echoes of Gideon’s Ephod: An Intertextual Reading,” JANES 30 (2006): 89-
102; Hermann Thiersch, Ependytes und Ephod: Gottesbild und Priesterkleid im alten
Vorderasien, Geisteswissenschaftlichen Forschungen 8 (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1936);
Tidwell, “The Linen Ephod,” 505-507; and Karel van der Toorn and Cees Houtman,
“David and the Ark,” JBL 113 (1994): 209-31.
210
The following summary generally follows Propp, Exodus 19-40, 432 (cf.
Morgenstern, “The Ark, the Ephod,” 2-3). Cf. Davies, who believes that there are four
different objects being referred to (“Ark or Ephod,” 84-87).
211
Cf. Exod 25:7; 28:4, 6, 12, 15, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31; 29:5; 35:9, 27; 39:2, 7, 8,
18, 19, 20, 21, 22; Lev 8:7; 1 Sam 2:28; 14:3; 21:10; 22:18; 23:6, 9; 30:7; 1 Chr 15:27.
Samuel, born as an Ephraimite and not a Levite (1 Sam 1:1), ministered as a priest in
the tabernacle and wore—girded, fastened, or bound ( rg'x)' on himself—a linen ephod (1
Sam 2:18), even as King David when he danced before YHWH (2 Sam 6:14)
212
It is unlikely that the ephod worn by David in 2 Sam 6:14 was the same dress
item associated with the high priest, since the ephod of the high priest was worn over

199
 In a second context, the ephod appears to be referred to in terms of it being a

divinatory or oracular object.213 The specific emphasis is that it is borne or carried in

one’s hand (Ady"B). instead of being worn as an article of dress (1 Sam 23:6). Orders to

bring the ephod to a particular locale support such a contextual interpretation (1 Sam

14:18-19; 23:9; 30:7)214 without denying or negating its sartorial nature seen elsewhere,

since such a sacred garment would not be worn but rather carried through non-sacred

space. Reference to the sword of Goliath, wrapped in a cloth and kept “behind the

other garments (cf. Exod 29:5; Lev 8:7); why would David’s wife Michal have been
scandalized by him uncovering himself while wearing that type of ephod (2 Sam 6:20)?
See Phillips, “David’s Linen Ephod,” 486. Phillips suggests that the basic meaning of
the ephod is “covering” (cf. Isa 30:22); it could then be used to describe a garment to
cover one’s loins, or “an empty case, like a stiffened garment, which could be used for
obtaining an oracle by means of inserting one’s hand,” as in 1 Sam 14:19 (ibid.). Since
1 Chr 15:27 insists that David wore both a linen ephod and a linen robe ( ly[im.), he
concludes (ibid., n. 1) that the Chronicler probably understood David to have worn the
high priest’s “vestment”—an unlikely deduction, particularly since the high priestly
ly[im., being entirely blue in color, was not made out of linen. Cf. Leopold Sabourin,
Priesthood: A Comparative Study, Studies in the History of Religion (Supplements to
Numen) 25 (Leiden: Brill, 1973), 151-52; and Tidwell, “The Linen Ephod,” 505-507.
213
Propp suggests that in this context the ephod was “an oracular device,
probably containing the Urim and Thummim” (Exodus 19-40, 432).
214
The LXX of 1 Sam 14:18 has Saul command Ahijah to “bring the ephod”
(prosa,gage to. efoud), while the MT has Saul command Ahijah to “bring the ark of
God” (~yhil{a/h' !Ara] hv'yGIh;). The LXX’s mention that Ahijah h=ren to. efoud evn th/|
h`me,ra| evkei,nh| (“he lifted / took up / carried the ephod in that day”) does not necessarily
mean that Ahijah wore the ephod, since in the previous verse Jonathan’s armor-bearer is
similarly o` ai;rwn ta. skeu,h auvtou/ (“the one who carried his armor”; cf. 14:1, 3, 6, 7,
12, 13, 14). On the intriguing relationship between the ark of the MT and the ephod of
the LXX, cf. discussion on the hypothetical development and possible interrelationship
and/or substitution of the references to the ephod and the ark in William R. Arnold,
Ephod and Ark: A Study in the Records and Religion of the Ancient Hebrews, Harvard
Theological Studies 3 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1917); Davies, “Ark or
Ephod,” 82-87; Morgenstern, “The Ark, the Ephod,” 1-52; Toorn and Houtman, “David
and the Ark,” 209-31; and the literature the preceding authors cite.

200
ephod” (dApaeh' yrex]a;) at the sanctuary of Nob (1 Sam 21:9), also suggests that here the

ephod was understood more in terms of it being an oracular object of truly iconic status

rather than it having a distinct sartorial focus.215 This does not, however, indicate that

the ephod in this context was not a garment but rather that it had a specific cultic status

at least apart from it being worn.

Finally, some passages in the HB indicate that ephodim were associated with

idolatry outside of the accepted tabernacle complex. These texts indicate that they were

golden and appeared in the context of shrines, teraphim, and other carved or cast

images. For example, Gideon took gold plunder and made an ephod out of it, 216 one that

ultimately became an idol (Judg 8:24-27). Micah, a man from Ephraim, placed an

215
Propp allows for the possibility that because the ephod was closely associated
with the pouch that contained the Urim and Thummim, there may be an overlap
between “carrying” and “wearing” (Exodus 19-40, 432). But cf. Davies, who disagrees
and insists that afn in these contexts means “carry” or “bear” and not “wear” (“Ark or
Ephod,” 85). Even more strenuous is the assertion of Foote: “carry never means ‘wear’”
(“The Ephod,” 13).
In line with the previous observation, in some texts that appear to refer to
priestly figures wearing ephodim, it appears likely that they are bearing or carrying
(afn) them. Cf. 1 Sam 2:28 (with reference to priests) and 14:3 (with reference to
Ahijah, grandson of the priest Eli). A problematic case here is 1 Sam 22:18 (with
reference to priests), since it describes the ephod being “carried” yet made out of linen
(dB' dApae afenO [“they carried a linen ephod”]). Intriguingly, the LXX does not mention
it as being fabricated from linen (ai;rontaj efoud [“carrying an ephod”]). It is possible
that the LXX has the correct reading here (Phillips, “David’s Linen Ephod,” 486, and
the references he cites there).
216
Cf. the related word hD;pua] in the context of gold-plated idols in Isa 30:22.
The term occurs only twice elsewhere (in reference to the high priest’s dress: Exod 28:8;
39:5), and Propp suggests that it refers to the “system for binding on an ephod” (Exodus
19-40, 436).

201
ephod—along with teraphim217 and other images—in a shrine (Judg 17:5; 18:14, 17-20;

cf. Hos 3:4).218 While these texts contain no indication that ephodim were worn, one

cannot thus conclude that these ephodim never had sartorial significance.

The Ephod of the High Priest

While references to the ephod appear diverse, it is within the Pentateuch that the

ephod appears only in reference to the high priest’s dress. 219 In this particular corpus,

the common priests do not wear ephodim. Thus, while Haran is correct to note that the

ephod was exclusive to the high priest—he is correct only if one further specifies that

this is the case only within the Pentateuch. Unlike the linen ephodim mentioned outside

of the Pentateuch, the high priestly ephod was worn not against the skin but outside of

other garments.220 It was suspended from the shoulders,221 with two precious stones

217
Notice the ephod’s association with teraphim again in Hos 3:4. On the
checkered history of teraphim, cf. Gen 31:19, 34, 35; 1 Sam 15:23; 19:13, 16; 2 Kgs
23:24; Ezek 21:21; Zech 10:2.
218
Hos 3:4 associates the ephod with sacrifices, sacred pillars (hb'Cem;), and
teraphim.
219
In the Pentateuch it occurs in Exod 25:7; 28:4, 6, 12, 15, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31;
29:5; 35:9, 27; 39:2, 7, 8, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22; Lev 8:7. The term is also mentioned in the
Pentateuch in Num 34:23, but there the Hebrew word is the name of one of the leaders
of the tribe of Manasseh. Propp concludes: “Because of its association with idolatry,
divination and priestly legitimacy, the ephod was controversial in ancient Israel. The
Priestly Writer coopted this symbolic vestment by limiting its use to the Aaronid
priesthood and to Yahweh’s cult” (Exodus 19-40, 432).
220
So Propp, Exodus 19-40, 432.
221
While Sanders plays off of this term’s typical non-biblical definition as
referring to the upper part of a woman’s tunic and consequently identifies the ephod as
the high priest’s “third tunic” (Judaism: Practice and Belief, 99), such an identification
unnecessarily furthers a linguistic confusion of dress terms.

202
engraved with the names of Israel on the shoulder straps.222 Furthermore, the ephod was

made of a combination of dyed wool and twisted linen223 utilizing the same

workmanship (bvexo) by which the inner veil was made (Exod 26:31; 28:6). This

material of wool and linen was also an artistic mixture deriving from animals and plants

and thus forbidden to the rest of the Israelites,224 “since according to Old Testament

tradition the appearance of a heterogenous mixture is taken as a hallmark of holiness.” 225

This distinction underscores the fact that though the HB knows of ephodim worn by the

high priest and others, the high priest’s was—by nature of its unique textile makeup

forbidden to other Israelites—more sacred than the others.

But there are at least two more reasons why the high priest’s ephod was unique

among the Israelite priesthood. The first reason further substantiating its uniqueness is

222
On these two stones, see Jeffrey H. Tigay, “The Priestly Reminder Stones and
Ancient Near Eastern Votive Practices,” in Shai le-Sara Japhet: Studies in the Bible, Its
Exegesis and Its Language (Heb. and Eng.), ed. Moshe Bar-Asher et al. (Jerusalem:
Bialik Institute, 2007), 339-55. In Josephus’s discussion of these two stones (A.J. 3.214-
218), he mentions that the one clasped to the high priest’s right shoulder shone with a
flashing radiance (3.215), unknown to the HB.
223
Exod 28:6; 39:2 (LXX 36:9); cf. 28:15; 39:8 (LXX 36:15).
224
See Deut 22:11; cf. Lev 19:19 and Deut 22:9.
225
Haran, Temples and Temple-Service, 160; cf. ibid., 167. Haran notes that in
Deut 22:9 the result of a mixing of agricultural produce would become—not “defiled,”
“devoted,” or “forfeit,” as in many translations—but “holy” (ibid.). Applying this
dictum to priestly fabrics indicates why non-Levitical personnel were not to mingle such
material. While Haran attempts to differentiate the ephod from the veil because the
ephod lacked ornamented cherubim and contained a large amount of gold (ibid., 167-
68), Deborah W. Rooke argues that the “fabric mixture apart from the gold is still the
superlatively holy blend of all kinds of wool and linen with general ornamentation”
(Zadok’s Heirs: The Role and Development of the High Priesthood in Ancient Israel,
Oxford Theological Monographs [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000], 17).

203
the fact that one of the elements of the ephod was gold.226 This precious element was

never used in connection with the dress of the common priests. Furthermore, not only

was gold utilized in the ephod, but this gold was the primary ingredient, being listed

first.227 Since the gold was interwoven into the other material of the ephod, it

consequently resulted in a garment of considerable weight.228

Second, the ephod was fabricated with three colors of wool—blue, purple, and

crimson,229 listed in order of preeminence after the gold.230 Again, in the HB these

colors were never used in the dress of the common priests. But well into the Second

Temple period, they were being utilized in the dress of the common priests as well. 231

Thus, even if one would suggest that both the high priest and the common

priests wore ephodim, the HB is clear that the high priest’s ephod was of a superior

quality for five reasons regarding its fabrication and position: (1) the use of a unique

material forbidden to other Israelites; (2) the use of gold; (3) its vibrant, polychromatic

coloring; (4) it being worn over another dress item; and (5) it being suspended from the

shoulders. The high priest’s ephod could not be mistaken for that of an ordinary priest’s

(whose ephodim, as mentioned earlier, appear only in non-Pentateuchal sources).

226
Exod 28:6; 39:2-3; cf. 28:8, 15; 39:8.
227
Exod 28:6; 39:2; cf. 28:8, 15; 39:8.
228
For a discussion of the fabrication and weaving of the gold into the garment,
see Haran, Temples and Temple-Service, 167-68.
229
Exod 28:6; 39:2; cf. 28:8, 15; 39:8.
230
Haran, Temples and Temple-Service, 160.
231
See their use in the sash of the common priests in Josephus A.J. 3.154.

204
 Associated with the high priest’s ephod was an article of dress described

variously, for example, as the “artistic” (NASB), “decorated” (NRSV), or “skillfully

woven” band of the ephod (dpoaeh' bv,xe).232 The term bv,xe derives from the verb bv;x',

which means “to think, plan, reckon, calculate, devise, design, decorate.” 233 One

suggestion is that this object was similar to a “woven corset” or “cummerbund.” 234

Indeed, Lev 8:7 indicates that it was tied around Aaron at his ordination after the ephod

was placed on him. Since the ephod itself was made of such decorated work (Exod

28:6; 39:3), was the dpoaeh' bv,xe distinguishable from it? A realistic solution is that the

ephod itself was comprised of both the shoulder-pieces and the band/corset/

cummerbund that was bound to the high priest’s body. 235 Consequently, it would not be

seen as a separate dress item.

The Breastpiece

The third article of dress exclusive to the high priest was the breastpiece or

breastplate (!v,xo).236 Despite the etymological confusion surrounding the Hebrew term,

232
Exod 28:27, 28; 29:5; 39:20, 21; Lev 8:7; cf. hD'pua] bv,xe (Exod 28:8; 39:5).
See the discussion in Propp, Exod 19-40, 436, and Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 511.
233
The participle bvexo used in reference, for example, to the ephod and the inner
veil (see, e.g., Exod 26:31; 28:6), also derives from this verb.
234
Propp, Exod 19-40, 436.
235
“It is also possible, even likely, that the two shoulder-pieces plus the ‘woven
band’ simply constitute the Ephod” (ibid.). Cf. Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 511.
236
In the HB, see Exod 25:7; 28:4, 15, 22, 23, 24, 26, 28, 29, 30; 29:5; 35:9, 27;
39:8, 9, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21; Lev 8:8. See also Sir 45:10. For references at Qumran, see,
e.g., 11Q17 IX, 6. See the summary discussion in Dommershausen, “ !v,xo,” 5:259-61.

205
Exod 28:16 and 39:9 indicate that it was square-shaped when folded double, perhaps

like a pouch, since the “Urim” and “Thummim” were placed inside (28:30; Lev 8:8). 237

The breastpiece was closely associated with the another high priestly dress

element, the priestly ephod. The fabrication of the breastpiece, for instance, was

compared to that of the ephod, utilizing gold in combination with blue, purple, and

scarlet wool and linen, crafted in a bvexo style (Exod 28:15; 39:8). The breastpiece was

securely attached to the ephod via three pairs of “gold rings” ( bh'z" tA[B.j; [28:23, 26-

27]), “twisted chains, corded work of pure gold” (rAhj' bh'z" tbo[] hfe[]m; tlub.G: tvor>v;

[28:22; cf. 28:24]), “two (filigree) settings of gold” ( bh'z" tcoB.v.mi; [28:13; cf. 28:14, 25;

39:6, 16, 18]), and a “blue cord” (tl,keT. lytip.Bi [28:28; 39:21; cf. 28:37; 39:31]).238

In contradistinction to the two ~h;vo-ynEb.a; (“onyx stones”) that protruded from

the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, twelve precious stones and gems were set or sunk into

the breastpiece in gold filigree (28:20), their nomenclature consequently being described

as “stones for setting” (~yaiLumi ynEb.a;w> [25:7; 35:9; cf. 35:27]). Whereas each of the two

Cf. Dommershausen (“!v,xo,” 5:259), Haran (Temples and Temple-Service,

237

168), Houtman (Exodus, 3:492), and Propp (Exodus 19-40, 439). Rooke indicates that
this was the first of three dress elements that have been regarded as royal, the other two
being the headgear or turban and the head ornament; nevertheless, she denies that such
an association is necessary (Zadok’s Heirs, 18-19; cf. idem, “Kingship as Priesthood,”
204-205).
238
Notice Dommershausen’s succinct summary of the complex fabrication: “Four
rings were sewn to [the breastpiece], two to the upper corners and two to the lower.
From the upper rings, two golden cords led up to the shoulder-pieces of the ephod,
where they were attached to rosettes. Through the lower rings, which were fastened to
the rear of the hošen, a blue lace was passed; attached to two additional rings on the
lower portion of the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, it bound the two vestments tightly
together, preventing the hošen from shifting” (“!v,xo,” 5:260).

206
~h;vo-ynEb.a; attached to the shoulder-pieces had six tribal names engraved on them, the

twelve precious stones and/or gems had but one name on each (28:21). 239

The actual nature of all of these twelve precious stones and/or gems in Exod 28

remains unclear and—in some cases—impossible to determine today, as table 3 of

sample translations makes clear.240 Wevers speaks for the consensus of those who have

carefully looked into the issue when he concludes that “apparently there was no clear

idea among the ancients as to the names and identification of semi-precious stones.” 241

239
Haran thus suggests that the twelve stones were smaller than the other two
(Temples and Temple-Service, 168).
240
For other references to these precious stones/gems, cf., e.g., L.A.B. 26.10-11;
Philo Leg. 1.81 (whose list ends after five stones/gems); Josephus A.J. 3.168 and B.J.
5.234. On Pseudo-Philo’s implicit identification of the wearing of the priestly ephod
with its twelve stones as indicative that the priesthood was to the God of Israel as a
pagan idol or statue was to its god, see the provocative essay by Crispin H. T. Fletcher-
Louis, “Humanity and the Idols of the Gods in Pseudo-Philo’s Biblical Antiquities,” in
Idolatry: False Worship in the Bible, Early Judaism and Christianity, ed. Stephen C.
Barton (London: T & T Clark, 2007), 58-72, particularly 70-71.
241
Wevers, Greek Text of Exodus, 394. On the problems with the color and
overall identification of these gems, cf. also Athalya Brenner, Colour Terms in the Old
Testament, JSOTSup 21 (Sheffield: JSOT, 1982), 165-67; Bullard, “Stones, Precious,”
4:623-30; Louis H. Feldman, “Prolegomenon,” in The Biblical Antiquities of Philo,
trans. M. R. James (1917; repr., The Library of Biblical Studies; New York: KTAV,
1971), cxii-cxiii; E. L. Gilmore, “Which Were the Original Twelve Gemstones of the
First Biblical Breastplate?” Lapidary Journal 22 (1968): 1130-1134; John S. Harris,
“An Introduction to the Study of Personal Ornaments of Precious, Semi-Precious and
Imitation Stones Used Throughout Biblical History,” in The Annual of Leeds University
Oriental Society 4 (1962-63), ed. John Macdonald (Leiden: Brill, 1964), 49-83; Saul
Lieberman, Greek in Jewish Palestine: Studies in the Life and Manners of Jewish
Palestine in the II-IV Centuries C.E. (New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of
America, 1942), 56-59 (particularly p. 59: “When we compare our list to those of the
Septuagint and the glossaries [which on the whole followed the latter], we see how
greatly it differs from them. The Rabbis drew from an old Greek translation of the
Bible, which widely diverged from the Septuagint”); and Wurzburger, “Precious
Stones,” 16:475-78.

207
Table 3. Various translations of the precious stones in Exodus 28:17-20

MT LXX JPSA NRSV Harris Bullard Propp

17 ~d,ao sa,rdiona carnelian carnelian bloodstone sardius chalcedony?

b

hd'j.Pi topa,zion chrysolite chrysolite uncertain peridot green-yellow

(topaz) (topaz) “chrysolith”?

tq,r,b' sma,ragdoj emerald emerald amazonite carbuncle emerald

(smaragd) (garnet)

18 %p,nO a;nqrax turquoise turquoise moonstone emerald turquoise or

(carbuncle) malachite

ryPis; sa,pfeiroj sapphire sapphire lapis lazuli sapphire lapis lazuli

~l{h]y" i;aspij amethyst moonstone rock crystal diamond unknown

(emerald)

19 ~v,l, ligu,rion jacinth jacinth unknown jacinth unknown

Abv. avca,thj agate agate agate agate not designated

hm'l'x.a; avme,qustoj crystal amethyst garnet amethyst red-brown jasper

(amethyst)

20 vyvir>T; cruso,liqoj beryl beryl yellow beryl unknown

serpentine

~h;vo bhru,llion lapis lazuli onyx onyx onyx carnelian

(onyx)

hpev.y" ovnu,cion jasper jasper uncertain jasper jade

NOTE: The same list of terms for these precious stones/gems appears later in Exodus (MT = 39:10-13;
LXX = 36:17-20). The JPSA (Jewish Publication Society of America) data are taken from Uri Shraga
Wurzburger, “Precious Stones and Jewelry: In the Bible,” Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed. (2007),
16:476. I have utilized studies by J. S. Harris with an additional note by John Macdonald (“The Stones of
the High Priest’s Breastplate,” in The Annual of Leeds University Oriental Society 5 [1963-65], ed. John
Macdonald [Leiden: Brill, 1966], 40-62), R. C. Bullard (“Stones, Precious,” ISBE [1988], 4:625-30), and
Propp (Exodus 19-40, 439-440) as exemplars for commentary information on the translation of these
precious stones and/or gems.
a
The order of precious stones and/or gems in the LXX is the same order as found in Ezek 28:13 (even
though silver and gold are inserted in the latter list). The MT list there, however, does not include ~v,l,,
Abv., and hm'l'x.a;, and even the rest of its list is not in the same order as the MT list in Exod 28. It
appears that in Ezek 28 the LXX has attempted to replicate the list of the precious stones and/or gems in
Exod 28. Hector M. Patmore wagers that the consonantal text of MT Ezek 28:12-19 has been misread
and vocalized and accented in an anomalous fashion (“Did the Masoretes Get It Wrong? The
Vocalization and Accentuation of Ezekiel xxviii 12-19,” VT 58 [2008]: 245-57).

b
Notice Propp’s actual translation (Exodus 19-40, 314), where he translates into English only the tq,r,b',
%p,nO, ryPis;, hm'l'x.a;, ~h;vo, and hpev.y", indicating those gems about which he is most certain.

208
As mentioned earlier, the LXX apparently used several different terms to translate the

obscure Hebrew gem known as ~h;vo.242 Readers should consequently not be surprised,

then, when the same term is translated in different ways, even within just one English

translation.243

The Urim and Thummim

Associated with the breastpiece were the Urim (~yrIWa) and Thummim (~yMitu).

Typically understood to be contained within the pouch of the breastpiece, one finds

them infrequently mentioned either singularly or in tandem both within the HB and the

LXX244 as well as extrabiblical Jewish literature of the Second Temple period.245

242
Cf. LXX Gen 2:12 (o` li,qoj o` pra,sinoj); Exod 25:7, 35:9 (li,qouj sardi,ou);
28:9, 35:27, 36:17 (li,qouj [th/j] smara,gdou); 28:20, 39:13 (bhru,llion); Job 28:16
(o;nuci); and the revealing transliteration found in 1 Chr 29:2 (li,qouj soom). Some of
these may not be translations at all (owing to the possible transposition or substitution of
terms); see Ezek 28:13 for an example of where the Hebrew does not match the
expanded and edited LXX.

A good example of this is the NLT. It translates vyvir>T; in Exod 28:20 (LXX:
243

cruso,liqoj), 39:13 (LXX: cruso,liqoj), and Ezek 28:13 (the LXX has a radically
changed list) as a beryl. But it translates the same Hebrew term in Sol 5:14 (LXX:
qarsij), Ezek 1:16 (LXX: qarsij), and 10:9 (LXX: a;nqrakoj) as a chrysolite, while in
Dan 10:6 (qarsij [OG/Q]) it translates the term as “a dazzling gem.”
244
Exod 28:30; Lev 8:8; Num 27:21 (no Thummim); Deut 33:8 (Thummim listed
first); 1 Sam 28:6 (no Thummim); Ezra 2:63; Neh 7:65. In 1 Sam 14:41 the MT text is
pointed ~ymit' instead of the typical ~yMiTu. On the Hebrew punning in this verse, see
Propp, Exodus 19-41, 442. For the Urim the LXX uses forms of several terms:
dh,lwsij (“Manifestation”) in Exod 28:30, Lev 8:8, 1 Esd 5:40; dh/loj (“Evident”) in
Num 27:21, Deut 33:8, 1 Sam 14:41 and 28:6, Sir 45:10 (here the Hebrew has dwpa
[ephod] and rwza [belt, waistband] instead); and the participial form of fwti,zw (“I give
light”) in Ezra 2:63, Neh 7:65. For the Thummim the LXX uses: avlh,qeia (“Truth”) in
Exod 28:30, Lev 8:8, Deut 33:8, 1 Esd 5:40, Sir 45:10; and te,leioj (“Complete,
Perfect”) in Ezra 2:63, Neh 7:65. As for 1 Sam 14:41, the NJB (“if the fault lies with
me or with my son Jonathan, give urim: if the fault lies with your people Israel, give

209
Nevertheless, they were perhaps the most mysterious dress element of the high priest.

Anne Marie Kitz notes that “Israelite cultic life has produced no puzzle as intriguing as

the Urim and Thummim.”246 Michael A. Harbin sufficiently summarizes the confusing

state of their identity: “Their actual identity has puzzled scholars for centuries. They

are not described. Their method of use is not explained. The etymology of the terms is

at best uncertain. Even their mention in the OT is somewhat haphazard.” 247

Even though these objects—whether one, two, or many248 lots or

jewels249—were described in the HB both with and without reference to the breastpiece,

they appear to have been understood solely as objects bound up with the ministry of the

high priest alone,250 even as the breastpiece was.251 In some way YHWH communicated

thummim”), the RSV (“If this guilt is in me or in Jonathan my son, O LORD, God of
Israel, give Urim; but if this guilt is in thy people Israel, give Thummim”), and the
NRSV (“If this guilt is in me or in my son Jonathan, O LORD God of Israel, give Urim;
but if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim”) are closer to the LXX than the
MT, but in the LXX the counterpart to the dh/loj is o`sio,thta (“holiness”).
245
See, e.g., 1Q291 1 2-4; 1Q29 2 2; 4Q164 4-5; 4Q376 1 I, 3; 11Q19 LVIII, 18-
21; Tg. Ps.-J. Exod 28:30; Tg. Ps.-J. Num 31:6; Philo Mos. 2.113, 128-29, QE 2.116,
Spec. 1.88-89; L.A.B. 22:8-9, 25:5, 46:1, 47:2; Liv. Pro. 22:2, 23:2.
246
Kitz, “The Plural Form of ûrîm and tummîm,” JBL 116 (1997): 401.
247
Michael A. Harbin, review of The Urim and Thummim: A Means of
Revelation in Ancient Israel, by Cornelis Van Dam, JETS 42 (1999): 492.
248
For example, Draper notes that by the first century BCE, the Urim and
Thummim had been “thoroughly confused with the twelve gemstones” (“The Twelve
Apostles,” 56 [cf. p. 58]). Cf. Fletcher-Louis, Glory of Adam, 222-51; Mathewson,
“Foundation Stones,” 495-96; and Poirier, “Symbols of Wisdom,” 66.
249
Going in another direction, Philo identifies this dress item as comprised of two
pieces of embroidered, woven, or weblike work in Spec. 1.88.
250
Notice how Ezra 2:63 and Neh 7:65 state that decisions regarding the validity
of those of the returned exiles who claimed to be descended from the priests could not

210
by means of these objects to the Israelites via the high priest.252 Some OT texts indicate

that the Urim and Thummim provided oracular judgments253 and that two alternatives

were indicated through them.254 How the alternatives were revealed (e.g., casting lots?

glowing jewels?) is a point of continuing debate.

Scholars have debated not only this but a number of other aspects of the Urim

and Thummim, and even a brief description would go beyond the reasonable bounds of

this study.255 Nevertheless, in terms of dress imagery, even though the Urim and

be made until a priest arose with Urim and Thummim. In Nehemiah the reference is to
“the priest” (!heKoh;),” whereas in Ezra the reference is grammatically indefinite.
Reference to “Eliashib the great priest” in Nehemiah ( lAdG"h !heKoh; byviy"l.a,;] [3:1, 20;
13:28]) is equivalent to his being called “the priest” in 13:4, although the term “the
priest” does not necessarily equate to the high priest in all occurrences. On this, see the
discussion by VanderKam, From Joshua to Caiaphas, 45-48.
251
Pseudo-Philo is significant in its discussion of the Urim and Thummim, in that
it clearly dissociates them from the dress of the high priest and instead associates them
with the tabernacle and the ark (Robert Hayward, “Pseudo-Philo and the Priestly
Oracle,” Journal of Jewish Studies 46 [1995], 44-45, 52-53). Cf. L.A.B. 11:15; 13:1;
22:8; 25:5; 46:1; 47:2; etc. Hayward suggests a reason: “The notion that Urim and
Thummim, or jewels of divine origin which gave God’s guidance or light to Israel,
might have fallen into the hands of pagan idolaters [i.e., the Romans] was not to be
countenanced. Thus Pseudo-Philo adopts a radical approach: Urim and Thummim have
nothing to do with the high priests’s robes” (“Pseudo-Philo,” 53).
252
See 1 Sam 28:6, where no answer came to King Saul via dreams, prophets, or
Urim. Aaron’s son Eleazar was to ask or inquire “by the judgment of the Urim before
YHWH” (hw"hy> ynEp.li ~yrIWah' jP;v.miB. [Num 27:21]). On the aspect of judgment in
association with these objects, cf. Exod 28:30.
253
Cf. Exod 28:30; Num 27:21; 1 Sam 28:6; Sir 45:10.
254
See 1 Sam 14:41.
255
For lengthy examinations of these ritual objects, cf. Douglas Dale Bookman,
“The Urim and Thummim in Relation to the Old Testament Theocracy” (PhD diss.,
Dallas Theological Seminary, 2001), and Van Dam, Urim and Thummim, 1997
(originally a 1988 dissertation submitted to the Theologische Universiteit at Kampen,
the Netherlands). For other relatively recent, shorter studies on the Urim and

211
Thummim were associated with the breastpiece, texts from the HB appear to indicate

they possibly had some kind of quasi-independent status as dress equipment. This

raises the question of where one draws the line between independent dress items and

quasi-independent ones. When one investigates the occurrences of these items in the

HB, one discovers that while they are mentioned without reference to other high priestly

dress items in the majority of cases,256 when they are clearly mentioned as dress items it

is solely in association with the breastpiece.

Nevertheless, while it may seem prudent to consider them here as not fully

independent of the breastpiece, it seems more realistic to conclude that they did have an

independent status apart from the breastpiece,257 thus suggesting that the “eight”

Thummim, see, e.g., Christophe Batsch, “Ourîm et toummîm, un oracle de guerre dans
le judaïsme du second temple,” in Zwischen Krise und Alltag: Antike Religionen im
Mittelmeerraum—Conflit et normalité: Religions anciennes dans l’espace
méditerranéen, ed. Christophe Batsch, Ulrike Egelhaaf-Gaiser, and Ruth Stepper,
Potsdamer altertumswissenschaftliche Beiträge 1 (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1999), 43-
56; I. L. Finkel, “In Black and White: Remarks on the Assur Psephomancy Ritual,”
Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 85 (1995): 271-76; Fletcher-Louis, Glory of Adam, 222-51;
Lisbeth S. Fried, “Did Second Temple High Priests Possess the Urim and Thummim?”
Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 7, art. 3 (2007), http://www.jhsonline.org/Articles/
article_64.pdf (accessed March 8, 2012); Guinot, “Sur le vêtement,” 23-48; Victor
Avigdor Hurowitz, “True Light on the Urim and Thummim,” review essay of Cornelis
van Dam, The Urim and Thummim: A Means of Revelation in Ancient Israel, The
Jewish Quarterly Review 88 (January-April 1998): 263-74; Wayne Horowitz and Victor
(Avigdor) Hurowitz, “Urim and Thummim in Light of a Psephomancy Ritual from
Assur (LKA 137),” JANES 21 (1992): 95-115; John C. Poirier, “Symbols of Wisdom in
James 1:17,” JTS 57, n.s. (2006): 57-75; and Rofé, “‘No Ephod or Teraphim,’”
135-149.
256
Num 27:21 (no Thummim); Deut 33:8 (Thummim listed first); 1 Sam 28:6
(no Thummim); Ezra 2:63; Neh 7:65. The only texts in which they are clearly listed
along with other dress items are Exod 28:30 and Lev 8:8.
257
Cf. 1 Esd 5:40, which describes a future high priest “wearing the Urim and the
Thummim” (evndedume,noj th.n dh,lwsin kai. th.n avlh,qeian). The parallels in Ezra
2:63 and Neh 7:65 do not use this dress verb.

212
garments of the high priest were truly idealistic and stereotypical. A parallel may be

drawn with the breastpiece itself, which was understood to be inseparable from the

ephod258 and yet was considered a separate dress item. According to Vicary, the Urim

and Thummim would not be considered dress tools because they are not utilized solely

in the hand.259 While they may have been manipulated—they were certainly

observed—they may correlate more closely to dress equipment, such as pocketbooks,

since the latter are kept in one’s pants or purse and then pulled out to be looked at or

manipulated.260

The Headgear

The next article of the high priest’s exclusive ritual dress is that of the high

priest’s headgear. Here I use the term with the meaning of “any covering for the head,”

such as a bonnet, cap, hat, etc., and not with reference to any ornamentation on such

headgear.261 Usually described as a turban, the terminology in the HB for this dress item

is not the same as that for the headgear of the common priests.

258
Propp, Exodus 19-41, 443.
259
Vicary includes “tools” in her catalog of “artefactual additions” to the concept
of “clothing” (“Signs of Clothing,” 293-94). Her listed examples for tools (“knives,
combs, mirrors, scissors, pens, toothpicks, fans”) are apparently comprised of what one
typically holds primarily in one’s hand (ibid.).
260
Vicary includes “equipment” as another “artefactual addition,” and her list of
such dress equipment includes “eyeglasses, watches, ice skates, pocketbooks, cameras,
pipes, backpacks, masks, handkerchiefs, gloves, crutches” (“Signs of Clothing,” 293-
94).
261
For that particular article of the high priest’s dress, see the discussion below.

213
 Two Hebrew terms (tp,n"c.mi and @ynIc)' are used for the high priest’s turban,262 but

neither refers exclusively to high priestly headgear.263 On the one hand, the high priest

daily wore a turban (tp,n<c.mi [Exod 28:4, 37; 29:6; 39:31; Lev 8:9; cf. 16:4]), sometimes

described as a fine linen turban (vve tp,n<c.mi [Exod 28:39; 39:28]). Zechariah 3:5 uses a

cognate (@ynIc)' of the usual term for the high priest’s turban ( tp,n"c.mi) to describe his

headgear.264 Because both the terms tp,n"c.mi and @ynIc' derive from the verb @n:c' (“to

wrap, wrap or wind up”), one can conclude that the turban was wound snugly around

the head of the high priest.

On the other hand, the common priests wore headgear265 described in three

possible ways: (1) a “hat” (t[;B;g>mi [Exod 28:40; 29:9; Lev 8:13]);266 (2)

“splendor-hats” (t[oB'g>Mih; yrea]P;)267 made out of fine linen (vve [Exod 39:28]); or (3) a

262
Greek terms for the high priest’s headgear in the LXX are mi,tra (Exod 28:37;
29:6; 36:35 [MT 39:28], 38 [MT 39:31]; Lev 8:9 [2x]; cf. Isa 61:10; Ezek 26:16; Jdt
10:3; 16:8; Bar 5:2; Pss. Sol. 2:21) and ki,darij (Exod 28:4, 39; 29:9; 16:4; Zech. 3:5
(2x); Sir 45:12; cf. Exod 28:40; 36:35 [MT 35:38]; Lev 8:13; Ezek 21:31; 44:18; 1 Esd
3:6; Jdt 4:15).

In Ezek 21:25-26 tp,n"c.mi is used for royalty. Cf. the non-priestly use of @ynIc'
263

in Job 29:14; Isa 3:23; 62:3. The term @ynIc' is used in Isa 3:23 for headgear on a woman
and in Isa 62:3 for a royal turban.
264
See the discussion in Sweeney, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, 597-98.
265
Haran uses the term “caps” for the headgear of the common priests (Temples
and Temple-Service, 170). This is the same term used in the NASB, whereas the NIV
utilizes “headband” and the NJB and the NRSV use “headdress.”
266
See the discussion of the meaning of this in Propp, Exodus 25-40, 450-51.
267
See the discussion in ibid., 669, where he suggests that such headgear was so
designated because it glorified or exalted its wearer.

214
“splendor-”(hat) (raeP.)268 made of linen (tv,pe [Ezek 44:18]).269 With such a clear

linguistic distinction between the headgear of the high priest and the common priests, 270

it is impossible from the standpoint of the HB to effectually collapse the high priest’s

headgear and the priests’ headgear into one dress item and equate them, anymore than

one could linguistically equate a beret, a baseball cap, a hard hat, and a sombrero today.

Furthermore, this observation denies the traditional claim that the high priest wore four

daily ritual garments that the common priests wore, since one of these—the

headgear—was simply not the same.271

The high priest’s tp,n<c.mi was of a superior nature to the common priest’s t[;B;g>m.i

The reason for this was that it was linked—unlike the latter item of dress—with royal

headgear by means of parallelism between the tp,n"c.mi and the royal crown or hr'j'[]

(Ezek 21:26; cf. Isa 62:3; Sir 45:12).272 Furthermore, Greek texts associate a “crown”

268
Ezekiel the priest (Ezek 1:3) was to put on his raep. when his wife died
(24:17), but it is unlikely that this was dress worn in the role of priest, since he was not
serving in the temple; other exiles were to follow his example with their identical
headgear (24:23). On the non-priestly use of this term elsewhere, see Isa 3:20; 61:3, 10.
Cf. Platt, who mistakenly identifies the raeP. in Exod 39:28 of the common priests as
that which the high priest also wore (“Jewelry, Ancient Israelite,” 3:831).
269
This word occurs in a number of places in the OT (Lev 13:59; Deut 22:11;
Josh 2:6; Judg 15:14; Prov 31:13; Isa 19:9; Jer 13:1; Ezek 40:3; 44:17-18; Hos 2:5, 9),
often referring to the flax out of which linen was made.
270
So, e.g., Ahearn-Kroll, “LXX/OG Zechariah 1-6,” 182.
271
VanderKam lists the turban as one of the four unique dress elements of the
high priest (“Joshua the High Priest,” 161).
272
So Haran, Temples and Temple-Service, 170.

215
(ste,fanoj273) with the turban of the high priest.274

By the time of Josephus, the same Greek term came to describe both the

headgear of the high priest and the common priests. In A.J. 3.157 Josephus

transliterates tp,n<c.mi to describe the headgear of the common priests (masnaefqh/j).275

Furthermore, the description of the high priest’s headgear had become quite elaborate.

Josephus provides a lengthy, botanically related description that describes the headgear

in relation to a number of plants (A.J. 3.172-78), which I will not attempt to discuss at

any length in this study. There he states that over the ordinary turban (pi/loj) that the

common priests wore (cf. A.J. 3.157, 172), the high priest wore a second turban,

embroidered in hyacinth (i.e., bluish purple). Encircling this second turban of the high

priest’s headgear was a third piece of headgear—a golden, three-tiered crown, which

itself had a golden calyx on top similar to the petaled crown of a flower known by the

273
On this term, see Walter Grundmann, “ste,fanoj,” TDNT (1971), 7:615-36;
and Stevenson, “Conceptual Background,” 257-72.
274
The LXX of Sir 45:12, for example, reads ste,fanon crusou/n evpa,nw
kida,rewj, referring to the “golden crown on [the] turban” of the high priest. See
Ahearne-Kroll, “LXX/OG Zechariah 1-6,” 191. Cf. also Let. Aris. 98, where it is a
mi,tra on the turban of the high priest. On the interchangeability of the terms ki,darij
and mi,tra in the LXX to describe the high priest’s turban, see the discussion in
Ahearne-Kroll, “LXX/OG Zechariah 1-6,” 182. She suggests that the Greek
manuscripts associated the commissioning of Joshua in Zech 3 with the ordination of
Aaron in Lev 8 (ibid., 183).
While the high priest Jonathan wears a purple robe and a golden crown
(ste,fanon crusou/n) in 1 Macc 10:20, this apparel appears to be different from his
occupational regalia, since King Alexander Balas sent them to him. But cf. Kooij, “The
Septuagint of Ezekiel,” 49, who also suggests that LXX Isa 22:17 and Ezek 21:25-27
indicate the use of this Greek term for the high priest (ibid., 46-51).
275
See the discussion in Robert Hayward, “St Jerome,” 92.

216
Greeks as the deadly “black henbane” (hyoscyamus niger).276

What does material from Josephus indicate? It first demonstrates that there was

a later merging of terminology with regard to the dress items of the common priests and

the high priest. Furthermore, there was also an elaborate development in fabrication of

high priestly dress items over the centuries since the time described by reference to the

high priest’s headgear in the Pentateuch. Not only is the “what” of the high priestly

dress important, the “when” is often crucial to determine as well.

The Head Ornament

Finally, the last distinguishable article of ritual dress that was restricted to the

use of the high priest was the #yci.277 Translators have used a number of other terms in

their attempts to find English equivalents for this object: “frontlet,” “plate,”

“ornament,” “polished disc,” “rosette,” or “diadem” of either gold (Lev 8:9) or pure

gold (Exod 28:36; 39:30). Though the high priest wore it in spatial relationship to his

head and headgear, it was clearly differentiated (Exod 28:36-37; 39:30-31; Lev 8:9).

The golden head ornament in the HB was attached to the front of the high

priest’s turban via a blue cord or thread (tl,keT. lytiP. [Exod 28:37 and 39:31]), just as

the breastpiece was attached to the ephod with a blue cord (tl,keT. lytiP. [Exod 28:28;

276
See Feldman, Judean Antiquities 1-4, 277-78, and Thackery, Josephus: Jewish
Antiquities (LCL), 4:398-403. Cf. Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 100.
277
Exod 28:36; 39:30; Lev 8:9; Sir 40:4; 45:12. See the detailed discussion in G.
Steins, “#yci,” TDOT (2003), 12:365-72. Steins believes that the term is alluded to in
MT Num 17:16-26 (Eng. 17:1-11) in the discussion of the sprouting of Aaron’s rod
(ibid., 12:370). He also suggests that Ps 132:18 uses the verbal form of the word ( #Wc
[“to sprout, bloom”]) and uses wordplay to refer to this dress item of the high priest
(ibid., 12:367).

217
39:21]). While the Israelites had a blue cord (tl,keT. lytiP.) attached to the fringes or

corners of their garments (Num 15:38), nothing further associates these two items in

terms of their form, and one can conclude that they were not understood as identical

dress signifiers. Rather, the high priest’s cord served a utilitarian purpose by tying two

objects together, while the Israelite’s blue cord hung loosely from the fringe or corner of

their garment, attaching nothing.

The Hebrew term for the head ornament itself (#yci) typically refers to flowers or

to their blossoms,278 and some have consequently suggested that the head ornament was

flower-shaped or had flowers engraved on it.279 The LXX, however, translated it in two

ways: (1) as pe,talon (Sir 40:4), which refers to a metal leaf;280 and (2) as ste,fanoj,

278
See 1 Kgs 6:18, 29, 32, 35; Job 14:2; Ps 103:15; Isa 28:1; 40:6, 7, 8; Jer 48:9.
In most of these texts, the extant LXX translates with forms of a;nqoj (“flower”) or
pe,talon (“leaf”); it is missing in 1 Kgs 6:18 and 29, and Jer 48:9 yields shmei/a. Cf. the
discussion in James Edward Hogg (“A Note on Two Points in Aaron’s Head-Dress,”
JTS 26 [1924]: 72-74) and Steins (“#yci,” 12:365-72). Cf. Num 17:23 (Eng. 17:8); 1
Kgs 6:18, 29, 32, 35; Job 14:2; Ps 103:15; Isa 28:1; 40:6, 7, 8. In Jer 48:9 the term is
variously translated as “salt” (NIV, NRSV) or “wings” (KJV, NASB, NJB, RSV). On
the ANE background to the floral symbolism, see A. de Buck, “La fleur au front du
grand-prêtre,” Oudtestamentische Studiën 9 (1951): 18-29.
279
Cf. de Vaux (Ancient Israel, 399), Rooke (Zadok’s Heirs, 18), and Steins
(“#yci,” 12:367). Attempts to see the head ornament referenced in Zech 3:9, where a
stone with seven “eyes” is set before the high priest Joshua, while intriguing, are not
compelling. Cf., e.g., Sweeney, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, 602-603; VanderKam,
“Joshua the High Priest,” 168-76; and Adam S. van der Woude, “Zion as Primeval
Stone in Zechariah 3 and 4,” in Text and Context: Old Testament and Semitic Studies
for F. C. Fensham, ed. W. Claassen, JSOTSup 48 (Sheffield: JSOT, 1988): 243-45.
280
Exod 28:36; 36:37 (MT 39:30); Lev 8:9. This term also occurs in Exod 29:6,
where it translates the rz<n;E Exod 36:10 (MT 39:3), where it refers to a thin plate (xP;) of
gold; and 1 Kgs 6:32 and 35, where it refers to floral decorations on the temple doors.
By the time of the Christian era, pe,talon had become recognized as a symbol of
high priestly ministry (whether such ministry itself was understood literally or
symbolically). Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus in the late second century, associated this

218
“wreath” or “crown” (Sir 45:12). Bauckham suggests that during the Second Temple

period there appear to have been two perspectives on interpreting the #yci: (1)

interpreting it in relation to the high priest’s overall crown; 281 and (2) interpreting it

more narrowly in terms of the golden plate on which the sacred name was inscribed.282

The most extensive ancient description relative to the head ornament occurs in

Josephus,283 who—unlike other Jewish and Christian writers—falls into the former

camp. Intriguingly, Josephus is familiar with the term pe,talon but does not use it in his

description of the high priest’s dress.284 He apparently understands this high priestly

object with the Beloved Disciple (as quoted by Eusebius of Caesarea in Hist. eccl.
3.31.3; 5.24.3), Epiphanius did so with James the Just (Panarion 29.4; 78.13-14), and a
later Christian legend associated Mark with it. See the discussion in J. Vikjær
Andersen, “L’apôtre Saint-Jean grand-prêtre,” Studia Theologica 19 (1965): 22-29;
Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, 445-51; idem, “Papias and Polycrates,” 33-72,
particularly 39-49 (originally published in a slightly different form in JTS, n.s., 44
[1993]: 24-69, particularly 31-42); Bernard, Gospel According to St. John, 2:595-96;
Eisenman, James the Brother of Jesus, 256, 310-313, 322-23; 344-47, 478-79, 565-66;
Gunther, “The Elder John,” 12; Rigato, “L’«apostolo ed evangelista Giovanni»,” 451-
83, particularly 461-64; and Stökl Ben Ezra, Impact of Yom Kippur, 244-50, 256-57.
See also the unique reference to the pe,talon’s removal from the high priest’s head at
the altar of incense on Yom Kippur in the later Exc. 27:1-2. On the disputed authorship
and meaning of this latter reference, see Stökl Ben Ezra, Impact of Yom Kippur, 240-43.
281
LXX; Josephus A.J. 3.172-78; Philo Mos. 2.114-116, 132; T. Levi 8:9-10 (on
this latter text, so Bauckham, “Papias and Polycrates, 43).
282
MT Sir 45:12 (cf. MT 40:4); Let. Aris. 98; Josephus B.J. 5.235; cf. T. Levi 8:2.
See the discussion in Bauckham, “Papias and Polycrates,” 42-43. Cf. Stevenson,
“Conceptual Background,” 257, n. 3, and 263.
283
Josephus “provides a detailed description of the high priest’s headdress, with
which all other briefer descriptions and allusions are entirely consistent” (Bauckham,
“Papias and Polycrates,” 42). In Bauckham’s Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, however,
there are slight—but significant—differences: he states that Josephus’s description is
“the most detailed we have” and that the other descriptions are “quite consistent” with it
(p. 445).
284
Cf. Josephus A.J. 8.136; 12.73, 82.

219
ornament, however, in floral terms. At the end of his lengthy, floral description (A.J.

3.172-78), he states that the high priest had a telamw,n or “band” over his forehead

bearing the tetragrammeton (A.J. 3.178).285

In Exod 39:30 and Lev 8:9 one finds #yci associated with the term rz<nE (typically

translated as “crown/diadem” or “consecration/separation”). 286 While this could refer to

285
Bauckham’s remark that “Josephus seems to have taken it [the #yci] to refer to
the whole of the golden crown, which had the shape of a flower” (Jesus and the
Eyewitnesses, 445) does not appear totally correct, since Josephus himself states that
only the top part was shaped like a calyx. Bauckham’s earlier statement on this,
however (“Josephus, with his elaborate explanation of how the crown has the shape of a
flower, seems dependent on a tradition that understood the #yCi to be the whole crown”
[“Papias and Polycrates,” 42]), is more cautious and rings truer. Cf. Feldman, Judean
Antiquities 1-4, 278, n. 468.
286
Cf. rz<nE in Exod 29:6; Lev 21:12; Num 6:7. In Exod 39:30 and Lev 8:9, the
two terms are apparently identified. For the term referring to a royal crown, cf. 2 Sam
1:10; 2 Kgs 11:12; 2 Chr 23:11; Pss 89:39; 132:18; Prov 27:24; Zech 9:16. Cf. the
discussion in, e.g., Rooke, Zadok’s Heirs, 18, and Steins, “#yci,” 12:369. De Vaux
denies that the term “diadem” is an adequate translation, since the shape of the #yci dress
item is clearly floral (Ancient Israel, 399, 465). Propp indicates that the etymology of
rz<nE is still unclear (Exodus 19-40, 456). Notice the use of this term with the shaved hair
of “the Nazirite” (ryzIN"h); in Num 6:13, 18, 19, 20, 21(cf. Jer 7:29).
Uncial M translates the term as ste,fanon in Lev 8:9 (see John William Wevers,
Leviticus, Septuaginta: Vetus Testamentum Graecum, vol. 2/2 [Göttingen:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1986], 101). Martha Himmelfarb states that Sirach’s
reference to Aaron’s high priestly dress follows that of Exodus, but with reference to the
golden crown (ste,fanon crusou/n) in Sir 45:12, “the crown is ben Sira’s own
contribution” (A Kingdom of Priests: Ancestry and Merit in Ancient Judaism, Jewish
Culture and Contexts [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006], 35). This
is a strange remark, in that the Hebrew uses a word that is translated in some contexts as
“crown.” Furthermore, a silver and gold crown is made for the high priest Joshua in
Zech 6:11 (in the LXX, two crowns; in the MT, one crown, apparently of both silver
and gold; for the interpretation that this crown is symbolic of the temple and its
reconstruction and thus not any kind of literal, high priestly dress, see Rooke, Zadok’s
Heirs, 146-49). Himmelfarb asserts (Kingdom of Priests, 35) that the “golden crown”
imagery is drawn from Ps 21:4, but that text is in error; it should be 21:3 (LXX 20:4).
In any case the terminology there (ste,fanon evk li,qou timi,ou [“crown of precious
stone”]) does not match Sir 45:12.

220
a “head ornament of the crown,”287 it could also indicate that the head ornament was

considered a holy or sacred sign or emblem of consecration. Leviticus 21:12 suggests

that there was no literal or separate crown whatsoever; the reference to the

“crown/consecration, oil, anointing of his God on him” ( wyl'[' wyh'l{a/ tx;v.mi !m,v, rz<nE)

instead indicates that the anointing oil was considered a symbol of consecration. 288

Thus, it is likely that the head ornament was also so considered.

The golden head ornament was similar to the two gems of the shoulder-pieces of

the ephod and the twelve gems and precious stones of the breastpiece in that it bore

seal-like engravings (~t'xo yxeWTPi [Exod 28:36; 39:30]). But rather than being inscribed

with tribal names, the golden head ornament was instead engraved with the inscription

“Holy to YHWH” (hw"hyl; vd,qo).289 Later Hellenistic writers, however, described it as

LXX terminology for rz<nE in reference to the dress is varied: a`gi,asma

(“holiness”: Ps 88:40 [MT 89:39]; 131:18 [MT 132:18]); avfo,risma? (“that which is set
apart”: Exod 36:37 [MT 39:30]); basi,leion (“tiara, crown”: 2 Sam 1:10; 2 Chr
23:11); kaqhgiasme,non (“consecrated/dedicated”: Lev 8:9); nezer (transliterated; 2
Kgs 11:12 [parallel to 2 Chr 23:11); pe,talon (Exod 29:6); no reference (Prov 27:24;
Zech 9:16). On these definitions, cf. LEH and LSJ.
287
Exod 39:30: rAhj' bh'z" vd,Qoh;-rz<nE #yci-ta, (“the head ornament of the holy
crown [out of] pure gold”); Lev 8:9: vd,Qoh; rz<nE bh'Z"h; #yci tae (“the golden head
ornament, the holy crown”). But the term can also refer to one’s hair (Jer 7:29) or to
separation/consecration, and one typically finds this latter meaning in reference to the
“Nazirites” (Num 6:4-5, 7-9, 12-13, 18-19, 21), who were not to cut their hair (Num
6:5). Furthermore, the symbol of a Nazirite’s consecration was on his head (Num 6:7).
288
The holy anointing oil was poured on the high priest’s head after the rz<nE had
been placed on his mitre (Exod 29:6-7 and Lev 8:9, 12; cf. 21:10).
289
Exod 28:36; 39:30.

221
being engraved with apparently nothing but the sacred name or tetragrammaton.290

The golden head ornament was to be always (dymiT)' on the high priest’s forehead

(Exod 28:38), but he did not wear this when he entered the Most Holy Place on Yom

Kippur.291 In this text the purpose of the #yci is so that “Aaron shall take on himself any

guilt incurred in the holy offering that the Israelites consecrate as their sacred donations;

it shall always be on his forehead, in order that they may find favor before the LORD”

(NRSV).292 Despite the fact that the high priest did not wear it when he entered the

Most Holy Place on Yom Kippur, Second Temple writers considered the pe,talon to be

the most important item of the high priest’s dress; it climaxed the description of the high

priest’s dress in Aristeas, Ben Sira, and Josephus. 293 Furthermore, Josephus mentions

290
Wis 18:24; Josephus A.J. 3.178, 187 and B.J. 5.235; Let. Aris. 98; Philo Mos.
2.114-15, 132 (cf. QE 2.122). See the discussion in, e.g., F. C. Burkitt, “A Further Note
on Aaron’s Head-Dress,” JTS 26 (1924): 180; Hogg, “Note on Two Points,” 72-75;
idem, “The Inscription on Aaron’s Head-Dress,” JTS 28 (1927): 287-88; Pelletier,
Lettre d’Aristée, 151-52, n. 4; and James R. Royse, “Philo, KURIOS, and the
Tetragrammaton,” SPhilo 3 (1991): 178-83. Fletcher-Louis remarks that “this Name is
a prominent feature of the high priest’s garb in post-biblical descriptions” (“Alexander
the Great’s Worship,” 87). Cf. Kim, “Dream of Alexander,” 437-38. On rabbinic
discussions regarding this dress item, cf. b. Sanh. 12b; b. Šabb. 63b; b. Sukkah 5a.
291
See Exc. 27:1-2: the pe,talon was removed on Yom Kippur at the altar of
incense. Cf. b. Yoma 31b-32b on the stripping of the “golden garments” before entry
into the Most Holy Place.
292
Notice its rare use in Prot. Jam. 5:1 as an oracle in determining the presence
of sin in Joachim’s life when he goes up to the temple to offer his gifts (versification
according to Ronald Hock, The Infancy Gospels of James and Thomas: With
Introduction, Notes, and Original Text Featuring the NEW Scholars Version
Translation, The Scholars Bible 2 [Santa Rosa, CA: Polebridge, 1995]). See also the
story in b. Qidd. 66a, in which King Yannai (Alexander Jannaeus) tests the Pharisees
with the #yci. See the discussion in Bauckham (“Papias and Polycrates,” 44-45) and
VanderKam (From Joshua to Caiaphas, 298-301).
293
Sir 45:8-12; Let. Aris. 96-99; Josephus A.J. 3.159-78 and B.J. 5.231-35.

222
that despite the fact that Solomon had made numerous high priestly garments, the

stefa,nh (he does not use the word pe,talon) upon which the name of God was written

was unique and had survived unto his time (A.J. 8.93).294 Thus, to wear the head

ornament was tantamount to officiating as high priest and indicated the identity function

of the sacred object in defining the occupation of its wearer.295

Summary of the High Priest’s Daily Ritual Dress

While the basic contours of the high priest’s daily ritual dress are generally

understood, the meaning of some dress items are still conjectural (e.g., how many

sashes, the actual nature of the ephod and the Urim and the Thummim). Nevertheless,

one can make a number of reasonably accurate summary statements about his dress.

First, it included the basic forms of the daily dress of the regular priests. Second, it was

more complex and weighty than the dress of the regular priests with the addition of the

“golden garments.” Third, it included color: the blue, purple, and crimson yarns, not to

mention the gold and precious stones, added both visual stimuli, lustre, and a

breathtaking aura to the high priest’s overall dress ensemble. Fourth, it frequently

included mixed textiles (e.g., linen and wool) forbidden to other Israelites, further

setting aside the dress of the high priest as more sacred than other priestly dress

linguistically similar to his dress.

The proverbial “eight” daily ritual garments of the high priest cannot be neatly

294
See the discussion of the climactic nature of this dress item in Bauckham,
“Papias and Polycrates,” 43-44.
295
Ibid., 44. Cf. modern evaluations of the ephod as noted earlier in this study.

223
divided into four garments that the common priests wore and four garments that the

high priest uniquely wore. First, each element would not adequately fall under the

definition of a garment (here, the head ornament is a clear example of one that does not

consist of a garment). Second, the high priest did not technically wear four articles of

dress that the common priests wore (e.g., the linguistic and conceptual differences

between his and the common priests’ headgear). And third, even garments that the high

priest wore but the common priests did not wear were not necessarily unique to the high

priest (e.g., the robe).

While the Pentateuch sets out foundational descriptions of the high priest’s

dress, sartorial development clearly took place over time. By the time of the Second

Temple, many dress items were described differently, and some sartorial distinctions

between the common priests and the high priest had been erased. Nevertheless, while

high priestly dress elements were then not necessarily as distinguishable either

sartorially or linguistically from those of the common priests, the one who wore the

daily ritual dress of the high priest was identifiably the high priest.

Yearly Ritual Dress of the High Priest

Leviticus 16 is the only place in the HB that provides directions for the annual

rites of the Yom Kippur observances, the most solemn of the sacred calendar in Israel.

These directions in 16:2-34 constitute the central divine speech of Leviticus, with

eighteen divine speeches on either side.296 It is within this central speech of the thirty-

296
Wilfried Warning, Literary Artistry in Leviticus, BIS 35 (Leiden: Brill, 1999),
86 (cf. pp. 38-41).

224
seven divine speeches that one finds in 16:4 directions as to what dress elements the

high priest was to wear on this annual observance. Only four items of dress for the high

priest are listed: (1) the holy linen tunic (vd,qo dB;-tn<toK). ; (2) the linen undergarments

(db;-ysen>k.miW); (3) the linen sash (dB; jnEb.a;b.W); and (4) the linen turban (dB; tp,n<c.mib.W).

Despite the fact that the first item is clearly described as holy, 16:4 (cf. 16:32) makes it

clear that all of these were considered “sacred garments” ( vd,qo-ydeg>B)i .297

Furthermore, these day-specific dress items of the high priest were crucial to the

initiation and completion of the Yom Kippur rituals. Wilfried Warning asserts that “the

high priestly linen vestments—a detailed description of which is given in vs.

4—constitute . . . an important prerequisite for the ritual of Yom Kippur.” 298 In other

words, the successful enactment of the high priestly rituals on Yom Kippur would be

impossible without the use of the high priest’s specified liturgical dress.

Besides their sacred state, the common element in all of these garments worn by

the high priest on Yom Kippur was the utilization of ordinary linen (dB;). This is

radically different from the daily ritual dress of the high priest, since that dress included

dyed yarn, gold, and precious stones—none of which are mentioned in this once-a-year

dress ensemble. Furthermore, nowhere in the Pentateuch is the dress of the common

priest described as including a tunic of ordinary linen, although a linen “garment” and

297
Exod 28:38 indicates that the head ornament was to be worn “on his forehead
continually” (dymiT' Axc.mi-l[;). While it might appear that it was thus worn on Yom
Kippur, Rooke provides convincing arguments why this should not be considered the
case (“Day of Atonement,” pp. 353-54, n. 35). That dymiT' refers to the daily rites
instead of “continually” is one of the key arguments here (ibid.).
298
Warning, Literary Artistry in Leviticus, 87.

225
linen undergarments (db;-ysen>k.miW db; ADmi) are mentioned in Lev 6:3 (Eng. 6:10).

Instead, the tunic of the common priest is described as fabricated from “fine linen” ( vve

[Exod 39:27]). Sanders suggests, however, that “it is doubtful that we can distinguish

bad in Leviticus from shesh in Exodus.”299 This is a difficult issue, since it could

indicate that the high priest wore clothes on Yom Kippur that the common priests either

did or did not wear.300

Are these four garments the only ones that the high priest wore on Yom Kippur?

No. On Yom Kippur the defining dress of the high priest for a portion of that day’s

ritual activities was what is found in Lev 16:4, but it remains clear that he also wore his

daily ritual dress for other aspects of that day’s rituals (Lev 16:4, 23-24, 32-33). 301

While Leviticus indicates that this latter ritual dress was worn on this particular day,

ancient sources indicate that these “golden garments” and the other daily dress were not

worn in the Most Holy Place.302

299
Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 101; cf. pp. 98-99. Rooke, however,
makes more of a distinction between the two (“Day of Atonement,” 351).
300
According to the Mishnah, the high priest first wore his ornate regalia, and
then he wore Pelusian linen from lower Egypt in the morning and Indian linen in the
afternoon (Yoma 3.7; cf. 3.1-6). Cf. Schürer, History, 2:276.
301
See Roy Gane, Cult and Character: Purification Offerings, Day of Atonement,
and Theodicy (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2005), 189-90; Frank H. Gorman, Jr.,
The Ideology of Ritual: Space, Time and Status in the Priestly Theology, JSOTSup 91
(Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1990), 90; Baruch A. Levine, Leviticus: The Traditional
Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation, The JPS Torah Commentary (Philadelphia:
Jewish Publication Society, 1989), 101, 108; and Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 1016, 1046-
48.
302
Contra Treiyer, Day of Atonement, 79-94. Notice what Philo says in Leg. 2.56
in regard to the high priest’s entry into the Most Holy Place: ouvk eivseleu,setai evn tw/|
podh,rei: Philo is adamant that the high priest “does not enter into [the Most Holy

226
 Overlooked Dress Elements of the High Priest

As I have indicated earlier in this chapter, virtually all scholarly discussions of

the daily ritual dress of the high priest focus solely on the “eight garments” of the high

priest. I would suggest, however, that not only should some elements of the high

priest’s dress be separated from other elements (the Urim and Thummim from the

breastpiece), but that there were also other, overlooked dress elements that one should

associate with the high priest. These dress elements further demonstrate that the

number of dress items was more than the stereotypical eight.

The Feet

The first of these dress elements focuses on the feet of the high priest. The lack

Place] with the foot-length robe.” He then calls this garment “the glorious tunic” ( to.n
th/j do,xhj . . . citw/na) which is left behind, and he states that without this dress item
the high priest is (the same as) naked (gumno,j). See also Philo Mut. 43 (where he states
that the linen robe is worn in the inner tabernacle [i.e., the Most Holy Place] while the
polychromatic [robe] with the foot-length [skirt] is worn in the outer tabernacle [i.e., the
Holy Place]), Somn. 1.216 (where he states that the high priest divests himself of the
polychromatic garment or robe [poiki,lhn evsqh/ta] when he enters the Most Holy
Place), and QE 2.107. Cf. b. Yoma 31b-32b and the removal of the pe,talon in Exc.
27:1-2.
Prot. Jas. 8:6, however, appears to imply that the high priest wore the robe when
he entered the Most Holy Place on a certain day other than Yom Kippur; while the
specific garment is not mentioned in the Greek, the Greek refers to him “taking the
twelve bells into the Most Holy Place” ( labw.n to.n dwdekakw,dwna eivj ta. a[gia tw/n
a`gi,wn; Greek text from Hock, Infancy Gospels, 46). These would have been the golden
bells on the skirt of the high priestly robe. This note lacks credibility, since: (1) the high
priest did not enter the Most Holy Place except on Yom Kippur; (2) when the high
priest entered, records from Philo and Josephus indicate he did not wear this robe; (3) if
the high priest did enter with the bells alone, no other extant source indicates this was a
regular practice; and (4) even if the high priest, on the other hand, entered with the bells
being attached to the robe, the bells themselves were not considered the most significant
part of the garment, and thus it would be unusual to singularly point to them instead of
the robe.

227
of dress on a part of the body where it would normally be expected is paradoxically

dress, but in this sense a form of “negative” dress. As such, lack of clothing on one’s

feet—whether it be socks, shoes, sandals, or other footware—would be classified by

grammarians of dress as an element of dress.303

In the HB there is no mention of footwear for the high priest—or for any

priest—nor that they are to go about barefoot in sacred places. In fact, what remains

particularly important is the absence of any mention of footgear at all in the detailed

description of the high priest’s dress in Exod 28. 304 This seemingly insignificant

nonappearance nevertheless implies that there is none, since the description of various

other aspects of his dress is quite detailed.

But one is not left to a potential argumentum ex silencio regarding this sartorial

element. For one thing, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle and

temple were clearly classified as holy spaces, but even the Court was understood in this

basic way (Lev 6:16, 26 [MT: 6:9, 19]).305 For those who served in these sacred

303
Cf. Hamel, Poverty in Clothing, 75, n. 134.
304
Cf. Tigchelaar, “Bare Feet,” 21. Tigchelaar notes “the paucity of explicit
literary references to ritual barefootedness in Biblical and Jewish texts” (ibid., 36).
305
See the discussion in Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 392-94. Here Milgrom also
notes ancient discussion over which parts of the Court were considered more holy than
other parts. Cf. David P. Wright, The Disposal of Impurity: Elimination Rites in the
Bible and in Hittite and Mesopotamian Literature, Society of Biblical Literature
Dissertation Series 101 (Atlanta: Scholars, 1987), 232-35. Nevertheless, there was a
significant distinction: the Court was not anointed with oil like the tabernacle proper,
but its furniture, the laver, and the altar of burnt offering were (Lev 8:10-11; cf. Exod
29:36; 30:25-29; 40:9-11). This is why sprinkling on Yom Kippur took place on the
altar of burnt offering itself (Lev 16:18-19)—not in front of it, on the ground of the
Court (cf. 16:14-15). On this see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 513-17, 1036-37. On which
altar is mentioned in 16:18, see Gane, Cult and Character, 77; idem, Leviticus,
Numbers, 272; Heger, Development of Incense Cult, 232-33, n. 140, and 233-34, n. 141.

228
precincts, bare feet were required (cf. Exod 3:5; Josh 5:15; Acts 7:33).306 Even today it

is not uncommon for many religious groups—such as Karaite Jews and Samaritans in

their synagogues, and Muslims when they enter a mosque—to have the custom of

removing footgear upon entry into a holy site or place of worship.307 Consequently, the

high priest ministered barefoot in these sacred arenas.

Furthermore, Eibert Tigchelaar suggests that the approach (from brq) of the

priests in the sacred places found its theological foundation in the story of Moses.

Moses himself was ordered not to further approach the burning bush (again, from brq)

but instead to remove his sandals when he encountered YHWH there (Exod 3:5). Thus

the priesthood approached YHWH in the sanctuary after removing footgear.308

306
On rabbinic sources indicating that the high priest served barefoot or
explaining religious policies prohibiting the wearing of sandals on the Temple mount,
cf. the discussion in: Yaron Z. Eliav, “The Temple Mount, the Rabbis, and the Poetics
of Memory,” in God’s Mountain: The Temple Mount in Time, Place, and Memory
(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005), 189-236, particularly pp. 229-30
(originally published in HUCA 74 [2003]: 49-112); Hamel, “Poverty in Clothing,” 75-
76; D. M. Howard, Jr., “Shoe; Sandal,” ISBE (1988), 4:491; Haran, “Priestly
Vestments,” 16:513; Edna Nahshon, “Jews and Shoes,” in Jews and Shoes, ed. Edna
Nahshon (Oxford: Berg, 2008), 6; Ora Horn Prouser, “The Biblical Shoe: Eschewing
Footwear: The Call of Moses as Biblical Archetype,” in Jews and Shoes, 43; Sanders,
Judaism: Practice and Belief, 94; Schürer, History, 2:294; Swartz, “Semiotics,” 63, n.
16; Tigchelaar, “Bare Feet,” 28-36; and Tvedtnes, “Priestly Clothing,” 670-71. See also
Francis I. Anderson, “Feet in Ancient Times,” Buried History 35 (1999): 10. Hamel is
one who suggests that Jesus’ command for his disciples to not take sandals with them
on their mission (Matt 10:10; but cf. Mark 6:9) was because the whole land was
considered like the precincts of the temple in terms of its purity (“Poverty in Clothing,”
68-69).
307
Tigchelaar, “Bare Feet,” 17. For numerous rationales for following such a
practice, cf. ibid., 23; and William H. C. Propp, Exodus 1-18: A New Translation with
Introduction and Commentary, AB 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1998), 200.
308
Tigchelaar, “Bare Feet,” 21-22. Tigchelaar suggests that YHWH’s commands
in Exod 3:5 “probably mean: ‘do not come closer, before you have first removed your

229
 The barefoot nature of priestly ministry was not exclusive to the high priest;

common priests were also barefoot in their ministry.309 This indicates that the barefoot

nature of the high priest’s ministry would not in and of itself identify him to others as

the high priest. Thus, one could consider this element of the high priest’s dress to be

similar to that of wearing a tunic, since both the high priest and the common priests

wore such a garment.

The Censer310

Another element of the high priest’s ritual dress is a dress tool that the high

priest would on occasion hold in his hand—the censer. 311 While both common priests

and the high priest utilized censers at various times in the history of the priesthood, it

was the high priest whose ritual role was most memorably attached to the use of the

censer as a ritual tool, both in relation to his entrance into the Most Holy Place 312 as well

sandals’” (ibid., 22). Cf. Propp, Exodus 1-18, 192: “Surely the sense is ‘Do not
approach hither until you have pulled your sandals. . . .’”
309
Schürer asserts that “it may be regarded as certain that the priests officiated
barefoot” (History, 2:294). Cf. Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 94.
310
In this and the next section my canonical approach does not take into
consideration developmental and conjectural reconstructions such as that by Paul Heger
(The Development of Incense Cult in Israel, Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die
alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 245 [Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1997]).
311
While some translations utilize the term “firepan” (or, “fire pan”) for this
object, I prefer the more common term “censer” for the purposes of this study.
312
See Lev 16:12. Cf. Philo Spec. 1.84, where he states the high priest entered
the Most Holy Place in order to offer incense.

230
as his daily ritual ministry at the altar of incense313 in the Holy Place.

The Ritual Use of the Censer

What were the ritual parameters of the use of the censer? The HB vocabulary

for censers is limited to two terms, hT'x.m; and tr,j,q.mi, with the former term

predominating314 and deriving from the verb htx (“to convey, take away, or snatch

up”).315 Haran identifies this censer as a long-handled one, as opposed to the tr,j,q.mi,

which he defines as an upright censer.316 I will focus on the more prominent hT'x.m;,

which had more than one ritual usage and more than one ritual locus.

In terms of ritual locus, the material out of which the hT'x.m; was made

apparently qualified the primary locale in which it was used. In the HB one finds

313
This altar is referred to as a golden one (Exod 39:38; 40:5; 1 Chr 28:18; Heb
9:4). In Lev 4:7, however, it is referred to as the altar of sweet or fragrant incense
(~yMiS;h; tr,joq.; reference to the sweet or fragrant incense occurs in Exod 25:6; 30:7;
31:11; 35:8, 15, 28; 39:29, 38; 40:27; Lev 4:7; 16:12; Num 4:16; 2 Chr 2:4; 13:11).
The heavenly counterpart of this golden altar of incense appears in Rev 8:3. Texts that
simply refer to it as an altar of incense or an altar for burning incense are more frequent;
cf. Exod 30:1-9, 27; 31:8; 35:15; 37:25; Lev 4:7; 1 Kgs 9:25; 1 Chr 6:49; 28:18; 2 Chr
26:16, 19; Luke 1:11.

For hT'x.m;, see Exod 25:38; 27:3; 37:23; 38:3; Lev 10:1; 16:12; Num 4:9, 14;
314

16:6, 17, 18; 17:2, 3, 4, 11 [Eng. 16:37, 38, 39, 46]; 1 Kgs 7:50; 2 Kgs 25:15; 2 Chr
4:22; Jer 52:19. The other term, tr,j,q.mi, occurs in just two texts: (1) 2 Chr 26:19, in
which it describes the censer used by King Uzziah in his attempt to burn incense in the
temple; and (2) Ezek 8:11, in which YHWH censures the seventy idolatrous elders
holding their censers. In both of these latter cases the term is used in a negative,
polemical context that conveys the meaning of illegitimacy to the act.
315
Propp, Exodus 19-40, 404. See its usage in the context of moving fire/embers
(Prov 6:27, 25:22; Isa 30:14). A more generic sense of the verb occurs in Ps 52:7.
316
Haran, Temples and Temple-Service, 238.

231
bronze censers associated with the bronze altar of burnt offering, but these are in

descriptions of the tabernacle.317 On the other hand, while there were bronze items

associated with Solomon’s Temple, 318 it is apparent that the censers primarily associated

with the temple proper (i.e., not the Court) were made of gold.319 Within tabernacle

descriptions one does not find any golden hT'x.m; clearly utilized with incense.320

There were two basic ritual usages of the hT'x.m;.321 First, the term infrequently

describes gold utensils apparently unrelated to incense; these objects are frequently

(mis?)translated as “trays” and were used in association with the lampstand. 322 But how

were they used with the lampstand? Propp briefly but compellingly suggests that they

were used to convey fiery coals for kindling flames—the flames here being in the lamps

of the lampstands—although he does not absolutely rule out their use with incense. 323

317
Exod 27:3; 38:3; Num 4:14.
318
E.g., 1 Kgs 7:14-16, 27, 30, 38, 45; 2 Kgs 25:13-17; etc.
319
1 Kgs 7:50; 2 Chr 4:22; cf. 2 Kgs 25:15; Jer 52:19. Victor Avigdor Hurowitz
and Carol Meyers are two who question whether the censers mentioned in Jer 52:19
were used in association with the altar of incense in Solomon’s Temple. See Hurowitz,
“Solomon’s Golden Vessels (1 Kings 7:48-50) and the Cult of the First Temple,” in
Pomegranates and Golden Bells, 151-64; and Meyers, “Realms of Sanctity: The Case of
the ‘Misplaced’ Incense Altar in the Tabernacle Texts of Exodus,” in Texts, Temples,
and Traditions: A Tribute to Menahem Haran, ed. Michael V. Fox et al. (Winona Lake,
IN: Eisenbrauns, 1996), 41 and 42.
320
“The surprising aspect of the firepans is . . . their absence in the tabernacle
description” (Hurowitz, “Solomon’s Golden Vessels,” 158). This conclusion, of course,
does not include reference to the golden hT'x.m; used in association with the lampstand.
321
See the discussion in ibid.
322
See Exod 25:38; 37:23; Num 4:9. This is how translations such as the NASB,
NIV, NJB, and NRSV translate the term.
323
Cf. Propp, Exodus 19-40, 404, 514.

232
 Second, mention of hT'x.m; more commonly occurs as an instrument for offering

incense.324 Victor Avigdor Hurowitz summarizes: “In the Yom Kippur service (Lev

16:12) they serve as censers, as they do in the Nadab and Abihu story (Lev 10:1), the

contest with Korah (Num 16-17), and the plague incident (Num 17).” 325 Hurowitz is not

entirely correct here, however, since the text he adduces for Yom Kippur (Lev 16:12)

indicates that the hT'x.m; initially played the role of the firepan, bringing smoldering

coals or embers from the altar of burnt offering into the Holy Place. It subsequently

took on the role of the censer once inside the Most Holy Place, since it was there that

the incense was poured onto the smoldering coals on the firepan (16:13).

The role of the hT'x.m; in relation to the ritual use of incense was thus not

singular: When the censers were not being used to burn incense, they carried coal and

were thus equivalent in function to firepans. As on Yom Kippur, the hT'x.m; carried out

this role in association with no other article of sanctuary furniture. But on most other

occasions this role as firepan was accomplished as an accessory to the altar of incense.

This understanding is, however, only implicit in the HB, since it never explicitly

associates such firepans with the altar of incense.326 It is extrabiblical texts that indicate

324
Exod 27:3; 38:3; Lev 10:1; 16:12; Num 4:14; 16:6, 17-18; 17:2-4, 11; 1 Kgs
7:50; 2 Kgs 25:15; 2 Chr 4:22; Jer 52:19.
325
Hurowitz, “Solomon’s Golden Vessels,” 158. The censers were not the only
implements utilized for burning incense, however, since incense was also burned on the
altar of incense (ibid.).
326
Ibid.

233
that gold firepans brought coal or fire from outside into the temple.327 Hurowitz

concludes: “At the very least, the later sources show that in order to offer incense on the

inner altar, firepans would have been necessary.” 328

The Censer as Ritual Dress Tool

At least three texts identify the censer as an element of dress used on important

occasions in the ritual life of the Israelites. First, on Yom Kippur the high priest

brought a “censer full of burning coals of fire” (vae-ylex]G: hT'x.M;h;-al{m. [Lev 16:12])

from the altar of burnt offering into the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary, after which he

would place the incense upon the firepan, causing it to billow up in fragrant smoke. The

fragrant cloud of smoky incense that arose covered the “golden slab” 329 (tr,PoK;h;

[16:13]) attached to the top of the ark of the covenant, and it ultimately shielded him

from the presence of YHWH. The high priest could not enter the Most Holy Place

unless he carried the censer along with the incense.

According to Vicary’s analysis, the censer would thus be classified as a dress

tool, part of an overall dress ensemble that would help communicate identity along with

other elements of the ensemble.330 While the censer was clearly a ritual instrument or

327
Cf. 11QTa III, 12-13; m. Yoma 4:4; and the discussion in Hurowitz,
“Solomon’s Golden Vessels,” 158.
328
Ibid.
329
So Gane, Leviticus, Numbers, 272.
330
Vicary’s examples of dress tools (“knives, combs, mirrors, scissors, pens,
toothpicks, fans”) are apparently comprised of what one typically holds primarily in
one’s hand (“Signs of Clothing,” 293-94). On the difference between dress tools and
dress equipment, see ibid.

234
tool, that fact does not negate the validity of seeing it as a part of the high priest’s dress

ensemble on certain occasions. It is true that the high priest did not carry a censer with

him at all times, but dress classification does not depend on permanency. 331 And while

classification of an object as a dress tool does not indicate that that particular object is

required to be carried or held in one’s hand, 332 on Yom Kippur the censer was ritually

required to be carried by the high priest in his hand. Thus it is legitimate to view the

censer as a crucial dress tool ritually utilized by the high priest on the most solemn

observance of the Israelites each year.

Later Jewish traditions also understood the censer as a dress tool, but here in

terms of ritual actions not on Yom Kippur. In Wis 18:21-22 the author refers to the

dramatic story in which Aaron ran through the camp of the Israelites with a censer and

made atonement for them (Num 16:46-47 [MT 17:11-12]). The language is overtly

martial, comparing the use of incense with the use of a weapon: Aaron “fought in front

with the weapon of his own ministry, prayer and atoning incense” ( proema,chsen333 to.

th/j ivdi,aj leitourgi,aj o[plon334 proseuch.n kai. qumia,matoj evxilasmo.n [18:21]).

331
For instance, one’s eyeglasses may communicate personal or social identity,
but this does not imply that one must wear them at all times for this dress classification
to be valid.
332
Numerous items of dress are not required to be worn or associated with a
person, but they nevertheless communicate identity when seen. For example, there was
no requirement for Sherlock Holmes to wear either the deerstalker cap, caped traveling
coat, or the smoking pipe, but their combination communicates his personal identity.
333
promace,w is a hapax legomenon in the LXX and can be translated as “fighting
in front” or “fighting as one’s champion.” See LSJ, s.v. “ promace,w.”
334
In the LXX o[plon refers to a weapon that translates the Hebrew terms for a
shield (1 Kgs 10:17; 14:26-27; Jer 26:9; Pss 5:13; 90:4) or a spear (Nah 3:3; Hab 3:11).
In the plural it is more generic, referring to arms, armor, or weapons (cf. 1 Sam 17:7; 2

235
Thus, he withstood (or, confronted [avnte,sth])335 the wrath (tw/| qumw/)| , ultimately

conquering it not through the use of the typical “weapons of force” ( o[plwn evnergei,a)|

but through the use of the weapon of his word (lo,gw|)—prayer (symbolized by the

incense)336—comprised of appeals to the oaths and covenants given to his ancestors

(18:22). The use of martial imagery here, in particular, weaponry that would have been

considered part of one’s dress ensemble,337 underscores the idea that the incense could

be understood as an item of dress as well. While this text in Wis 18 does not refer to the

censer per se, that dress tool can be implicitly understood via a metonymic reference to

the incense.

What is furthermore significant in this text from Wisdom is that the use of the

incense (in the censer) in defeating the enemy is parallel to three dress elements to

which the Destroyer (o` ovleqreu,wn) yielded in fear (18:25). These three dress elements

(18:24) were: (1) Aaron’s foot-length garment, in which the whole world was depicted

Kgs 10:2; 2 Chr 21:3; 23:9-10; 32:5; Neh 4:11; Jdt 6:12; 14:11; Wis 18:22; 1 Macc
1:35; 5:43; 6:2, etc.; cf. John 18:3; Rom 13:12; 2 Cor 6:7; 10:4). In non-biblical Greek
it can also refer to a tool or implement, e.g., rope or cable (Homer Od. 14.346, 21.390),
ship’s tackling (Homer Od. 2.430), blacksmith’s tools (Homer Il. 18.409, 412), etc. See
LSJ, s.v. “o[plon.” Weapons were, of course, tools or implements of warfare.
335
For avnqi,sthmi in a martial context, see, e.g., the following texts in the LXX:
Lev 26:37; Deut 7:24; 9:2; 11:25; 25:18; 28:7; Josh 1:5; 7:13; 23:9; Judg 2:14; 2 Chr
20:6, 12; Esth 9:1; Dan 11:15-16 (OG); Jdt 2:25; 6:4; 11:18; 1 Macc 6:4; 8:11; 11:38;
Wis 11:3; Sir 46:6; etc.
336
Cf. Ps 141:2 (LXX 140:2); Jdt 9:1; Rev 5:8; 8:3-5.
337
On weaponry as part of one’s dress ensemble, see 1 Sam 18:4. For instance,
one would “gird” (rg"x') on various types of clothing (e.g., sashes [Exod 29:9; Lev 8:7,
13; 16:4]; a linen ephod [1 Sam 2:18; 2 Sam 6:14]; sackcloth [2 Sam 3:31; 1 Kgs 20:32;
Isa 15:3; 22:12; 32:11]) as well as weaponry and armor (Deut 1:41; 1 Sam 17:39; 25:13;
2 Sam 20:8; 21:16; 1 Kgs 20:11; 2 Kgs 3:21).

236
(evpi. ga.r podh,rouj evndu,matoj h=n o[loj o` ko,smoj [“for on the foot-length garment

was the whole world”]); (2) the four rows of jewels on the breastpiece, engraved with

the glorious names of the tribal patriarchs (pate,rwn do,xai evpi. tetrasti,cou li,qwn

glufh/j [“glories of the ancestors on stones of engraving, arranged in four rows”]); and

(3) Aaron’s diadem, revealing the majesty of God (megalwsu,nh sou evpi. diadh,matoj

kefalh/j auvtou/ [“your majesty on a diadem on your head”]). From this perspective, the

censer was metonymically recognized in conjunction with the incense rising from it as a

dress tool of the high priest, even as a sword would be the dress tool of a warrior.

Finally, in an encomium on the martyr Eliezar in 4 Macc 7:11, the author

compares Eliezar’s defeat of his enemies in death (7:4) to this same story of Aaron,

whom the author describes as being “armed with the censer” ( tw/| qumiathri,w|

kaqwplisme,noj [7:11]). In this text the emphasis is not—as in Wis 18:24—on the

incense but on the censer which held the incense. Yet the martial idea is the same as in

the latter text.338 Instead of being armed with a sword or a spear, Eliezar was armed

with the censer. According to this text, the censer-as-weapon was crucial enough that

Aaron ultimately “conquered the fiery angel” ( to.n evmpuristh.n evni,khsen a;ggelon).339

Consequently, in this verse—as well as in the previous two texts mentioned—it remains

evident that the censer was understood by the ancients as a dress tool used in spiritual

338
The term kaqopli,zw in 4 Macc 7:11 is a term frequently found in martial
contexts, used to describe a person, group, or animate force armed for battle. Cf. Jer
46:9; 2 Macc 4:40; 15:11 (here, symbolically armed, but described in contrast to
military armor); 3 Macc 5:38 (here, elephants); 4 Macc 3:12; 4:10; Luke 11:21. Cf. 4
Macc 11:22 and 13:16, where the martial imagery is primarily symbolic.
339
The implicit story here is presumably the same one connected with the revolt
of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (cf. Num 16:46-47).

237
battle. In the arena of spiritual conflict, the high priest did not wield the dress tool of a

sword but rather that of an incense-bearing censer.

The Censer’s Association with

the High Priest

But was the censer as a ritual dress tool seen only in association with the high

priest? No. The HB tabernacle narratives, however, focus on Aaron, the high priest, as

the one who was allowed to minister within the Holy Place. While other priests could

serve at the altar of burnt offering and in other areas of the courtyard, the only person

these narratives mention who ritually entered the tabernacle proper was the high priest.

For instance, in the initial description of the altar of incense in Exod 30:1-10, Aaron was

designated as the one who would burn incense on it when he tended the lamps every

morning and evening (Exod 30:7-8). On the basis of this, Rooke asserts that

the duties in question are burning incense on the incense altar and trimming the
Tabernacle lamps (Exod. 30.1-10); arranging the shewbread each Sabbath (Lev.
24.5-9); atoning for his own sin or for that of the whole community where necessary
(Lev. 4.1-21); and officiating on Yom Kippur (Lev. 16). The other priests serve the
altar outside in the courtyard, but do not enter the Tabernacle itself.340

But Rooke is not alone in her conclusion that the ministry of offering incense on the

golden altar of incense was a rite reserved for the high priest.341 For instance, Jacob

340
Rooke, “Kingship as Priesthood,” 200. Cf. idem, “The Day of Atonement,”
345, 350.
341
Cf. also, e.g., Pancratius C. Beentjes, “‘They Saw That His Forehead Was
Leprous’ (2 Chr 26:20): The Chronicler’s Narrative on Uzziah’s Leprosy,” in Purity and
Holiness: The Heritage of Leviticus, ed. M. J. H. M. Poorthuis and J. Schwartz (Leiden:
Brill, 2000), 70; Nigel Groom, Frankincense and Myrrh: A Study of the Arabian
Incense Trade (London: Longman; Beirut: Libraire du Liban, 1981), 4; Haran,
“Complex of Ritual Acts,” 274, 298-89; idem, “Priestly Image,” 221; idem, Temples
and Temple-Service, 181, 243-244; Heger, Development of Incense Cult, 81-83; and
Rivka Nir, “The Aromatic Fragrances of Paradise in the Greek Life of Adam and Eve

238
Milgrom, in comparing the high priest to the common priests, stated that the ordinary

priest “may not officiate inside the Tent but only on the altar,” 342 and Sara Japhet

asserted that the rite of offering incense on the altar of incense was “the most exclusive

priestly function”343—one that naturally fell to the high priest. 344

While the overriding model in the tabernacle narratives for the use of the censer

and incense, despite infractions and attempts to change it,345 revolved around “Aaron,

the priest,”346 one cannot make the case that the censer was uniquely associated with the

high priest throughout the history of the priesthood.347 The possibility of high priestly

and the Christian Origin of the Composition,” NovT 46 (2004): 23. For others who
disagree with this interpretation, cf., e.g., William Johnstone, 2 Chronicles 10-36: Guilt
and Atonement, vol. 2 of 1 and 2 Chronicles, JSOTSup 254 (Sheffield: Sheffield
Academic Press, 1997), 167. For those whose argumentation is more nuanced and thus
less absolute, see, e.g., Julian Morgenstern, “Amos Studies II: The Sin of Uzziah, the
Festival of Jerobeam and the Date of Amos,” HUCA 12 (1937): 4.
342
Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 549.
343
Sara Japhet, 1 & 2 Chronicles: A Commentary, OTL (Louisville:
Westminster/John Knox, 1993), 884.
344
This connection between the high priest and the tabernacle proper is also
underscored by the fact that two articles exclusive to the high priest’s dress—the ephod
and the breastpiece—were made out of the same material ( bvexo) as the veil of the
tabernacle (Exod 26:1, 31; 28:6, 15; 36:35; 39:3, 8). Cf. Rooke, “Day of Atonement,”
350; idem, “Kingship as Priesthood,” 200; and Treiyer, Day of Atonement, 86-90.
345
Note the stories of Aaron’s two sons Nadab and Abihu in Lev 10:1-2. Also,
after the rebellion of Korah against Aaron (cf. Num 16:3, 5, 7, 11), the role of offering
incense was explicitly restricted to the “descendants of Aaron” ( !roh]a; [r;Z<mi [Num
16:40]). The two-day, two-part rebellion that began with censers being utilized by many
(16:1, 6) approaches its conclusion with the censer being utilized only by Aaron (16:46-
48 [MT/LXX 17:11-13]).
346
Aaron is so described in, e.g., Exod 31:10; Lev 7:34; Num 18:28.
347
See, e.g., Schürer, History, 2:302: “It was the daily duty of the priests to attend
to the altar of incense and the candelabrum inside the Temple” (cf. ibid., 2:305-306).

239
impurity and the need for a substitute to perform rituals348 and the priestly defense

against King Uzziah attempting to burn incense on the altar349 certainly raise questions

Cf. Heger, Development of Incense Cult, 67-68, 83, n. 74, and 240-41.
348
See, e.g., Lev 21.
349
In 2 Chr 26:16-18 King Uzziah attempted to burn incense on the altar of
incense. But the priest Azariah (“We have no information whatsoever about the chief
priest Azariah in 2 Chr 26:17-20” [Beentjes, “‘His Forehead Was Leprous,’” 65]) and
eighty other priests quickly confronted him and insisted that the king could not burn
incense. Instead of a royal personage being allowed to take on this responsibility, this
role was reserved “for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn
incense” (ryjiq.h;l. ~yviD'qum.h; !roh]a;-ynEB. ~ynIh]Kol; [2 Chr 26:18]). At first glance this
response indicates that the incense ritual was not restricted to the high priesthood but
rather available to all priests.
The term “sons of Aaron” (e.g., Exod 28:1; Lev 1:5, 7-8, 11; Num 3:2-3; Josh
21:4, 10, 13, 19; 1 Chr 6:3, 35, 50, 54, 57; 2 Chr 13:9-10; Neh 12:47), however, does
not necessarily mean any descendants of Aaron. This terminology sometimes clearly
refers only to the high priestly successors of Aaron (cf. Exod 28:4; 29:29; 1 Chr 6:50-53
[MT 6:35-38]). On the interpretation of the phrase “sons of Aaron” in the latter text, see
the discussion in James T. Sparks, The Chronicler’s Genealogies: Towards an
Understanding of 1 Chronicles 1-9, Academia Biblica 28 (Atlanta: Society of Biblical
Literature, 2008), 63-83, 107-22. Cf. also Sir 45:13 and 45:24, where reference to
descendants means high priestly successors. Notice the similar understanding of
sonship referring to royal successors of King David in 2 Chr 13:5.
This demonstrates that when reference is made to the use of a censer by the
“sons of Aaron,” one cannot automatically assume that this includes all of the priests.
From the standpoint of Exodus and Numbers, it would appear more reasonable to see it
instead as a reference to the high priest and his successors (so Haran, “Ritual Acts,”
274-79, 298-99; idem, Temples and Temple-Service, 206-21, 226-27; and Rooke,
Zadok’s Heirs, 21-22). Consequently, one must conclude that 2 Chr 26:18 does
not necessarily demand that common priests used the censer.
It is unlikely that King Uzziah was taking on the role of a common priest in his
rebellious act (cf. Morgenstern, “Amos Studies II,” 6, n. 8). It would appear, rather, that
he was attempting to take on the role of the high priest in offering incense at the altar.
On this, cf. Johnstone, 2 Chronicles 10-36, 168-69. Consequently, Uzziah may have
transgressed a high priestly ritual when he attempted to offer incense. Steven James
Schweitzer, while noting that Chronicles does not identify offering incense as an
explicit high priestly privilege, observes that the same word used in association with the
high priest’s engraved golden ornament (i.e., his forehead: xc;me [Exod 28:38]) is also
used in 2 Chr 26:19-20 to locate the leprosy that developed on Uzziah (“The High Priest
in Chronicles: An Anomaly in a Detailed Description of the Temple Cult,” Bib 84

240
about the exclusive ministry of the high priest in the Holy Place. But at least two pieces

of data explicitly point away from the exclusive ministry of the high priest in the Holy

Place before the time of Jesus: (1) in 2 Chr 13:9-11 King Abijah indicated that the

priests who are descendants of Aaron (!roh]a; ynEB.-ta, [13:9]; !roh]a; ynEB. [13:10]) do

ministry in the Holy Place by setting out the bread on the golden table and by caring for

the golden lampstand;350 and (2) Philo noted that the ordinary or common priests had

been delegated the responsibility of tending the lampstand because of the indolence and

[2003]: 396). But he indicates that this connection is not absolute since the same word
is used in association with non-priestly persons (ibid., n. 22). Cf. Beentjes (“‘His
Forehead Was Leprous,’” 67), Johnstone (2 Chronicles 10-36, 169), and Rooke (“Day
of Atonement,” 359). Whether or not the linguistic connection with the term “forehead”
is indicative of high priestly motifs, one can still make the argument from a thematic
standpoint: “Uzziah is permanently invalidated as the community’s chief mediator,
since he has the sign not of holiness but of defilement on his forehead” (ibid.).
Josephus’s version of the story (A.J. 9.222-225a) further muddies the waters. He
indicates in 9.223 that the infraction took place “on the occasion of a notable day which
was a public festival (evnsta,shj d v h`me,raj evpish,mou kai. pa,ndhmon e`orth.n
evcou,shj)” and furthermore that Uzziah “put on the priestly garment ( evndu.j i`eratik.hn
stolh,n).” Christopher T. Begg observes that there are a number of parallels between
this story and Josephus’s version of the story of Jeroboam I (“Uzziah [Azariah] of Judah
According to Josephus,” Estudios bíblicos 53 [1995]:15-16). For instance, Jeroboam’s
sacrifice also took place at a festival (A.J. 8.230), and while Uzziah put on the priestly
garment, Jeroboam made himself a high priest (ibid.). While the “priestly garment”
Uzziah puts on does not appear to be uniquely high priestly in nature (cf. 1 Esd 4:54
[i`eratikh.n stolh,n]; 5:44 [stola.j i`eratika.j]; 2 Macc 3:15 [i`eratikai/j stolai/j]), if
it were worn on Yom Kippur, the high priest would be wearing the equivalent of the
garment of the common priest. While Yom Kippur was considered a sacred time and a
solemn assembly (d[eAm), cf. texts in which the LXX writes e`orth/j (“festival/feast)
when the MT reads d[eAm (“appointed time, fixed day”), e.g., Lev 23:2, 4, 37, 44 and cf.
vss. 26-32.
350
All of the references to the priesthood in Jerusalem in these three verses are
plural. Abijah’s statement that King Jeroboam had driven out YHWH’s priests, the
“descendants of Aaron” (13:9), indicates this is not speaking of the high priest. The
second reference to the descendants or sons of Aaron (13:10) should be understood
similarly, and these priests are the ones who do the ministry in the Holy Place (13:11).

241
negligence of the high priests (QE 2.105).351

The clearest biblical example of ministry in the Holy Place by those other than

the high priest remains that told in Luke 1:8-11, where a common priest named

Zacharias—the future father of John the Baptist—was “chosen by lot to offer incense”

(e;lace tou/ qumia/sai [Luke 1:9]) on the altar of incense (qusiasthri,ou tou/

qumia,matoj [1:11]).352 While Luke does not mention the censer here, the implications

of the narrative clearly point to its use by priests other than the high priest. That being

the case, can one make a case that the censer was seen to be a dress tool typically

associated with the high priest?

I would suggest that while one may not be able to make a compelling case that

the censer was typically associated with the high priest, both text and ritual underscored

the close association between the high priest and this dress tool. Two pieces of

evidence demonstrate this assertion: (1) the iconic story of the wilderness rebellion of

351
One could also mention another text that supposedly indicates that the burning
of incense was not restricted to the high priest. In 2 Chr 29:11, King Hezekiah spoke to
the Levites (29:5) and stated that they had been chosen to do four things: (1) stand
before YHWH; (2) to serve him; (3) to minister before him; and (4) to burn incense
(~yrIjiq.m;W). The Levites certainly did not burn incense in the Holy Place of the temple,
and so this text appears instead to support the use of the term rjq to refer more
generally to burning sacrifices. Cf. Diana Edelman, “The Meaning of QITTĒR,” VT 35
(1985): 395-404; and Haran, Temples and Temple-Service, 233.
Cf. also 2 Macc 10:3, which does not necessarily refer to the common priests
offering incense, since the third-person plural forms could well refer to the Jewish
people as a whole.
352
Cf. m. Tam. 3 and 5:2, and m. Yoma 2:4. The tradition that Zecharias was a
high priest appears as early as mid- to late-second century CE (see Prot. Jas. 8:6-7;
10:2-9 [versification according to Hock, Infancy Gospels; on the dating, see ibid., 11-
12]), but the tradition is probably older (Stökl Ben Ezra, Impact of Yom Kippur, 250-
51). Could this tradition have arisen from the association of the offering of incense with
the role of the high priest? See ibid., 252.

242
Korah ben-Izhar and his associates, and Aaron’s subsequent atonement for the plague

resulting from the grumbling Israelites in the wilderness; and (2) the yearly ritual of the

high priest entering the Most Holy Place on Yom Kippur.

The story of the rebellion of Korah ben-Izhar, Dathan ben-Eliab, Abiram ben-

Eliab, and On ben-Peleth begins in Num 16:1. The text’s first two words, “And they

took” (xr;qo xQ;YIw): , do not have a direct object, and exegetes have supplied numerous

interpretations in order to fill this gap.353 The verb xql occurs seven times in this

narrative,354 and except for the first and last occasions, it always has one or more censers

as its object. The last occurrence (17:12 [Eng. 16:47]) clearly refers, in the context of

the immediately preceding verse, to the censer as the direct object. Roy Gane concludes

that “it appears that the lack [of a direct object] in verse 1 is an intentional literary

strategy to get the reader/listener thinking about what Korah wants to take, which we

find out later is the censer of Aaron that represents his high priestly function.” 355

While the initial description of this rebellion did deal with the priesthood in

general,356 it specifically revolved around the one who would be considered “the holy

one”—that is, the one who is YHWH’s, who is holy, and who has been chosen to be the

353
See the translations and commentaries.
354
Num 16:1, 6, 17, 18; 17:4, 11, 12 (Eng. 16:39, 46, 47). The “conclusion” to
the narrative (17:14-15 [Eng. 16:49-50]) details those who died from Korah’s initial
rebellion and the subsequent plague.
355
Gane, Leviticus/Numbers, 633. See also the fuller discussion relating the use
of the censer to the high priesthood in Jonathan Magonet, “The Korah Rebellion,” JSOT
24 (1982): 3-25, particularly 3-4, 22-23.

See the charge that the Levites wanted the priesthood (hN"huK.) in 16:10. The
356

term refers to more than Aaron’s priestly role (cf., e.g., Exod 29:9; Num 3:10; 18:1, 7).

243
(high) priest (16:4-5). Consequently, Moses ordered the rebels to engage in a censer

duel357—their censers vs. the censer of Aaron (16:6-7, 16-17). 358 When Aaron “won”

the duel, he became understood as “the holy one” and the one who was to be the (high)

priest. The censer he consequently utilized would ritually and iconically represent the

identity and role of the high priest as mediator and intercessor. Aaron himself used this

dress tool—now identified as “the censer” ( hT'x.M;h;-ta, [MT 16:46]; to. purei/on [LXX

17:11]) instead of “his censer” (AtT'x.m;; to. purei/on auvtou/ [16:17, 18])359—in his

atoning work to stop the plague which had broken out because of the grumbling of the

Israelites over the death of the rebels (17:11-13 [Eng. 16:46-48]), consequently

illustrating that he truly was the chosen (high) priest. Thus, this narrative in Numbers

fundamentally shows that the rightful use of the (bronze)360 tabernacle censer was tightly

associated with the ministry of Aaron as (high) priest.

The censer adhered to the role of the high priest in another way, this one

involving a sanctuary ritual that took place every year. The regulations and rituals for

the most sacred day of the Israelite religious year, Yom Kippur, as found in the HB,

357
So Gane, Leviticus/Numbers, 635.
358
The indication is that the censers of the rebel crowd were their own censers
and were not ones used in the cult, since they were not holy; these censers became holy
only when the fire of YHWH consumed the rebels (Num 16:35-38 [LXX 16:35—17:3]).
359
See the discussion in Raz Kletter and Irit Ziffer, “Incense-Burning Rituals:
From Philistine Fire Pans at Yavneh to the Improper Fire of Korah,” Israel Exploration
Journal 60 (2010): 180-81.
360
The fact that afterward he returned to the entrance of the tabernacle but did not
enter it implies that he took this censer from the bronze altar (ibid., 181); the assumption
is that it was a bronze censer.

244
stipulate that the high priest was to enter from the Holy Place into the Most Holy Place

of the sanctuary with the censer, filled with burning coals from the altar (Lev 16:12). 361

He would then place two handfuls of incense on the censer, the billowing clouds of

which would protect him from the wrath of YHWH (16:12-13).362

The censer was thus the one and only dress tool that the high priest took with

him when he entered into the Most Holy Place and encountered the holy presence of

YHWH. Since this particular ritual was enacted but once a year during the most sacred

361
The text does not indicate which altar this was. Meyers states that it is
“possible” that this altar is the golden altar of incense, while she insists that the altar
“before YHWH” six verses later in 16:18 is the golden altar of incense (“Realms of
Sanctity,” 42-43). Ranko Stefanovic states that the altar in 16:12 is the altar of burnt
offering and agrees that the altar in 16:18 is the golden altar of incense (“The Angel at
the Altar [Revelation 8:3-5]: A Case Study on Intercalations in Revelation,” AUSS 44
[2006]: 81, 87). Those who believe the altar in 16:18 is the golden altar of incense are
following the general rabbinic viewpoint (cf., e.g., m. Yoma 5:5).
But Gane disagrees and states that the altar in both 16:12 and 18 is the altar of
burnt offering (Cult and Character, 77; idem, Leviticus, Numbers, 272). This is also the
viewpoint of Milgrom (Leviticus 1-16, 1025 and 1036). See also the discussion by
Heger, who indicated in 1997 that Levine’s commentary on Leviticus, in which he
identified the altar in 16:18 as the incense altar (Levine, Leviticus, 103-105), was
“contrary to all other modern scholars with whose works I am familiar, and contrary to
the simple understanding of the text” (Heger, Development of Incense Cult, 232-33, n.
140, and 233-34, n. 141).
It is clear from the use of ac'y" (“to go out”) in both 16:17 and 18 that the high
priest is going out of the Holy Place, and thus the altar in 16:18 must be the altar of
burnt offering; this is the altar mentioned two verses later in 16:20. See the discussion
in Gane, Cult and Character, 76-77.
362
The Sadducees believed the incense was applied to the coals of fire at the altar
of burnt offering, while the Pharisees believed that the incense could only be added once
inside the Most Holy Place (t. Yoma 1:8; b. Yoma 19b; 53a; y. Yoma 1:5, 39a). See the
discussion about this controversy in, e.g., Crispin H. T. Fletcher-Louis (“The High
Priest as Divine Mediator in the Hebrew Bible: Dan 7:13 as a Test Case,” in Society of
Biblical Literature 1997 Seminar Papers, Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers
36 [Atlanta: Scholars, 1998], 181-86) and Jacob Zallel Lauterbach (“A Significant
Controversy between the Sadducees and the Pharisees,” HUCA 4 [1927]: 173-205).

245
observance of the Israelites, on this point alone the hT'x.m; as censer and as dress tool

would have been inextricably tied to the high priest.

Incense

Another overlooked dress item, closely related to the use of the censer, is the

incense itself. With regard to the significance of incense in the temple cult, Susan

Ashbrook Harvey observes: “In their representations of the ideal temple and its ideal

use, the biblical texts set incense among a complex of fragrances that served to

demarcate sacred space, sacred action, and sacred identity.” 363 Incense thus played a key

role in the formulation of identity.

Incense was closely attached to rituals performed by the high priest. Just as with

the censer, the sacred incense used with it remained integral to the high priest’s entrance

into—and rituals within—the Most Holy Place on Yom Kippur. Thus the incense was

attached to his ritualistic ministry, particularly on this most holy day of the year.

Fletcher-Louis consequently concludes that the relationship between the high priesthood

and incense was an “enduring association.” 364

While on other days of the year censers could be used both within the tabernacle

proper and outside in the Court, Haran advanced the idea that two different kinds of

363
Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Scenting Salvation: Ancient Christianity and the
Olfactory Imagination, The Transformation of the Classical Heritage 42 (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 2006), 15.
364
Fletcher-Louis, Glory of Adam, 365.

246
incense were used: one for the Court, and one for within the tabernacle proper.365 While

the outer incense was designated as tr,joq., the inner incense was designated differently,

utilizing the additional term ~s (e.g., as in ~yMiS;h; tr,joq.).366 According to Haran, the

Pentateuch relegates this latter, inner incense specifically to the Holy Place (Exod

31:11), and it was to be offered by “Aaron,” that is, the high priest (Exod 30:7-8). 367

365
Haran, “Complex of Ritual Acts,” 276-77; idem, Temples and Temple-Service,
208, 241-43; idem, “The Uses of Incense in the Ancient Israelite Ritual,” VT 10 (1960):
113-29. Cf. Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 1025-26. But see Kjeld Nielsen, Incense in
Ancient Israel, VTSup 38 (Leiden: Brill, 1986), 52-53, who suggests—on the basis of
Exod 35:37—that tr,joq. by itself may indicate this “inside” incense (ibid., 53). Nielsen
nevertheless mounts a series of arguments against Haran’s incense thesis (ibid., 69-71),
but while I believe several of them insightful, I do not find his arguments ultimately
compelling. For a more detailed and sustained critique of Haran’s thesis, see also
Heger, Development of Incense Cult, 48-96, whose ultimate judgment is that Haran’s
thesis, “without acknowledging a theory of development, is doomed to failure and
cannot be sustained” (ibid., 96).
366
The two terms occur together in Exod 25:6; 30:7; 31:11; 35:8, 15, 28; 37:29;
39:38; 40:27; Lev 4:7; 16:12; Num 4:16; 2 Chr 2:3 [Eng. 2:4]; 13:11. Exod 30:34-35
indicates that this incense was made by combining “pure frankincense” ( hK'z: hn"bol.)
with three other aromatic or pungent substances: stacte or gum resin (@j'n"), onchya
(tl,xev). , and galbanum (hn"B.l.x,); finally, salt was added. On frankincense, see Groom,
Frankincense and Myrrh; and Gus W. Van Beek, “Frankincense and Myrrh,” The
Biblical Archaeologist 23 (1960): 70-95. Milgrom asserts that frankincense was “the
main ingredient burned on the inner altar” (Leviticus 1-16, 180). Cf. discussion in
Haran, Temples and Temple-Service, 242-43; idem, “Uses of Incense,” 125-126;
Nielsen, Incense in Ancient Israel, 65-66; and Propp, Exodus 19-40, 484-86. While
English translations frequently translated this inner incense as “sweet” or “fragrant
incense,” Nir concludes that it literally means “drug incense,” since it “is not made from
materials known for their pleasant fragrance, but rather from strong-smelling medicinal
drugs used by the physician or the apothecary (xqwd)” (Nir, “Aromatic Fragrances,” 23).
On this, cf. Yehuda Feliks, “The Incense of the Tabernacle,” in Pomegranates and
Golden Bells, 125-49; and Cornelis Houtman, “The Incense Offering in Its Biblical
Context,” Mid-America Journal of Theology 7 (1991): 180-82.
367
Haran insisted that the so-called Priestly Source (“P”) indicates that the high
priest was the only person who could perform the cultic acts inside the sanctuary
(Temples and Temple Service, 181; idem, “Uses of Incense,” 127). Cf. Heger,

247
Nevertheless, this was also the only incense that the high priest carried with him when

he went into the Most Holy Place and into the presence of YHWH on Yom Kippur (Lev

16:12-13).368 For that occasion it was not offered on the altar of incense but burned in

his censer once he entered the Most Holy Place in order to shield against YHWH’s

glory.369

Pentateuchal legislation assigns Aaron the role of performing ritual ministry in

the tabernacle. As such, any incense would cling to his dress. Furthermore, the high

priest could not enter the Most Holy Place simply on the basis of the dress mentioned in

Lev 16:4. His dress ensemble included more than garments, headgear, and having bare

feet. Not only the censer—but also the incense—must go with him into the presence of

YHWH. I have already shown how the censer could be considered a dress tool. But in

what way would incense be considered a part of the high priest’s dress?

Cornelis Houtman has indicated that the function of the holy incense was part of

a wider understanding of “the Israelite conception of odours, exhalations and vapors,

and emanations in general.”370 Each person’s personal odor classified him, allowed him

Development of Incense Cult, 67-68, and Nielsen, Incense in Ancient Israel, 69, 86.
368
Milgrom refers to a “tripartite gradation” with regard to incense: (1) ordinary
incense offered on the altar of burnt offering (cf. Lev 2:2, 15-16); (2) perfumed incense
offered on the golden altar of incense (Exod 30:7; cf. Exod 30:36); and (3) perfumed
incense ground “extra fine” (Lev 16:12) offered in the Most Holy Place (Leviticus 1-16,
1025-26). All of the incense used within the sanctuary is “sweet,” “fragrant,” or
“perfumed” incense and has frankincense as its main ingredient (ibid., 180), but that of
the Most Holy Place is the most refined.
369
See Haran, Temples and Temple-Service, 244, and idem, “Uses of Incense,”
128.
370
Houtman, “On the Function of the Holy Incense (Exodus XXX 34-8) and the
Sacred Anointing Oil (Exodus XXX 22-33),” VT 42 (1992): 458.

248
to be identified, and indicated his social status and well-being.371 Such odiferous

emanations pervaded one’s clothing and could indicate life or death, purity or impurity.

Accordingly, cultic vestments were purposefully made out of material that inhibited or

prevented sweating (cf. Ezek 44:18).372

All of this is socially significant for the high priest. The holy incense was

exclusive to YHWH and became an expression of his personality, being pure, exquisite,

and unique.373 Not only did it fill the sanctuary, it must have permeated the dress of the

high priest and became identified with him.374 Houtman suggests that in order for the

high priest to survive the presence of YHWH in the Most Holy Place, his dress purity

was “not sufficient. He has to be enveloped in a protecting and screening cloud of

incense (Lev. xvi 13), to prevent a collision between holiness and unholiness in case,

unfortunately, any impurity still adheres to him at his meeting with YHWH.” 375

Consequently, the incense emanating from the censer that the high priest utilized

as a dress tool can also be understood as a (sacred) odor or fragrance. Within the

371
Ibid., 459. Cf. Propp, Exodus 19-40, 514. See also Dominika A. Kurek-
Chomycz, “The Fragrance of Her Perfume: The Significance of Sense Imagery in John’s
Account of the Anointing in Bethany,” NovT 52 (2010): 344: “In the ancient world there
was a clear relationship between one’s social status and scent, hence between power and
scent.”
372
Houtman, “On the Function,” 462-63.
373
Ibid., 462-63.
374
The biblical accounts do not mention this, but that does not negate the
reasonable hypothesis. Cf. Fletcher-Louis, Glory of Adam, 364: “A building which is
constantly filled with clouds of incense does become, over time, infused with its odour.
The same goes for garments whose use is reserved for ceremonies where the wearer is
surrounded by incense.”
375
Houtman, “On the Function,” 464.

249
classification scheme of Vicary, this would probably best be understood as a

cosmetic.376 Such a dress cosmetic was comprised of a powder, oil, or perfume that

produced a fragrance and adhered to one’s body or dress. 377 While the high priest did

not use the incense for the purpose of it being a cosmetic, it effectively became one in a

secondary sense.

As I have indicated above, at various times in the history of Israel and Judah, the

high priest was the focus of legislation regarding ritual ministry in the Holy Place.

During such high priestly ministry this cosmetic of inner incense thus implicitly

constituted a dress item for the high priest. This helps explain the close affiliation

between the incense and the high priest in LXX Sir 50:9, where the high priest emerges

from the “house of the curtain” (oi;kou katapeta,smatoj)” and is compared to “fire and

frankincense in a censer” (pu/r kai. li,banoj evpi. purei,ou).378 This comparison may

376
Vicary, “Signs of Clothing, 294.
377
For the use of various types of incense used as cosmetics in ancient Israel, see
Nielsen, Incense in Ancient Israel, 89-94. Notice the warning attached to the directions
about making the specially compounded tabernacle incense: One was not to use a
similar kind of incense for one’s personal use (Exod 30:34-38).
378
The Hebrew of Sir 50:9 does not refer to the censer like the LXX does. Cf.
the discussion in Heger, Development of Incense Cult, 186, n. 32, and Mulder, Simon
the High Priest, 136-38.
For a recent, summary discussion of the question over which sacrificial offering
is implied here in Ben Sira based on the locative terminology (Yom Kippur or Tamid
offering), see Daniel M. Gurtner, “The ‘House of the Veil’ in Sirach 50,” JSP 14
(2005): 187-200; Gurtner concludes that the Hebrew text refers to the Yom Kippur
sacrifice, while the Greek does not. For an argument that denies either Yom Kippur or
the Daily Whole Offering but instead posits Rosh Hashanah, see Mulder, Simon the
High Priest, 168-75, 248-49, 332. Stökl Ben Ezra (Impact of Yom Kippur, 32, n. 81)
suggests a “best of both worlds” approach: It might have referred to an evening Tamid
offering at the end of Yom Kippur. Cf. Brutti (Development, 269-70), Fearghas Ó
Fearghail (“Sir 50,5-21: Yom Kippur or the Daily Whole-Offering?” Bib 59 [1978]:
301-316), and Skehan and Di Lella (Wisdom of Ben Sira, 550-552).

250
have resulted from both visual and olfactory sensation: The polychromatic fire in the

censer reflected the polychromatic sparkling of the gems in the high priest’s breastpiece,

while the dress of the high priest was saturated with the fragrance of incense.

Ben Sira also earlier associated incense with the high priest in a more implicit

manner. Sir 24:15 describes Wisdom in terms of the components of the inner incense

and three other spices. Scholars have noted numerous parallels between the description

of Wisdom in this chap. and the high priest as depicted in chap. 50. 379 Wisdom

ministered in the tabernacle (24:10) even as the high priest ministered in the sanctuary.

Also, the arboreal language characterizing Wisdom in 24:12-17 “is mirrored in the

account of Simon [the high priest] in the very same terms in 50.8-12.” 380 Consequently,

the aromatic description of Wisdom in 24:15 in terms of the various spices that

constitute incense381 finds its later reflection in the simple comparison between the high

priest and fire and frankincense (pu/r kai. li,banoj) in 50:9. This implies that the spices

that themselves constituted the sacred inner incense were ritually and theologically

associated not only with Wisdom but also with the high priest.

It appears that well before the time of Jesus, however, this dress equipment and

379
Cf. Fletcher-Louis, Glory of Adam, 73-81; idem, “The Cosmology of P and
Theological Anthropology in the Wisdom of Jesus ben Sira,” in Ancient Versions and
Translations, vol. 1 of Of Scribes and Sages: Early Jewish Interpretation and
Transmission of Scripture, ed. Craig A. Evans, Studies in Scripture in Early Judaism
and Christianity 9, Library of Second Temple Studies 50 (London: T & T Clark, 2004),
69-113; and C. T. R. Hayward, The Jewish Temple, 52-53, 78.
380
Fletcher-Louis, “Cosmology of P,” 73.
381
I.e., galbanum, onycha, and stacte, as well as the smoke of frankincense (cf.
LXX 24:15: liba,nou avtmi.j—the latter word used with reference to incense in LXX
Lev 16:13 and Ezek 8:11).

251
cosmetic would have been applicable to all priests who officiated at the golden altar of

incense. Nevertheless, cultic legislation, cultic praxis, and cultic association (e.g., LXX

Sir 24:15; 50:9) appear to have attached more weight to the cosmetic being associated

with the role-related status of the high priest rather than that of the common priest.

Thus, from the standpoint of the modern discussion of dress, it should be considered a

part of high priestly dress.

Summary of Overlooked Elements

I have focused attention on some items associated with the high priest that

legitimately could be considered elements of his ritual dress. While footgear is never

explicitly mentioned as an element of dress for the high priest in the HB, later observers

indicated that this lack of footgear was the standard. Since it was not typical to walk

barefoot outside of sacred places, this would be a significant—though not

unique—aspect of the high priest’s dress. The ritual use of the censer within the

sanctuary, while narratively focused on the high priest in the Pentateuch if not in later

years, was certainly an iconic part of his dress at that time. Finally, the associated

fragrance of the special ritual incense could not but identify him as the one who “wore

the garments” and had the status of high priest. It would be easy to see why these would

not be considered part of the traditionally recognized “eight garments” of the high

priest, since they are not garments or clothes by any stretch of the popular imagination.

Nevertheless, they were aspects of his ritual dress that I suggest one should seriously

consider. Augmenting the dress ensemble of the high priest with these elements would

enrich our understanding of his ritual, social, and theological roles.

252
 There may be other overlooked dress items associated with the high priest.382

Bruce Chilton, for example, describes another possibly overlooked dress element during

the time of Caiaphas:

He himself removed from its special compartment his sceptered staff for his walk
home. He really didn’t like anyone else touching it, especially the priests who might
succeed him. It was his rod and his staff, the emblem of his power, topped by a
precious stone of seven facets that symbolized his capacity to remove sin by his
sacrificial actions (see Zechariah 3:4-9).383

382
One item that should be mentioned here, though with great caution, is the
notorious “Ivory Pomegranate,” which is supposedly written with the inscription,
“Belonging to the Tem[ple of the Lor]d, holy to the priests.” It may—or may not—have
been utilized as some kind of scepter (i.e., a dress tool, held in the hand). The
controversy has not abated over its authenticity since its initial scholarly presentation.
Cf., e.g., Nahman Avigad, “The Inscribed Pomegranate from the ‘House of the Lord,’”
Biblical Archaeologist 53 (September 1990): 157-66; Yuval Goren et al., “A Re-
examination of the Inscribed Pomegranate from the Israel Museum,” IEJ 55 (2005): 3-
20; André Lemaire, “Une inscription paléo-hébraïque sur grenade en ivorie,” Revue
biblique 88 (1981): 236-39; idem, “Probable Head of Priestly Scepter from Solomon’s
Temple Surfaces in Jerusalem: Name of God Incised on Ivory Pomegranate,” Biblical
Archaeology Review 10 (January-February 1984): 24-29; André Lemaire, with an
appendix by Amnon Rosenfeld and Shimon Ilani, “A Re-examination of the Inscribed
Pomegranate: A Rejoinder,” IEJ 56 (2006): 167-77; Shmuel Ahituv et al., “The
Inscribed Pomegranate from the Israel Museum Examined Again,” IEJ 57 (2007): 87-
95; and Biblical Archaeology Society, “Leading Israeli Scientist Declares Pomegranate
Inscription Authentic: BAR Special News Report: Updated December 16, 2008,”
Biblical Archaeology Review Online, http://www.bib-arch.org/news/
news-ivory-pomegranate.asp (accessed March 8, 2012). Several caveats are in order:
(1) the use of this by the Jewish priests is unknown from ancient literature; (2) even if
used by the priests, it is unknown if the high priest used it the most—if at all; and (3) it
may not even be a representation of a pomegranate (see J. Andrew McDonald,
“Botanical Determination of the Middle Eastern Tree of Life,” Economic Botany 56
[2002]: 113-29, particularly 121-22, who suggests throughout his article that it is a
representation of a lotus).
383
Bruce Chilton, Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography, Image Books (New York:
Doubleday, 2000), 222. In T. Levi 8:4, as part of Levi’s investiture as priest, he is
anointed and then given a staff, while later in 8:8 he is given a branch of olive wood.
The text combines the roles of priest, king, prophet, judge, and scribe (8:12-17), and so
it is difficult to be conclusive here with some of the sartorial imagery (cf. Barker, Great
High Priest, 128). As indicated earlier in this chapter, “this investiture deviates widely
from the biblical prescriptions for priestly vestments” (Stökl Ben Ezra, Impact of Yom

253
While this is a scintillating suggestion, convincing and compelling evidence for this

possible dress element remains absent.384

Summary and Conclusions

The Israelite high priest wore a number of ritual dress items that indicated his

social status and assisted him in accomplishing his ritual duties in the sanctuary

complex. These elements did not remain understood or even described in the same way

over the centuries, and sometimes ancient sources and interpreters appear confused over

how to describe and identify them. The situation is not necessarily better today, since

scholars do not universally agree as to how to understand or classify them.

The traditional understanding of the high priest’s dress is not clearcut, and

biblical catalogs of high priestly ritual dress items do not necessarily list them in the

same way or even list all of them. In addition, I suggest that the high priest’s dress

ensemble be augmented with ritual dress elements that have frequently been overlooked

or ignored. In spite of this, one can basically divide these ritual dress items into those

he wore during the year and those he wore once a year on Yom Kippur. In addition, one

can compare and contrast both of these ritual catalogs of dress with the dress of the

Kippur, 83, n. 20). See also Barker, who concludes that Apoc. Ab. 11:1-4, in describing
the angel Iaoel/Yaoel, refers to the “turban, robe, and staff of the high priest” (Great
High Priest, 128). The text of Apoc. Ab. 11:3 does refer to a golden staff or scepter (so
R. Rubinkiewicz, “Apocalypse of Abraham: A New Translation and Introduction,” in
OTP, 1:694), but the high priestly interpretation is Barker’s.
384
The rod or staff (hJem;) of Levi was used to prove the priestly leadership of
Aaron in the wake of a leadership revolt and was consequently kept in the Most Holy
Place of the tabernacle (Num 17:1-11 [MT 17:16-26]). Intriguingly, it produced
blossoms (#yci #ceY"w: [17:8; MT 17:23]), and as we have seen, the head ornament of the
high priest’s dress was called a #yci (e.g., Exod 28:36).

254
common priests, with some elements being identical, some similar, and others unique.

At the same time, even those high priestly dress elements that were unique within the

priesthood were not necessarily unique within Israelite society.

With regard to the daily ritual dress of the high priest, some items—like the

ephod—were apparently fabricated of two or more elements. This underscores again

the difficulty one has in ascertaining the correct meaning of terminology used in the HB.

Ancient sources also seemed to move with ease in identifying or substituting, in varying

ways, other dress elements; the fluidity in describing aspects of the robe, the ephod, and

breastpiece in Philo, for example, illustrates this well and suggests that metonymy and

synecdoche may be at play when various dress items are mentioned.

All of this indicates that the subject of the high priest’s dress is not only rich and

complex, but it can also be confusing and exasperating at times. Nevertheless, the

social role of the dress of the high priest was powerful in identifying his status and

occupation within the Israelite cultus. And it is that which drives one’s attention to the

book of Revelation, one of the two most cultic works in the NT, in search of further

sartorial information that might help interpret the redemptive role of Jesus Christ there.

255
 CHAPTER 5

THE DRESS IMAGERY OF JESUS CHRIST IN REVELATION 1

AS AN INDICATOR OF HIGH PRIESTLY STATUS

Introduction

The question of whether or not the book of Revelation contains priestly or high

priestly imagery with reference to Jesus Christ is a controversial one. Exegetes have

both promoted and denied the idea that Jesus appears as a (high) priest in Revelation,

and these arguments have typically revolved around the dress imagery associated with

the one John designates as “like a son of man” ( o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou) in 1:12-16.1

Gerald L. Stevens astutely observes that John, in describing the dress of the one o[moion

ui`o.n avnqrw,pou, was essentially indicating that “clothes make the man”:

Clothes often represent fashion, but they also can represent function—the kaki [sic]
outfit of a soldier, the green scrubs of a physician, the white collar of a priest, or the
blue uniform of a policeman. Function is John’s point in describing the clothes of
the Son of Man.2

The dress descriptions in chap. 1 describe not just how the one o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou

1
The Greek terminology is not definite. From here on I will use this specific
Johannine designation when referring to the character described in Rev 1:13 and/or
14:14, but any use of the English article “the” is simply to point to this usage in these
two texts, not to indicate that the Greek is definite.
2
Gerald L. Stevens, “One Like a Son of Man: Contemplating Christology in Rev
1:9-20,” in Essays on Revelation: Appropriating Yesterday’s Apocalypse in Today’s
World, ed. Gerald L. Stevens (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2010), 22.

256
looks but what role he plays. Interpretation of the dress imagery in this chapter is thus

critical to an understanding and appreciation of the rich description of the one o[moion

ui`o.n avnqrw,pou seen by John in his inaugural vision in chap. 1. Furthermore, it is also

absolutely critical to a resolution of the question of a possible high priestly identity and

role for Jesus in Revelation, for it is in this chapter that the strongest case can be made

for or against such imagery.

Other than texts referencing the dominant and pervasive Lamb (avrni,on) motif

found in Revelation,3 there are only three other textual units in Revelation in which

there is widespread acknowledgment that John is visually describing Jesus Christ,

despite the fact that neither “Jesus” nor “Christ” nor a combination of those two terms

appears:4 (1) John’s inaugural vision in Rev 1:12-16, in which the o[moion ui`o.n

3
Outside of Revelation the same Greek term for the Lamb only occurs but once
in the NT (John 21:15) and five times in the LXX (Ps 113:4, 6; Jer 11:19; 27:45; and
Pss. Sol. 8:23). Within Revelation this term occurs twenty-eight times out of its twenty-
nine occurrences as a clear metaphor for Jesus (Rev. 5:6, 8, 12, 13; 6:1, 16; 7:9, 10, 14,
17; 12:11; 13:8; 14:1, 4 [2x], 10; 15:3; 17:14 [2x]; 19:7, 9; 21:9, 14, 22, 23, 27; 22:1,
3). The one remaining occurrence in 13:11 is anarthrous and thus appears generic in
nature: the Land Beast had “two horns like a lamb” ( ke,rata du,o o[moia avrni,w)| , but it
“was speaking like a dragon” (evla,lei w`j dra,kwn). Since John has portrayed the
Dragon as a key character in both chaps. 12 and 13 (12:3, 4, 7, 9, 13, 16, 17; 13:2 and
4), and since the Dragon is the key opponent of God, it would appear that the reference
to the Land Beast speaking like a dragon is more readily a comparison with the
aforesaid Dragon as opposed to a generic dragon; as such, the Land Beast would also
appear to have horns like the Lamb—i.e., Jesus. Osborne thus concludes that the land
beast “parodies the description of Christ as the Lamb with seven horns in 5:6”
(Revelation, 511), since “the combination of ‘lamb’ and ‘horn’ is too similar to 5:6 to be
ignored” (ibid., n. 1).
4
The very first verse of Revelation explicitly describes this work as the
“apocalypse of Jesus Christ” (VApoka,luyij VIhsou/ Cristou/), but the only other
references to Jesus Christ in Revelation occur in the same chapter (vss. 2 and 5 [ VIhsou/
Cristou/]). References to the name “Jesus” alone occur only sporadically (1:9 [2x];
12:17; 14:12; 17:6; 19:10 [2x]; 20:4) and in a textual cluster in chap. 22 (vss. 16, 20,

257
avnqrw,pou appears; (2) John’s vision of one o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou sitting on a cloud

in 14:14-16; and (3) John’s vision of the Rider on the White Horse in Rev 19:11-16 (cf.

19:19, 21). Since the one designated by John in chap. 1 as o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou

describes himself later in the same chapter as having died and come back to life (1:18),

it appears unequivocal that he is Jesus Christ.5 Consequently, in this chapter I will

investigate whether or not any of the dress imagery in Rev 1 with regard to the o[moion

ui`o.n avnqrw,pou communicates a high priestly identity and role for Jesus.

and 21). While u`pomonh/| evn vIhsou/ (“perseverance in Jesus”)—the second reference to
Jesus in 1:9—is the reading of NA27 and UBS4 (witnessed by a* C P 1611 2050 2053vid
pc gig vg syph bo [all ms. references in this chapter are per NA27 unless otherwise
noted]), some mss. include Cristw| as part of their textual tradition: u`pomonh/| evn
Cristw/| (A pc); u`pomonh/| evn Cristw/| vIhsou/ ([a2] 1006 1841 2351 MK ar h vgcl); and
u`pomonh/| evn vIhsou/ Cristw/| (2329 MA syh** [sa]). Also, in 17:6 the name vIhsou/ is
omitted here by 1854 al (ar).
On the other hand, references to the term cristo,j (indicating the anointed one or
Messiah) apart from the name of Jesus occur in 11:15 and 12:10, while the appearance
of cristo,j in 20:4 (kai. e;zhsan kai. evbasi,leusan meta. tou/ [this article is omitted by
051 2062 MA] Cristou/ [“and they came to life and reigned with Christ”]) and 6
(e;sontai i`erei/j tou/ qeou/ kai. tou/ Cristou/ [“they will be priests of God and of
Christ”]) contextually does refer to Jesus (who has just been earlier mentioned in 20:4).
Another term used in the Gospels in reference to Jesus Christ during his earthly
ministry, Lord (ku,rioj), clearly describes Jesus on one occasion in 11:8 (referring to his
crucifixion), while it is combined with the name Jesus on two other occasions (22:20-
21). The term also occurs in 1:8; 4:8, 11; 7:14; 11:15, 17; 14:13; 15:3, 4; 16:5, 7;
17:14; 18:8; 19:1, 6, 16; 21:22; 22:5, 6. But in none of these cases does the text make it
clear that it refers to Jesus Christ (although this can be deduced in some instances from
other texts within Revelation). All of these references to Jesus are either literary or
theological in nature, describing one who is narratively “not there.”
5
Cf., e.g., Fee (Revelation, 19), Hoffmann (Destroyer and the Lamb, 219), and
Lenski (Interpretation, 73-74).

258
 The Context and Content of John’s Initial Vision
in Revelation 1:12-16

After identifying himself and explaining the reason for his presence on the island

of Patmos (1:9), John indicated in v. 10 the time of his ecstatic experience in the Spirit 6

and then described an audition he experienced that sounded like a trumpet. 7 The

trumpet-like voice spoke and commanded John to write what he saw and send it to

seven church communities: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis,

Philadelphia, and Laodicea (1:11). John’s subsequent, inaugural vision includes a

visual description of two objects (seven golden lampstands and the awe-inducing

o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou [1:12-16]), followed by John’s initial reaction (1:17a), Jesus’

encouraging response to John (1:17b), Jesus’ initial self-revelation (1:17c-18), Jesus’

writing commission to John (1:19), and finally Jesus’ interpretation of two of the

symbols that John had seen in his inaugural vision—the seven stars and the seven

golden lampstands (1:20). It is the initial visionary description of the o[moion ui`o.n

avnqrw,pou in 1:12-16 that I will focus on in this section, since it is here that visual dress

imagery appears.

It is apparent that John begins Revelation with a cultic perspective. One can

perceive this from two blocks of material: (1) the introductory material before John’s

6
evgeno,mhn evn pneu,mati evn th/| kuriakh/| h`me,ra| (“I was in the Spirit on the
Lord’s day”).
7
h;kousa ovpi,sw mou fwnh.n mega,lhn w`j sa,lpiggoj (“I heard behind me a
loud sound like [the sound of] a trumpet”). One cannot ignore the auditory aspects of
John’s visions. John himself concluded that he was “the one who hears and sees these
things [o` avkou,wn kai. ble,pwn tau/ta]” (22:8). Cf. Maier, Apocalypse Recalled, 91-
122.

259
inaugural vision (1:1-11); and (2) the inaugural vision itself (1:12-20). With reference

to the introductory material in 1:1-11, at least two concepts inform John’s audience of a

cultic perspective. First, in the second of his three descriptive attributes of Jesus, John

writes of Jesus as “the firstborn of the dead” (o` prwto,tokoj tw/n nekrw/n [1:5]). This

attribute parallels the second of three actions of Jesus of which John reminds his

audience: He “freed us from our sins by his blood” ( lu,santi8 h`ma/j evk tw/n a`martiw/n

h`mw/n evn tw/| ai[mati auvtou/ [1:5]).9 The reference to Jesus’ blood as the means of

release from sin, pointing to the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross, refers to the

priestly function of the sprinkling of blood in the sanctuary cult. 10 The motif of death

and resurrection arises again in John’s subsequent vision, in which o[moion ui`o.n

avnqrw,pou proclaims: “I was dead, but behold, I am alive forever and ever” ( evgeno,mhn

nekro.j kai. ivdou. zw/n eivmi eivj tou.j aivw/naj tw/n aivw,nwn [1:18]). It is this latter

verse that nails the identity of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou as the one who died on the

cross but was gloriously resurrected—Jesus. This particular type of death, with its

implicit reference to the salvific agency of the blood of Jesus, refers to the pervasive

sacrificial system in Judaism, and this sacrificial system was centered on the sanctuary

This word (lusanti) is witnessed by P18 a A C 1611 2050 2329 2351 MA h sy

8

Primasius. The variant lousanti is witnessed by P 1006 1841 1854 2053 2062 MK lat
bo. The former text is considered the harder reading or lectio difficilior (Aune,
Revelation 1-5, 42, n. 5d.d.).
9
See Jacques B. Doukhan, Secrets of Revelation: The Apocalypse Through
Hebrew Eyes (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2002), 19.
10
Gregory K. Beale and Sean M. McDonough, “Revelation,” Commentary on the
New Testament Use of the Old Testament, ed. G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans; Nottingham: Apollos, 2007), 1090.

260
and its cultic rituals for the forgiveness of sins.11

Second, in the third of his three descriptive attributes of Jesus, John writes of

Jesus as “the ruler of the kings of the earth” ( o` a;rcwn tw/n basile,wn th/j gh/j [1:5]).

This attribute would parallel the third of the three actions John mentions: “He made us

to be a kingdom, priests [serving] his God and father” ( evpoi,hsen h`ma/j basilei,an(

i`erei/j tw/| qew/| kai. patri. auvtou/ [1:6]).12 This latter action, reflecting the ancient

story of the Exodus,13 is the first of three references by John to the priesthood of the

believers (cf. also 5:10; 20:6).14 The fact that the kingdom is comprised of priests

assumes that the ruler over the kings is also not only royal but priestly. 15

With regard to John’s inaugural vision itself (1:12-20), the first thing John sees

11
Cf. Beale, Revelation, 191.
12
Doukhan, Secrets of Revelation, 19.
13
See Aune, Revelation 1-5, 47-48. This alludes to Exod 19:5-6, where God
promises that the Israelites would be for him a “kingdom of priests” ( ~ynIh]Ko tk,l,m.m /
basi,leion i`era,teuma). On the Hebrew, see the discussion in Propp, Exodus 19-25,
157-60. The LXX phrasing also appears in 23:22 and is exactly reflected in 1 Pet 2:9.
Aune suggests that John “appears to be drawing on a very early Jewish understanding of
Exod 19:6 in terms of two distinct privileges rather than the single one reflected in the
MT and LXX” (Revelation 1-5, 48).
14
Notice that Moses consecrated the Israelites as well as Aaron and the other
priests by sprinkling them with blood (Exod 24:4-8; 29:10-21). But contra Beale
(Revelation, 194), Moses did not do this “in precisely the same manner.”
15
Notice Thomas B. Slater, Christ and Community: A Socio-Historical Study of
the Christology of Revelation, JSNTSup 178 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1999), 97:
“If Christ enables one to become a priest in the heavenly temple (1.5-6), cannot Christ
himself be the high priest? If not, why not?” Cf. similar remarks by André Feuillet, The
Priesthood of Christ and His Ministers, trans. Matthew J. O’Connell (Garden City, NY:
Doubleday, 1975), 181. On the twofold office mentioned in 1:5-6 in relation to both
Jesus and the believers, see Beale (Revelation, 192-93) and Stevens (“Son of Man,” 23).

261
is clearly cultic, indicative of the sanctuary architecture and rituals. John turned “to see

the voice” (ble,pein th.n fwnh.n [1:12]) speaking with him, and when he turned around,

he saw two primary objects. John first saw “seven golden lampstands” 16 (e`pta. lucni,aj

crusa/j [1:12b]). The motif of the lampstands frames the initial vision, since not only is

it the first thing John sees, but it is also the final interpretive element mentioned before

the individual messages to the seven churches (1:12, 20).17

The second object John sees in his inaugural vision is “in the middle of the

lampstands” (evn me,sw18

| tw/n lucniw/n): He saw a o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou (1:13)

apparently stationary or immobile.19 Most scholarly attention focuses on the latter

object of John’s visionary sight, the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou. But recognizing the

significant association of the e`pta. lucni,aj crusa/j and the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou is

essential to establishing and framing the visionary context of John’s dress imagery in

chap. 1.

The term lucni,a occurs twelve times in the NT, and outside of Revelation it

refers to a household lampstand (Matt 5:15; Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16; 11:33) or the

16
The KJV translates this term as “candlestick,” but this is not what the term
means. See BDAG, s.v. “lucni,a.”
17
Cf. Konrad Huber, Einer gleich einem Menschensohn: die Christusvisionen in
Offb 1,9-20 und Offb 14,14-20 und die Christologie der Johannesoffenbarung,
Neutestamentliche Abhandlungen, n.s., 51 (Münster: Aschendorff, 2007), 78.
18
Codex Sinaiticus has meson (“middle”) instead of evn me,sw|.
19
Later this o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou describes himself as o` peripatw/n evn me,sw|
tw/n e`pta. lucniw/n tw/n crusw/n (“the one who walks in the middle of the seven
golden lampstands” [2:1]).

262
lampstand in the holy place of the Israelite tabernacle (Heb 9:2).20 Five out of the six

times lucni,a occurs in Revelation it clearly refers to the same objects depicted here in

1:12 (1:13, 20 [2x]; 2:1, 5). In 11:4 John equates the two lucni,a that stand before the

Lord of the earth with “the two olive trees” ( ai` du,o evlai/ai) mentioned earlier in the

verse.21

The verbal and conceptual background22 to the e`pta. lucni,aj crusa/j in 1:12 is

20
Scholarly treatments of the sanctuary lampstand(s) include: Briggs, Jewish
Temple Imagery, 55-66; Erwin R. Goodenough, “The Menorah Among Jews of the
Roman World,” HUCA 23 (1950-1951): 449-92; Rachel Hachlili, The Menorah, the
Ancient Seven-Armed Candelabrum: Origin, Form and Significance, JSJSup 68
(Leiden: Brill, 2001); Carol Meyers, The Tabernacle Menorah: A Synthetic Study of a
Symbol from the Biblical Cult, American Schools of Oriental Research Dissertation
Series 2 (Missoula, MT: Scholars, 1976); Daniel Sperber, “The History of the
Menorah,” Journal of Jewish Studies 16 (1965): 135-55; Joan Taylor, “The Asherah, the
Menorah, and the Sacred Tree,” JSOT 66 (1995): 29-54; Jens Voss, Die Menora:
Gestalt und Funktion des Leuchters im Tempel zu Jerusalem, Orbis Biblicus et
Orientalis 128 (Freiburg: Universitätsverlag Freiburg; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck &
Ruprecht, 1993); and L. Yarden, The Tree of Light: A Study of the Menorah: The Seven-
Branched Lampstand (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1971).
21
Cf. Zech 4:1-3, 11-14. In LXX Zechariah lucni,a occurs in 4:2 and 11.
22
The topic of OT allusions and backgrounds to Revelation has generated a large
amount of literature. This is intimately related to the issue of whether John alluded to
the MT, the LXX, both the MT and the LXX, or other recensions. For a sampling of the
literature, see G. K. Beale, John’s Use of the Old Testament in Revelation, JSNTSup
166 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1998); idem, “A Response to Jon Paulien on the
Use of the Old Testament in Revelation,” AUSS 39 (2001): 23-34; Beate Kowalski, Die
Rezeption des Propheten Ezechiel in der Offenbarung des Johannes, Stuttgarter
Biblische Beiträge 52 (Stuttgart: Katholisches Bibelwerk, 2004); Susan Fournier
Mathews, “A Critical Evaluation of the Allusions to the Old Testament in Apocalypse
1:1–8:5” (PhD diss., The Catholic University of America, 1987); Mathewson,
“Assessing Old Testament Allusions,” 311-25; Steve Moyise, The Old Testament in the
Book of Revelation, JSNTSup 115 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1995); idem, “The
Language of the Old Testament in the Apocalypse,” JSOT 76 (1999): 97-113; idem,
“Authorial Intention and the Book of Revelation,” AUSS 39 (2001): 35-40; idem,
“Intertextuality and the Use of Scripture in the Book of Revelation, Scriptura 84 (2003):
391-401; Jon Paulien, “Elusive Allusions: The Problematic Use of the Old Testament in

263
sanctuary imagery, whether the singular golden lampstand in the Israelite tabernacle,23

the golden lampstands in Solomon’s Temple, 24 the golden lampstand in the Second

Temple period (LXX 1 Macc 1:21; 4:49-50; Sir 26:17), or the visionary lampstand in

Zech 4:2-3.25 The fact that they are described in Revelation as golden further

Revelation,” Biblical Research 33 (1988): 37-53; idem, “Criteria and Assessment of

Allusions to the Old Testament in the Book of Revelation,” in Studies in the Book of
Revelation, ed. Steve Moyise (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 2001), 113-29; idem, “Dreading
the Whirlwind: Intertextuality and the Use of the Old Testament in Revelation,” AUSS
39 (2001): 5-22; idem, “Elusive Allusions in the Apocalypse: Two Decades of Research
into John’s Use of the Old Testament,” in The Intertextuality of the Epistles:
Explorations of Theory and Practice, ed. Thomas L. Brodie, Dennis R. MacDonald, and
Stanley E. Porter, New Testament Monographs 16 (Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, 2006),
61-68; idem, “New Testament Use of the Old Testament,” in “For You Have
Strengthened Me”: Biblical and Theological Studies in Honor of Gerhard Pfandl in
Celebration of His Sixty-Fifth Birthday, ed. Martin Pröbstle with the assistance of
Gerald A. Klingbeil and Martin G. Klingbeil (St. Peter am Hart: Seminar Schloss
Bogenhofen, 2007), 167-88.
23
See the use of lucni,a in LXX Exod 25:31-35; 26:35; 30:27; 31:8; 35:14;
38:13; 39:16; 40:4, 24; Lev 24:4; Num 3:31; 4:9; 8:2-4. Cf. Jean-Pierre Charlier,
Comprendre l’Apocalypse, Lire la Bible 89-90 (Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1991), 1:69;
Hachlili, Menorah, 9-16; Seán P. Kealy, The Apocalypse of John, Message of Biblical
Spirituality (Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, 1987), 75; Alfred Loisy, L’Apocalypse
de Jean (1923; repr., Frankfurt: Minerva, 1972), 79; and Thomas, Revelation 1-7, 97.
24
See the use of lucni,a in LXX 1 Kgs 7:35 (MT 7:49); 1 Chr 28:15; 2 Chr 4:7,
20; 13:11; Jer 52:19. Cf. Hachlili (Menorah, 16-18), Mulholland (Revelation, 81),
Murphy (Fallen Is Babylon, 88), and Roloff (Revelation, 34). LXX 1 Kgs 7:35 and 2
Chr 4:7 indicate that there were five lampstands on the south side of the holy place and
five lampstands on the north side. While LXX 1 Chr 28:15 and 2 Chr 4:20 indicate that
there was more than one lampstand, they do not enumerate how many; the MT of 1 Chr
28:15, however, indicates that there were both gold and silver lampstands. 2 Chr 13:11
is unique in its discussion of Solomon’s temple, in that it describes “the golden
lampstand” (h` lucni,a h` crush/). Jewish interpreters harmonized the accounts in
Chronicles by concluding that there was one golden lampstand (as in the tabernacle
traditions) as well as ten associated lampstands (Sperber, “History,” 135-36).
25
Cf. Beale and McDonough, “Revelation,” 1091; George Wesley Buchanan,
The Book of Revelation: Its Introduction and Prophecy, The Mellen Biblical
Commentary: Intertextual, New Testament Series 22 (Lewiston, NY: Mellen Biblical

264
substantiates this conclusion.26 The phrase does not, however, appear to refer to the

seven lamps that were attached to the sanctuary lampstand(s), since the term for that

type of lamp would be lu,cnoj instead of lucni,a.27

Aune infers that the use of the anarthrous noun indicates that John’s audience

was not familiar with such lampstands.28 There is no evidence, however, that either the

Press, 1993), 65; Charlier, Comprendre l’Apocalypse, 1:69; Hachlili, Menorah, 18-30,
41-50; Kealy, Apocalypse of John, 75; Loisy, L’Apocalypse, 79; Murphy, Fallen Is
Babylon, 88; Prigent, Commentary on the Apocalypse, 134; and Thomas, Revelation 1-
7, 97. If John is here alluding to Zechariah’s golden lampstand, much associated with
that singular lampstand in Zech 4:2-3 is missing: a bowl or torus (HL'gU / lampa,dion) on
top, seven lamps each with seven lips/spouts/pipes/funnels (tAqc'Wm / evparustri,dej),
and two olives or olive trees (~ytiyzE / evlai/ai) on either side of the bowl. Marko
Jauhiainen does not believe that John’s lampstands in chap. 1 contain a direct allusion to
Zech 4 (The Use of Zechariah in Revelation, WUNT 199 [Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck,
2005], 90).
26
On the golden nature of the sanctuary lampstands, see LXX Exod 25:31; 38:13;
Num 8:4; 1 Kgs 7:35; 2 Chr 4:7, 20; 13:11; cf. Jer 52:19. Huber, however, is reticent to
attribute too much cultic meaning to the lampstands based on their golden nature (Einer
gleich einem Menschensohn, 120-21).
27
Cf. LXX Exod 25:37; 27:20; 30:7-8; 38:16-17; 39:16; 40:4, 25; Lev 24:2, 4;
Num 4:9; 8:2-3; 1 Chr 28:15; 2 Chr 4:20. For the use of lu,cnoj in Revelation, see
18:23, 21:23, and 22:5. See also the use of the term lampa,j (“torch”) in 4:5 and 8:10.
F. J. A. Hort (The Apocalypse of St John: I—III: The Greek Text with Introduction,
Commentary, and Additional Notes [London: Macmillan, 1908], 16) and Fee
(Revelation, 16) are two who see the golden lampstands in Rev 1 having burning lights.
But note that John does not describe any lamps attached to these lampstands; cf. Iwan
Whiteley, “A Search for Cohesion in the Book of Revelation with Specific Reference to
Chapter One” (PhD diss., University of Wales [Lampeter], 2005), 161). Explicit light
imagery in this vision is associated with the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou (e.g., eyes like a
flame of fire [1:14], face like the son shining in its strength [1:16]), and as such, Jesus
“is the source of light for the vision” (Resseguie, Revelation of John, 75). In the New
Jerusalem (21:23), God enlightens (fwti,zw) it and the Lamb is its lamp (lu,cnoj).
28
Aune, Revelation 1-5, 65, n. 12.d.

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tabernacle or any Jewish temple contained exactly seven lampstands,29 and this suggests

that the issue is not one of familiarity but one of the ability of John’s audience to make

conceptual connections.30 John is not slavishly reproducing HB/LXX motifs and ideas

but rather adapting them to his own purposes,31 and what John saw was not necessarily

the OT lampstands but objects like these items.32

Aune suggests that the e`pta. lucni,aj crusa/j should be translated so that they

refer to seven golden menorahs, since the term “menorah” (transliterated from either

hrnm or hrwnm)33 is a technical term for the lampstand(s) that existed in the tabernacle

and the first and second temples, each having six branches attached to a central trunk

29
Ibid., 65, n. 12.d., and 88-89.
30
Mathews concludes that John is not alluding to any specific passage that
mentions the golden lampstand in the OT (“Critical Evaluation,” 168-69). The issue is
not whether John’s audience could understand cultic imagery (such as sanctuary
imagery or high priestly dress imagery). Numerous references in John’s work to cultic
imagery assume that at least some of John’s audience could understand it. Such
imagery includes the hidden manna (2:17; cf., e.g., LXX Exod 16:33, 34; Heb 9:4) and
the ark of the covenant (11:19; cf., e.g., LXX Num 10:33; Josh 4:11; 6:8, 11), the
golden censer (8:3; cf. LXX 1 Kgs 7:50; 1 Macc 1:22) used in association with the
golden altar (8:3; cf., e.g., LXX Exod 39:38; 40:5, 26), and the tabernacle of the
testimony (15:5; cf., e.g., LXX Num 1:53; 10:11; 18:2, 4, 6, 23).
31
Cf. Whiteley, “Search for Cohesion,” 159.
32
Ibid., 163. In reference to the anarthrous e`pta. lucni,aj crusa/j, Whiteley
observes that “John does not use the article as an OT reference marker anywhere
through the discourse. The lack of article [sic] may be to point out that John did not see
(e.g.) the lampstand of the temple. . . . It seems that John saw something qualitatively
equivalent to the lampstand of the temple” (ibid., 160).
33
Cf. Exod 25:32 (2x); 37:18 (2x); 1 Chr 28:15 (7x). See also, e.g., Exod 25:31
(2x), 33, 34, 35; 37:17 (2x), 19, 20; Lev 24:4; Num 8:2, 3, 4 (2x); 1 Kgs 7:49; 2 Chr
4:7, 20; Jer 52:19; Zech 4:2, 11. For a non-sacral use of the word, see 2 Kgs 4:10.

266
(e.g., six plus one, yielding seven).34 Nevertheless, he also notes that there is “no

explicit indication that John conceived of these as branched lampstands with seven oil

lamps like the traditional Jewish menorah used as a religious symbol.” 35 It appears that

John has little to no interest in any lamps on the lampstands for at least two reasons: (1)

the explicit number mentioned with this image is seven and not seven times seven, or

forty-nine (1:12, 20; cf. 2:5);36 and (2) when John views multiplex imagery (i.e.,

numbered items, each with other numbered items), he is not averse to describing it as

such.37

Several verses later John interprets the seven visionary lampstands of 1:12-13 to

represent seven Christian churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis,

Philadelphia, and Laodicea (1:20; cf. 1:4, 11). Despite this later, explicit interpretation

focusing on these seven communities of Christian believers, the first reference to the

e`pta. lucni,aj crusa/j would likely have caused John’s readers to initially think of

34
Aune, Revelation 1-5, 88-89; cf., e.g., Beale, Revelation, 2070; Fee,
Revelation, 16; Daniel F. Stramara, Jr., God’s Timetable: The Book of Revelation and
the Feast of Seven Weeks (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2011), 81-82. Barker is clearly
incorrect when she argues that o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou “was the central part of the one,
composite lamp, rather than a distinct figure surrounded by seven free-standing lamps as
often depicted” (Revelation, 83; cf. idem, Temple Mysticism: An Introduction [London:
SPCK, 2011], 166); John sees plural lampstands (1:12), and John later describes the
o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou walking in the midst of them (2:1).
35
Aune, Revelation 1-5, 89.

In Exod 25:33-35 and 37:19-20, the term “lampstand” ( hr'nOm.) appears to focus
36

on the central shaft and not the entire structure (cf. Propp, Exodus 19-40, 403).
37
The red Dragon has seven diadems on seven heads (12:3); the Sea Beast has
ten diadems on ten heads (13:1); and the Scarlet Beast has seven heads and ten horns
(17:3, 7).

267
sanctuary imagery. Consequently, as Aune observes, “this imagery suggests that a

‘temple’ is the ambiance for John’s vision.” 38

In the midst of the e`pta. lucni,aj crusa/j John sees the o[moion ui`o.n

avnqrw,pou. One would expect a priestly or high priestly figure to be associated with the

lampstand imagery in Rev 1, since they were the personnel historically associated with

the lampstand(s) in the tabernacle and temple. While it is clear that the common priests

were mentioned in association with rituals relating to the lampstand(s) in the Holy Place

of both Solomon’s Temple (e.g., 2 Chr 13:10-11 39) and the Second Temple (Luke 1:8-

11), it was not the common priests but instead the high priest who was specifically

associated with the singular lampstand or menorah in the cultic legislation of the

tabernacle traditions (cf. Exod 27:20-21; 29:29-30; 30:8 Num 8:2-4; Lev 24:3-4). 40 It

seems unlikely, however, that John would have understood Jesus in the midst of the

e`pta. lucni,aj crusa/j in terms of a common priest, since he utilized high priestly

motifs elsewhere in his work.41 The picture in Rev 1, with the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou

38
Aune, Revelation 1-5, 88. Cf. Robert H. Gundry, Commentary on the New
Testament: Verse-by-Verse Explanations with a Literal Translation (Peabody, MA:
Hendrickson, 2010), 999; Slater, Christ and Community, 96; and Whiteley, “Search for
Cohesion,” 159-60.
39
Philo understood that the work of tending the lampstand was initially a high
priestly ministry, but it was delegated to subordinate priests as a result of indolence and
negligence (QE 2.105).
40
Cf., e.g., Hachlili (Menorah, 176), Rooke (“Kingship as Priesthood,” 200;
idem, “The Day of Atonement,” 350), and Yarden (The Tree of Light, 14).
41
The most persuasive case is the twelve foundation stones of the New Jerusalem
(21:19-20) reflecting the stones on the high priest’s ephod; on this, cf., e.g., Aune
(Revelation 17-22, 1165), Beale (Revelation, 1080-88), Comblin (“La liturgie,” 15), Lee
(New Jerusalem, 285-86), Mathewson (New Heaven, 130-49, 153-56), Schüssler

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standing in the midst of the e`pta. lucni,aj crusa/j, appears more likely indicative of the

high priest tending with care the golden lampstand(s) as he was delegated to do on a

daily basis.42 Thus, beyond the two cultic references in the introductory material, this

locative contextual marker sets forth not only a sanctuary background but even a high

priestly one for the rest of John’s inaugural vision. 43

The o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou

John’s terminology for the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou has struck commentators as

grammatically odd.44 While a dative typically follows various forms of the adjective

o[moioj, Revelation’s twenty-one occurrences of this adjective include two texts in

Fiorenza (Invitation, 205), and Zwickel (“Die Edelsteine,” 50-70). Cf. also the dress
imagery of the Great Prostitute (17:4-5) as reflecting high priestly dress.
42
The reference to the lampstand in Rev 1 would likely preclude a Yom Kippur
meaning, since the lampstand was not integrally related to the rituals of that day any
more so than any other day of the year.
43
Many scholars understand the tabernacle/temple lampstand to have
symbolized, among other things, a stylized tree (see, e.g., Beale, The Temple, 71, 325,
330; but cf. Propp, Exodus 19-40, 511). As such, John includes the promise of access to
eating from the tree of life in the message to the Ephesian church (2:7), a message
which is introduced by Jesus describing himself as the one who walks in the midst of
the lampstands (2:1). Furthermore, in John’s final vision (cf. 21:1, 2, with 21:9, 10;
22:1) of the New Jerusalem, the tree of life imagery appears again (22:2, 14, 19). This
last vision also contains high priestly dress imagery with regard to the twelve precious
stones adorning the New Jerusalem. For the suggestion that Revelation has a “menorah
structure,” with the first vision in chaps. 1-3 inversely parallel to the last vision in 21:9-
22:5, see Doukhan, Secrets of Revelation, 13-15. Doukhan suggests (ibid., 198) that the
lampstand, explicitly missing from Rev 21-22, appears implicitly in the tree (22:2, 14,
19) and light (21:23; 22:5) imagery of those chapters.
44
See, e.g., Allen Dwight Callahan, who noted that John had not used “the
obligatory dative case” (“The Language of the Apocalypse,” Harvard Theological
Review 88 [1995]: 456).

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which a form of o[moioj is not followed by a dative: 1:13 and 14:14.45 What makes this

more striking is that it is in both of these latter texts that the phrase o[moion ui`o.n

avnqrw,pou occurs. The fact that it is only with regard to this phrase that the accusative

instead of the dative occurs undercuts the argument that this is a grammatical mistake

on the part of John. Rather, John is using this particular usage on purpose, 46 apparently

to point attention to an OT text.47

Exegetes typically understand John to be alluding to Dan 7:13 in his reference to

the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou.48 Thus, it is not surprising that John’s overt description of

the one he saw in vision in chap. 1, o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou, verbally alludes to

Daniel’s w`j ui`o.j avnqrw,pou in 7:13 (both OG and Q).49 Cultic and priestly issues are

45
Cf. 1:15; 2:18; 4:3 (2x), 6, 7 (3x); 9:7 (2x), 10, 19; 11:1; 13:2, 4, 11; 18:18;
21:11, 18. This reflects the overwhelming data for a form of o[moioj followed by a
dative elsewhere in the LXX and NT.
46
Cf. Beckwith, who asserts that “the disregard of grammar here is evidently,
then, designed” (Apocalypse, 437); and Robert K. MacKenzie, The Author of the
Apocalypse: A Review of the Prevailing Hypothesis of Jewish-Christian Authorship,
Mellen Biblical Press Series 51 (Lewiston, NY: Mellen Biblical Press, 1997), 158.
47
Scholarly discussion about the origin of the term “the son of man” in the
Gospels and its meaning vis-à-vis Jesus has been unending and embarrassingly
inconclusive. In such discussions the phrase o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in Rev 1:12 and
14:14 often receives comparatively little discussion, in part because the Gospel
references are articular (e.g., to.n ui`o.n tou/ avnqrw,pou [cf. Matt 16:13, 28; 24:30; Mark
8:31; 9:12; 13:26; Luke 9:22; 12:10; 21:27; John 1:51; 3:14; 6:62; Acts 7:56; etc.]),
while those in Revelation are anarthrous (ui`o.n avnqrw,pou).
48
See, e.g., Aune (Revelation 1-5, 90-93), Beale (Revelation, 208-210), Mathews
(“Critical Evaluation,” 170), Osborne (Revelation, 87-88), and Smalley (The Revelation
to John, 53-54).
49
Charles (Revelation, 1:36) makes the case that in Revelation, John can use
o[moioj as synonymous with w`j in meaning (cf. 4:3 and 21:11; and 4:6 and 22:1). But
he also asserts (ibid., 1:36-37) that John makes the two terms absolutely equivalent in

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of great significance to Daniel.50 It is possible that the figure known as the w`j ui`o.j

avnqrw,pou in Dan 7:13 (vn"a/ rb;K. [MT]) is a high priestly figure.51 It is also possible

construction as well as meaning in 1:13 and 14:14, where instead of what one would
expect—o[moion ui`w— |/ one instead finds o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou. Consequently, the
phrase in Dan 7:13 is equivalent to those in Rev 1:13 and 14:14.
Scholarly discussion regarding the vn"a/ rb;K. / w`j ui`o.j avnqrw,pou in Dan 7:13
has also been unrelenting. Benedikt Otzen, for one, deemed it “interminable” (“Michael
and Gabriel: Angelological Problems in the Book of Daniel,” in The Scriptures and the
Scrolls: Studies in Honour of A. S. van der Woude on the Occasion of His 65 th Birthday,
ed. F. García Martínez, A. Hilhorst, and C. J. Labuschagne, VTSup 49 [Leiden: Brill,
1992], 117). It is beyond the scope of this study to review the longstanding and
voluminous history of interpretation regarding this figure. For representative works on
the subject, see Chrys C. Caragounis, The Son of Man: Vision and Interpretation,
WUNT 38 (Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 1986); Maurice Casey, The Solution
to the ‘Son of Man’ Problem, Library of New Testament Studies 343 (London: T & T
Clark, 2007); and Mogens Müller, The Expression ‘Son of Man’ and the Development
of Christology: A History of Interpretation, Copenhagen International Seminar
(London: Equinox, 2008).
50
Cf. André Lacocque, The Book of Daniel, trans. David Pellauer, ed. André
Lacocque (Atlanta: John Knox, 1979), 124-25 (“The vision in chapter 7 has the Temple
as its framework”); and Fletcher-Louis, “Divine Mediator,” 174 (Dan 7 “is ultimately
Temple centered”). In line with this, some have suggested that Daniel writes from a
priestly orientation or worldview or is a priest himself. Cf. ibid., 171-72; idem,
“Messiah: Part I,” 164, n. 32; and Marvin A. Sweeney, “The End of Eschatology in
Daniel? Theological and Socio-Political Ramifications of the Changing Contexts of
Interpretation,” in Form and Intertextuality in Prophetic and Apocalyptic Literature,
FAT 45 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005), 256-260, who concludes that “the visions of
Daniel 7-12 are permeated with priestly imagery, symbolism, and concepts” (p. 260).
The priestly identification of Daniel is as at least as old as Bel 1:2 (a;nqrwpo,j tij h=n
i`ereu,j w-| o;noma Danihl ui`o.j Abal [“a certain man named Daniel, son of Abal, was a
priest”]), despite the assumed princely/royal lineage in Dan 1:3-7.
51
See Fletcher-Louis, “Divine Mediator,” 161-93, who confidently stated:
“Glancing at the Curriculum Vitae of the candidates for the post described in Dan 7:13-
4 [sic] the high priest is the front runner” (ibid., 167). See also idem, “Jewish
Apocalyptic and Apocalypticism,” in The Study of Jesus, vol. 2 of Handbook for the
Study of the Historical Jesus, ed. Tom Holmén and Stanley E. Porter (Leiden: Brill,
2011), 1598-1600; idem, “Messiah: Part II,” 57-60; idem, “Sacral Son of Man,” 257-61;
and Lacocque, Book of Daniel, 124-26. On the relationship of the w`j ui`o.j avnqrw,pou
in Dan 7, Adam (the original “man”), and the high priest, see Fletcher-Louis (“Messiah:
Part I,” 172, n. 67), where he speaks of the “Adamic contours” of the Son of Man title.

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that the same figure could be identified with other visionary figures in Daniel’s visions

that have been understood to be high priestly in nature.52 But such provocative, high

While a celestial judgment takes place in Dan 7 (see 7:10, 22, 26), Yom Kippur was
also a day of judgment, one in which the high priest approached YHWH; on this see
Gane, Cult and Character, particularly pp. 305-309.
52
Some have identified this figure in Dan 7 with: (1) the Prince of the Host /
Prince of Princes in Dan 8:11, 25 (e.g., Lacocque, Book of Daniel, 162); (2) the striking
being Daniel sees in vision in 10:5-6 (e.g., Lewis O. Anderson, “The Michael Figure in
the Book of Daniel” [PhD diss., Andrews University, 1997], 317-61; Whiteley, “Search
for Cohesion, 175-76); and/or (3) Michael, the Prince of Israel mentioned in Dan 10:13,
21, 12:1 (e.g., N. Schmidt, “The Son of Man in the Book of Daniel,” JBL 19 [1900]: 22-
28; John Day, God’s Conflict with the Dragon and the Sea: Echoes of a Canaanite
Myth in the Old Testament, University of Cambridge Oriental Publications 35
[Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985], 151-78; Lacocque, Book of Daniel,
133-34; and Otzen, “Michael and Gabriel,” 118).
Moreover, some have identified the Prince of the Host in chap. 8 with: (1) the
visionary figure in 10:5-6 (e.g., Martin Pröbstle, “Truth and Terror: A Text-Oriented
Analysis of Daniel 8:9-14” [PhD diss., Andrews University, 2006], 704-708 and 730-
31); and/or (2) Michael (e.g., Klaus Koch, Das Buch Daniel, Erträge der Forschung 144
[Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1980], 207; Alberto Treiyer, “The
Priest-King Role of the Messiah,” Journal of the Adventist Theological Society 7
[1996]: 72). Cf. Adela Yarbro Collins, “The Son of Man Tradition and the Book of
Revelation,” in The Messiah: Developments in Earliest Judaism and Christianity, ed.
James H. Charlesworth, with J. Brownson, M. T. Davis, S. J. Kraftchick, and A. F.
Segal (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992), 551.
Finally, some have also identified the visionary figure in 10:5-6 with Michael
(e.g., Lacocque, Book of Daniel, 206). But most commentators believe that it refers to
Gabriel (Otzen, “Michael and Gabriel,” 116, n. 5).
It is clear that some segments of Second Temple Judaism identified Michael as a
high priestly figure (see the extensive discussion in Darrell D. Hannah, Michael and
Christ: Michael Traditions and Angel Christology in Early Christianity, WUNT 109
[Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1999], 42-45). Some contemporary scholars have also
identified as high priestly the Prince of Princes in Dan 8 (e.g., Treiyer, “The Priest-King
Role,” 69), the visionary figure in Dan 10 (e.g., ibid., 76, 77; Winfried Vogel, The
Cultic Motif in the Book of Daniel [New York: Peter Lang, 2010], 165-68), and Michael
as well (e.g., Treiyer, “The Priest-King Role,” 73, 77; Fletcher-Louis calls this
identification “implausible” [“Divine Mediator,” 169-70, here 169]). Furthermore, it
has been demonstrated that the controversy between the Pharisees and the Sadducees
over the correct ritual of the high priest on Yom Kippur is integrated into their
understandings of Dan 7, suggesting that they saw that chapter as one with potentially
high priestly meaning (cf. Fletcher-Louis [“Divine Mediator,” 182-85; “Messiah: Part

272
priestly perspectives have not garnered support from more than a scholarly minority,

and their use here would advance the argument only with much difficulty.

The Dress of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou

John’s nine-fold, mostly visual53 description of o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in 1:13-

16 is rich and varied, and this detailed descripton itself is structually divided into two

parts. First, the overall visual record begins with the explicit reference to two dress

descriptions: (1) clothed in a foot-length robe (evndedume,non podh,rh [1:13]); and (2)

encircled at the breasts with a golden belt/sash (periezwsme,non pro.j toi/j mastoi/j

zw,nhn crusa/n [1:13]). Second, there immediately follows seven further descriptions

of the appearance of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou, several of which appear again in the

messages to the seven churches in chaps. 2-3:54 (1) his head, that is, his hair, is white

like white wool, like snow (1:14);55 (2) his eyes are like blazing fire (1:14); (3) his feet

II,” 59], Lauterbach [“Significant Controversy,” 173-205], and Milgrom [Leviticus 1-16,
1028-31]).
53
In 1:18 the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou announces that he holds the keys of death
and of Hades (1:18), but this is auditory and not part of the visual identification John
provides.
54
For instance, the eyes like a flame of fire (1:14), along with the feet like
calkoliba,nw| as if burned in a furnace (1:15), appear in the message to the Thyatiran
church (2:18); the seven stars (1:16) appear in the messages to both the Ephesian and
the Sardian churches (2:1; 3:1); and the sharp, two-edged sword appears in the message
to the Pergamene church (2:12).
55
In Rev 1:14 the text in part reads: h` de. kefalh. auvtou/ kai. ai` tri,cej leukai.
w`j e;rion leuko,n w`j ciw.n (“and his head, that is, the hair, is white like white wool,
like snow.” For the epexegetical nature of kai., see Robert Mounce (Revelation, 58) and
Smalley (The Revelation to John, 54).

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are like calkoliba,nw| as if burned in a furnace (1:15); (4) his voice is like the sound of

many waters (1:15); (5) there are seven stars in his right hand (1:16, 20); (6) a sharp,

two-edged sword protrudes out of his mouth (1:16); and (7) his overall appearance ( h`

o;yij)56 is like the sun shining with full force (1:16). This latter seven-fold description,

in turn, follows an intriguing pattern, with visual descriptions surrounding the sole

auditory description (i.e., his voice like the sound of many waters) at the center. 57

At this point it is important to note that this rich description of the o[moion ui`o.n

avnqrw,pou in 1:13-16 bears an amazing resemblance to some parts of the intriguing

description of the “great angel” Eremiel 58 in Apoc. Zeph. 6:11-15, a text that O.S.

Wintermute has dated between 100 BCE and 175 CE:59

56
This term occurs three times in the NT; other than here it refers to one’s
appearance (John 7:24) or one’s face (John 11:44). While reference to an overall
appearance at the end of John’s description in chap. 1 would seem more appropriate
than reference to his face, o;yij itself could go either way (so BDAG, s.v. “o;yij”). I
have made my translation based on the recognition that within Revelation the concept of
“face” clearly and typically appears with the use of another term, pro,swpon, which
occurs in 4:7; 7:11; 9:7 (2x); 10:1; 11:16; and 22:4. Cf. Stuckenbruck, Angel
Veneration, 230, n. 69. In 6:16, 12:14, and 20:11 pro,swpon has the meaning of
“presence” (see BDAG, s.v. “pro,swpon”).
57
If seen as a chiasm, the head and hair would parallel his overall appearance, the
eyes would parallel the mouth, and the feet would parallel the hand; at least some of the
pairings are possibly anatomically related.
58
In 4 Ezra 4:36 he is Jeremiel, in 2 Bar. 55:3 and 63:6 his name is “Ramael,”
and in 1 En. 20:8 he is listed as Remiel, one of the seven archangels (cf. Wintermute,
“Apocalypse of Zephaniah,” 1:513, n. c.; Peter Schäfer, The Origins of Jewish
Mysticism [Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2009; Princeton: Princeton University Press,
2011], 101).
59
Wintermute, “Apocalypse of Zephaniah,” 1:500-501. Cf. Martha Himmelfarb,
Tours of Hell: An Apocalyptic Form in Jewish and Christian Literature (Philadelphia:
Fortress, 2003); Schäfer, Origins of Jewish Mysticism, 99.

274
 11
Then I arose and stood, and I saw a great angel standing before me with his face
shining like the rays of the sun in its glory since his face is like that which is
perfected in its glory. 12And he was girded as if a golden girdle were upon his
breast. His feet were like bronze which is melted in a fire. 13And when I saw him, I
rejoiced, for I thought that the Lord Almighty had come to visit me. 14I fell upon my
face, and I worshiped him. 15He said to me, “Take heed. Don’t worship me. I am
not the Lord Almighty, but I am the great angel, Eremiel, who is over the abyss and
Hades, the one in which all of the souls are imprisoned from the end of the Flood,
which came upon the earth, until this day.” 60

Wintermute, noting the striking similarities between 6:11-15 and Rev 1:11-18, believes

it is based on the figure which appears in Dan 10:5-14.61 He also believes that the

author (or the source he utilized) has edited—both by expanding and

eliminating—material in Dan 10, and that the passage in Revelation shows similar

revision in terms of dress.

While Wintermute suggests that this passage from the Apocalypse of Zephaniah

is ultimately dependent on imagery from Dan 10, and Rev 1:13-16 is based on that

information from the Apocalypse of Zephaniah,62 others disagree; for instance, some

suggest that the Apocalypse of Zephaniah and Revelation are not interdependent but

may both draw on a common tradition,63 while others conclude that the Apocalypse of

60
Cited from Wintermute, “Apocalypse of Zephaniah,” 1:513.
61
Ibid., 1:504-505. Wintermute incorrectly states that Daniel’s visionary being
has bronze legs “like those of the divine figure described in Ezekiel 1:27,” but in the
latter text there is no clear reference to legs (“downward from what looked like the
loins” [NRSV]) and certainly no reference at all to bronze.
62
Ibid., 1:505.
63
See, e.g., Richard Bauckham, The Climax of Prophecy: Studies on the Book of
Revelation (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1993), 125-26; and Stuckenbruck, Angel
Veneration, 78, n. 81, 230, n. 67, 257. Carrell believes the parallels are not close
enough to conclude that one is dependent on another (Jesus and the Angels, 59).

275
Zephaniah postdates Revelation.64 Beyond the unresolved issues of dating and

dependency or independence, the fragmentary nature of the Apocalypse of Zephaniah

further underscores the excessively complicated nature of the work, and the picture is

moreover linguistically clouded by the fact that extant copies of Apoc. Zeph. 6:11-12

occur not in Greek but in one Akhmimic Coptic manuscript. The question over whether

the apocalypse is a Jewish or Christian work also muddies the issue.65 With such being

the case, the divergent interpretations of the Apocalypse of Zephaniah—which Briggs

understatedly terms “an enigma among enigmas” 66—provide no solid ground for

conclusions regarding its relationship to Rev 1:13-16.

As earlier indicated, one finds the only explicit dress terms in John’s inaugural

64
Briggs notes that since both Apoc. Zeph. 6:12 and Rev 1:15 describe feet in
reference to a fire or furnace—while Dan 10 does not—this indicates “evidence of there
having been some sort of intertextual dependence” between them (Jewish Temple
Imagery, 133, n. 102). He believes that the Jewish Apocalypse of Zephaniah attempted
to “correct” Revelation (ibid.). There are, however, other ways to explain this without
necessitating dependence.
Bernd Jörg Diebner concludes that the Akhmimic version (which contains the
parallels with Rev 1:13-16) dates from between the latter part of the 2nd century and the
latter part of the 3rd century CE, clearly well beyond the time of Revelation (Zephanjas
Apokalypsen, pt. 9 of Apokalypsen, Jüdische Schriften aus hellenistisch-römischer Zeit
5 [Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2003], 1187), but that it is problematic to
attempt to separate Jewish elements from later Christian elements (ibid., 1184).
Keener suggests that Apoc. Zeph. 6:11-15 “may be an Ebionite response to the
Christology of Rev. 1:13-16” (Revelation, 95, n. 4).
65
E.g., Himmelfarb concludes that “there is nothing in the contents of the work
that marks it clearly as Christian” (Tours of Hell, 13; see also pp. 15-16); cf. Bauckham,
Climax of Prophecy, 125-26. James R. Davila, however, concludes differently that
“very little in the way of a positive case can be made” for it being Jewish (The
Provenance of the Pseudepigrapha: Jewish, Christian, or Other? JSJSup 105 [Leiden,
Brill, 2005], 234).
66
Briggs, Jewish Temple Imagery, 133.

276
vision in the initial sartorial description in Rev 1:13 (evndedume,non + podh,rh, and

periezwsme,non + zw,nhn). Furthermore, of the remaining seven descriptors, I would

suggest that only the third item (his [bare] feet like calkoliba,nw|) has any possible,

identifiable connection to high priestly dress motifs.67 Consequently, it is these three

sets of terms (i.e., evndu,w + podh,rhj, perizw,nnumi + zw,nh, and [bare] feet like

calkoliba,nw|) that I will further investigate for signs of high priestly dress imagery.

Clothed in a podh,rhj

In Rev 1:13 John describes o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou dressed in a long, ankle-

length robe (evndedume,non podh,rh). It is at this point that Heinrich Kraft laconically

remarked, “Hier liegen die Dinge etwas komplizierter” (“Here things lie slightly more

complicated”).68 So how should one understand this specific dress term? Moreover,

what difference does it make if o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou is wearing this item of dress or

a different one?

Numerous commentators have expressed strong views and opinions about the

meaning of podh,rhj within the overall theology and christology of Revelation. The

reason for this is the belief that the term podh,rhj could potentially determine the

specific role of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou. From a theological or christological

67
In no literary account of priestly dress is one’s head/hair like wool/snow, eyes
like blazing fire, one’s voice like the sound of many waters, seven stars in one’s right
hand, a sharp, two-edged sword emerging from one’s mouth, or one’s face like the sun
shining with full force a recognizable descriptor of priestly or high priestly status.
68
Heinrich Kraft, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, Handbuch zum Neuen
Testament 16a (Tübingen: Mohr [Siebeck], 1974), 45.

277
standpoint, the stakes are indeed high: if podh,rhj assumes, implies, or connotes the

meaning of high priest, one would consequently understand the o[moion ui`o.n

avnqrw,pou, at least from the standpoint of the social psychology of dress, as a high

priestly figure.

In surveying what scholars have concluded with regards to the use of podh,rhj,

one finds not unanimity but a wide spectrum of responses. I have catalogued nine

interpretive approaches to this question.69 First, a number of exegetes provide no

discussion at all of what this particular dress image means.70 Second, some

commentators broadly conclude that this term indicates some kind of exalted, dignified

or majestic status.71 Third, some advocate that this term yields angelic, prophetic,

69
Some examples may be in more than one category, particularly by those who
deny priestly or high priestly meaning.
70
E.g., Doukhan, Secrets of Revelation, 23-26; Austin Farrer, The Revelation of
St. John the Divine (Oxford: Clarendon, 1964), 64-68 (although he sees Jesus as high
priestly and royal); Lupieri, Commentary on the Apocalypse, 109-110; Joseph L.
Mangina, Revelation, Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible (Grand Rapids:
Brazos, 2010), 49-51; Mitchell G. Reddish, Revelation, Smyth & Helwys Bible
Commentary (Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, 2001), 40-41; Christopher C. Rowland,
“The Book of Revelation: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections,” The New
Interpreter’s Bible, ed. Leander Keck (Nashville: Abingdon, 1998), 12:566-67; Charles
C. Ryrie, Revelation, new ed., Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody, 1996),
19; Robert W. Wall, Revelation, New International Biblical Commentary on the New
Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1991), 62; and Adela Yarbro Collins, The
Apocalypse, New Testament Message: A Biblical-Theological Commentary 22
(Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, 1979), 12-14.
71
E.g., Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, The Book of The Revelation: A Commentary
(Leicester, UK: Inter-Varsity; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), 26; Lenski,
Interpretation, 65; Morris, The Book of Revelation, 53; Osborne, Revelation, 89;
Prigent, Commentary on the Apocalypse, 136; Resseguie, Revelation of John, 76; and
Swete, Apocalypse of St John, 15-16.

278
judicial, royal, or other role-related dress imagery—but not priestly or high priestly. 72

Fourth, numerous interpreters see podh,rhj as indicative of priestly dress imagery, but

they do not adequately distinquish between priestly and high priestly dress imagery. 73

Fifth, many specifically see the dress here in terms of high priestly imagery.74 Sixth,

72
E.g., Buchanan, Book of Revelation, 62-66; Charles T. Chapman, The Message
of the Book of Revelation (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 1995), 17; Kiddle, Revelation,
15 (“The long robe and the belt of gold around his breast are emblems of royal
dignity”); Mazzaferri, Genre, 243; Metzger, Breaking the Code, 26-27; J. Ramsey
Michaels, Revelation, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Downers Grove,
IL: InterVarsity, 1997), 60-61; and Loren T. Stuckenbruck, “Revelation,” Eerdmans
Commentary on the Bible, ed. James D. G. Dunn and John W. Rogerson (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 2003), 1539-40.
73
E.g., Ben-Daniel and Ben-Daniel, Apocalypse, 22-27; Brian K. Blount,
Revelation: A Commentary, The New Testament Library (Louisville: Westminster John
Knox, 2009), 44; M.-E. Boismard, L’Apocalypse, 3rd ed., La Sainte Bible (Paris: Les
Éditions du Cerf, 1959), 29, n. g.; Joseph Bonsirven, L’Apocalypse de Saint Jean,
Verbum salutis 16 (Paris: Beauchesne, 1951), 98; Lucien Cerfaux and Jules Cambier,
L’Apocalypse de Saint Jean lue aux Chrétiens, Lection divina 17 (Paris: Éditions du
Cerf, 1955), 25; Charles, Revelation,1:cxiii (though he contradicts this in ibid., 1:27-
28); Coppens, “Le messianisme sacerdotal,” 111; Ford, Revelation, 385; Lohmeyer, Die
Offenbarung des Johannes, 15; Mulholland, Revelation, 82-83; Pablo Richard,
Apocalypse: A People’s Commentary on the Book of Revelation, trans. Phillip
Berryman, The Bible & Liberation Series (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1998), 51; Slater,
Christ and Community, 16.
74
E.g., Barker, Revelation, 84-85; Bond, “Discarding the Seamless Robe,” 189;
Brighton, Revelation, 49; Caird, Revelation, 25; Charlier, Comprendre l’Apocalypse,
1:71; Cullmann, Christology, 104-105; Fee, Revelation, 17; Gundry, Commentary, 99;
Keener, Revelation, 94; Kistemaker, Exposition, 95 (although he subsequently refers to
“priest” and “priesthood”); Krodel, Revelation, 95; Hanns Lilje, The Last Book of the
Bible: The Meaning of the Revelation of St. John, trans. Olive Wyon (Philadelphia:
Fortress, 1957), 54, 56; Lohmeyer, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 15; Eduard Lohse,
Die Offenbarung des Johannes, Das Neue Testament Deutsch 11 (Göttingen:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1971), 20; Peter Morant, Das Kommen des Herrn: Eine
Erklärung der Offenbarung des Johannes (Zurich: Thomas-Verlag; Munich: Ferdinand
Schöningh, 1969), 67; Robert Mounce, Revelation, 57-58; Ulrich B. Müller, Die
Offenbarung des Johannes, Ökumenischer Taschenbuchkommentar zum Neuen
Testament 19 (Gütersloh: Gerd Mohn, 1984), 83-84; Adolf Pohl, Die Offenbarung des
Johannes, Wuppertaler Studienbibel (Wuppertal: R. Brockhaus, 1969), 1:91; Gilles

279
some perceive both (high) priestly and royal imagery in the dress indicated.75 Seventh,

several have combined angelic, juridical, priestly, prophetic, royal, and/or other

meanings in their interpretation of what podh,rhj means, producing a complex sartorial

identity.76 Eighth, a number of other scholars have proposed, some cautiously and

others stridently, an explicit, negative critique of priestly or high priestly imagery,

concluding that it is not encapsulated within podh,rhj and consequently does not appear

here.77 And finally, a few express either a lack of certainty or an implicit or explicit

Quispel, The Secret Book of Revelation: The Last Book of the Bible (New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1979), 37; Vanni, L’Apocalisse, 126-27; and Cornelis van der Waal,
Oudtestamentische priesterlijke motieven in de Apocalyps (Goes, Netherlands:
Oosterbaan & Le Cointre, 1956), 51.
75
See, e.g., Frederick Düsterdieck, Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the
Revelation of John, trans. from the 3rd German ed. by Henry E. Jacobs (New York:
Funk & Wagnalls, 1887), 112; and Stefanovic, Revelation, 100-101 (who provides no
evidence for the royal part of his interpretation).
76
William Barclay states not only that John’s description of the robe and girdle
not only “is almost exactly that of the dress of the priests and of the High Priest” (The
Revelation to John: Translated with an Introduction and Interpretation, rev. ed., The
Daily Study Bible Series [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1976], 1:45), but also that the robe
“was the robe of royalty” (ibid., 1:46) and the “dress of the messenger of God” (ibid.);
to him this shows Jesus “in his threefold eternal office of Prophet, Priest and King”
(ibid.). Cf. Desmond Ford, Crisis! A Commentary on the Book of Revelation
(Newcastle, CA: Desmond Ford Publications, 1982), 2:252; Hoffmann, Destroyer and
the Lamb, 223-24; Benny J. Jones, “A Study of the Son of Man in Revelation with
Special Reference to the Suffering Servant Motif” (PhD diss., New Orleans Baptist
Theological Seminary, 1990), 123; Jonathan Knight, Revelation, Readings: A New
Biblical Commentary (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999), 39; and Leonard L.
Thompson, Revelation, Abingdon New Testament Commentaries (Nashville: Abingdon,
1998), 59.
77
This perspective is sometimes associated with others listed above. Cf., e.g.,
Aune (Revelation 1-5, 93-94), Bauckham (“Revelation,” 1291), Beasley-Murray
(Revelation, 66-67), Beckwith (Apocalypse, 438), Carrell (Jesus and the Angels, 161, n.
38), Charles (Revelation, 1:27-28 [though he contradicts this in ibid., 1:cxiii]), Giesen
(Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 87-88), Lenski (Interpretation, 65), Mazzaferri (Genre,

280
inability to decide what this particular word means in this context.78

Data on podh,rhj

When one compares the broad spectrum of scholarly comment on this verse with

the linguistic data regarding podh,rhj explored in the last chapter, one discovers that a

careful examination of the relevant textual data has regrettably not been the uniform or

even typical approach to the subject. On a number of occasions exegetes have not only

not collected all the relevant data but have also misinterpreted what information they do

have; this has consequently skewed and distorted their preliminary results.

As I have already documented in the previous chapter, the term podh,rhj occurs

only here in the NT but twelve times in the LXX.79 In eight of its twelve occurrences in

303, n. 315, 320-21 [who sees the podh,rhj as “priestly” but denies Christ is a high
priestly figure]), Metzger (Breaking the Code, 26-27), Morris (The Book of Revelation,
53-54), Murphy (Fallen Is Babylon, 90), Osborne (Revelation, 89), Prigent
(Commentary on the Apocalypse, 136-37), Roloff (Revelation, 36), Thomas (Revelation
1-7, 98-99), and Vanhoye (“L’Apocalisse,” 262-63; Old Testament Priests, 280-81).
78
Cf., e.g., Alan Bandy, “The Prophetic Lawsuit in the Book of Revelation: An
Analysis of the Lawsuit Motif in Revelation with Reference to the Use of the Old
Testament” (PhD diss., Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2007), 187-89;
David L. Barr, Tales of the End: A Narrative Commentary on the Book of Revelation
(Santa Rosa, CA: Polebridge, 1998), 40; Huber, Einer gleich einem Menschensohn,
120-21, 149; Catherine Sunsalus González and Justo L. González, Revelation,
Westminster Bible Companion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1997), 18; George
Eldon Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972),
32-33; and Yeatts, Revelation, 41-42. In the second of his two articles on dress imagery
in Revelation, Neufeld purposefully and explicitly sets aside the question of whether the
dress indicates priestly status (“Under the Cover,” 71).
79
Several exegetes have concluded that the term appears only seven times in the
LXX, despite the fact that this is not even close to the truth. See, e.g., Barclay (who
mistakenly adduces Lev 16:4 as a text in which podh,rhj appears [Revelation, 1:45]),
Robert Mounce (who erroneously asserts that podh,rhj “is found seven times in the
LXX, and in every case but one it refers to the attire of the high priest” [Revelation,

281
the LXX, it clearly and unequivocally describes dress associated with the high priest. 80

In the previous chapter I have suggested plausible arguments for understanding three

more LXX references in Ezek 981 (plus a textual variant in Ezek 10:2) as high priestly

dress imagery.82 The remaining LXX occurrence (Sir 27:8) is the most generic in

nature, but there is nothing that automatically precludes it from being recognized as a

reference or allusion to the high priest’s long robe. In fact, other terminology within this

verse points in this direction.

My survey of the remaining twenty-five references to podh,rhj in Jewish and

Christian literature during the Second Temple period and into the second century CE 83

indicates that there are only three occurrences in this literature that clearly do not refer

to dress associated with the high priest.84 Two of these references, however, imply such

dress, since in those texts the air on Earth is described as “reaching to the feet” so as to

58]), Osborne (who concludes that “six of the seven times the long robe is mentioned in
the OT [e.g., Exod. 28:4; 39:29] it refers to the high priestly vestments” [Revelation,
89]), and Thomas (who agrees that the term has “seven OT occurrences” [Revelation 1-
7, 99]).
80
LXX Exod 25:7; 28:4, 31; 29:5; 35:9; Zech 3:4; Wis 18:24; Sir 45:8.
81
LXX Ezek 9:2, 3, 11.
82
Although Vanhoye realizes that statistics favor a high priestly interpretation, he
discards that since he has already concluded that Ezek 9 does not contain high priestly
imagery (“L’Apocalisse,” 263).
83
Let. Aris. 96; Philo Fug. 185, Her. 176, Leg. 1.81 and 2.56, Mos. 2.117, 118,
120, 121, 133, and 143, Mut. 43, Somn. 1.214, Spec. 1.85 (2x), 93, 94, and Frg. 117 on
LXX Exod 28:27 (text in Philo, LCL, 12:257); Josephus A.J. 3.153 and 159, 8.93, 20.6,
and B.J. 5.231; Barn. 7:9; T. Levi 8:2.
84
Philo Mos. 2.118 and Spec. 1.85b; Josephus A.J. 3.153.

282
prove why the high priest’s hyacinthine citw,n is podh,rhj.85 Consequently, only one

out of these thirty-seven occurrences of podh,rhj clearly points away from the dress of

the high priest.86 One would therefore assume that the word podh,rhj in a Jewish and/or

Christian context up to the time of Revelation normally carried a high priestly meaning

and that such would be the default meaning in Rev 1:13.

Grammatical Issues

What is the grammatical nature and role of podh,rhj in Rev 1:13? Here the term

is an anarthrous accusative masculine singular substantival adjective, the direct object of

the perfect passive accusative masculine singular participle evndedume,non. The two

elements that are of interest here are the anarthrous and substantival nature of podh,rhj.

The anarthrous nature of the substantival adjective podh,rhj in 1:13, while

evident in John’s description, is not definitive for determining the sartorial meaning of

the term.87 It is not clear that Rev 1:13 falls into any of the numerous constructions in

which an anarthrous substantive may be understood to be definite. 88 On the other hand,

neither is it obvious that the force of the anarthrous podh,rhj is indefinite. As a matter

of fact, this same anarthrous usage of podh,rhj occurs in numerous texts outside of

85
Philo Mos. 2.118 and Spec. 1.85b.
86
Josephus A.J. 3.153.
87
With regard to an anarthrous substantive, the lack of an article indicates that
such a substantive has “one of three forces: indefinite, qualitative, or definite” (Daniel
B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New
Testament [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996], 243). Such articular distinctions are not
sharply defined, and there is some overlap between these three categories (ibid.).
88
Cf. ibid., 245-54.

283
Revelation.89 But in all of these references except that in Josephus A.J. 3.153, it either

certainly or probably refers to clothing associated with the high priest,90 or it connotes or

supports high priestly dress imagery.91 Consequently, one cannot argue solely from the

anarthrous podh,rhj in Rev 1:13 either for or against high priestly dress imagery.

The fact that John uses podh,rhj in Rev 1:13 as a substantive, however, is

important for understanding the nature of the term John uses. The argument that

Josephus used podh,rhj to refer not only to the dress of the high priest but also to that of

the common priests is used by some to diminish or negate the potential high priestly

nature of the term in Rev 1:13.92 But this argument resists persuasive appeal, since in

89
As an anarthrous substantive, see LXX Ezek 9:2; Zech 3:4; Sir 45:8; Philo
Mos. 2.118; Spec. 1.85b; Josephus A.J. 3.159, 8.93, and B.J. 5.231. As an anarthrous
attributive adjective, see Exod 28:31; Wis 18:24; Philo Spec. 1:85a; Josephus A.J.
3.153.
90
LXX Exod 28:31; Zech 3:4; Wis 18:24; Sir 45:8; Josephus A.J. 3.159, 8.93,
and B.J. 5.231.
91
LXX Ezek 9:2; Sir 27:8; Philo Mos. 2.118 and Spec. 1.85b.
92
Did Josephus write the way he did with regards to priestly and high priestly
dress partly because of his linguistic abilities in Greek (C. Ap. 1.50; cf. Loren L. Johns,
The Lamb Christology of the Apocalypse of John, WUNT, 2nd ser., 167 [Tübingen:
Mohr Siebeck, 2003], 36-37)? One must also keep in mind the possibility that the
description of Josephus may have been tainted by self-serving or propagandistic
purposes. Josephus claimed to be a Pharisee and an ordinary priest (Vita 1-6, 12), while
the high priests were largely Sadducean. Josephus furthermore claimed that the
Sadducees listened to the Pharisees (A.J. 18.17), and even that the high priests
understood legal matters better because of his communicated understanding (Vita 9).
With this in mind, in Antiquitates judaicae Josephus goes against the model of the OT
in describing the dress of the common priests before that of the high priest’s dress, and
his account is much longer than the description there (Robertson, “Account,” 197-98).
Also, Josephus describes the neck opening of the tunic of the common priests by using
the term w/a (“collar”), a word restricted in the LXX to the high priest’s dress (A.J.
3.156; cf. LXX Exod 28:28; 36:31; Ps 132:2). There is the possibility that Josephus
may have attempted to magnify the role of the common priests by borrowing elements

284
that singular case in Josephus, the term is not a substantive but an attributive adjective

modifying the citw,n of the priests.93 It is true that podh,rhj is an adjective with the

meaning of “foot-length.” But as I have demonstrated in the previous chapter, whenever

podh,rhj is used as a substantive in Jewish and Christian literature outside of Josephus

up to the first part of the second century CE, it designates either the distinctive foot-

length robe of a high priest94 or carries high priestly overtones.95

While one might agree with Josephus (and against Philo)96 that the priests wore

foot-length tunics,97 one must assert that if John were utilizing technical language, it

would be unlikely for him to use the comparatively rare perspective of Josephus in his

text in Rev 1:13, particularly when this particular usage is completely absent from the

from the high priest’s dress (Robertson, “Account,” 214-15).

93
See Josephus A.J. 3.153 (e;sti de. tou/to to. e;nduma podh,rhj citw.n [“But this
garment is a foot-length tunic”]). Josephus’s account in here provides more detail than
Exod 28:40 (MT and LXX), which only specifies that the garment was a tunic and does
not refer to its length. Charles, in referring to Josephus as support for a podh,rhj being
the clothing not only of the high priest but of all the priests in general, did not
distinguish between this attributive adjective and the substantive in Rev 1:13
(Revelation, 1:27).
94
Cf. LXX Exod 25:7; 28:4; 35:9; Zech 3:4; Sir 45:8; Philo Her. 176, Leg. 1.81
and 2.56, Mos. 2.117, 118, 120, 121, 133, and 143, Mut. 43, Spec. 1.93 and 94, Frg.
117; Let. Aris. 96; Barn. 7:9; T. Levi 8:2.
95
Ezek 9:2, 3, 11.
96
Philo’s statement in Spec. 1.83 that the priests’ tunics were short
(citwni,skoij) so they could move quickly in their ministry contradicts Josephus. On
citwni,skoj elsewhere in Philo, see Contempl. 51 and 72 and Prov. 2.17. On the
meaning of citwni,skoj, see LSJ, s.v. “citwni,skoj,” and cf. Feldman (Judean
Antiquities 1-4, 272, n. 391).
97
Cf. Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 93-94.

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LXX. A more prudent approach when first analyzing Rev 1:13 would be to start with a

default understanding that podh,rhj typically refers not to priestly but to high priestly

imagery. One should abandon such an approach only if it can be proven otherwise from

the text of Revelation itself.98

It is unlikely that John is primarily describing or emphasizing how long the dress

item is that o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou is wearing.99 Instead, in line with the

preponderance of usage of the term in Jewish and Christian literature catalogued earlier,

he is describing what type of dress item the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou is wearing.

The Question of an OT Background

While it is certain that the text of Rev 1:13 contains podh,rhj, one cannot

conclusively determine what Hebrew or Aramaic terminology might lay behind or

underneath the text, despite numerous attempts to do so. In the previous chapter I

98
Cf. Briggs, who notes that podh,rhj not being the only term for this robe “does
nothing to discourage the notion that Christ is dressed as a high priest here” (Jewish
Temple Imagery, 53, n. 18).
99
Cf., e.g., Let. Aris. 96 and Josephus A.J. 3.159. Gundry (Commentary, 999)
and Thomas (Revelation 1-7, 99) are two who translate evndedume,non podh,rh in Rev
1:13 as “clothed down to the feet.” The adverbial sense of this translation amplifies its
overall ambiguity (i.e., dressed in any kind of long robe). While a Greek adjective may
be used adverbially, Wallace notes that such a usage is usually reserved for special
terms (Greek Grammar, 292), and the usage of such adverbial adjectives that occur the
most is in the neuter, which is “frequently, if not normally, articular” (ibid., 293; cf. C.
F. D. Moule, An Idiom Book of New Testament Greek, 2nd ed. [Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1959], 160-62; Stanley E. Porter, Idioms of the Greek New Testament,
2nd ed., Biblical Languages: Greek 2 [Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999], 121-
22). The parallelism between evndedume,non podh,rh and periezwsme,non . . . zw,nhn
(perfect participle + accusative singular) also undercuts the adverbial sense. Translating
podh,rh instead as a “foot-length robe” emphasizes it as a specific dress item in line with
its usage elsewhere, where it is almost always associated with the high priest’s hyacinth-
colored robe.

286
demonstrated that it is simply not the case that podh,rhj in the LXX translates

five100—or four101—or even three102—Hebrew terms. Instead, I have suggested that it

apparently translates but two terms, ly[im. and tAcl'x]m,; the former being the closest

equivalency and the latter rare term best approximated by this Greek term. Other

apparent translations of different Hebrew words by podh,rhj are probably attempts to

approximate high priestly dress or are possibly incorrect translations. Even so, we know

that the semantic range of the Hebrew was not identical to the Greek, and podh,rhj was

not used with the same sartorial range as ly[im.. By making one’s case for a particular

interpretation in Revelation largely if not solely based on the supposedly underlying

Hebrew, one potentially confuses categories of inquiry and, so to speak, contaminates

100
Notice that Aune contends that the term translates “five different Hebrew
words [!vx, ly[m, dwpa, db, and twclxm], so that the Greek term podh,rhj can hardly
be understood as a technical term” (Revelation 1-5, 93). Prigent also exclaims that the
term does not have “a very specialized technical meaning” (Commentary on the
Apocalypse, 136). Cf. Vanhoye, “L’Apocalisse,” 262.
In Thomas’s enumeration of the supposedly seven occurrences in which
podh,rhj occurs, he incorrectly asserts that the term translates references to the “ephod,”
citing “Exod 28:27[31]” (Revelation 1-7, 99), but there it refers to the “robe of the
ephod.” Thomas is not alone; cf., e.g., Barker (Revelation, 84), Mulholland (Revelation,
82, n. 13), Prigent (Commentary on the Apocalypse, 136), Swete (Apocalypse of St
John, 15), and Vanhoye (“L’Apocalisse,” 262).
101
See Barker, Revelation, 84. Cf. Vanhoye, who initially stated that it
“translates four different Hebrew words” (Old Testament Priests, 281), but later he
agreed that it translates five words (“L’Apocalisse,” 262).
102
Mulholland comments that it translates the terms for “the breastplate (Ex 25:7;
35:9); the ephod (Ex 28:4, 31; 29:5); [and] the high priestly garments of Joshua (Zec
3:1-5)” (Revelation, 82, n. 13). Swete much earlier had declared that it is used for such
garments as the breastplate, the ephod, and the robe (Apocalypse of St John, 15). See
also Royalty, Streets of Heaven, 46, n. 19.

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the exegetical pool.103 Consequently, all substantial argumentation concerning this

particular dress item in Rev 1:13 should be solely based on podh,rhj, its usage in Rev

1:13, and its usage in the LXX and other related texts.

Daniel 10:5 and Ezekiel 9:2, 3, 11

Exegetes have typically seen the allusive background to the phrase evndedume,non

podh,rh of Rev 1:13 in Dan 10:5,104 Ezek 9:2, 3, 11105 or a combination of those two

texts.106 In Dan 10:5 Daniel describes a celestial being “clothed in linen” ( ~yDIB; vWbl'

103
Thomas, for example, implies that since podh,rhj translates ly[im. on occasion
(e.g., Exod 28:4 and 29:5), and since ly[im. was a common term “for men of high rank
(e.g., 1 Sam. 18:4; 24:5, 12; Ezek. 26:16),” podh,rhj could thus refer to a robe that not
only the high priest wore but also men of different kinds of high rank; consequently, the
word could refer to a robe that a generic man of “dignity or high rank” wore (Revelation
1-7, 99). H. R. van de Kamp has advanced similar arguments (Openbaring: Profetie
vanaf Patmos, Commentaar op het Nieuwe Testament, 3rd series [Kampen: Kok, 2000],
80). Cf. also Ford (Crisis!, 252) and Stefanovic (Revelation, 100-101, 104), who both
highlight the supposed royal imagery in 1:13 by concluding that both priests and kings
wore long robes—apparently making this deduction on the basis of ly[im. and/or the
English translation. Van der Waal uses the argument that the ly[im. was not foot-length
as a reason to look elsewhere than the high priest’s foot-length robe (Oudtestamentische
priesterlijke motieven, 51); but the word under discussion is podh,rhj, not ly[im..
104
Cf., e.g., Aune (Revelation 1-5, 93) and Vanhoye (“L’Apocalisse,” 263, who
asserts that the relationship between Rev 1:13-14 and Dan 10:5-6 is an undeniable one).
105
Cf., e.g., Aune (Revelation 1-5, 93), Prigent (Commentary on the Apocalypse,
136), Royalty (Streets of Heaven, 46, 147), Vanhoye (“L’Apocalisse,” 263), and
Whiteley (“Search for Cohesion,” 177). The major work advocating Ezek 9 as the
primary allusive background to this sartorial image in Rev 1:13 is Kowalski (Die
Rezeption, 75, 82, 86-89), although she realizes that the context is different (p. 88).
106
E.g., Beale, Revelation, 208-210 (who sees Dan 10 as primary); Huber, Einer
gleich einem Menschensohn, 147, 152; Kowalski, Die Rezeption, 75, 82, 88; Whiteley,
“Search for Cohesion,” 173-74 (who concludes that Daniel saw the man from Ezek 9 in
his vision in chap. 10); and Yarbro Collins, “Son of Man Tradition,” 548. For the
possibility that this dress image in 1:13 alludes to the high priest Joshua in Zech 3:5, cf.,

288
[MT]; evndedume,noj bu,ssina [OG]; evndedume,noj baddin [Q]).107 The only dress term in

the Greek of Dan 10:5, however, that matches evndedume,non podh,rh in Rev 1:13 is

evndu,w, and the ubiquity of that particular verb108 cannot, by itself, tie these two passages

together on the basis of a verbal allusion. Furthermore, while several of the descriptive

elements of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in Rev 1:12-16 occur in Dan 10:5-6,109

comparison of the texts instead suggests that the allusion is ambiguous at best: (1)

e.g., Skarsaune (Proof from Prophecy, 309); Jauhiainen believes that establishing an
allusion to this latter text is difficult (Use of Zechariah, 80-81).
107
Barclay confidently (but unreliably) informs the reader that, with regard to the
visionary figure in Dan 10, “the Greek Old Testament calls his garment poderes”
(Revelation, 1:46).
Numerous interpreters have discussed what is termed as the angelomorphic
appearance of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in Rev 1. On angelomorphic christology and
Revelation, cf., e.g., Gieschen, Angelomorphic Christology, 245-69; Robert H. Gundry,
“Angelomorphic Christology in the Book of Revelation,” in The Old Is Better: New
Testament Essays in Support of Traditional Interpretations, WUNT 178 (Tübingen:
Mohr Siebeck, 2005), 377-98 (hereafter referred to as “Angelomorphic Christology
[2005]”); Hoffmann, The Destroyer and the Lamb, particularly 26-28, 105-68, 193-201,
223-35; Huber, Einer gleich einem Menschensohn, 51-64; Leo R. Percer, “The War in
Heaven: Michael and Messiah in Revelation 12” (PhD diss., Baylor University, 1999),
186-237; Håkan Ulfgard, “In Quest of the Elevated Jesus: Reflections on the
Angelomorphic Christology of the Book of Revelation Within Its Jewish Setting,” in
The New Testament as Reception, ed. Mogens Müller & Henrik Tronier, JSNTSup 230 /
Copenhagen International Seminar 11 (London: Sheffield Academic, 2002), 120-30;
and Adela Yarbro Collins, “Messiah, Son of God, and Son of Man in the Gospel and
Revelation of John,” in Adela Yarbro Collins and John J. Collins, King and Messiah as
Son of God: Divine, Human, and Angelic Messianic Figures in Biblical and Related
Literature (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), 175-203.
108
E.g., LXX Gen 3:21; 27:15; 38:19; 41:42; Exod 28:41; 29:5, 8, 30; 40:13; 14;
Lev 6:3, 4; Num 20:26, 28; Deut 22:5, 11; 1 Sam 17:5, 38; etc.
109
E.g., clothed, girded, gold(en), eyes, fire/fiery, feet/legs, voice.

289
descriptions are not always the same;110 (2) specific terminology is not always

identical;111 (3) the descriptive sequence in both texts is dissimilar;112 and (4) some

elements in Revelation do not occur in Dan 10113 (and vice versa).114 If John is

dependent on OT literary works for his description of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in

1:12-16, he is certainly not dependent on Dan 10:5-6 alone.115 It remains difficult at

best to prove that John was dependent on Dan 10:5-6 for his sartorial description of the

110
E.g., waist (Dan 10:5: ~ynIt.m'; ovsfu,j [OG/Q]) vs. breasts (Rev 1:13: masto,j );
face like the appearance of lightning (Dan 10:6: qr'b'; avstraph, [OG/Q]) vs. appearance
like the sun (h[lioj) shining with full force (Rev 1:16); voice like a tumult or crowd
(Dan 10:6: !Amh'; qo,ruboj [OG]; o;cloj [Q]) vs. voice like many waters (Rev 1:15:
u`da,twn pollw/n).
111
E.g., linen (Dan 10:5: dB;; bu,ssinoj [OG]; baddin [Q]) vs. foot-length robe
(Rev 1:13: podh,rhj); eyes like fiery lamps/torches (Dan 10:6: ydeyPil;K. vae;; lampa,dej
puro,j [OG/Q]) vs. eyes like fiery flames (Rev 1:14: flo.x puro.j); arms and feet (or,
legs) like shining bronze (Dan 10:6: ll'q' tv,xon> !y[eK. wyt'l{G>r>m;W wyt'[oroz>W [“his arms
and his feet like the appearance of polished bronze”]; oi` braci,onej auvtou/ kai. oi`
po,dej w`sei. calko.j evxastra,ptwn [OG: “his arms and his feet like gleaming bronze”];
oi` braci,onej auvtou/ kai. ta. ske,lh w`j o[rasij calkou/ sti,lbontoj [Q: “his arms and
his legs like the appearance of shining/radiant bronze”]) vs. feet like calkoliba,nw| (Rev
1:15).
112
The reference in Dan 10:5-6 to the eyes follows reference to the
face/appearance (hn<P'; pro,swpon [OG/Q]), whereas in Rev 1:12-16 reference to the eyes
precedes (by some distance) reference to the face/appearance (o;yij).
113
E.g., no reference to head, hair, white, wool, snow, seven stars, hand, mouth,
or sword.
114
E.g., no reference in Revelation to a body “like Tarshish” (Dan 10:6:
vyvir>t;k;. w`sei. qarsij [OG/Q]) or to the arms (Dan 10:6: wyt'[oroz>W; oi` braci,onej
[OG/Q]).
115
For instance, the voice like many waters in Rev 1:15 is frequently seen to
allude to Ezek 1:24 (MT and LXX) and 43:2 (MT). On this, see, e.g., Kowalski and the
references she cites (Die Rezeption, 89-92).

290
podh,rhj, particularly since the specific sartorial image is linguistically different.116

Consequently, the case for Dan 10:5 being the allusive background for Rev 1:13 is not

compelling.

With regard to Ezek 9:2, 3, 11 as an allusive background to the podh,rhj in Rev

1:13, here Ezekiel sees an angelic being “clothed in linen” (MT) or clothed with a foot-

length robe (LXX).117 From a linguistic standpoint LXX Ezek 9 does appear at first

glance to be more allusively attractive than Dan 10:5. This is primarily because both

words in LXX Ezek 9:2, 3, 11 (evndu,w, podh,rhj) appear in Rev 1:13 (evndedume,non

podh,rh).118 In fact, LXX Ezek 9:2, 3, and 11 contain not just two but three dress terms

mentioned by John in Rev 1:13, since all three verses also refer to a sash (zw,nh).

Nevertheless, two major reasons119 cause me to find it difficult to conclude that

116
Vogel’s assertion that Rev 1:13-15 “repeats almost word for word the
description of the man clothed in linen in Dan 10” is clearly overstated (Cultic Motif,
166).
117
~yDêIB; vbul'; evndedukw.j podh,rh; 9:3: ~yDIB;h; vbuL'h; vyaih'; to.n
Ezek 9:2:
a;ndra to.n evndeduko,ta to.n podh,rh; and 9:11: ~yDIB;h; vbul. vyaih'; o` avnh.r o`
evndedukw.j to.n podh,rh. Cf. Ezek 10:2: ~yDIB;h; vbul. vyaih'; to.n a;ndra to.n
evndeduko,ta th.n stolh,n; 10:6: ~yDIB;h;-vbul. vyaih'; tw/| avndri. tw/| evndeduko,ti th.n
stolh.n th.n a`gi,an; and 10:7: ~yDIB;h; vbul.; tou/ evndeduko,toj th.n stolh.n th.n a`gi,an.
118
Kowalski agrees that the appearance of two words in a possible source text
allows one to speak of an allusion (Die Rezeption, 88).
119
Other reasons include: (1) the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou is not here the leader
of any group of associates, particularly a group of avenging figures who are destroying
people; (2) he is not marking people on the forehead who groan and grieve for
Jerusalem’s iniquities; and (3) reference to a;llon a;ggelon (“another angel”) in Rev
7:2-3 who places a protective seal (cf. 9:4) on the foreheads of the 144,000 is a closer
parallel to the main character in Ezek 9-10, but this makes the utilization of evndedukw.j
podh,rh in Ezek 9:2 problematic for the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in Rev 1:13. For the
view that the angel of Rev 7 is an angelomorphic portrayal of Jesus, cf. Barker

291
John was attempting to allude specifically to LXX Ezek 9. First, with reference to the

use of podh,rhj in Ezek 9 and Rev 1, it is unlikely that just two Greek words in LXX

Ezek 9 (evndu,w, podh,rhj)—irrespective of the very different contexts of both

passages—would be the primary reason for John’s description of the o[moion ui`o.n

avnqrw,pou evndedume,non podh,rh in Rev 1:13. Again, the verb is a common dress verb,

and thus the weight of the argument basically hangs on the podh,rhj, making this a slim

argument indeed. And second, there is no clear reason why John would privilege one

sartorial image from LXX Ezek 9 (the podh,rhj) over the other in the same verses (the

zw,nh). Ezekiel’s sash is not a golden one as in Revelation but a lapis lazuli one ( zw,nh

sapfei,rou) instead (9:2). Furthermore, it is located (like Dan 10:5) not at his breasts

but at his waist (9:2, 3, 11).120

Both Dan 10:5 and Ezek 9:2, 3, 11 have attractive elements that have persuaded

many exegetes to see one or both of them as allusive backgrounds to the podh,rhj of

Rev 1:13. At the same time, there are several weighty reasons why such allusive

attachments are not entirely persuasive. While both Daniel and Ezekiel are certainly

important in understanding the structure and various motifs in Revelation, 121 there is

little compelling reason to privilege either Dan 10:5 or Ezek 9:2, 3, 11 as a background

(Revelation, 159-63), Gieschen (“The Lamb,” 242), and Gundry (“Angelomorphic

Christology [2005],” 388-89).
120
LXX Ezek 9:2 and 3: evpi. th/j ovsfu,oj auvtou/; 9:11: th.n ovsfu.n auvtou/. For
more on this sartorial image, see the discussion in Winkle, “Iridescence in Ezekiel,” 56-
70.
121
Cf., e.g., Beale, Revelation, 76-99; and Kowalski, Die Rezeption.

292
for the particular dress imagery in Rev 1:13 based on the language and sartorial images

in those former texts.

Another OT background text

I would suggest that another text is more compelling in terms of providing the

OT background to this image of the podh,rhj in Rev 1:13. First, immediately after

John’s mention of the seven golden lampstands, he then writes that the next thing he

saw with regard to the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou was two pieces of dress imagery. Why

is the dress of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou so prominently positioned here? 122 Unlike

122
Recent discussion in the field of discourse analysis on the topic of prominence
(also referred to as emphasis, foreground, grounding, relevance, salience, or stress)
suggests that John utilizes perfects, such as evndedume,non and periezwsme,non (1:13), to
heighten the focus of his rhetoric on these dress terms. On prominence in general, see
the groundbreaking work by R. E. Longacre, “Discourse Peak as Zone of Turbulence,”
in Beyond the Sentence: Discourse and Sentential Form, ed. Jessica R. Wirth (Ann
Arbor, MI: Karoma, 1985), 83; and cf. Kathleen Callow, Discourse Considerations in
Translating the Word of God (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1974), 50; and idem, Man and
Message: A Guide to Meaning-Based Text Analysis (Lanham, MD: Summer Institute of
Linguistics and University Press of America, 1998), 151-52, 156, 164, 181-85.
With regard to prominence in the NT, Stanley E. Porter warns that “its
importance should not be underestimated” (“Prominence: An Overview,” in The
Linguist as Pedagogue: Trends in the Teaching and Linguistic Analysis of the Greek
New Testament, ed. Stanley E. Porter and Matthew Brook O’Donnell, New Testament
Monographs 11 [Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, 2009], 45). In regard to the use of
perfects, he states that “the perfect is the frontground tense, which introduces elements
in an even more discrete, defined, contoured and complex way” (Idioms, 23). With
regard to perfect participles, David L. Mathewson asserts: “The function of the perfect
participles . . . is to frontground important features of the elements/characters that are
introduced for the first time and play the most significant role” (“Verbal Aspect in the
Apocalypse of John: An Analysis of Revelation 5,” NovT 50 [2008]: 71 [cf. p. 74]).
According to this perspective, the perfect participles in Rev 1 (gegramme,na [1:3];
evndedume,non and periezwsme,non [1:13]; and pepurwme,nhj [1:15]) are instrumental in
introducing the scroll of Revelation itself and the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou. Mathewson
has recently written a full-length monograph on the subject: Verbal Aspect in the Book
of Revelation: The Function of Greek Verb Tenses in John’s Apocalypse, Linguistic
Biblical Studies 4 (Leiden: Brill, 2010). For cautionary notes regarding prominence in

293
the descriptive material that immediately follows, it never appears again in reference to

Jesus in Revelation. Yet it is the sartorial framework for what follows.

I would suggest that one of the reasons for this prominent positioning of dress

imagery is both structural and thematic in nature. In John’s vision he sees only two

objects: (1) the seven golden lampstands; and (2) the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou, initially

described in sartorial terms. Furthermore, after John mentions the first object he sees,

he locates the second object (i.e., the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou) in the midst of the seven

golden lampstands before he even mentions and describes this second object. 123 John’s

description of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou and his clothing in his inaugural vision

narrative is tightly integrated with the seven golden lampstands, and such a contextual

integration of lampstand(s) and dress is not unique.

terms of tenses, cf. Constantine R. Campbell, Verbal Aspect, the Indicative Mood, and
Narrative: Soundings in the Greek of the New Testament, SBG 13 (New York: Peter
Lang, 2007), 12-14, 233-37; and Robert E. Picirilli, “The Meaning of the Tenses in New
Testament Greek: Where Are We?” JETS 48 (2005): 551.
Other studies dealing with prominence in the NT include: Buist Fanning, Verbal
Aspect in New Testament Greek, Oxford Theological Monographs (Oxford: Clarendon,
1990), 74-75, 191; Stanley E. Porter, Verbal Aspect in the Greek of the New Testament,
with Reference to Tense and Mood, SBG 1 (New York: Peter Lang, 2003), 92-93;
Jeffrey T. Reed and Ruth A. Reese, “Verbal Aspect, Discourse Prominence, and the
Letter of Jude,” FN 9 (1996): 181-99; Randall K. J. Tan, “Prominence in the Pauline
Epistles,” in The Linguist as Pedagogue, 95-110; Cynthia Long Westfall, A Discourse
Analysis of the Letter to the Hebrews: The Relationship between Form and Meaning,
Library of New Testament Studies 297 (London: T & T Clark, 2005), particularly 31-36,
55-78; and idem, “A Method for the Analysis of Prominence in Hellenistic Greek,” in
The Linguist as Pedagogue, 75-94.
123
Notice the flow of the narrative in 1:12b-13: kai. evpistre,yaj ei=don e`pta.
lucni,aj crusa/j kai. evn me,sw| tw/n lucniw/n o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou evndedume,non
podh,rh kai. periezwsme,non pro.j toi/j mastoi/j zw,nhn crusa/n (“and after I turned
around, I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the middle of the lampstands one like a
son of man clothed in a foot-length robe and encircled [at the level of] the breasts with a
golden sash”).

294
 The one place in the OT in which lampstand and dress are similarly integrated

contextually is in Exod 27:20–28:5. 124 Immediately before the section focusing on the

dress of the priests (in particular, the high priest) in Exod 28, YHWH tells Moses to

command the “sons of Israel” (laer'f.yI ynEB.) to provide oil “for the lamp” (rAaM'l; [MT];

eivj fw/j [LXX]) so that “the flame can continually go up” (27:20: dymiT' rnE tl{[]h;l.

[MT]) or so that the “lamp might burn continually” ( i[na ka,htai lu,cnoj dia. panto,j

[LXX]). The text further notes that Aaron and his sons125 will tend126 it from evening to

morning (27:21).127

One may object that Exod 27:20 refers to but one lamp (rnE) and that

124
While the high priest, high priestly clothing, and a lampstand/menorah occur
in Zech 3-4 (e.g., 3:4-5 and 4:2), the structure is reversed (i.e., clothing mentioned
before the lampstand) and the high priest Joshua is explicitly missing from chap. 4.
125
Since in Lev 24:3 only Aaron is to light the lamps, this likely refers to the high
priestly successors of Aaron rather than to all of Aaron’s sons (cf. Propp, Exodus 19-40,
428). The terminology for “sons” in reference to the priesthood needs to be interpreted
in context; in 28:1, it refers to Aaron’s sons mentioned in the text: Nadab, Abihu,
Eleazar, and Ithamar. But the next reference in 28:4 appears to refer to Aaron’s
successors, since the clothing is only high priestly in nature. The plainer clothing in
28:40 indicates that “sons” there refers to Aaron’s sons as in 28:1. The same emphasis
on the four sons is apparent in 28:41. In 28:43, however, it appears to refer to Aaron’s
high priestly successors.
126
The Hebrew here is %ro[]y,: with the stem %r[ frequently referring to arranging
or ordering (cf. Exod 40:4, 23; Lev 24:3-4, 6-8), but the LXX is kau,sei (from kai,w, “I
light, burn, burn up”). Propp suggests the Hebrew refers to lamps arranged in a row
(Exodus 19-40, 428-29).
127
Exod 30:8 indicates that the lights of the lampstand were lit at evening.
According to Philo, the lamps on the lampstand burned from evening until morning
(Spec. 1.296). But according to Josephus, three of the seven lamps of the lampstand
burned by day, and all seven by night (A.J. 3.199). But he also states elsewhere that one
of the lights of the lampstand was never extinguished (C. Ap. 1.199; cf. m. Tamid 3:9;
6:1). Cf. C. T. R. Hayward, Jewish Temple, 23.

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“lampstand” does not linguistically appear at all. But the “light” language in 27:20

(rAaM'l); is apparently an abbreviation or shorthand for a longer phrase found in Exod

35:14 and Num 4:9: rAaM'h; tr;nOm. (“lampstand of the light”).128 Consequently, J. Philip

Hyatt concluded that “we may assume that this section has to do with providing for the

lamps on the lampstand, in spite of the fact that the terms used suggest at first sight a

single light or lamp.”129 As such, an implied reference to the lampstand would appear

almost immediately before discussion begins on the high priest’s dress ensemble.

Furthermore, Exod 27:20-21 is linguistically woven to chap. 28 in at least four

ways.130 That 27:20 begins a new, more personal emphasis on instruction to Moses that

continues into chap. 28 is indicated by the threefold use of the emphatic “and you”

(hT'a;w> [MT]; kai. su. [LXX]) not only in 27:20 (YHWH’s order to Moses to obtain the

oil for the lamp) but also 28:1 (YHWH’s order to Moses to summon Aaron and his sons

from among the sons of Israel [laer'f.yI ynEB.] for priestly ministry) and 3 (YHWH’s order

to Moses to commission the fabrication of the high priestly garments). 131 Second, the

128
This is the conclusion of J. Philip Hyatt, based on his observations of the term
rAaM'l; found here in 27:20 (as well as in 25:6 [raoM'l;]; 35:28 [rAam'l.]; and Num 4:16
[rAaM'h;]). See his Commentary on Exodus, New Century Bible (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans; London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1980), 279. See also Exod 35:8
(rAaM'l); ; 39:37 (rAaM'h;); and Lev 24:2 (rAaM'l); . Cf. Propp, Exodus 19-40, 428.
129
Hyatt, Commentary on Exodus, 279. Cf. U. Cassuto, A Commentary on the
Book of Exodus, trans. Israel Abrahams (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1967), 370.
130
The question over the possible secondary nature of Exod 27:20-21 (see, e.g.,
John I. Durham, Exodus, WBC 3 [Waco, TX: Word, 1987], 380) is a modern concern
and would not have been an issue for John.
131
On this, cf. Cassuto (Exodus, 369-71) and Propp (Exodus 19-40, 427). Propp
notes here that the tonal switch was so striking that scribal tradition began a new weekly

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motif of the laer'f.yI ynEB,. not seen in Exodus since 25:22, surges into prominence again,

occurring twice in 27:20-21 and another eight times in the next chapter (28:1, 9, 11, 12

[laer'f.yI ynEb.li], 21, 29, 30, 38) and not occurring again until 29:28. Third, the name of

Aaron, the most prominent name in 27:20–28:5, occurs for the first time in the

tabernacle tradition and then six more times for a total of seven in this paragraph (27:21;

28:1 [3x], 2, 3, 4).132 And fourth, within the tabernacle narrative in Exodus, the motif of

a “perpetual ordinance” or statute occurs only in association with the high priest and his

sons lighting the flames on the lampstand (~l'A[ tQ;xu [27:21]), the necessity of Aaron

and his sons wearing their sacral dress (~l'A[ tQ;xu [28:43]), and office of the

priesthood for Aaron and his sons immediately following their vesting in sacral dress at

their ordination (~l'A[ tQ;xul. [29:9]).133

Thus, in 27:20-21 not only is the tabernacle lampstand implicitly mentioned

immediately before the command to institute the priesthood along with the description

of the dress of the Aaronic high priesthood in chap. 28, but the two passages are

linguistically woven together. Following the detailed description of the priestly (in

particular, high priestly) dress in chap. 28 are directions on dressing the high priest and

other priests for their ordination in chap. 29. Consequently, if the dress imagery that

reading in 27:20, whereas the division in the Christian tradition was in 28:1. The
nearest prior emphatic “you” occurs outside of the tabernacle account (18:21), and the
nearest subsequent occurrence is in 30:23 (both MT and LXX).
132
Cassuto, Exodus, 372.
133
Elsewhere in Exodus this terminology occurs only in 12:14, 17.

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appears prominently in Rev 1—in association with the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou

standing in the midst of the seven golden lampstands—has any allusion to OT dress

imagery, a reasonable source to seriously consider would be Exod 28:4–29:9. 134 Here in

the LXX the term podh,rhj occurs in 28:4 (as a substantive) and in 28:31 (as an

attributive adjective), while the terms evndu,w and podh,rhj (as an attributive adjective)

occur together in LXX Exod 29:5 (cf. LXX Zech 3:4; Sir 45:8-13).135

Issues of Dress

The only class of people who wore the substantival podh,rhj in the LXX and

other Second Temple literature were the high priests.136 Adolf Pohl thus concluded that

134
Kealy states that John’s reference to the robe and sash comes from Exodus
(Apocalypse of John, 75), and he is probably referring to Exod 28. Cf. Holtz, who sees
Exod 28 in the background (Die Christologie, 118); and Paulien (“Role,” 249, n. 18).
See further discussion below.
135
Whiteley is thus incorrect that Rev 1:13 and Ezek 9:2 are the “only two places
where evndu,w plus podh,rhj exist together” (“Search for Cohesion,” 177). The verb also
occurs in implicit connection to the noun in LXX Exod 29:29-30 and 40:13-14.
136
The singular visionary character of Ezek 9-10 cannot be seen as a class. Some
have inaccurately stated that podh,rhj describes the dress of those whom the LXX never
describes with this term. Barclay, for instance, insists that podh,rhj “is the desccription
[sic] of the robe of Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:4); of Saul (1 Samuel 24:5, 11); of the princes
of the sea (Ezekiel 26:16)” (Revelation, 1:46); this conclusion is baseless. Ladd
(Revelation, 33) confidently asserts that podh,rhj described the clothing of
prophets—and then mistakenly adduces Zech 3:4 for support, which speaks not of
prophets but of the high priest Joshua (cf. 3:1-4). Mulholland declares—also without
providing any evidence—that “the term [ podh,rhj] is also used for the garments of kings
and people of high standing” (Revelation, 82). Yeatts supports this familiar conclusion
by not only stating that “the long robe was also worn by kings” but also by adducing
such texts as 1 Sam 24:4-5, Ezek 26:16, and Wis. Sol. 18:24 in support of his
conclusion—none of which provides the evidence he asserts is there (Revelation, 41).
Unfortunately, the former two texts set forth as evidence by Yeatts do not use the term
podh,rhj in the Greek, while the latter text does not refer to the king but to the high
priest.

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it was a “Fachausdruck für die Amtstracht des Hohenpriesters” (“technical term for the

official dress of the high priest”).137 While it is true that these particular texts do

describe a garment that was priestly in nature, and while it is true that Josephus notes

that in his time the common priests wore a foot-length tunic (podh,rhj citw.n [A.J.

3.153]), podh,rhj in the LXX does not describe the garments of just any Jewish ordinary

priest. Rather, as I have already indicated, it clearly describes the clothing of the high

priest in eight texts and it probably assumes high priestly dress imagery in the other

four. While this might appear to be quibbling, it remains clear that the high priest did

not wear exactly the same clothing as the common priests.138 If there is high priestly

imagery in Revelation, that is much different from asserting, in a more generalized way,

that there is priestly imagery there.

Similarly, one cannot combine sartorial terminology relative to the priesthood in

general (i.e., dress germane to the high priest and the common priests) and then use that

information to deny the significance of podh,rhj in Rev 1:13. For example, one cannot

137
Pohl, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 1.91.
138
Thompson imprecisely identifies both Sir 45:6-13 and Let. Aris. 96 as
instances in which podh,rhj describes the “garb of priests” (Revelation, 59)—when they
are, in fact, describing the dress of the high priest. Farmer mistakenly adduces Exod
28:4, 31 for his conclusion that the long robe is “priestly” in nature (Revelation, 38).
Cf. Stefanovic (Revelation, 100). Trafton asserts that the podh,rhj is “a distinctive
garment worn by the priest” (Reading Revelation, 28). Yeatts concludes similarly in his
discussion of 1:13 when he asserts that the “robe” “was the garment of the Hebrew
priest” (Revelation, 41). He then adduces (ibid.) several texts that do not refer to the
priest but to the high priest (e.g., Exod 28:4, 31; 29:5; Lev 16:4) or a visionary being
(Ezek 9:2). The analysis of Christopher A. Davis is only marginally better, in that he
states that in the Greek OT and the Apocrypha “this term is used to describe only one
kind of garment—namely, the garment worn by the Jewish priests, and notably the High
Priest” (Revelation, The College Press NIV Commentary [Joplin, MO: College, 2000],
113).

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legitimately argue that the lexical statistics for tntk, typically translated as citw,n in the

LXX, overshadow podh,rhj and thus prove that the latter term consequently cannot have

decisive, role-related significance in 1:13.139 This argument widens the subject frame in

order to marginalize the statistical import of podh,rhj. It is true that the majority of the

texts that refer to either tntk or citw,n refer to the clothing of the common priests.140

But when one strips away occurrences of either tntk or citw,n relating to the common

priests, these same terms are found only six times referring to the clothing of the high

priest. No matter how one counts the data, neither tntk nor citw,n (or other Greek

139
See Aune (Revelation 1-5, 93), who notes that the most common term for the
robes of the high priests and the priests in the HB is tntk (usually translated by the
LXX as citw,n). Aune cites, without attempting to be exhaustive, the examples of
Exod 28:4 (high priest), 39 (high priest), 40 (common priests); 29:5 (high priest), 8
(common priests); 35:19 (common priests); 39:27 (LXX 36:34: both high priest and
common priests); 40:14 (common priests); and Lev 6:3 (common priests). In Aune’s
enumeration of sample texts translated by citw,n, however, two of them do not translate
tntk (i.e., Exod 35:19 [translating dgb] and Lev 6:3 [translating dm]). Texts that utilize
tntk but do not refer to the dress of the priestly hierarchy are: Gen 3:21; 37:3, 23 (2x),
31 (2x), 32 (2x), 33; 2 Sam 13:18, 19; 15:32; Job 30:18; Song 5:3; Isa 22:21.
140
Texts not mentioned by Aune that utilize tntk in reference to the high priest
are Lev 8:7 and 16:4. On the other hand, texts not mentioned by Aune that utilize this
word in reference to the common priests are Lev 8:13; 10:5; Ezra 2:69; Neh 7:69, 71.
What this means is that of all the texts that actually utilize tntk in relation to
priestly or high priestly characters, five refer solely to the clothing of the high priest
(Exod 28:4, 39; 29:5; Lev 8:7; 16:4), eight refer solely to the clothing of the common
priests (Exod 28:40; 29:8; 40:14; Lev 8:13; 10:5; Ezra 2:69; Neh 7:69, 71), and one
refers to the clothing of both the high priest and the common priests (Exod 39:27). On
the other hand, of all the references to citw,n, five refer solely to the clothing of the high
priest (LXX Exod 28:4, 39; 29:5; Lev 8:7; 16:4), six refer solely to the clothing of the
common priests (LXX Exod 28:40; 29:8; 40:14; Lev 6:10; 8:13; 10:5), and one refers to
the clothing of both the high priest and the common priests (LXX Exod 36:34). Other
transliterated forms of tntk occur three times for the common priests: in LXX Ezra
2:69 (koqwnoi) and Neh 7:70 (coqwnwq) and 72 (coqwnwq).

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transliterations of tntk) occurs more frequently than podh,rhj in describing the clothing

of the high priest.141

In a seemingly devastating conclusion to the argument that podh,rhj in Rev 1:13

refers to priestly—not to mention high priestly—dress, Aune argues as follows:

Robes and belts (which gathered the robes at the waist) were basic articles of
clothing in the ancient Mediterranean world used by both men and women (cf.
Odyssey 6.38). Since the “one like a son of man” is wearing only a long robe and a
golden sash, these two garments by themselves cannot be claimed to be priestly
vestments. Nothing is said about the rest of the vestments (the ephod, the trousers,
the turban, the crown, and so forth), nor are the material and color of the robe
specified. There is therefore no clear intention on the part of the author to
conceptualize the appearance of the exalted Christ in priestly terms.142

But there are at least a couple of reasons why this line of argumentation is misleading.

First, the use of podh,rhj in Rev 1:13 is specific dress terminology; John did not utilize

such dress terminology as e;nduma (“garment, clothing”)143 evpendu,thj (“outer garment,

I.e., tntk or citw,n occurs six times with reference to the high priest
141

(MT/LXX Exod 28:4, 39; 29:5; Lev 8:7; 16:4; MT Exod 39:27 [LXX Exod 36:34]),
while podh,rhj explicitly occurs eight times with reference to him and, as I have
indicated in the previous chapter, can be understood to refer to high priestly imagery in
the other four. Notice that Aune asserts that “the term podh,rhj occurs twelve times in
the LXX and always refers to a garment worn by the high priest” (Revelation 1-5, 93).
This is his conclusion despite its non-explicit nature in Ezek 9:2, 3, and 11 and its
apparent opacity in Sir 27:8, and thus his conclusions are more absolute than my own.
142
Aune, Revelation 1-5, 94.
143
See, e.g., LXX 2 Sam 1:24; 2 Kgs 10:22; Zeph 1:8; Lam 4:14; Wis 18:24;
Matt 3:4; and Luke 12:23. Unless otherwise indicated, basic definitions for this and the
following dress terms are taken from BDAG.

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coat”),144 i`ma,tion (“clothing, apparel; cloak, robe”),145 stolh, (“long, flowing robe”),146

u`podu,thj (“garment worn under a coat of mail; undergarment”), 147 citw,n (“tunic, shirt;

clothes”),148 or clamu,j (“military cloak, mantle”).149 Rather, he is describing the o[moion

ui`o.n avnqrw,pou with a foot-length robe typically associated with the high priest.

Second, a lack of further high priestly dress imagery—whether dress element, color, or

type of material—does not necessarily undercut a high priestly understanding of the

admittedly meagre dress terminology in 1:13. A sartorial synecdoche might only

include one or two items of an identifiable dress ensemble, but as a figure of speech it

refers to the whole ensemble. The use of only one or two items of dress, accordingly,

may simply be a synecdochical way of referring to the entire high priestly ensemble.150

Expectations that a larger or a full ensemble of clothing reasonably indicative of high

priestly identity should be present in the text are consequently incorrect expectations

144
LXX 2 Sam 13:18 and John 1:27.
145
In the NT see, e.g., Rev 3:4, 5, 18; 4:4; 16:15; 19:13, 16.
146
In the NT see, e.g., Rev 6:11; 7:9, 13, 14; 22:14.
147
LXX Exod 28:31, 33 (2x), 34; 36:29, 30, 31, 32, 33; Lev 8:7. See LSJ, s.v.
“u`podu,thj.”
148
In the NT, see Matt 5:40; 10:10; Mark 6:9; 14:63; Luke 3:11; 6:29; 9:3; John
19:23; Acts 9:39; Jude 23.
149
LXX 2 Macc 12:35; and Matt 27:28, 31.
150
Cf. Aeschylus Pers. 660-62, in which the description of the Great King of
Persia mentions only his sandals and his royal tiara; Aune notes that “he is described
‘from head to foot’” (Revelation 1-5, 95).

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that can preclude or distort identity perception.151

Since the garment worn by o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in 1:13 is irrefutably a

podh,rhj, the descriptions of the podh,rhj in the LXX and related Second Temple

literature should be the primary guide to one’s conclusions as to what it typically looked

like.152 As such, one would assume it would be foot-length and of a hyacinth-dyed,

woolen nature.153 Since it was dyed, it would not be a white,154 off-white, or yellowish-

151
Bandy, in general agreement with Aune’s assessment about priestly imagery in
this text, concludes that one should not place too much weight on any priestly imagery
because of the lack of additional priestly dress items (“The Prophetic Lawsuit,” 189).
152
Of course, Josephus’s accounts in A.J. 3.159 and B.J. 5.231 would indicate the
perspective of Josephus on what it looked like in the 1st century CE.
153
See, e.g., Exod 28:31; 39:22, 24. Lenski’s conclusion that since the “color of
the robe is not mentioned, we cannot designate it” (Interpretation, 64-65) is too
reductionistic.
154
So Margaret Barker, The Hidden Tradition of the Kingdom of God (London:
SPCK, 2007), 85; idem, Revelation, 84; Büchsel, Die Christologie, 32; Choi,
“Restoration Theme,” 236; Hoffmann, Destroyer and the Lamb, 224; Kistemaker,
Exposition, 95 (“white ankle-length robe”); Lenski, Interpretation, 65; Maier,
Apocalypse Recalled, 35-36; Neufeld, “Sumptuous Clothing,” 676-77; and Christopher
C. Rowland, “A Man Clothed in Linen: Daniel 10.6ff. and Jewish Angelology,” JSNT
24 (1985): 110, n. 24. Interpreters who ascribe to this view may be thinking of Dan
7:9’s reference to the clothes of the “Ancient of Days” as white as snow. But this color
is no longer attached to the clothes of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in Rev 1:13; rather,
this color describes his head and hair (1:14).
Decades ago J. Hugh Michael suggested that in Rev 1:14 leuko,n w`j ciw.n
(“white as snow”) had been misplaced and should rather modify podh,rh in 1:13 (“A
Slight Misplacement in Revelation i. 13, 14,” ExpTim 42 [1930-31]: 380). Cf. how
Matthew describes the garments of the angel at the tomb as being white as snow
(leuko.n w`j ciw,n [28:3]). One reason Michael advanced for this suggestion was that
podh,rh was the only item in the description of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou that was not
further described (“Slight Misplacement,” 381). Michael himself admitted that one
could only guess as to how such a proposed displacement took place (ibid.). For further
support of Michael’s study, see C. Cave Oke, “The Misplacement in Revelation 1,13-
14,” ExpTim 43 (1931): 237. The primary argument against Michael’s proposal,
however, is both inescapable and ultimately devastating: There is not one extant Greek

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white color, nor would it be fabricated out of linen.155 Neither would it be the

distinctive dress worn on Yom Kippur,156 since the foundational description of such

clothing in Lev 16:4 does not include a ly[im./podh,rhj.157 When these facts are not

taken into consideration, resulting interpretations mistakenly mirror Josephus’s singular

and ultimately irrelevant remark about the foot-length linen garb of the common priests

(podh,rhj citw.n [A.J. 3.153]).158

Summary of the podh,rhj

There is clear evidence that John’s description of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou

specifically wearing a podh,rhj in 1:13 indicates that John intended to portray Jesus

text that supports such a reading, and thus such a reading has no textual foundation
whatsoever.
155
Van der Waal argues that since the comparison of Jesus’ appearance to the sun
in its strength (1:16) alludes to the description in the last words of Deborah’s song in
Judg 5:31, the yellowish color of the sun would be present in the color of the podh,rhj,
and thus it likely refers to the yellowish-white linen ci,twn of the priests
(Oudtestamentische priesterlijke motieven, 51).
For a linen interpretation, see, e.g., Ben-Daniel and Ben-Daniel, Apocalypse, 25;
Léon Hermann, La vision de Patmos, Collection Latomus 78 (Brussels: Latomus, 1965),
80; Moyise, Old Testament, 37; Stramara, God’s Timetable, 82; and James Valentine,
“Theological Aspects of the Temple Motif in the Old Testament and Revelation” (PhD
diss., Boston University, 1985), 279 and 329. Such a conclusion possibly stems from
belief that 1:13 alludes to MT Ezek 9:2, 3, and 11 (cf. 10:2, 6, 7), where the “man in
linen” wears a garment that is described as a podh,rhj in the LXX. But crossing
linguistic boundaries in order to demonstrate an allusion is potentially problematic.
156
So, e.g., Barker (Hidden Tradition, 85; Revelation, 84-85) and Fletcher-Louis
(“Messiah: Part II,” 59).
157
The lack of any golden clothing on Yom Kippur also contrasts with Rev 1:13.
On this article of dress, see the discussion below.
158
Cf., e.g., Büchsel, Die Christologie, 32.

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wearing the high priest’s woolen, hyacinth-dyed, foot-length robe, thus communicating

his high priestly identity. The dress term podh,rhj almost always has reference to the

dress of the high priest not only in the LXX but also in numerous texts in extrabiblical

Second Temple literature. While semantically there is room for an alternative meaning,

the cultic motifs in the immediate context of Rev 1:13 drive one towards the high

priestly meaning.

While such OT texts as Dan 10:5 and Ezek 9:2, 3, 11 are attractive in terms of

possible backgrounds to the podh,rhj in Rev 1:13, differences in terminology and

context suggest that other OT texts might be just as much or even more viable. Exodus

27:20–28:5 is an intriguing possibility, since it combines the implicit sanctuary

lampstand, the role of Aaron and his “sons” in tending it, and the beginning of a

sartorial description of the high priestly garments, which continues into chap. 28 and

culminates with the directions on vesting Aaron and his sons in chap. 29. The fact that

Exod 27:20–28:5 is woven together from a literary standpoint illuminates the close

relationship between the vested o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou amidst the golden lampstands

in Rev 1:12-13.

The argument that Josephus’s reference to podh,rhj in terms of the common

priests indicates that John may not be indicating high priestly dress is not persuasively

compelling, since the reference by Josephus is an attributive use, whereas in Revelation

it is substantive and thus matches other substantive uses referring to the high priest’s

foot-length robe. Consequently, the conclusion of Aune159 that podh,rhj as a priestly

159
Aune, Revelation 1-5, 93.

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term in 1:13 is “unfounded” is itself unfounded. 160

Encircled with a Golden zw,nh

John’s last, formal dress description of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in chap. 1

consists of the use of a dress item, a dress verb, and a location for that dress item: kai.

periezwsme,non pro.j toi/j mastoi/j zw,nhn crusa/n (1:13). In close proximity to his

reference to the podh,rhj, John thus indicates that o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou also has a

golden belt or sash encircling (or, wrapped around at) the breasts.161 Based on this

information, several questions quickly rise to the surface, specifically with regard to the

zw,nhn crusa/n.162 First, what sartorial weight does a zw,nh carry in

160
Stevens concludes that Aune’s charge is “unnecessarily dismissive” (“Son of
Man,” 22).
161
Cf. Apoc. Zeph. 6:12.
162
The intriguing linguistic links between o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in 1:13 and
the seven angels in 15:6 (i.e., common use of evndu,w, perizw,nnumi, zw,nh, and
crusou/j), as well as the sanctuary and temple imagery in both texts, are noteworthy.
Among the textual variants in 15:6, Aune’s conclusion that li,non (M) “is certainly
original” (Revelation 6-16, 854, n. 6.c.) is not compelling; cf. Beale (Revelation, 804-
805), Osborne (Revelation, 575), and Swete (Apocalypse of St John, 198). Resolving
this text-critical issue in Rev 15:6 instead in favor of the lectio difficilior li,qon (A C
2053 2062 pc vgst syhmg)—despite strenuous objections that such a reading is absurd
(Edmund Beckett, Baron Grimthorpe, Should the Revised New Testament Be
Authorised? [London: John Murray, 1882], 179), impossible (ibid.; S. W. Whitney, The
Revisers’ Greek Text: A Critical Examination of Certain Readings, Textual and
Marginal, in the Original Greek of the New Testament Adopted by the Late Anglo-
American Revisers [Boston: Silver, Burdett, 1892], 2:319; cf. Charles, Revelation, 2:38:
“li,qon cannot be right”), and intolerable (Swete, Apocalypse of St John, 198)—could
potentially indicate high priestly imagery, since the high priest was clothed with “stone”
(Exod 28:9, 15-21).
The high priest, however, was not the only one “clothed” in/with stone in Jewish
texts (cf., e.g., LXX Ezek 9:2; 28:13; Dan 10:6 [OG and Q]; Apoc. Abr. 11:2; 4Q405 19
5-7a; Rev 4:3; see the discussion in Winkle, “Iridescence in Ezekiel,” 65-70). Despite
the belief of some that stone is never indicated as dress material or is hard to imagine as

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constructing a role-related identity? Second, why is this particular zw,nh in 1:13

described as golden? And third, what does it mean to have a zw,nh encircling or

wrapped pro.j toi/j mastoi/j?

The zw,nh and Role-Related Identity

Is a zw,nh characteristically indicative of a particular role-related identity? One

must answer in the negative. The sartorial zw,nh is used in the NT for the belt/sash of

John the Baptist (Matt 3:4; Mark 1:6), Jesus’ disciples (Matt 10:9; Mark 6:8), Paul

(Acts 21:11), and the seven bowl-plague angels (Rev 15:6). It also appears in the LXX

such (so Aune, Revelation 6-16, 854, n. 6.c.; Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary
on the Greek New Testament, 2nd ed. [Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft; 1994],
680; Osborne, Revelation, 575; Smalley, The Revelation to John, 381, n. f; Whitney,
The Revisers’ Greek Text, 2:319), such a contention is baseless: cf. (1) the Cherokee
myth about a “wicked cannibal monster” named Nûñ ,yunu ,wï, which means “Dressed in
Stone” (James Mooney, “Myths of the Cherokee,” Annual Report of the Bureau of
American Ethnology 19 [1897-98]: 319); (2) the Seneca tradition about a woman
clothed in stone, known as the Genonsgwa, or Stone Coat Woman (Jeremiah Curtin and
J. N. B. Hewitt, “Seneca Fiction, Legends, and Myths,” ed. J. N. B. Hewitt, Annual
Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology 32 [1910-1911]: 437-50, particularly 438-
39); and (3) the Australian Aboriginal legends that spoke of foreigners arriving “dressed
in stone clothes” (Gavin Menzies, 1421: The Year China Discovered America [New
York: William Morrow, 2003], 220). In any case, since the high priest was not the only
one in antiquity described as dressed in stone, one cannot posit an ironclad high priestly
identity for these angels.
While both the seven angels in 15:6 and the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in 1:13
wear a golden zw,nh, the overall dress descriptions are not the same (contra Beale
[Revelation, 209] and Ben-Daniel and Ben-Daniel [Apocalypse, 25]; cf. Barker’s
[Temple Mysticism, 68] and Stefanovic’s [Revelation, 497] overstated comparisons).
Even the comparable elements of the dress descriptions are not comprised of merely
slight differences (so Carrell, Jesus and the Angels, 139). Rather, the use of peri, in
15:6 instead of pro,j in 1:13, the reference to the sthqh, in 15:6 (a broad term) instead of
the mastoi, in 1:13 (a narrower term), and the reference to li,non/li,qon kaqaro.n
lampro.n (“pure, bright linen/stone”) in 15:6 with no corresponding dress description at
all in 1:13—all present a cumulatively distinct difference.

307
for the belt/sash of the high priest (Exod 28:4, 39; 29:9; 39:29; Lev 8:7; 16:4), 163 the

common priests (Exod 28:40; 29:9; Lev 8:13), the man seen in vision by Ezekiel who

was clothed in a podh,rhj (Ezek 9:2, 3, 11), unnamed (defeated?) kings (Job 12:18),164

David’s military commander Joab (1 Kgs 2:5), Elijah (2 Kgs 1:8), Moabite military men

(2 Kgs 3:21) and other foreigners (Isa 5:27), the women of Zion (Isa 3:24), and common

Israelites (Deut 23:14; Ps 108:19 [MT 109:19]). Furthermore, OT girding verbs can

assume a zw,nh even when the latter is not explicitly stated or described (see Dan

10:5).165 It is therefore clear that a zw,nh as a sartorial image does not automatically

trigger any particular role-related identity. Context must determine its role-related

implications.

Is it possible to more narrowly determine the possible role-related intent of John

regarding this dress term? With regard to the zw,nh in Rev 1:13, scholarly opinion is

divided as to its meaning. Similar types of interpretive conclusions to that of the

podh,rhj appear in the literature, including: (1) a generic meaning indicative of high

The only time it does not compare to the Hebrew jnEb.a; is in Isa 22:21, where
163

the Greek has no exact equivalent.

164
Note that the meaning here is entirely negative, denoting a judgment by
YHWH (cf. the context in 12:14-25), and may well refer to something like a rope
(NJB), loincloth (NIV), or waistcloth (NRSV). Consequently, it would not indicate
role-related status as a king.
165
Mathews concludes that there is only a “possible” allusion to Dan 10:5 with
regard to this sartorial image in Rev 1:13 (“Critical Evaluation,” 172).

308
dignity or rank;166 (2) a royal meaning;167 (3) alternating between a priestly or high

priestly meaning;168 (4) a high priestly meaning;169 (5) alternating between a high

priestly meaning or one indicative of dignity;170 and (6) explicitly denying any priestly

or high priestly meaning.171 As a result, both its wide spectrum of usage and the lack of

a scholarly consensus as to its meaning in Rev 1:13 invite further investigation.

The Golden Nature of the zw,nh

The zw,nh clearly does not have a monolithic meaning, since it can refer to such

diverse dress as military garb and women’s clothing. As such, the word by itself is not,

166
See Beckwith (Apocalypse, 438), Hailey (Revelation, 109), Hughes
(Revelation, 26), Newport (Lion and the Lamb, 136), and Resseguie (Revelation of
John, 76).
167
E.g., Blount (Revelation, 44; here he does see “priestly implications,” though),
Boismard (L’Apocalypse, 29-30, n. g.), Bonsirven (L’Apocalypse, 98), Brighton
(Revelation, 49-50, although he incorrectly notes its association with the high priestly
podh,rhj [ibid., 49]), Cerfaux and Cambier (L’Apocalypse, 25), Charlier (Comprendre
l’Apocalypse, 1:71), Farmer (Revelation, 38), Kraft (Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 45
[but only if it is golden and not simply decorated with gold]), Lohse (Die Offenbarung
des Johannes, 20), Morant (Das Kommen des Herrn, 67), Quispel (Secret Book of
Revelation, 37), Stevens (“Son of Man,” 23-28), Vanhoye (“L’Apocalisse,” 263), and
Yeatts (Revelation, 42).
168
See Keener (Revelation, 94-95) and Mulholland (Revelation, 83).
169
E.g., Barker (Revelation, 85), Boxall (Revelation of Saint John, 42-43), Caird
(Revelation, 25), Hoeksema (Behold, He Cometh!, 38), Krodel (Revelation, 95), Loisy
(L’Apocalypse, 80), and Robert Mounce (Revelation, 58).
170
E.g., Ladd (Revelation, 32-33), Müller (Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 83-
84), Newport (Lion and the Lamb, 136), and Prigent (Commentary on the Apocalypse,
136).
171
E.g., Charles (Revelation, 1:28), Morris (The Book of Revelation, 53-54), and
Swete (Apocalypse of St John, 16, who states that it does not “quite determine the
highpriestly character of the costume” and concludes it refers instead to Dan 10:5).

309
unfortunately, as helpful as one might wish. But in Rev 1:13 John further describes this

zw,nh as golden (zw,nhn crusa/n172). This added description opens up further

opportunities for interpretation.

It needs to be stated from the outset that although one need not look far to find

examples of royalty wearing sashes,173 biblical literature knows nothing of a golden

zw,nh being associated with royalty. Granted, this is a literary argument, and it does not

deny that royalty used golden zwnai,. Nevertheless, exegetes round up such texts as 1

Macc 10:88-89, 11:58, and/or 14:44 and point to the use of po,rphn crush/n in one or

more of these texts to illustrate or prove such a royal interpretation.174 None of these

texts, however, yields the desired result: The terminology in all three of the latter texts

refers to a golden buckle, brooch, or clasp.175 One would be hardpressed to even call

this weak evidence, since it hardly needs to be stated that a golden po,rph is not a golden

172
That crusa/n is an accusative feminine singular—instead of the expected
crush/n (< crusou/j, a contraction of cru,seoj)—apparently derives in parallel fashion
from the morphological form of the related adjectival word for silver, avrgura/n (<
avrgurou/j; see BDAG, s.v. “crusou/j”). On this cf. Smalley (The Revelation to John,
54) and Swete (Apocalypse of St John, 16).
173
Cf., e.g., Propp, who notes that “the Assyrian Black Obelisk depicts Jehu of
Israel wearing a fringed sash around his long robe” (Exodus 19-40, 434).
174
E.g., Beale (Revelation, 209), Blount (Revelation, 44), Brighton (Revelation,
49), Charles (Revelation, 1:28), Farmer (Revelation, 38), Holtz (Die Christologie, 119),
Müller (Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 83-84), Swete (Apocalypse of St John, 16),
Trafton (Reading Revelation, 28). But Düsterdieck disagrees (Revelation of John, 112,
n. 3).
175
Cf. LSJ, s.v. “po,rph.” Of 1 Macc 10:88-89, 11:58, and 14:44, the first text
indicates that it is given toi/j suggene,sin tw/n basile,wn (“to the relatives/kinsmen of
the king”), the second is indicative of non-royal honors given to the newly confirmed
high priest Jonathan, and the latter prohibits the common people or priests from wearing
one along with porfu,ra (“purple”).

310
zw,nh, anymore than a royal crown is not a military beret or a baseball cap.

What about the golden zw,nh as high priestly dress imagery? As I have

indicated, the only two dress verbs in the description of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in

Rev 1:13 are linked with the podh,rhj and the zw,nh. The only OT contexts in which

podh,rhj and zw,nh explicitly occur in relative proximity are in LXX Exod 28:4–29:9

and Ezek 9.176 The dress of the high priest is clearly—though not exclusively—the

focus of Exod 28:4–29:9. And as I have demonstrated in the previous chapter, the LXX

counterpart to the “Man in Linen” in Ezek 9 (MT) is likely based on a high priestly

understanding of his ministry. Consequently, since the only biblical contexts in which

the two terms podh,rhj and zw,nh explicitly occur in relative proximity are contexts with

explicit or probable high priestly dress imagery and meaning, one could tentatively

conclude that John’s use of the term zw,nh in proximate relationship to podh,rhj in 1:13

may well be intended to further his rhetorical interest in portraying the o[moion ui`o.n

avnqrw,pou in a high priestly role.177

176
See LXX Exod 28:4 (zw,nh and podh,rhj), 31 (podh,rhj [adjective]), 39
(zw,nh); 29:5 (podh,rhj [adjective]), 9 (zw,nh); Ezek 9:2 (zw,nh and podh,rhj), 3 (zw,nh
and podh,rhj), 11 (zw,nh and podh,rhj). Prigent’s note that “the description in Ex 28:4
indicates only that the pontifical belt is woven with gold” (Apocalypse, 136) is textually
unfounded. Furthermore, in reference to LXX Ezek 9:2, his conclusion that “there is
nothing that allows us to suppose that Ezekiel was thinking of a high priest” (ibid.)
misses the point, since the LXX of that work was neither written nor translated by
Ezekiel.
177
Étan Levine’s suggestion that the zw,nh of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in Rev
1:13 might be “an article of battle dress” related to the ANE wrestling-belt because of
the later reference to the sharp, two-edged sword in 1:16 (“The Wrestling-Belt Legacy
in the New Testament,” NTS 28 [1982]: 564, n. 14) is not compelling in light of: (1) the
contextual linkage with the podh,rhj, which is textually closer than the sword in 1:16;
(2) the golden nature of this belt/sash; and (3) its location. For more on the ANE

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 But Rev 1:13 does not simply refer to a zw,nh but rather to a zw,nhn crusa/n.

Can one find a golden zw,nh in either LXX Exod 28:4–29:9 or Ezek 9? From a

linguistic standpoint, the answer must again be negative. With regard to Exod

28:4–29:9, at least two apparent problems exist. For one thing, the singular zw,nh worn

regularly by the high priest178 appears more closely associated with the high priestly

ci,twn instead of the podh,rhj (cf. Exod 28:4; Lev 8:7, 13).179 At the ordination of the

priests in the Mosaic period, Moses clothed Aaron with the ci,twn, then the zw,nh, and

then the u`podu,thj podh,rhj,180 and thus the zw,nh would appear to be largely—if not

entirely—invisible. Moreover, the zw,nh in Exod 28:4–29:9 is not golden at all. 181

With regard to LXX Ezek 9, the zw,nh there is similarly not made out of gold;

rather, it is fabricated from lapis lazuli (zw,nh sapfei,rou [9:2]). Moreover, it is located

wrestling-belt in light of the OT, see Cyrus H. Gordon, “Belt-Wrestling in the Bible
World,” HUCA 23 (1950-1951): 131-36.
178
The high priest also wore a plainer zw,nh on Yom Kippur (Lev 16:4).
179
Contra Brighton (Revelation, 49). On the association of the belt/sash with the
tunic, see Propp, Exodus 19-40, 434.
180
Cf. LXX Exod 28:31 (kai. poih,seij u`podu,thn podh,rh o[lon u`aki,nqinon
[“and you will fabricate a foot-length undergarment entirely out of hyacinth(-colored
cloth)”] and Lev 8:7 (kai. evne,dusen auvto.n to.n citw/na kai. e;zwsen auvto.n th.n
zw,nhn kai. evne,dusen auvto.n to.n u`podu,thn [“and he clothed him with the tunic and he
tied the belt/sash around him and he clothed him with the undergarment”]). In both
cases the “undergarment” is not what we would understand to be underwear but rather a
garment that goes under another one.
181
See LXX Exod 28:4, 39; 29:9; 36:36 (MT 39:29); Lev 8:7; 16:4; cf. Exod
29:9. It is multichromatic, and the only text in the OT that indicates how it was
fabricated describes it as being made out of fine twisted linen and embroidered with
hyacinth, (Tyrian) purple, and crimson material (Exod 39:29 [LXX 36:36]). On the
other hand, the belt/sash worn by the high priest on Yom Kippur was made out of linen
and not multicolored (Lev 16:4).

312
at the visionary being’s waist (evpi. th/j ovsfu,oj auvtou/ [9:2, 3]; th.n ovsfu.n auvtou/

[9:11]) instead of his breast or chest. These differences are consequently problematic in

terms of both material and location.

The express concern that the golden zw,nh of Rev 1:13 finds no clear antecedent

in the OT,182 however, is not insurmountable. Such a concern assumes that if the golden

zw,nh in Rev 1:13 were high priestly in nature, it must precisely match the description of

the OT high priestly zw,nh both linguistically and conceptually. But in my estimation

this is mistaken.

It is at this point that the examination of NT backgrounds—and particularly

Second Temple realia—may indeed be useful. It is clear that the literary texts of the OT

182
Many exegetes see the golden belt/sash imagery alluding to Dan 10:5 (and
perhaps Ezek 9:2); see, e.g., Aune (Revelation 1-5, 93), Beale (Revelation, 210),
Brighton (Revelation, 49-50), Osborne (Revelation, 89), Whiteley (“Search for
Cohesion,” 178). In Dan 10:5 the loins/waist of Daniel’s visionary being were encircled
or girded with an implicit belt/sash of gold (zp'Wa ~t,k,B. ~yrIgUx] wyn"t.m'W [MT: “and his
hips/loins girded with gold of Uphaz”]; h` ovsfu.j auvtou/ periezwsme,nh evn crusi,w|
Wfaz [Q: “his waist/loins girded with gold of Ophaz”]). The OG, however, is different:
th.n ovsfu.n periezwsme,noj bussi,nw| kai. evk me,sou auvtou/ fw/j (“the waist/loins
girded with linen and light [glowing/streaming?] from the middle of him”). On the
complicated and varied textual tradition of this verse, see the summary comments of
Collins, Daniel, 361, 373. The implicit zw,nh in Dan 10:5 is, in the same way as Ezek 9,
located at the celestial being’s waist or loins ( ovsfu.n [OG] and ovsfu.j [Q]) instead of his
breast or chest. Furthermore, its locale is different, too, since it is apparently situated on
this being’s linen garment (~yDIB; vWbl' [MT]; bu,ssina [OG]; baddin [Q]), as opposed
to being on a woolen podh,rhj as in Rev 1:13. Gundry, on the basis of Dan 10:5-6,
insists that the sash in Rev 1:13 is made out of gold metal, not golden cloth
(Commentary, 999). Whiteley concludes that the girding with gold in Dan 10:5 refers to
the high priestly ephod, since it was the only high priestly item wrapped around the high
priest that was fabricated from gold (“Search for Cohesion,” 174, 179). But the high
priestly ephod was not located at the waist/loins, and other high priestly items were
made from gold (e.g., the band of the ephod and the breastpiece).

313
are not the only points of reference or allusion for John in Revelation. 183 As we have

seen, while the OT mentions two high priestly zwnai,, neither the one worn daily nor the

one worn on Yom Kippur was described as being worn in association with the podh,rhj,

and neither was comprised of any gold or golden material. But this is not what Josephus

understood towards the end of the Second Temple period. According to him, the high

priest was arrayed like the common priests, “omitting nothing of the things already

mentioned” (paralipw.n ouvde.n tw/n proeirhme,nwn [A.J. 3.159; cf. 3.154]). This

would seem to infer that the high priest wore a zw,nh around his linen ci,twn. This

zw,nh would thus be very similar to that of the common priests.184

But Josephus then mentions in A.J. 3.159 that the high priest wore a hyacinthine,

foot-length ci,twn or tunic (known as the podh,rhj elsewhere), and that this garment,

unique to the high priest, had a zw,nh tightly bound around him. This zw,nh was woven

with flowers and embroidered with hyacinth, (Tyrian) purple, and crimson like that of

the common priests mentioned in 3.154.185 Although this high priestly zw,nh was

multichromatic like the earlier (h` pro,teron) zw,nh of the common priests, it was

183
Note, for instance, the reference in Rev 1:18 to Jesus holding the “keys of
death and of Hades” (ta.j klei/j tou/ qana,tou kai. tou/ a[|dou); this is a potential
allusion to deities of the underworld like Hekate who were known as “keybearers”; on
this, cf., e.g., Aune (Revelation 1-5, 104-105) and Beale (Revelation, 215).
184
See the previous chapter on my reasons for concluding that the high priest’s
sash was not entirely identical to that of the common priests.
185
Note that in A.J. 8.93 Josephus states that Solomon fashioned not multicolored
but purple sashes (zw,naj porfura/j) for the common priests. On the rabbinic dispute
over the commonality or uniqueness of the sash, see b. Yoma 5b-6a and 12a-12b. Cf.
Propp, Exodus 19-40, 669.

314
furthermore crusou/ sunufasme,nou (“interwoven with gold” [A.J. 3.159]).186 It appears

that Josephus saw this zw,nh as the high priestly version of the zw,nh of the common

priests, with its interwoven gold being the distinguishing characteristic. Furthermore, it

appears that this zw,nh may have been more visible than the Pentateuchal one, since he

describes it as being around or on top of the hyacinthine ci,twn (i.e., the podh,rhj), as

opposed to underneath the u`podu,thj podh,rhj (Lev 8:7).

Josephus had earlier provided a somewhat different description of this dress

item.187 In B.J. 5.232 he had explicitly described it as the garment that attached the foot-

length, hyacinthine robe (podh,rh . . . u`aki,nqinon [5.231]) to the breast (h` de. to.

e;nduma tw/| ste,rnw| proshlou/sa taini,a [“but the band which fastened the garment to

the breast”]).188 Furthermore, this dress item was “embroidered with five bands of

186
As noted, e.g., by Barker (Revelation, 85), Boxall (Revelation of Saint John,
42), and Robert Mounce (Revelation, 58). “The high priest is dressed in the same
manner as the ordinary priests (cf. Ant. III 159) but wears more robes and girdles. . . .
The high priest’s vestment only differs in that he wears golden belts or belts with
interwoven gold and that he has an additional girdle that holds the breastplate” (Omerzu,
“Women, Magic and Angels,” 92). Mulholland’s comment that the high priest did not
wear a belt/sash fabricated (at least in part) from gold betrays a lack of awareness of
Josephus (Revelation, 83).
187
Bond astutely concludes: “The fact that there is no unanimity regarding the
names of these [high priestly] garments, let alone their symbolic functions, should alert
us to a certain fluidity in the tradition” (“Discarding the Seamless Robe,” 417, n. 37).
Fernández Marcos provides a number of examples of dress terminology variation
among Jewish sources during the Hellenistic-Roman period (“Rewritten Bible,” 321-
36).
188
Cf. Let. Aris. 96-97, where one finds first mentioned the tunic (citw/noj) with
the stones on it, then the observation “for golden bells are around the hem of it” ( crusoi/
ga.r kw,dwnej peri. to.n podh,rh eivsi.n auvtou/), then the sash or breastband (zw,nh|),
and then the breastpiece (lo,gion) with the twelve stones.

315
variegated colors [pe,nte dihnqisme,nh zw,naij pepoi,kilto]”—gold, (Tyrian) purple,

crimson, with fine linen and hyacinth (crusou/ te kai. porfu,raj kai. ko,kkou, pro.j de.

bu,ssou kai. u`aki,nqou). In this earlier text there were thus five zwnai, that comprised

the sash/belt—and the first of them listed was golden.

In A.J. 3.171 Josephus mentions a second zw,nh following the first one he has

already mentioned in that work. This second zw,nh was sewn onto the breastpiece and,

after passing around the body, was tied at the seam where the breastpiece was stitched to

the ephod,189 with the remainder hung from the side (Ant. 3.171). Exodus 29:5 and Lev

8:7 indicate that the purpose of this dress item was to bind the ephod to the high

priest.190 While Josephus uses zw,nh for both the earlier high priestly belt/sash and for

this second dress item,191 the LXX uses the term u[fasma (“woven garment”) instead for

this latter item (Exod 28:8; 36:28).192 Nevertheless, like the ephod (to which the second

189
So Feldman, Judean Antiquities I-IV, 277, n. 455.

The verb used in the Hebrew here is dp;a', a cognate of dApae (ephod), and it
190

occurs only in these two texts.

191
Just as Josephus does, Targumim Onqelos and Neofiti use the same term for
both the first belt/sash (Exod 28:4) and the later band (Exod 28:8; 39:20). See Feldman,
Judean Antiquities 1-4, 277, n. 453.
192
In Exodus two different terms are used for these belts/sashes: the belt/sash
around the high priest’s linen tunic was termed jnEb.a; / zw,nh (e.g., 28:4, 39; 39:29 [LXX
39:29]; Lev 8:7; 16:4), whereas that attached to the breastpiece was termed bv,xe /
u[fasma (28:8, 27 [LXX minus], 28 [LXX minus]; 29:5 [LXX minus]; 39:5 [minus in
LXX 36:12], 20 [minus in LXX 36:27], 21 [LXX 36:28]; Lev 8:7 [LXX minus]).
Notice that of the eight texts witnessing bv,xe, the LXX has the specific term u[fasma in
only two texts (Exod 28:8; 36:28). Yet cf. similar terms and ideas in LXX Exod 29:5
(kai. suna,yeij auvtw/| to. logei/on pro.j th.n evpwmi,da [“and you will join to him the
oracle/breastpiece to the ephod”], 36:12 ( e;rgon u`fanto.n [“woven work”]), 39:20 (kata.
pro,swpon kata. th.n sumbolh.n a;nwqen th/j sunufh/j th/j evpwmi,doj [“in front near

316
zw,nh mentioned by Josephus was attached), LXX 28:8 and 36:12 state that gold was

utilized in the fabrication of this u[fasma, along with the same colors as the ephod

(crimson, [Tyrian] purple, hyacinth, and fine linen).193 The placement of gold first in the

biblical description of this dress item (Exod 28:8; 39:5 [LXX 36:12]) suggests that gold

was its predominant characteristic.194

Thus, one can conclude that the term zw,nh could refer to more than one high

priestly dress item. If John were describing something like one of the zwnai, mentioned

by Josephus, it would seem that the one mentioned in A.J. 3.159 and B.J. 5.232 would

be the most likely parallel, since it is closely associated with the podh,rhj and was

fabricated with gold.195 The second zw,nh mentioned by Josephus in A.J. 3.171

(described by the LXX instead as a u[fasma), while possible, would consequently appear

the juncture above the woven material of the ephod”]), and Lev 8:7 ( kai. sune,zwsen
auvto.n kata. th.n poi,hsin th/j evpwmi,doj kai. sune,sfigxen auvto.n evn auvth/| [“and
girded him {with a belt/sash/band} according to the fabrication of the ephod, and they
bound him tightly in it”]). The u[fasma also appears in relation to the high priest in two
texts referring to the lapidary work of the breastpiece (28:17; 36:17).
Josephus states (A.J. 3.154) that the zw,nh there has an open or coarse mesh
texture, utilizing a term (u`fasme,nhn) that is a cognate for the u[fasma in LXX 28:8 and
36:28.
193
Cf. Josephus A.J. 3.154. Josephus also indicates that golden reeds or sheaths
at the end of the zw,nh gathered in or encompassed all of its tassels (A.J. 3.171). Cf.
Feldman (Judean Antiquities, 277, nn. 453-56) and Robertson (“Account,” 228, 234-
35).
194
Cf. Josephus B.J. 5.232. In A.J. 3.171, however, Josephus does not list gold
first. Neither does he list it first for the ephod (3.162), but he does list gold first for the
breastpiece (3.163). As for the difficulty of determining which color predominated in
the ephod, see Propp, Exodus 19-40, 435 and 669.
195
The lack of gold and the lack of an association with the podh,rhj appear to
also knock the sash worn on Yom Kippur out of contention.

317
to be less likely primarily because it was not directly attached to the podh,rhj.196

This interpretation, however, again underscores the concern raised by some that

John cannot be referring to high priestly dress in Rev 1 because too many characteristic

dress elements are missing from his sartorial portrayal. For instance, Hort argued that

“even though the biblical associations of the word [ podh,rhj] are chiefly connected with

the high-priesthood,” what “makes it somewhat doubtful whether that is distinctly

meant here is the absence of any other clear sign of the high-priesthood.” 197 Barker

somewhat differently argues that the podh,rhj cannot be the hyacinthine, foot-length

robe of the high priest:

On balance, we should probably assume that the robe in Revelation 1.13 was the
white linen worn by the high priest when he entered the holy of holies as no other
vestments are mentioned. Had it been the long coloured robe worn elsewhere, he
would have been wearing over it the embroidered tunic, the ephod, and the
breastplate set with twelve gem stones. These are not mentioned.198

Both of Hort’s and Barker’s contentions assume that dress indicative of the high priest

must include the whole dress ensemble—or at least several parts of it. But these would

be classic examples of incorrect expectations precipitating dress identity

misperceptions. On the contrary, I would instead conclude that John’s o[moion ui`o.n

avnqrw,pou is wearing dress indicative of the high priest: Over the hyacinthine podh,rhj

he wears a golden zw,nh, equivalent to the high priestly belt/sash which Josephus

196
Cf. Treiyer, Day of Atonement, 99 and 348, where he relates the zw,nh of Rev
1:13 with this dress item.
197
Hort, Apocalypse, 16.
198
Barker, Revelation, 84-85. Cf. Aune (Revelation 1-5, 94), Omerzu (“Women,
Magic and Angels,” 94), and Satake (Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 142).

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described as being intricately interwoven with gold.

It is clear that metonymical or synecdochical use of dress imagery in Rev 1

should not be discounted. John may have used zw,nh metonymically or synecdochically

to encompass the high priestly zw,nh, ephod, and even breastpiece, since they could be

visually perceived to be attached to each other.199 In the last chapter I noted the

probable use of such sartorial imagery in the LXX (Exod 25:7; 35:9) and Philo

(Her. 176; Leg. 1.81; Mut. 43; QE 1.107-108; Somn. 1.216; cf. Mos. 2.109-110). With

regard to the belt/sash image in Rev 1:13 Ben Witherington III startlingly wrote: “The

image of Jesus seems to combine some divine features with an attempt to depict him as

the high priest in heaven wearing a full-length robe and the priestly breastplate.” 200

While Witherington did not explain why he refers to the breastpiece that does not

appear in the text of Rev 1:13, he unconsciously may have been on to something in his

overall conclusion, since the high priestly u[fasma could refer to both a golden, high

priestly sash as well as the lapidary work on the high priestly breastpiece.201

199
Propp hypothesizes that the OT “woven-band” may have been part of what
constituted the ephod itself (i.e., “woven-band” + two shoulder-pieces). See his
discussion in Exodus 19-40, 436.
200
Witherington, Revelation, The New Cambridge Bible Commentary
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), 81.
201
Again, cf. the second zw,nh of Josephus (A.J. 3.170-71). On u[fasma in
association with high priestly lapidary work, see LXX Exod 28:17 and 36:17. With
regard to high priestly dress items, Philo uses the term u[fasma to describe the
breastplate itself (Spec. 1:86: ei=q v u[fasma qwrakoeide.j evpi. tou,tw|/ [“next a woven
garment with the appearance of a breastpiece on this”]), the woven texture of the foot-
length robe and the ephod (Mos. 2.109, 143), and the Urim and Thummim (Spec. 1:88).
Cf. also the comments of Giesen, who also speaks of the breastpiece and the Urim and
Thummim in relation to 1:13 without endorsing a high priestly interpretation (Die
Offenbarung des Johannes, 87).

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 Not all of Revelation’s characters are, so to speak, “fully clothed.” John portrays

other characters in his work with what appears like an incomplete dress ensemble. For

instance, John’s sartorial description of the sixth plague’s two hundred million

horsemen includes only their breastplates the color of fire, hyacinth, and sulphur (9:16-

17). Similarly, John describes the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in 14:14 with only a golden

crown or wreath (ste,fanon crusou/n) on his head and a sharp sickle (dre,panon ovxu,) in

his hand; certainly he would be wearing more than this, since the shame of nakedness is

a concern for John (3:18; 16:15). One must understand these clearly incomplete

sartorial descriptions as purposely partial, metonymical, or synecdochical in nature. 202

A similar understanding of the sartorial portrayal in Rev 1 would not only be prudent

and reasonable but also useful in explaining role-related identity.203

The Location of the zw,nh

In Rev 1:13 John further describes the golden zw,nh of the o[moion ui`o.n

avnqrw,pou as being encircled or wrapped around him at the breasts (periezwsme,non

pro.j toi/j mastoi/j). The verb perizw,nnumi, when used in association with a part of

one’s anatomy, is typically utilized to describe something girded or wrapped around

202
See Gane (Cult and Character, 190, n. 102) and the literature he cites on the
use of the pars pro toto principle (in which a part is taken for the whole) within the
Israelite cult.
203
On other similar, apparently incomplete, priestly dress catalogues, see Ezek
44:17-19; the only priestly garments mentioned here are linen turbans and
undergarments. See also the incomplete references to high priestly attire in 4Q405 23 II,
1-10, which list ephodim, the band of the ephod, and possibly the head ornament; see
the discussion in Fletcher-Louis, Glory of Adam, 356-73.

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one’s waist or loins (ovsfu,j).204 But John uses other anatomical terminology with this

verb in Revelation (masto,j [1:13]; sth/qoj [15:6]), which nevertheless was not

necessarily unusual.205 In any case, this alternative usage is potentially of heightened

interest.

While the term masto,j most frequently refers to feminine breasts,206 it can also

refer to one of the male mammillae or nipples. Its usage here consequently appears

anomalous, striking, and even bizarre.207 This initial perception, unfortunately, is of no

immediate help, since much in Revelation could be characterized similarly.

John’s description in 1:13 also raises questions about its possible relation to OT

high priestly dress imagery, since there is no indication in the OT that the high priest’s

belt/sash was worn around the breast. A number of commentators consequently do not

see this as an indicator of high priestly dress. Osborne’s observations are representative

of a number of others: “Long robes and sashes across the chest were . . . worn by

dignitaries and rulers. . . . The day laborer wore the sash around the waist, in order to

tuck in a tunic for work. The aristocrat wore it around the chest, as here, to indicate

204
Both words are utilized in LXX Exod 12:11; 2 Sam 20:8; 1 Kgs 20:32; 2 Kgs
1:8; Isa 32:11; Jer 1:17; Ezek 44:18; Jdt 4:14; Dan 10:5 (OG and Q); and Eph 6:14. See
also the use of the cognate noun peri,zwma (“girdle around the loins; loincloth”) along
with ovsfu,j in LXX Jer 13:1, 2, 4, 11.
205
Cf. Omerzu, “Women, Magic and Angels,” 90. Omerzu’s suggestion that
“high girding is a common attribute of angels” because Apoc. Zeph. 6:12 also refers to
high girding in relation to an angelic being relies on slim evidence (ibid., 92-93).
206
See, e.g., LXX Ps 22:9; Hos 2:2; Joel 2:16; Isa 66:11; and Luke 11:27 and
23:29. Cf. LSJ, s.v. “masto,j”; BDAG, s.v. “mazo,j” and “masto,j”; Jesse Rainbow,
“Male mastoi, in Revelation 1.13,” JSNT 30 (2007): 251.
207
Cf. Rainbow, “Male mastoi,,” 249-50.

321
high rank.”208 Such observations are sometimes used to deny any priestly or high

priestly connotations, despite this being contrary to clear evidence elsewhere.209

In John’s depiction of the golden zw,nh of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou at the

level of the mastoi,, one detects a certain distance or abstraction on his part in referring

to the mastoi,. In the phrase periezwsme,non pro.j toi/j mastoi/j zw,nhn crusa/n, John

follows the participle of perizw,nnumi with the preposition pro,j210 instead of following

it with peri,211 or no preposition at all.212 The preposition pro,j is then followed by

reference to the mastoi, in the dative case.213 Because John did not use peri,, and

because pro,j plus a dative is a “marker of closeness or relation or proximity” with the

meanings of “near, at, by” or “in addition to,” 214 it does not seem likely that John is

208
Osborne, Revelation, 89.
209
Ibid. But cf. Omerzu: “Thus the high girding about the breast (not crosswise
over the body like a sash) is, according to Josephus, the special feature of all Jewish
priests” (“Women, Magic and Angels,” 92). Despite Omerzu’s avoidance of the term
sash here, I use it because of its fabrication out of cloth. And contra Omerzu, sashes do
not need to run diagonally across one’s body.
210
Cf. in the LXX perible,pomai + pro,j (Bar 4:36; 5:5) and periple,kw + pro,j
(Ezek 17:7), and in the NT peripate,w + pro,j (Col 4:5).
211
Cf. 15:6. In the LXX see perikaqi,zw + peri, (Deut 20:19; 1 Macc 11:61),
perispa,omai + peri, (Sir 41:2), and periti,qhmi + peri, (Jer 13:1, 2; 34:2; cf. Dan 5:29
[Q]); and in the NT perispa,omai + peri, (Luke 10:40), and perikei/mai + peri, (Luke
17:2).
212
Cf., e.g., LXX 2 Kgs 1:8; 3:21; Joel 1:8; and Luke 12:35; Eph 6:14.
213
For pro,j followed by the dative plural article toi/j, see LXX Josh 24:31; 1
Sam 10:2; 2 Macc 4:8, 9; 5:21, 24; 8:22; 10:31; 11:8, 11 [2x], 29; 12:20; and John
20:12.
214
BDAG, s.v. “pro,j.”

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attempting to focus on the zw,nh being wrapped around the mastoi,. Rather, it could

just as well suggest that the golden zw,nh is near/at/by (the level of) the mastoi,,

indicating that John is interested not so much in anatomy as in physical elevation. 215

While the OT does not provide a specific location for the sash of the high priest,

Josephus states that the first zw,nh of the high priest (assuming that it was located at the

same level as that of the common priests) was located at the sth/qoj216 or the ste,rnon.217

In A.J. 3.154 he describes its location: “They gird/wrap the belt/sash at the breast area,

drawing it around a bit above the (level of) the armpit” ( evpizw,nnuntai kata. sth/qoj

ovli,gon th/j masca,lhj u`pera,nw th.n zw,nhn peria,gontej). And in B.J. 5.232 the

implied belt/sash that went around the hyacinth, foot-length robe was attached tw/|

ste,rnw| (“to the breast/chest”).

Though some have suggested that the use of mastoi, in Rev 1:13 alludes to an

215
If it were wrapped around the breasts (so BDAG, s.v. “pro,j”), it could mean
“around the breasts, i.e., at that level.” Cf. Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, eds.,
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, 2nd ed.
(New York: United Bible Societies, 1989), 1:99 (sec. 8.37, “ masto,j, ou/”): “In Re 1.13
the phrase pro.j toi/j mastoi/j is a reference to the particular location of the gold band
which went around the chest and not to the mammary glands as such.”
216
See Josephus A.J. 3.154 and cf. 3.164 (ephod/breastpiece) with Rev 15:6. The
sth/qoj was the “breast, of both sexes, being the front part of the qw,rax, divided into
two mastoi, (LSJ, s.v. “sth/qoj”; cf. BDAG, s.v. “sth/qoj”). It could also refer to “the
seat of the voice and breath,” the “seat of the heart,” the breasts of a woman, “the breast
as the seat of feeling and thought,” and the breastbone—here as equivalent to the
ste,rnon (LSJ, s.v. “sth/qoj”).
217
Josephus A.J. 3.155, 156; cf. 3:162 (ephod). The ste,rnon was the “breast,
chest, . . . always of males” (LSJ, s.v. “ste,rnon”). It could also refer to the area of the
heart, the seat of affections, or the breastbone (ibid.). That Josephus uses both sth/qoj
and ste,rnon synonymously can be seen by comparing A.J. 3.162 and 164.

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unusual OT text,218 I would suggest that a locative sense is more than adequate for

interpretation. I would consequently conclude that one need not necessarily assume any

unusual OT allusion with regard to the use of the term masto,j; this is particularly the

case because of its more frequently feminine character. And based on the cultic triggers

already encountered in the text, neither does one need to assume that John is attempting

to point one’s attention to the high, costumed cincture found in tragic Greek theatre that

was probably well-known to John’s audience.219 The upper body location of the zw,nh

in Rev 1:13 is not as anomalous as one might first think. Furthermore, it is not an

incorrect location for a zw,nh220 but rather fits nicely with Josephus’s locative

description of the zwnai, of the high priest.

Summary of the Golden zw,nh

When John describes the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou encircled with a golden zw,nh

218
One possible candidate has been Gen 49:25, part of Jacob’s blessing of his
beloved son Joseph, which paronomastically describes the God of Jacob, the
“Almighty” (yD;v; / LXX minus), as the one who blesses in part with the blessings of the
“breasts” (~yId;v' / mastw/n). On Shaddai as a divine name, cf. David Biale, “The God
with Breasts: El Shaddai in the Bible,” History of Religions 21 (1982): 240-56; Harriet
Lutzky, “Shadday as a Goddess Epithet,” VT 48 (1998): 15-36; and W. Warning,
“Terminological Patterns and the Divine Epithet Shaddai,” Tyndale Bulletin 52 (2001):
149-53.
Another possibility has been references to Solomon’s mastoi, in LXX Song 1:2
(so Rainbow, “Male mastoi,,” 249-53). But the suggestion that John, in this apparently
cultic setting, is attempting to refer to “‘male breasts’ as a sort of shorthand for the
tradition that Jesus is the lover of the Song of Songs” (ibid., 252) is not less than jarring.
219
So Paul Joüon, “Apocalypse 1, 13: periezwsme,non pro.j toi/j mastoi/j,”
Recherches de science religieuse 24 (1934): 365-66.
220
See Rainbow, “Male mastoi,,” 249 (“misplacement”), 250 (“the LXX . . .
correctly places the belt upon th.n ovsfu,n [the ‘waist’ or ‘loins’]”).

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situated at the breasts, several pieces of information point to high priestly dress. While

the LXX mentions only one zw,nh in association with the high priest, by the time of the

Second Temple, Josephus indicates that the high priest wore, as part of his daily regalia,

at least two and up to six zwnai,. The first was attached to the podh,rhj, multicolored,

comprised in part of gold, and located near the breasts. In B.J. 5.232 Josephus states

that this item was comprised of five zwnai,, indicating that the sartorial terminology of

Josephus for the high priest is not consistent. The second zw,nh was the same as the

high priestly u[fasma of the LXX (Exod 28:8; 36:28), but it was a somewhat different

zw,nh than the others, since it was stitched to the breastpiece. While it was also

fabricated in part from gold and located near the breasts, the first belt/sash described by

Josephus for the high priest appears to be the parallel to Rev 1:13. An article of dress

indicative of royalty it was not.

A high priestly zw,nh is the most natural interpretation of this dress item in Rev

1:13. This is particularly so since John has contextually led up to his sartorial

description through cultic references to priesthood and freedom from sin via blood, a

description of the golden lampstands reminiscent of the golden lampstand(s) of the

earthly sanctuary, and a portrayal of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou wearing the high

priestly podh,rhj, an item of dress John closely relates to the belt/sash in 1:13.

Feet like calkoliba,nw|

The third dress descriptor that John writes about provides two possible

references to high priestly dress imagery. The first is an implicit high priestly dress

image, while the latter is a potential comparison to a high priestly dress image. In his

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description of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou, John writes (1:15a): kai. oi` po,dej auvtou/

o[moioi calkoliba,nw| w`j evn kami,nw| pepurwme,nhj (“and his feet were like

calkoliba,nw| having been fired/refined [or, burnt] in a furnace”). 221

Three things are striking about this descriptive statement. First, the fact that

John mentions the feet of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou indicates that he could see them

in his vision. Visible feet could convey priestly or high priestly dress imagery.

Furthermore, he portrays these feet as looking like something that he—but not modern

interpreters—was apparently acquainted with: they were o[moioi calkoliba,nw|.222

Finally, John describes this mysterious word calkoliba,nw| by stating that it looked as if

it had been fired (or, burned up) in a furnace, oven, or kiln (w`j evn kami,nw|

pepurwme,nhj). With regard to John’s comparison of the feet to calkoliba,nw|, I would

suggest that this mysterious word refers to a “bronze frankincense [holder]” or censer.

This, in turn, could communicate high priestly dress imagery as well.

Visible Feet

That John can see the feet of o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou implicitly indicates that

his feet are bare (i.e., he is barefoot).223 As mentioned earlier, lack of clothing is

negative dress imagery; bare feet, consequently, are an indication of dress, that is, that

one has not covered one’s feet with sandals or other footwear. Being barefoot could

221
Because of the difficult nature of calkoliba,nw|, I have left it untranslated at
this point.
222
Cf. Apoc. Zeph. 6:12.
223
So Aune, Revelation 1-5, 95.

326
either be looked down upon or indicate social deprivation.224 But those who walked on

sacred ground were to take off their sandals (Exod 3:5; Josh 5:15; Acts 7:33), and thus

the most prominent people in Judaism who had bare feet were the priests.225 While

John’s description of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou having bare feet would not in and of

itself point to high priestly imagery, the possibility of such imagery is both realistic and

credible from the standpoint of Jewish backgrounds. The combined descriptions of the

o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou wearing a podh,rhj and a golden zw,nh as well as being

barefoot would consequently add cumulative weight to the probability of high priestly

dress imagery.226

The Problem of calkoliba,nw|

The word calkoliba,nw|, however, is one of the most difficult linguistic

problems in the NT. While Resseguie understatedly notes that it is “unusual,” 227 Swete

declares that it is “a word of unusual difficulty,” 228 and Thomas bluntly asserts that “the

224
Jacob Chinitz, “The Role of the Shoe in the Bible,” JBQ 35 (2007): 41, 44-45.
225
Cf. ibid.; Anderson (“Feet in Ancient Times,” 10); Tigchelaar (“Bare Feet,”
21, 28-33); and Van der Waal (Oudtestamentische priesterlijke motieven, 52). Cf. b.
Zebah 24a with regard to nothing being between the priests and the floors or pavement
of the Temple. On Greco-Roman depictions, see Aune, Revelation 1-5, 95-96. Kings
and gods are also depicted as having nothing on their feet (so Anderson, “Feet in
Ancient Times,” 15).
226
So Barker, Great High Priest, 105.
227
Resseguie, Revelation of John, 37.
228
Swete, Apocalypse of St John, 17.

327
exact nature of the metal called chalkolibanon is impossible to ascertain.”229 One of the

basic reasons for this is that John is apparently the only writer in all of Greek literature

up to his time to use this term (1:15; 2:18),230 while its presence in all Greek literature

after his time is not independent of Revelation’s influence. 231 Nevertheless, because it

has been associated with high priestly imagery,232 it and the phrase w`j evn kami,nw|

229
Robert L. Thomas, “The Glorified Christ on Patmos,” Bibliotheca Sacra 122
(1965): 244. Barclay concluded: “No one really knows what the metal is” (Revelation,
1:49).
230
When the term calkoliba,nw| appears again in the message to the church at
Thyatira, the fourth or central message of the seven (2:18), the important title “the Son
of God” (o` ui`o.j tou/ qeou/) is ascribed to Jesus, with that designation being further
described in two ways. First, the Son of God is o` e;cwn tou.j ovfqalmou.j auvtou/ w`j
flo,ga puro.j (“the one whose eyes are like a flame of fire”; cf. 1:14: oi` ovfqalmoi.
auvtou/ w`j flo.x puro.j [“his eyes are like a flame of fire”]). Note that John takes care
to match the case of flo,x with ovfqalmo,j in both 1:14 and 2:18. Second, the Son of
God is o` e;cwn . . . oi` po,dej auvtou/ o[moioi calkoliba,nw|. This latter description,
however, is grammatically problematic, since one would expect the reference to feet to
be in the accusative (Ta,de le,gei o` ui`o.j tou/ qeou/( o` e;cwn tou.j ovfqalmou.j auvtou/
w`j flo,ga puro.j kai. oi` po,dej auvtou/ o[moioi calkoliba,nw|). It appears that John
explicitly quotes himself here, since the six-word phrase kai. oi` po,dej auvtou/ o[moioi
calkoliba,nw| is exactly the same in both 1:15 and 2:18. I would suggest that this is the
probable reason for the unusual grammar—John wants to use the same formulaic
description mentioned earlier in 1:15, and so the grammar is not changed. But note that
in 2:18 the last part of the description in 1:15 (w`j evn kami,nw| pepurwme,nhj) is absent
and not repeated.
The term “son of God” here in 2:18 may have high priestly overtones. Notice
that in Hebrews this title is explicitly associated with high priestly terminology (Heb
4:14; 7:1-3; cf. 5:5; 7:28). On the relation between high priesthood and the title “Son of
God” in Hebrews, see Cullmann, Christology, 304-305.
231
Cf. BDAG, s.v. “calkoli,banon.”
232
See Fletcher-Louis, Glory of Adam, 365. Fletcher-Louis associates this term
first with Sir 50:9, which compares the high priest to fire and frankincense, and second
with 4Q405 (4QShirShabbe) 23 II, 10, which uses rhwt xlwmm (“salted, pure”; found in
the OT only in Exod 30:35, in reference to the tabernacle’s special compound of
incense) in its song utilizing high priestly dress imagery (Fletcher-Louis, Glory of
Adam, 356-58, 364-65). He sees high priestly imagery standing behind the use of the

328
pepurwme,nhj deserve further examination and exploration in terms of morphology,

etymology, grammar, and contextual clues to meaning.

Two basic linguistic possibilities confront one with regard to this word: (1) it

was an incredibly rare word that John did not originate but used nonetheless; 233 or (2) it

was a Johannine neologism. Along the lines of the former hypothesis, Colin J. Hemer

asserted: “We must suppose that the word was intended to be intelligible to the original

readers.”234 Whichever the case may be, what could calkoliba,nw| possibly mean?235

English translations of calkoliba,nw| typically range from “brass” (GNB) and

“fine brass” (KJV) to “bronze” (CEV, NIV, NLT) or “burnished bronze” (NASB, NJB,

NRSV).236 Despite its apparently impenetrable nature, scholars have continued to

separate elements of calkoliba,nw| in Rev 1:15. If so, this would be suggestive of high
priestly dress imagery, since incense has been an overlooked dress element of the high
priest. On rhwt xlwmm see most recently Noam Mizrahi, “The Songs of the Sabbath
Sacrifice and Biblical Priestly Literature: A Linguistic Reconsideration,” HTR 104
(2011): 48-56. Cf. Austin Farrer, who translates calkoliba,nw| as “bronze-hued
incense” and states: “Whatever does or does not belong to Levi, incense does” (A
Rebirth of Images: The Making of St John’s Apocalypse [Westminster, UK: Dacre,
1949], 233).
233
So Swete, Apocalypse of St John, cxxii.
234
Colin J. Hemer, The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local
Setting, The Biblical Resource Series (1986; repr., Grand Rapids: Eerdmans; Livonia,
MI: Dove, 2001), 111.
235
For a succinct yet detailed summary of many older interpretations, see W. Lee,
“The Revelation of St John,” in Hebrews—The Revelation of St John, vol. 4 of The Holy
Bible According to the Authorized Version (A.D. 1611), with an Explanation and
Critical Commentary and a Revision of the Translation, by Bishops and Other Clergy of
the Anglican Church: New Testament, ed. F. C. Cook (London: John Murray, 1881),
511.
236
A number of commentators favor translations that describe this in terms of
“burnished” bronze or brass. Cf., e.g., Blount, Revelation, 44; Hultberg, “Messianic

329
advance various interpretive suggestions in their attempts to explicate the term. 237 The

majority of scholars have suggested that it is either a precious metal or an alloy of gold

and bronze.238 Another popular suggestion is that the word describes an alloy of gold

and silver known anciently as electrum, or “white gold.” 239 But this interpretation is

unlikely, particularly since the Greek term for it (h;lekron or h;lektroj) already appears

in LXX Ezek 1:4, 27, and 8:2.240

Exegesis,” 234-35; Kiddle, Revelation, 15; Lilje, Last Book, 54; Murphy, Fallen Is
Babylon, 91; Resseguie, Revelation of John, 37-38; Vernon K. Robbins, The Invention
of Christian Discourse, Rhetoric of Religious Antiquity 1 (Blandford Forum, UK: Deo,
2009), 1:474; Ryrie, Revelation, 20; Charles H. Talbert, The Apocalypse: A Reading of
the Revelation of John (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1994), 16; and Yeatts,
Revelation, 42. For burnishing being improper to the meaning of this passage, see
Grimthorpe, Revised New Testament, 159. Lenski succinctly concluded: “Cancel the
‘burnished’ of the R. V.” (Interpretation, 66).
237
For a succinct summary of seven interpretive opinions, see Lee, “Revelation
of St John,” 506.
238
E.g., Buchanan (Book of Revelation, 66), Hoffmann (Destroyer and the Lamb,
227), Lenski (Interpretation, 66), and Prigent (Commentary on the Apocalypse, 138).
Aune suggests that since li,banoj also refers to Lebanon, it could possibly mean
“Lebanese brass” or “brass from Lebanon” (Revelation 1-5, 96). The Syriac version
understood it as a metal from Lebanon. Cf. BDAG, s.v. “ calkoli,banon”; LSJ, s.v.
“calkoli,banon.” But Swete concluded that “such a conjecture is unsupported, and
seems to require libanoca,lkw|” (Apocalypse of St John, 17). And Aune ultimately also
concluded that “it is philologically doubtful that the second element in such a compound
would be used to describe the first element” (Aune, Revelation 1-5, 96).
239
See BDAG, s.v. “calkoli,banon” and compare Hort, Apocalypse, 17: “In the
LXX h;lektron doubtless means not amber, but the metal electrum, and this is probably
what St John has in view.” Cf. Barclay, Revelation, 1:49; Beasley-Murray, Revelation,
67; Ford, Revelation, 383; Charles Homer Giblin, The Book of Revelation: The Open
Book of Prophecy, Good News Studies 34 (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 1991), 48;
González and González, Revelation, 18; Robert Mounce, Revelation, 59; and Quispel,
Secret Book of Revelation, 37.

The Hebrew term in these texts is lm;v.x;. In Ezek 1:27 and 8:2 it describes the
240

mysterious human likeness (cf. Ezek 1:26 [~d'a' haer>m;K. tWmD> / o`moi,wma w`j ei=doj

330
 The most extensive exploration of its possible meaning remains that by Hemer

in his discussion of the term as it appears in the letter to the church at Thyatira (2:18). 241

Hemer’s ultimate conclusion, fundamentally tying the meaning of the word to the

Thyatiran guild of calkei/j (“bronze-workers”), is worth noting:

I suggest then that an alloy of copper with metallic zinc was made in Thyatira,
the zinc being obtained by distillation. This was a finer and purer brass than the
rough and variable coinage-alloy. It may have derived from older skills preserved
by the craftsmen of the guild. The product, I suggest, was known there as
calkoli,banoj, which I conjecture to be a ‘copulative compound’, literally rendered
‘copper-zinc’, li,banoj being an unrecorded word, perhaps peculiar to the trade, for
a metal obtained by distillation, and so derived from the verb lei,bw.242

avnqrw,pou] and 8:2 [vae-haer>m;K. tWmd> / o`moi,wma avndro,j]) in terms not focusing on his
feet or legs but on the area from his loins and above.
241
Hemer, Letters, 111-17. Aune calls Hemer’s study “the most informed
discussion of this word” (Revelation 1-5, 96). Hemer set forth four criteria that he
believed had to be met for a successful solution to the interpretational problem (ibid.,
111-12): (1) Dan 10:6, and any other OT passages that underlie Rev 1:15 and 2:18,
“require us to understand a shining metal, and a similar sense is surely required for
chalkolibanos”; (2) the word must have been “intended to be intelligible to the original
readers,” and the change from the terminology in Dan 10:6 was “deliberate,” perhaps
because the term was “familiar to the important local guild of bronze-workers” in
Thyatira; (3) the relationship between 1:15 and 2:18 “is only sufficiently explained if we
consider Dan. 10 to have been closely linked in John’s mind with the circumstances of
the local church [Thyatira],” and thus the interpretation must be found in the context of
that community; and (4) “any attempted derivation must meet the philological
requirements.”
242
Hemer, Letters, 116. The verb lei,bw means “to pour, pour forth” (LSJ, s.v.
“lei,bw”). Hemer notes that forming a noun or adjective from a verb frequently results
in the suffix -anoj (Letters, 250, n. 45). Thus, deriving li,banoj from lei,bw is possible,
just as one can form the adjective piqano,j from the verb pei,qw. He also believes that
both the unrecorded meaning and the “frankincense (tree)” meaning both derive from
lei,bw (ibid.). Hemer was not the first to suggest a deriviation of li,banoj from lei,bw;
cf. Düsterdieck, Revelation of John, 113 (who decades earlier criticized this
interpretation); Andrew Tait, The Messages to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor: An
Exposition of the First Three Chapters of the Book of Revelation [London: Hodder and
Stoughton, 1884], 78); and Chr. Wordsworth, St. Paul’s Epistles; The General Epistles:
The Book of Revelation, and Indexes, vol. 2 of The New Testament of Our Lord and

331
 This interpretation appears contextually attractive, since it seriously takes into

consideration the Thyatiran locale. But it is not entirely persuasive for at least three

reasons. First, as Craig R. Koester has ably pointed out with regard to the later message

to Laodicea, suggestions that distinctive characteristics of the various community

locales are embedded in the messages to the seven churches of Asia Minor may well be

circumstantial, conjectural, unlikely, or even incorrect.243 While this argument does not

deny any Thyatiran contextual reference or meaning to calkoliba,nw|, it warns against

an automatic interpretation based on a Thyatiran context, in particular, the guild of

calkei/j.244

Second, one can only arrive at the “Thyatiran metal alloy” interpretation on the

basis of the second occurrence of calkoliba,nw| in Revelation (2:18), not the first

(1:15). This is exacerbated by the fact that the second occurrence of the term appears

almost six hundred words later than the first one. While possible, it is difficult to

Saviour Jesus Christ, in the Original Greek: With Introductions and Notes, new ed.
(London: Rivingtons, 1872), 170. Besides deriving piqano,j from the verb pei,qw,
Wordsworth also noted the derivation of stegano,j from ste,gw and licano,j from lei,cw
(ibid.). Assuming that li,banoj derived in parallel fashion from lei,bw, Wordsworth
suggested that calkoliba,nw| would thus refer to “liquid or molten brass” (ibid.), but
Hemer concluded that this was “problematic etymologically” (Letters, 250, n. 45).
243
See Koester, “Message to Laodicea,” 407-24. Cf. E. H. Plumptre, A Popular
Exposition of the Epistles to the Seven Churches in Asia, 3rd ed. (London: Hodder &
Stoughton, 1884), 135; and Moyise, Old Testament, 35-36. Charles H. H. Scobie
advances a moderating position between “maximalist” and “minimalist” views
regarding local church references in Rev 2-3; he sees Hemer as a recent representative
of such a “maximalist” viewpoint and Prigent as a recent representative of a
“minimalist” perspective (“Local References in the Letters to the Seven Churches,” NTS
39 [1993]: 606-24).
244
The suggestion that the term was related to the guild of bronze-workers was
also made by Caird (Revelation, 43), Kiddle (Revelation, 37), and others.

332
believe that John purposely introduced a rare or even unique concept in 1:15 but

provided the first real contextual means of recognizing and understanding it so many

verses later.245

Third, Hemer’s argument assumes that calkoliba,nw| is a copulative compound.

A copulative (or, coordinative) compound is one in which each item does not define the

other but combines with the other to denote the meaning of the whole (e.g., bittersweet,

singer-songwriter, sleepwalk, washer-dryer).246 Other than cardinal numbers, however,

there is only one recognizable coordinative compound in the NT, and that is Paul’s

reference in 2 Cor 11:25 to nucqh,meron (“a night and a day”).247 The rarity of such

compounds in the NT places a further burden of proof on Hemer and consequently

compounds the conjectural nature of his hypothesiss.248

And fourth, Hemer’s argument stands or falls on the supposition that what he

245
Cf. Plumptre, Popular Exposition, 135. In a parallel situation with regard to
the seven lampstands, Whiteley complains: “It is common for commentators to pre-
empt John’s mind and introduce later information [earlier] into the text” (“Search for
Cohesion,” 161). Beckwith argued, however, that some symbols in Revelation receive
fuller determination by later references (Apocalypse, 426). On this, cf. Hemer (Letters,
248, n. 29) and Resseguie (Revelation of John, 52).
246
Cf. Io Manolessou and Symeon Tsolakidis, “Greek Coordinated Compounds:
Synchrony and Diachrony,” PWPL 1 (2009): 23-39; and Angela Ralli, “Compounds in
Modern Greek,” Rivista di Linguistica 4 (1992): 156-60.
247
On this issue, see BDF §121, p. 66 and most recently Manolessou and
Tsolakidis, “Greek Coordinated Compounds,” 28-29, n. 4.
248
Fletcher-Louis argues that the word means “incense-bronze,” and that it
“attests to the enduring association of the high priesthood with incense” (Glory of
Adam, 365). His “incense-bronze” sounds like a copulative or coordinative compound.
But if such were the case, Fletcher-Louis has strangely reversed the two words. The
suggestion of Fletcher-Louis is consequently untenable.

333
believes the right-hand component of the compound word to be, li,banoj, does not mean

what it usually means (“frankincense [tree]”). Instead, one must conclude that it has

another meaning apparently unrecorded anywhere in ancient literature or material

remains. This results in a hapax legomenon, calkoli,banw|, being defined by a non-

extant and thus hypothetical term.

Hemer’s conclusion is a valiant attempt to make sense of this mysterious word.

As such, Hemer’s work is admirable. Yet because of its clearly hypothetical and

speculative nature, it need not necessarily remain the last word on the subject. 249 It is

certainly possible that these feet that appear like calkoliba,nw| burned in a furnace

suggest some obscure or unknown type of refined metal or metal alloy; this is clearly

one of the most accessible interpretations. But the morphology and etymology of

calkoliba,nw| are worth further consideration.

The Morphology of calkoli,banw|

Interpreters are virtually unanimous that calkoliba,nw| is a compound word.250

The key to identifying it as a compound is the presence of the vowel -o-.251 When one

249
Cf. Aune’s judgment of Hemer’s “speculative” argumentation here
(Revelation 1-5, 96); and Moyise, Old Testament, 33, 35-36.
250
For a succinct, recent discussion regarding compound words in a number of
languages, see Sergio Scalise and Antonietta Bisetto, “The Classification of
Compounds,” in The Oxford Handbook on Compounding, ed. Rochelle Lieber and
Pavol Štekauer, Oxford Handbooks in Linguistics (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2009), 34-53.
251
Cf. Angela Ralli, “Compound Markers and Parametric Variation,”
Sprachtypologie und Universalienforschung (STUF) 61 (2008): 23, 31-32; idem,
“Compounds in Modern Greek,” 153-54; and idem, “IE, Hellenic: Modern Greek,” in
Oxford Handbook on Compounding, 454-56. As for the similiarity in compounding

334
breaks this compound apart into its constituent elements, it is comprised of calk- (left-

hand member) + -o- (compound marker) + -liban- (right-hand member) + -w|

(inflectional ending). Exegetes are virtually unanimous that calk-, the left-hand

member, is a stem252 and is derived from the noun calko,j.253 While calko,j can refer to

metal in general, it more frequently refers to copper, brass (i.e., copper alloyed with

zinc, also known as ovrei,calkoj 254 [“mountain brass,” “metal of the mountain,” or

“ore”]), and particularly bronze (i.e., copper alloyed with tin). 255 This same noun can

also refer to anything made out of the type of metal just described (e.g., mirrors, money,

musical instruments, vessels, weaponry).256 The metallic nature of this word is

potentially heightened by the reference in 1:15 to burning or refining in a furnace.

It is important to note that John did not refer to calko,j itself but rather the

between ancient and modern Greek, see Evanthia Petropoulou, “On the Parallel
Between Neoclassical Compounds in English and Modern Greek,” PWPL 1 (2009): 46.
252
On the first constituent of a compound noun being a stem, see Ralli, “IE,
Hellenic,” 456.
253
Cf. Aune, Revelation 1-5, 96.
254
Cf. P. T. Craddock, “Zinc in Classical Antiquity,” in 2000 Years of Zinc and
Brass, rev. ed., ed. P. T. Craddock, British Museum Occasional Paper 50 (London:
British Museum, 1998), 3-5; N. Zhirov, Atlantis: Atlantology: Basic Problems, trans.
David Skvirsky (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1970), 45-46. The Greek ovrei,calkoj
was later translated as the Latin aurichalcum (Craddock, “Zinc,” 3; Zhirov, Atlantis,
46).
255
Cf. Aune (Revelation 1-5, 96) and Hemer (Letters, 112). Aune (Revelation 1-
5, 96) follows Earle R. Caley (Orichalcum and Related Ancient Alloys: Origin,
Composition, and Manufacture, with Special Reference to the Coinage of the Roman
Empire [New York: American Numismatic Society, 1964], 1, 24-25) in attributing
ovrei,calkoj to bronze instead of brass.
256
Cf. BDAG, s.v. “calko,j”; LSJ, s.v. “calko,j.”

335
compound calkoliba,nw|. This is highly unusual and striking for at least two reasons.

First, John is clearly familiar with calko,j and freely uses it later in his work.257 Why

would John utilize an apparently rare term instead of the more common one in his

inaugural vision? And second, scholars have frequently advanced two texts (LXX Ezek

1:7; Dan 10:6 [OG and Q]) as background to this motif in Rev 1:15. Both texts use

calko,j in nearly identical terminology in order to describe the “gleaming bronze” feet

of the four living creatures Ezekiel saw in vision (evxastra,ptwn calko,j [LXX Ezek

1:7])258 and the “gleaming bronze” feet of the celestial being Daniel saw in vision

(calko.j evxastra,ptwn [OG Dan 10:6]).259 While these references sound somewhat

similar to John’s description of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou who has feet like

calkoliba,nw|, neither calko,j nor evxastra,ptwn is shared with either Rev 1:15 or 2:18.

Moyise, for instance, perceptively notes that “Dan. 10.5-6, the source text quoted by

most commentators, cannot explain John’s choice of calkoli,banoj” because of the

different language utilized.260 While John’s anomalous use of calkoliba,nw| may well

indicate that John is not mechanically following a Greek source in his description, it

257
See calkou/ (< calko,j) in Rev 18:12 and the related adjective calka/ (<
calkou/j) in 9:20. Cf. also the cognate calkhdw,n in 21:19.
258
Mathews concludes that it is “unlikely that there is an allusion to Ezek 1:7 in
Apoc 1:15” (“Critical Evaluation,” 175).
259
Cf. the Q version of Dan 10:6: kai. oi` braci,onej auvtou/ kai. ta. ske,lh w`j
o[rasij calkou/ sti,lbontoj (“and his arms and legs like the appearance of
shining/radiant bronze”). Mathews believes that verbal correspondence between Dan
10:6 and Rev 1:15a is “considerable,” and thus there is a probable allusion here
(“Critical Evaluation,” 176).
260
Moyise, Old Testament, 32.

336
may also indicate that he is using a compound word in 1:15 for a different reason.

The Etymology of calkoli,banw|

Greek has numerous compounds that begin with calk-,261 and so the left-hand

member of calkoliba,nw| is clearly not unusual in terms of its compound nature. But

George Wesley Buchanan correctly notes that “it is the second part of the word . . . that

creates the problem.”262 And so the first question to answer is whether this right-hand

member of the compound derives from Hebrew or Greek. John not only uses loanwords

or transliterations of various words from Hebrew263 but also shows an interest in

pointing out words with Hebrew derivation and/or meaning.264 Consequently, John is

certainly aware of Hebrew etymologies and meanings, and the possible use of other

Hebrew etymologies and meanings embedded in Greek terms would not be unusual.

With regard to calkoliba,nw|, scholars have advanced at least two different

Hebrew derivations for the right-hand member of the compound. One old suggestion is

that the right-hand member is derived from either the Hebrew noun !b'l' (“white”)265 or

261
E.g., calka,nqrwpoj (“copper-man”), calka,rmatoj (“with brazen chariot”),
calkoli,qoj (“copper ore, copper”), calkosa,ndaloj (“with sandals of bronze”), and
calkoci,twn (“bronze-clad”). On these and many more, see LSJ.
262
Buchanan, Book of Revelation, 67.
263
E.g., a`llhloui?a, (“hallelujah” [19:1, 3, 4, 6]); Balaa,m and Bala.k (“Balaam”
and “Balak” [2:14]); VIeza,bel (“Jezebel” [2:20]); ma,nna (“manna” [2:17]); and
sapfi,roj (“sapphire” [21:19]).
264
See 9:11 (o;noma auvtw/| ~Ebrai?sti. VAbaddw,n [“his name in Hebrew is
‘Abaddon’”]) and 16:16 (to.n to,pon to.n kalou,menon ~Ebrai?sti. ~Armagedw,n [“the
place that in Hebrew is called ‘Armageddon’”]).
265
So Whiteley, “Search for Cohesion,” 186.

337
the verb !bel' (“to make white, purify”).266 The noun !b'l' in the HB, however, correlates

to the adjective leuko,j in the LXX.267 Since John is very familiar with leuko,j,268 this

would make unlikely the suggestion that !b'l' underlies the right-hand member of the

compound calkoliba,nw|.269 In any case, certain exegetes concluded that it was

preferable to look for a Greek right-hand component than a Hebrew one.270

This, however, has not dissuaded the search for another Hebrew right-hand

component. Another suggestion is that John was alluding to the Hebrew of Dan 10:6

(i.e., ll'q' tv,xon>).271 According to this view, John saw a variant of ll'q' tv,xon> in that

On the pointing of this verb, see H. Ringgren, “!bl,” TDOT (1995), 7:439-40.
266

Richard Chenevix Trench supported this interpretation for Rev 1:15 (Commentary on
the Epistles to the Seven Churches in Asia: Revelation II. III., 6th ed. [1897; repr.,
Minneapolis: Klock & Klock, 1978], 41, where he concluded that it referred to “brass
which in the furnace has attained what we call ‘white heat’”).
267
Ringgren, “!bl,” 7:441.
268
Rev 1:14; 2:17; 3:4, 5, 18; 4:4; 6:2, 11; 7:9, 13; 14:14; 19:11, 14; 20:11.
269
Such a derivation was opposed, e.g., by Greek-English Lexicon of the New
Testament: Being Grimm’s Wilke’s Clavis Novi Testamenti, 4th ed., trans. and rev. by
Joseph Henry Thayer (1889; repr., Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1962), s.v.
“calkoli,banon.”
270
With reference to the possible compounding of calko,j and the Hebrew verb
!bel', Tait said there was a “great objection to this, as it is a very unusual thing to have
such a combination, except perhaps in proper names” (Messages, 78). And Hort
protested that the idea of “li,banoj being the Heb. !Beli, to whiten, is monstrous”
(Apocalypse, 17). Cf. also Wordsworth, Book of Revelation, 170, for a similar
preference.

The first Hebrew term (tv,xon)> clearly refers to copper/bronze (cf., e.g., Exod
271

25:3; 31:4; 1 Kgs 7:15; Isa 60:17; Jer 52:17; Ezek 1:7; 9:2; 40:3), while the latter term
derives from the verb ll;q', which Buchanan defines as meaning “to make light in
weight, to disparage, belittle, curse, whet, sharpen, polish, shine, or burn to make
glisten” (Book of Revelation, 67). The same two words occur together in a description

338
text that read as hnbl tvxn, and it is this hypothetical variant that underlies

calkoliba,nw|.272 The basic problem—and perhaps fatal flaw—with this latter

hypothesis is that it depends on the use of an unknown textual variant to Dan 10:6.

Consequently, it is more probable that the right-hand member -liban- in

calkoliba,nw| derives from the Greek instead of the Hebrew. As such, the most likely

etymological source is one in which the right-hand element is not a stem but a word. 273

The most obvious choice would be the well-known word li,banoj.274 This Semitic

loanword275 refers to: (1) the Lebanon mountain range (masculine gender);276 or (2) a

frankincense tree (masculine or feminine gender); or (3) frankincense itself, as opposed

of the feet of the four living beings in Ezek 1:7 (ll'q' tv,xon>).
Buchanan, Book of Revelation, 67. Buchanan states that hnbl carries the idea
272

of something made white, purified, bright or clear, and even frankincense, and that it
was understood to be a synonym for ll;q'..
273
On the two basic possibilities for the right-hand element (i.e., stem + stem, or
stem + word), see Angela Ralli and Athanasios Karasimos, “The Role of Constraints in
Greek Compound Formation,” PWPL 1 (2009): 6; and Ralli, “IE, Hellenic,” 456.
274
Cf. Aune, Revelation 1-5, 96; Édouard Delebecque, L’Apocalypse de Jean:
Introduction, traduction, annotations (Paris: Mame, 1992), 164; Giesen, Die
Offenbarung des Johannes, 88; Kamp, Openbaring, 80; and Vanni, L’Apocalisse, 131-
32, n. 40. Postulating -liban- as the right-hand element of calkoliba,nw| and deriving it
from li,banoj fits the criteria for what happens when the right-hand element is a word
instead of a stem, as set forth by Ralli (“IE, Hellenic,” 456): In the resultant compound,
both the stress and inflection of li,banoj are preserved. Cf. also Ralli and Karasimos,
“Role of Constraints,” 6.
275
Cf. D. Kellermann, “hn"bol.,” TDOT (1995), 7:441-43; and W. Michaelis,
“li,banoj, libanwto,j,” TDNT (1967), 4:263.
276
E.g., Cant 5:15; Isa 10:34; Zech 10:10.

339
to incense in general (masculine or feminine gender).277 Which possibility is more

likely depends on the gender of the compound calkoliba,nw|.

Greek compounds usually take the gender of the right-hand component of a

compound.278 A number of exegetes have categorized calkoliba,nw| as a feminine

second declension noun on the basis of the feminine participle that follows in 1:15

(o[moioi calkoliba,nw| w`j evn kami,nw| pepurwme,nhj).279 Assuming such to be a

277
For li,banoj as frankincense, see, e.g., LXX Exod 30:34; Lev 2:1; Sir 50:9.
See also Matt 2:11; Rev 18:13. John uses another term for incense in general: qumia,ma
(5:8; 8:3, 4; 18:13). Cf. BDAG, s.v. “Li,banoj” and “li,banoj.” While the 9th ed. of
LSJ showed the word when referring to the frankincense tree to be only masculine, the
1996 rev. supplement corrected this to show a feminine form referring to a frankincense
tree (LSJ, s.v. “li,banoj”). Several recent commentators (e.g., Aune, Revelation 1-5,
96) appear to have missed this. The related word libanwto,j, when referring to
“frankincense,” also appears in both masculine and feminine genders (LSJ, s.v.
libanwto,j).
With regard to English translations, Nielsen stated: “I believe it is important to
distinguish between frankincense and incense” (Incense in Ancient Israel, 60). But cf.
Harvey: “Frankincense was so closely identified with sacrificial rites that the term
‘incense’ could denote this spice alone” (Scenting Salvation, 34). Milgrom considered
frankincense to be “the main ingredient in the incense burned on the inner altar”
(Leviticus 1-16, 180).
278
According to Ralli, “gender in Greek is a property of stems and derivational
affixes” (“IE, Hellenic,” 460). She also argues that through the linguistic concepts of
headedness and percolation “specific gender values are inherited from the head
constituent that is usually the right-hand member in Greek compounds” (“The Role of
Morphology in Gender Determination: Evidence from Modern Greek,” Linguistics 40
[2002]: 530; cf. ibid., 540-41 and 548, n. 19). See also idem, “Compounds in Modern
Greek,” 155.
279
Cf. Aune, Revelation 1-5, 96; Beckwith, Apocalypse, 439; Hemer, Letters,
247, n. 25, and 250, n. 45; Lupieri, Commentary on the Apocalypse, 110; F. Rehkopf,
“Grammatisches zum Griechischen des Neuen Testaments,” in Der Ruf Jesu und die
Antwort der Gemeinde: Exegetische Untersuchungen, Joachim Jeremias zum 70.
Geburtstag gewidmet von seinen Schülern, ed. Eduard Lohse, with Christoph Burchard
and Berndt Schaller (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1970), 215-16; and Thomas,
Revelation 1-7, 102. William Mounce asserts that calkoliba,nw| can be either neuter or
masculine, and then he lists it “arbitrarily” as a neuter (The Morphology of Biblical

340
reasonable interpretation, the right-hand member of the compound (derived from

li,banoj) would then not refer to Lebanon; instead, it could refer either to the

frankincense tree or frankincense itself. While either of the latter two options could be

possible, it would be more likely that frankincense itself were the referent, since the

significance of the frankincense tree is that it produces the aromatic substance.280

One suggested possibility for calkoliba,nw| under this option would thus be to

take the word not as a copulative but as a determinative compound. In the latter case,

the right-hand element of the compound is defined by the left-hand element. 281 This

would yield something like bronze- or brass-like li,banoj282 or “yellow frankincense.”283

A number of exegetes, however, have adamantly opposed this tentative conclusion

because of its supposed absurdity.284 With such an interpretive dead-end appearing

Greek [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994], 188, n. 9).

280
Cf. Aune (Revelation 1-5, 96), Giesen (Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 88),
and Hort (Apocalypse, 17), who believe the only possibility is frankincense. References
to frankincense in the LXX are masculine (e.g., tw/| liba,nw| [Lev 6:8]; to.n li,banon
[Lev 2:2, 16; Neh 13:5, 9]), while those in the HB are feminine (hn"Abl.).
281
See BDF §114, p. 62.
282
This was one of the suggestions of Oecumenius (Hemer, Letters, 247, n. 26).
“Nothing will serve philologically but ‘brass-like li,banoj’” (Hort, Apocalypse, 17). Cf.
the “bronze-hued incense” and “bronze-coloured incense” of Farrer, Rebirth of Images,
233 and 238, n. 1. In another vein, Wordsworth suggested that it might signify “copper
in a state of ignition, like frankincense when it is red-hot” (Book of Revelation, 170).
283
LSJ, s.v. “calkoli,banon.” Cf. Aune, Revelation 1-5, 96. Pursuing this
aromatic perspective, Giesen translates Rev 1:15 to refer to “wohlriechender Bronze” or
“fragrant bronze” (Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 83; cf. p. 88), but this reverses which
element of the compound defines the other.
284
Düsterdieck, basing his interpretation on Dan 10:6 being the allusive
background to Rev 1:15, insisted that “incense can in no way be thought of” (Revelation

341
inescapable, an examination of w`j evn kami,nw| pepurwme,nhj—the phrase immediately

following calkoliba,nw|—could help resolve the impasse.

The Grammar of w`j evn kami,nw|

pepurwme,nhj

The third element of this enigma in Rev 1:15, w`j evn kami,nw| pepurwme,nhj,

raises some issues of its own in its relationship to the description of the feet of the

o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou. First, the phrase—which does not occur in the parallel

passage in 2:18—appears to describe something burned or refined 285 in an oven,

furnace, or kiln.286 Whether John intends his audience to understand that the subject of

of John, 113). Kraft denies that the right-hand member refers to incense, since incense
does not glow when heated; he concludes that a translation of “goldgelber Weihrauch
[“golden-yellow incense”]” makes no sense (Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 46). And
Prigent claims—despite information “that a certain variety of incense was called
calkoli,banon because of its golden color”—that all attempts to connect the term to
some sort of golden incense “are all merely vain attempts, for it is clear that the
grandiose description of Rev 1:15 would fit very poorly with a metaphor comparing the
legs of the Son of Man to a sort of golden resin!” (Commentary on the Apocalypse,
138). Cf. also Trench (Commentary, 41) and Swete (Apocalypse of St John, 17).
285
John uses puro,w elsewhere in 3:18, where it describes gold refined by fire
(crusi,on pepurwme,non evk puro.j). Elsewhere in the NT it refers to burning passion (1
Cor 7:9), intense feelings (2 Cor 11:29), burning arrows (Eph 6:16), and the destruction
of the earth by burning, fire, or flames (2 Pet 3:12). In the LXX it refers to such
concepts as refining by fire (2 Sam 22:31; Ps 17:31 [Eng. 18:30]; Prov 30:5), refined,
pure, or flawless metals (Pss 11:7 [Eng. 12:6]; 65:10 [Eng. 66:10]; Prov 10:20; Job
22:25), spiritual testing or refining (Pss 16:3 [Eng. 17:3]; 25:2 [Eng. 26:2]; 65:10 [Eng.
66:10]; 104:19 [Eng. 105:19]; 118:140 [119:140]; Isa 1:25; Jer 9:6 (Eng. 9:7); Zech
13:9; Jdt 8:27; Pss. Sol. 17:43; cf. Dan 11:35 [Q]; 12:10 [Q]), burning or resplendent
glory (Esth 5:1), burning anger (2 Macc 4:38; 10:35; 14:45), burning hearts (3 Macc
4:2), burning flesh (4 Macc 9:17), heated instruments of torture (4 Macc 11:19), and
igniting a fire (2 Macc 10:3).
286
In the LXX and NT, ka,minoj refers to an oven, furnace, or kiln used for
burning bricks or smelting metals (e.g., Gen 19:28; Exod 19:18; Deut 4:20; Isa 48:10;
Jer 11:4; Ezek 22:20, 22; Matt 13:42, 50; Rev 9:2; etc.). It frequently occurs in the story

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this clause has been through a furnace or is still there is unknown.287

A second interpretive issue revolves around the form of the perfect passive

feminine singular participle. Textual evidence288 is divided among three basic

possibilities: (1) nominative plural (pepurwme,noi: 1006 1611 1841 1854 2329 2344

2351 Byz [P 046] syhmg Andrew; Victorinus-Pettau Tyconius); (2) genitive singular

(pepurwme,nhj: A C); and (3) dative singular (pepurwme,nw|: a 205 209 2050 2053 2062

itar, gig, h, t vg copsa, bo arm eth Irenaeuslat, arm; Cyprian Maternus Apringius Primasius

Beatus). Most contemporary exegetes have concluded that the genitive singular

pepurwme,nhj is the original text, primarily on the basis of: (1) its attestation by A and

C, considered among the best textual witnesses to Revelation;289 (2) it explaining best

of the fiery furnace into which Daniel’s three friends were thrown as punishment for
disobedience to King Nebuchadnezzar (e.g., Dan 3:6, 11, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21). In Ezek
22:20 calko,j is one of the metals that is fired in a ka,minoj. It may also refer to an
alcove or large vaulted tent (Num 25:8; MT hB'qu is a hapax legomenon). Notice that in
MT Num 25:8 there is punning between the hB'qu, where the execution took place, and
the hb'qe (belly), through which Phinehas thrust his spear. LSJ suggests ka,minoj could
be a cognate with kama,ra, which refers to something with an arched covering [cf. LSJ,
s.v. “ka,minoj” and “kama,ra”; LXX Isa 40:22]). On this, see also the note below
regarding Mart. Pol. 15:2.
287
Kistemaker, Exposition, 96. If it were understood to be still in the furnace, it
is unlikely to refer to its strength, since any metallic object burned or refined in a fire
would be hot, molten, and shiny, but not strong. Cf. Reddish, who suggests the imagery
conveys the idea of “powerful legs” (Revelation, 41); Resseguie, who concludes that the
refined nature of the material indicates it will not crack, suggesting “a person of
incomparable stability and strength” (Revelation of John, 77); Stevens, who concludes
the imagery “conjures ideas of strength and stability” and indicates the unmoving nature
of the Son of Man wherever he stands (“Son of Man,” 30); and Yeatts, who concludes
it indicates “stability and immovable strength” (Revelation, 42).
288
Here I cite the textual fuller evidence from UBS4 instead of NA27.
289
Cf. Aune (Revelation 1-5, clvi) and Beale (Revelation, 72, 105).

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the origin of the other two variants; and (3) it being deemed the lectio difficilior.290

This variant, as the latter designation demonstrates, has not found easy

acceptance. Over a century ago, Edmund Beckett, Baron Grimthorpe, asserted that

pepurwme,nhj “is not intelligible, or translateable,” 291 and decades later C. C. Torrey

exclaimed his surprise at the “astonishing form of the participle with its genitive case

and feminine gender, both quite impossible.” 292 Recently Smalley concluded that while

the “difficult” grammar of pepurwme,nhj suggested its originality, John instead intended

to write pepurwme,nw| in order to agree with calkoliba,nw|.293 Nevertheless, the

contemporary general conclusion has been that some scribes attempted to correct the

feminine genitive singular participle pepurwme,nhj to the masculine dative singular

pepurwme,nw| in order to match calkoliba,nw| (masculine), or they corrected

pepurwme,nhj to the masculine nominative plural pepurwme,noi in order to match oi`

po,dej.294 One must consequently search for another grammatical explanation.295

290
On these points cf., e.g., Aune, Revelation 1-5, 65-66, n. 15.a.; Metzger,
Textual Commentary, 663-64; Robert Mounce, Revelation, 59, n. 26; G. Mussies, The
Morphology of Koine Greek As Used in the Apocalypse of St. John: A Study in
Bilingualism, NovTSup 27 (Leiden: Brill, 1971), 98; and Swete, Apocalypse of St John,
17.
291
Grimthorpe, Revised New Testament, 159.
292
C. C. Torrey, The Apocalypse of John (New Haven, CT: Yale University
Press, 1958), 97.
293
Smalley, The Revelation to John, 45, n. a.
294
Cf., e.g., Aune (Revelation 1-5, 65-66, n. 15.a.), Beale (Revelation, 210),
Metzger (Textual Commentary, 663-64), and Robert Mounce (Revelation, 59, n. 26).
295
Cf. Thomas, Revelation 1-7, 107. Robert Mounce’s suggestion to emend evn
kami,nw| to evk kami,nou to match the case of the participle is desperate (Revelation, 59).

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 When two items are compared in Revelation via the word w`j, they are typically

in the same case.296 In 1:15, however, that is not the case with any of its reasonably

possible referents (oi` po,dej, calkoliba,nw|, or kami,nw|): oi` po,dej [nominative] auvtou/

o[moioi calkoliba,nw| [dative] w`j evn kami,nw| [dative] pepurwme,nhj [genitive]. A

Moreover, there is no overwhelmingly persuasive reason to conclude that the participle

is a solecism in order to allude to th.n ka,minon tou/ puro.j (“the furnace of fire”) in
LXX Dan 3. For supporters of this suggestion, cf. Beale, Revelation, 210; idem, The
Use of Daniel in Jewish Apocalyptic Literature and in the Revelation of St. John
(Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1984), 159-61; Beale and McDonough,
“Revelation,” 1092; Moyise, Old Testament, 41. For th.n ka,minon tou/ puro.j in LXX
Daniel, see 3:6, 11, 15, 20; for th/j kami,nou tou/ puro,j, see 3:17, 21, 23, 93 (Eng.
3:26). However, King Nebuchadnezzar’s attempt to burn Daniel’s three friends to death
in the fiery furnace does not fit the context of Rev 1 and would provide an arguably
discordant and jarring allusion. Furthermore, the suggestion loses force because the root
of the participle is completely absent from Dan 3. Cf. Whiteley, who concluded that “it
is difficult to see any reason for importing Daniel 3 into the text” (“Search for
Cohesion,” 185).
296
Charles, Revelation, cxxxviii. See, e.g., the following eight examples:

h` de. kefalh. auvtou/ kai. ai` tri,cej leukai. w`j e;rion leuko,n w`j ciw.n
(1:14: “his head and his white hair like white wool, like snow”)
oi` ovfqalmoi. auvtou/ w`j flo.x puro.j
(1:14: “his eyes like a flame of fire”)
h` fwnh. auvtou/ w`j fwnh. u`da,twn pollw/n
(1:15: “his voice like the sound of much water”)
h` o;yij auvtou/ w`j o` h[lioj
(1:16: “his appearance like the sun”)
e;pesa [implicit nominative] pro.j tou.j po,daj auvtou/ w`j nekro,j
(1:17: “he fell to his feet as a dead person”)
tou.j ovfqalmou.j auvtou/ w`j flo,ga puro.j
(2:18: “his eyes like a flame of fire”)
h[xw [implicit nominative] w`j kle,pthj
(3:3: “I will come as a thief”)
kai. ei=con qw,rakaj w`j qw,rakaj sidhrou/j
(9:9: “and they had breastplates like breastplates of iron”)

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reasonable solution is that pepurwme,nhj is a rare form of the genitive absolute.297 In

this case, the construction would have no explicit noun or pronoun to which the

participle agrees.298 Assuming calkoliba,nw| to be a second declension feminine

compound, with the participle as a feminine genitive absolute implicitly referring back

to it, however, would solve the problems of both the participle’s gender and case. 299

A New Proposal

One further possibility exists that, to my understanding, has never been

explored. In Rev 8:3 an angel “stood on the altar” ( evsta,qh evpi. tou/ qusiasthri,ou),

holding what appears at first glance to be golden frankincense (libanwto.n crusou/n).300

The word libanwto,j can be a synonym of li,banoj and also frequently refers to

297
Cf., e.g., Aune (Revelation 1-5, 65-66), Huber (Einer gleich einem
Menschensohn, 156), Lenski (Interpretation, 66), MacKenzie (Author of the
Apocalypse, 160-61), Osborne (Revelation, 102), Rehkopf (“Grammatisches,” 215-19),
Thomas (Revelation 1-7, 102, 107), and Whiteley (“Search for Cohesion,” 185-87).
Charles denied that there were any genitive absolutes in Revelation (Revelation,
1:cxxxviii-cxxxix).
298
Aune lists three other texts with the same dynamic: Matt 17:14; Acts 21:10;
21:31 (Revelation 1-5, 66, n. 15.a). He believes that auvth/j has been omitted from the
sentence (ibid.), while Beckwith (Apocalypse, 439) and Thomas (Revelation 1-7, 107)
suggested that th/j calkoliba,nou was the unexpressed part. Cf. Whiteley, “Search for
Cohesion,” 187. Other suggestions include hypothesizing an Aramaic equivalent to
pepurwme,nhj (so Mussies, Morphology, 98; Vanni sees this as persuasive
[L’Apocalisse, 131, n. 38]), but this suggestion seems more conjectural and less likely.
299
Aune, Revelation 1-5, 66, n. 15.a.
300
For a recent argument that the angel stands on the altar of burnt offering even
as the earthly priests stood on the large altar of burnt offering in the temple, see
Stefanovic (“Angel at the Altar,” 82-85).

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frankincense.301 But scholars translate 8:3 on the basis of its context to communicate

that the angel was holding not “golden frankincense” but “a golden censer.” 302 The

contextual descriptor of “golden” in 8:3 ultimately provides the nearest key to transform

the meaning of libanwto,j from the fragrant frankincense to the metonymical metallic

censer. In other words, the libanwto.n crusou/n in 8:3 was understood not as “golden

frankincense” but instead as “golden frankincense [holder],” that is, a “golden censer.”

I would suggest that one could apply the same exegetical process to 1:15 and

2:18. The compound calkoliba,nw|, because of the association of its left-hand member

(calko,j) and its right-hand member (li,banoj, a cognate of libanwto,j), could, similarly

to 8:3, refer metonymically to the container in which the frankincense was placed.303

301
Cf. BDAG (s.v., “libanwto,j”), LSJ (s.v., “libanwto,j”), and Aune
(Revelation 1-5, 96). It occurs only twice in the NT (Rev 8:3, 5) and only twice in the
LXX (1 Chr 9:29 [translating hn"bol.]; 3 Macc 5:3). In Jewish and Christian literature it
is also used in Philo Spec. 1.275; Josephus A.J. 3.256 (2x); and Mart. Pol. 15:2.
302
The angel with the libanwto.n crusou/n is immediately given much incense
(kai. evdo,qh auvtw/| qumia,mata polla, [8:3: “and much incense was given to him”]), and
to.n libanwto.n is filled with fire from the altar (evge,misen auvto.n evk tou/ puro.j tou/
qusiasthri,ou [8:5: “he filled it from the fire from the altar”]). On the difference in
normal meaning for libanwto,j because of contextual indicators, see BDAG, s.v.
“libanwto,j”; LSJ, s.v. “libanwto,j”; and cf., e.g., Aune (Revelation 6-16, 512),
Beckwith (Apocalypse, 553), Ford (Revelation, 131), Robert Mounce (Revelation, 174),
Osborne (Revelation, 344), Smalley (The Revelation to John, 215), and Swete
(Apocalypse of St John, 108).
303
Notice the morbidly fascinating description of the martyrdom of Polycarp in
the 2nd-century Martyrdom of Polycarp, where imagery of gold and silver being refined
in a furnace is associated with the scent of (frank)incense (Mart. Pol. 15:2):

to. ga.r pu/r kama,raj ei=doj poih/san, w[sper ovqo,nh ploi,ou u`po. pneu,matoj
plhroume,nh, ku,klw| perietei,cisen to. sw/ma tou/ ma,rturoj\ kai. h=n me,son, ouvc
w`j sa.rx kaiome,nh avll v w`j a;rtoj ovptw,menoj h' w`j cruso.j kai. a;rguroj evn
kami,nw| purou,menoj. kai. ga.r euvwdi,aj tosau,thj avntelabo,meqa, w`j libanwtou/

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This proposal would result in calkoliba,nw| being understood as a determinative

compound which refers to a “bronze frankincense [holder],” that is, a “bronze

censer.”304 Robert Mounce’s explanation for the meaning of the cognate libanwto,j in

8:3 could be revised and used with regard to calkoliba,nw| in 1:15 and 2:18: “although

the word John uses for censer elsewhere means frankincense (e.g., 18:13), the adjective

“bronze” in calkoliba,nw| indicates that he had the implement in mind rather than that

which was placed in it.”305

Reference to such a bronze censer would most likely invoke, as a matter of

consequence, not the censers associated with Solomon’s Temple or the post-exilic

temple but those used in the Mosaic tabernacle as first described in Exodus. It was in

the tabernacle traditions that the censers were described as being made of bronze.306

pne,ontoj h' a;llou tino.j tw/n timi,wn avrwma,twn.

“For the fire, taking the shape of an arch, like the sail of a ship filled by the wind,
completely surrounded the body of the martyr; and it was there in the middle, not
like flesh burning but like bread baking or like gold and silver being refined in a
furnace. For we also perceived a very fragrant odor, as if it were the scent of
incense or some other precious spice.”

(Text and translation in Apostolic Fathers, trans. and ed. Bart Ehrman [LCL]).
304
I will use bronze from now on to refer to any possible copper/bronze metal.
305
Cf. Robert Mounce, Revelation, 174 (the words in italics constitute the
difference from Mounce).
306
Exod 27:3; 38:23. Incense was placed in bronze censers (Num 16:37, 39
[LXX Num 17:2, 4]), but it appears that these bronze censers were used outside the
tabernacle proper and not just by the high priest (cf. Lev 10:1). Nevertheless, when the
Israelites rebelled in the wilderness at this time, Aaron the (high) priest made atonement
for Israel with incense in his (bronze) censer (Num 16:46 [MT 17:11]; 4 Macc 7:11).
While bronze censers were used in the tabernacle complex, (mostly) golden censers
were used in the temple (1 Kgs 7:50; 2 Chr 4:22; some were possibly silver [2 Kgs

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The presence of li,banoj as the right-hand member of calkoliba,nw| would accordingly

make sense, since frankincense was either one of several ingredients or the key

ingredient in the incense used within the tabernacle incense rituals.307

Use of the concept of the bronze frankincense holder could further underscore

the cultic portrayal of Jesus by pointing to the most famous illustration of a (bronze)

censer in association with the tabernacle traditions—when the high priest Aaron made

atonement for the people after the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Num 16:46-

48 [MT 17:11-13]). This censer was an evocative, role-related dress symbol, since, as

Gane308 has noted, “the censer of Aaron . . . represents [Aaron’s] high priestly function”

25:15]). On extrabiblical traditions of gold censers being used in the temple, cf. 11QT a
III, 12-13; m. Yoma 4:4; and the discussion in Hurowitz, “Solomon’s Golden Vessels,”
158.
307
On the ingredients of the fragrant incense, see Exod 30:34-36; Josephus B.J.
5.218; b. Ker. 6a; cf. Propp (Exodus 19-40, 484-86) and Milgrom (Leviticus 1-16, 237,
1026-28). According to Exod 30:34-36, some of the sanctuary incense was to be placed
before the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting and was to be considered most holy
(~yvid'q' vd,qo / a[gion tw/n a`gi,wn). For frankincense as possibly being the key
ingredient, cf. Milgrom (Leviticus 1-16, 180, 1028), Nielsen (Incense in Ancient Israel,
60-61, 65), and Propp (Exodus 19-40, 485). Milgrom believes, on the analogy with the
golden pans used with the golden lampstand, that golden censers were used to bring the
incense into the Most Holy Place on Yom Kippur, but there is no clear biblical evidence
for this (Leviticus 1-16, 1025).
It remains possible, according to the suggestion that Rev 1:15 refers to a bronze
(frankincense) holder, that the frankincense would not necessarily be absent. Reference
to an incense holder would usually assume that there is incense in it; an incense holder
takes on importance primarily because of the use of the incense within it. Perhaps the
incense holder imagery was meant to imply that the incense, which would be understood
in Revelation in association with the prayers of the saints (see 5:8; 8:3-4; cf. Ps 141:2;
Luke 1:8-11), adhered to the body of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou and emphasized his
mediatorial role.
308
Gane, Leviticus/Numbers, 633.

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in the rhetoric of Num 16.309 Rooke concurs, noting that “the use of censers and incense

to determine who is the chosen party implies that Korah is actually challenging Aaron

for the high priesthood.”310 YHWH’s judgment on the Israelites in the aftermath of the

rebellion against Moses and Aaron was mediated by Aaron’s atoning ministry with his

bronze censer. Such potential bronze censer dress imagery in Rev 1 would highlight the

high priestly ministry of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou within the context of judgment

and mediation that extends from Rev 1 into chaps. 2-3.

Specifically, in the introduction to the message to Thyatira (2:18), Jesus

describes himself as having two things: (1) eyes like a fiery flame (flo,ga puro.j); and

(2) feet like calkoliba,nw|. Both of these descriptions derive from the inaugural vision

of Jesus in 1:14-15. Assuming that calkoliba,nw| alludes to Numbers, one finds that the

judgment on the rebels in that narrative (16:35) was later understood in terms of fiery

flames.311 Consequently, both descriptions in the Thyatiran message could carry

connotations of judgment as well as mediation.

309
Cf. Magonet, “The Korah Rebellion,” 3-4, 22-23.
310
Rooke, “Day of Atonement,” 359. The right-hand element in the compound
calkoliba,nw| (li,banoj) occurs in Sir 50:9, where it is one of the rapturous descriptors
of the high priest emerging from the temple: “like fire and frankincense [ pu/r kai.
li,banoj] in the censer [purei,ou].” Consequently, the association of the high priest with
incense, some of which was considered most holy, could suggest that this rare term
denoted high priestly imagery. And since the censer could be considered a high priestly
dress tool, one could view this image in Rev 1 as evoking not just high priestly imagery
in general but a high priestly dress image.
311
Cf. LXX Ps 105:18 [pu/r . . . flo.x]; Sir 45:19 [puri. flogo.j]). Reference to
the Ancient of Days in Dan 7:9, who has “the [or, his] throne [like] a fiery flame” ( o`
qro,noj w`sei. flo.x puro,j [OG]; o` qro,noj auvtou/ flo.x puro,j [Q]), is also in the
context of judgment (cf. 7:9-10, 22, 26).

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 Furthermore, in Rev 1 John records o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou stating that he, the

Living One, was dead but is alive forever and has the keys of Death and Hades (Rev

1:18).312 Moreover, the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou is the one who walks (o` peripatw/n

[2:1]) among the seven lampstands.313 While most of the members of the seven church

communities are “alive,” some have the reputation of being alive but are instead

spiritually dead (3:1),314 and thus Jesus not only walks but stands (e[sthka [3:20])

between the living and the dead,315 similar to Aaron standing between the living and the

dead in his ministry of atonement (Num 16:48 [MT 17:13]; cf. Wis 18:23).

312
According to the LXX, the rebels went down zw/ntej eivj a[|dou (“alive into
Hades” [Num 16:30, 33]). While those who went down “alive into Hades” were not the
same people involved in the later story of Aaron’s (high) priestly mediation, the earlier
revolt of Korah was related to the later rebellion of the Israelites (cf. Num 16:1-2, 16-18,
31-35, 39-40 [MT 17:4-5], 49 [MT 17:14]). Cf. Magonet, “The Korah Rebellion,” 22,
who notes that the implicit reference to the censer ties together both the initial rebellion
in Num 16:1 and Aaron’s atoning ministry in 16:47 (MT 17:12). On the confusion over
whether Korah was “swallowed up” or burned, see the summary discussion in David C.
Mitchell, “‘God Will Redeem My Soul from Sheol’: The Psalms of the Sons of Korah,”
JSOT 30 (2006): 369, n. 10.
313
Cf. peripath,sousin metV evmou/ evn leukoi/j (“they will walk with me in
white” [3:4]). YHWH indicated to the Israelites on the way to Canaan that he would
walk among them (Lev 26:12; Deut 23:15). The promise to the Sardian believers that
they will walk with Jesus in white could well indicate that, as priests, they walk in the
white, linen robes of the common priests (cf. LXX Exod 28:40; 29:8; 35:19; 39:27;
40:14; Lev 6:10; 8:13). This does not, however, mean that Jesus walks “in white,” since
he clearly walks in a podh,rhj.
314
Rev 3:1: o;noma e;ceij o[ti zh/|j( kai. nekro.j ei= (“you have a reputation that
you are alive, but you are dead”).
315
Cf. ta. te,kna auvth/j avpoktenw/ evn qana,tw| (“I will strike her children dead
[2:23, NRSV]), gi,nou pisto.j a;cri qana,tou( kai. dw,sw soi to.n ste,fanon th/j
zwh/j (“be faithful unto death, and I will give to you the crown of life” [2:10]), and
VAntipa/j o` ma,rtuj mou o` pisto,j mou( o]j avpekta,nqh parV u`mi/n (“Antipas, my
faithful witness, who was killed among you” [2:13; cf. BDAG, s.v. “ para,”]).

351
 Finally, as we have already observed, Wis 18:24 describes Aaron, intervening

between the dead and the living, as wearing the podh,rhj, the glittering and gem-

encrusted breastpiece, and the divine tetragrammeton on his diadem. Wisdom relates

that it was to these as well as his prayer, his censing, and his recalling the ancestral

oaths and covenants that the Destroyer yielded (Wis 18:21-25; cf. 1 Cor 10:10). The

o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in Rev 1:13 similarly wears the same podh,rhj, and the

potentially allusive reference to Aaron’s ministry with his bronze censer would help

complete the interpretive arc.316

One objection to this suggestion would be that comparing the feet of the o[moion

ui`o.n avnqrw,pou to a bronze censer not only is bizarre but is also absurd. Concern about

such a comparison should pale, however, when one remembers, for instance, that this

same o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou has a sword protruding from his mouth (1:16; 2:16; cf.

19:15, 21).317 The portrayal is certainly symbolic, and John is grasping at

316
It is difficult to determine how familiar John was with LXX traditions such as
these.
317
Cf. the Mighty Angel of Rev 10 having “feet” like “pillars of fire” ( oi` po,dej
auvtou/ w`j stu/loi puro,j [10:1]). This verse furthermore raises the question of whether
oi` po,dej should be translated as “feet” or “legs”; most commentators (e.g., Aune
[Revelation 6-16, 548-49, n. 1.e.], Beale [Revelation, 524], Brighton [Revelation, 261-
62], Robert Mounce [Revelation, 202, n. 10], Osborne [Revelation, 394, n. 2], and
Smalley [The Revelation to John, 257]) suggest that, either via linguistic usage or
metonymy, “legs” works better in context, since the comparison is with “pillars of fire.”
But in the very next verse, does the angel place his right “leg” ( to.n po,da auvtou/ to.n
dexio.n) and his left (to.n de. euvw,numon) on the sea and on the land? Note that
everywhere else in Revelation outside of 10:1-2, o` pou,j refers to “foot” and not “leg”
(1:15, 17; 2:18; 3:9; 11:11; 12:1; 13:2; 19:10; 22:8). If one stayed with the “foot-pillar”
comparison, the symbolism would appear bizarre—but not unusual for Revelation.
Note that some commentators have seen a relationship between this image and that of
the feet of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in 1:15 and 2:18 (cf. Brighton [Revelation, 261],

352
approximations in order to convey his visionary and auditory experience. And objecting

that it would be irregular for John to compare the (plural) feet of o[moion ui`o.n

avnqrw,pou to a (singular) bronze censer is unpersuasive in light of his earlier

comparison of his (plural) eyes to a (singular) fiery flame (oi` ovfqalmoi. auvtou/ w`j

flo.x puro.j [1:14; cf. 2:18; 19:12]).

Objecting to the image of a bronze censer being burned or refined in a fire of a

furnace (as opposed to a fire being burned in a bronze censer) similarly has little merit.

Grimthorpe argued that brass (and we could include copper or bronze) “is not ‘refined’

by melting, as gold and silver are, but is a compound metal or alloy, made by

melting.”318 It would thus not make metallurgical sense to speak of bronze being refined

by fire. But pepurwme,nhj need not refer to refining, as it does later in 3:18, and it could

well refer to burning or even something glowing instead.319

Bronze censers were burned in the rebellion of Korah and company. In fact, the

rebels who were burned up were described as being consumed/devoured (lk;a' /

kate,sqiw [Num 16:35]), a verb sometimes used in contexts in which something is

Osborne [Revelation, 394], and Smalley [The Revelation to John, 257]). In any case,
the reference to “pillars of fire” alludes again to the story of the Exodus, in which
YHWH led the Israelites through the “pillar of fire” and the “pillar of cloud” (see Exod
13:21-22; 14:19-20 [only pillar of cloud], 24 [pillar of cloud and fire]; 33:9-10 [only
pillar of cloud]; Num 12:5 [only pillar of cloud]; 14:14; Deut 31:15 [only pillar of
cloud]; Neh 9:12, 19; Ps 99:7 [only pillar of cloud]).
318
Grimthorpe, Revised New Testament, 159.
319
Cf. the possibilities in BDAG, s.v. “puro,w” and LSJ, s.v. “puro,w.”

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burned up in an oven or furnace.320 As a result of the burning of the censers,321 the

censers became holy (vdq [Num 17:2-3 {Eng. 16:37-38}]) and were later hammered

into a covering for the tabernacle altar as a reminder to the Israelites that only the

descendants of Aaron (!roh]a; [r;Z<mi / evk tou/ spe,rmatoj Aarwn) could offer incense

before YHWH (Num 16:37-40 [MT 17:2-5]). This would call up not only the imagery

of holiness but also the restrictive identity of the priesthood. The burned censers of the

erstwhile rebels became holy and overlaid the bronze altar of the tabernacle, and the

bronze censer became a sartorial symbol of Aaron’s high priestly identity and atoning

ministry. Thus, the narrative in Num 16-17 may well run beneath the textual surface of

Rev 1 through the allusive reference to the bronze censer.322 Certainly John is not

unaware of the Numbers narratives, since not much later in Rev 2:14 Numbers provides

the background to John’s references to Balaam and Balak (cf. Num 22-24; 31:8, 16).

Summary of the Feet like calkolibanw|

The fact that the feet of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou are visible (1:15) is

suggestive—but not conclusive—of priestly (and even high priestly) dress. What makes

this image more complicated is the seemingly impenetrable reference to the feet

appearing o[moioi calkoliba,nw| w`j evn kami,nw| pepurwme,nhj. The compound word

320
For use of this verb used in the larger context of burning in a oven/stove ( rWNT;
/ kli,banoj), see Ps 21:9 (MT 21:10 and LXX 20:10); Hos 7:7.
321
On the burning of the censers, cf. Num 16:37, 39 (MT 17:2, 4).
322
See Leithart (“Womb of the World,” 61-62), who similarly sees the narrative
in Num 16-18 running beneath the textual surface of Heb 7 in its argument that Jesus’
Melchizedekian high priesthood is superior to the Aaronid priesthood.

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calkoliba,nw| appears to be a conundrum, mostly because it occurs but twice in

Revelation and nowhere else in earlier Greek literature. It is unlikely, given the current

state of our understanding, that any proposed interpretation of the feet like

calkolibanw| in 1:15 and 2:18 is completely persuasive and without flaw. At the same

time, the most detailed exposition of this problem, that by Hemer, remains not only

conjectural but problematic.

The proposal I have advanced is also conjectural. Nevertheless, it is predicated

on the reasonable supposition that the cryptic compound most likely has, as its right-

hand component, the feminine word li,banoj (i.e., “frankincense,” instead of the less

likely “frankincense tree”). This has led to the hypothesis that the term might indicate a

bronze frankincense holder (i.e., a censer), similar to how the cognate of the right-hand

element of calkolibanw| (i.e., libanwto,j, the cognate of li,banoj) refers not to the

expected frankincense but instead to a censer in Rev 8:3, 5. There the contextual trigger

“golden” transformed the meaning to refer to a golden incense (holder) instead of

simply golden incense. Likewise, the immediate triggers that transform the meaning of

the compound calkolibanw| in 1:15 are calk- (“bronze”), the left-hand member of the

compound calkolibanw|, and the earlier high priestly sartorial images of the podh,rhj

and zw,nh in 1:14.

Consequently, this terminological proposal would also signify high priestly dress

imagery: the bare feet of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou are compared to a bronze

frankincense (holder), that is, a bronze censer, with the latter being understood as a high

priestly dress tool, redolent of Aaron’s bronze censer used mediatorially in Num 16.

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Furthermore, the implicit frankincense in that comparison could further focus the high

priestly connotation of the comparison, since it could be viewed as a high priestly dress

cosmetic. Such an interpretation, alluding to the story of the high priest Aaron in Num

16, coheres with the developing theme of judgment in chaps. 2-3, and it illumines

several mediatorial motifs in those same chapters.

The Dress of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou

and Role-Related Identity

No matter how much high priestly dress imagery actually appears in Rev 1, if

any imagery does appear it should be able to communicate a role-related identity for

Jesus. What would it mean for Jesus to be presented in a high priestly role? Boxall

provides a succinct summary of the possibilities:

We know from Hebrews that the understanding of Christ as High Priest in the
heavenly sanctuary was able to emerge within New Testament Christianity;
Revelation 1 suggests that Hebrews might not be as unique in its christology as is
sometimes assumed. If all believers now participate in the priesthood (1:6), and
angels fulfill liturgical roles in the worship of heaven (e.g. 8:3-5), a unique role
nevertheless remains for Christ. His presence now in the midst of the seven
menorahs, that is the seven congregations (v. 20), may evoke the high-priestly role
of mediator and intercessor (e.g. Heb. 7:25).323

If Jesus is portrayed in a high priestly manner in Rev 1, one would expect mediatorial

and/or intercessory information to appear, as Boxall suggests. A logical place to look

would be in chaps. 1-3. We have already seen that Jesus walks among the lampstands

in 2:1.324 The tabernacle narratives of the HB prescribed the role of tending the

323
Boxall, Revelation of Saint John, 42-43.
324
Paul describes the church as God’s temple; see, in particular, 1 Cor 3:16 ( ouvk
oi;date o[ti nao.j qeou/ evste kai. to. pneu/ma tou/ qeou/ oivkei/ evn u`mi/n; [“do you not
know that you {plural} are God’s temple and the Spirit of God dwells in you?”]), and

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lampstands to Aaron and the successive high priests, and in later experience it was seen

to be democratized to the common priests. In any case, associating this mobile motif in

chap. 2 together with the sartorial imagery in chap. 1 provides further coherence to the

high priestly role-related identity of Jesus.

Such role-related identity triggers would point to Jesus tending the lampstands

(i.e., the seven churches) in a mediatorial way. Beale notes that those who tended the

lampstands would “trim the lamps, remove the wick and old oil, refill the lamps with

fresh oil, and relight those that had gone out. Likewise, Christ tends the ecclesial

lampstands by commending, correcting, exhorting, and warning (see chs. 2-3) in order

to secure the churches’ fitness for service as lightbearers in a dark world.” 325 For

instance, Jesus threatening to remove the lampstand of Ephesus unless it repents (2:5),

encouraging the persecuted Smyrnan church (2:10), exhorting the dead Sardian church

to wake up (3:1-2), noting his love for the Philadelphian church (3:9), and pleading for

the Laodicean church to repent (3:19)—all take on new meaning and dynamic

significance from the standpoint of the high priestly mediation of Jesus.

Summary and Conclusions

The crux of the exegetical controversy over potential high priestly imagery for

Jesus Christ in the book of Revelation typically focuses on the dress imagery in John’s

inaugural vision in chap. 1. John’s visual description of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in

cf., e.g., 1 Cor 3:17; 6:19; 2 Cor 6:16.

325
Beale, Revelation, 208-209. Cf. Exod 27:20-21; 30:7-8; Lev 24:2-4; 2 Chr
29:7.

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the midst of seven golden lampstands in 1:12-16 is a striking portrayal of Jesus. The

dress imagery contained within this visionary description potentially opens a unique

vista into an understanding of the identity and role of Jesus. The focus of my

investigation in this chapter has been to examine three individual dress elements of the

o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou—his podh,rhj (1:13), his golden zw,nh (1:13), and his (bare)

feet o[moioi calkoliba,nw| w`j evn kami,nw| pepurwme,nhj (1:15)—in order to determine

whether these sartorial images communicate a high priestly identity and role for Jesus.

The literary context of John’s inaugural vision provides elements that

communicate a cultic orientation and perpective. First, John’s description of Jesus as

the “firstborn of the dead” prior to the vision itself (1:5), in parallel with John’s

reference to Jesus having “freed us from our sins by his blood” (1:5), points to the

sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross, one that referred to the sacrificial system in

Judaism centered on the sanctuary and its cultic rituals for the forgiveness of sins.

Second, John’s description of Jesus as “the ruler of the kings of the earth” (1:5) parallels

his description of believers being “a kingdom, priests [serving] his God and father”

(1:6), reflecting the ancient story of the Israelites in Exod 19:5-6. This latter priestly

designation is the first of John’s three explicit references to the priesthood of the

believers (cf. Rev 5:10; 20:6). The fact that the kingdom is comprised of priests

assumes that Jesus, the ruler of the kings of the earth, is not only royal but also priestly.

And third, within the vision itself, the seven golden lampstands (1:12-13) would initially

have evoked an image of something like the golden lampstand(s) utilized in the

tabernacle/temple. Furthermore, reference to the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou standing in

the midst of the golden lampstands would have likely recalled the one legislatively

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delegated in the OT with tending the lampstands, the high priest.

As for the specific dress motifs of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in Rev 1, the first

one, podh,rhj (1:13), is the most compelling of the set, overwhelmingly pointing to high

priestly dress imagery. Its usage in Jewish and Christian literature up to this time is

virtually unanimous in describing high priestly dress either literally or symbolically.

Moreover, the relationship between the implicit lampstand of Exod 27:20-21 and the

dress of the high priest in Exod 28:1-5 helps illumine John’s vision of the o[moion ui`o.n

avnqrw,pou dressed in high priestly clothing while standing among the golden

lampstands. As such, the podh,rhj may be the salient dress item indicative of high

priestly identity.

The second dress motif of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou, the zw,nhn crusa/n

located pro.j toi/j mastoi/j (1:13), also points to an item of dress worn by the high

priest. While a zw,nh does not necessarily indicate a high priestly identity and role and

by itself may be ambiguous in terms of identity perception, the cultic motifs in Rev 1:1-

11, along with the golden lampstands and podh,rhj of 1:12-13, strongly suggest a

temple-related and even high priestly sartorial image. Between the LXX and Josephus,

there are at least six zwnai, mentioned that were worn by the high priest. The one that

best parallels the evidence in Rev 1:13 is the first high priestly zw,nh of Josephus (A.J.

3.159), since it was attached to the podh,rhj, visible to onlookers, interwoven with gold,

and located at the area of the breasts. This would suggest that John is not only drawing

on the deep well of OT texts, motifs, and backgrounds, but that he is also drawing on

cultic Second Temple realities as well in describing this image.

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 That John describes the feet of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou (1:15) indicates that

the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou is barefoot, in itself a credible (though not absolute)

indicator of sacerdotal status. The fact that these feet appear like calkoliba,nw| burned

in a furnace could reasonably indicate some obscure or unknown type of refined metal

or metal alloy. But because the enigmatic compound apparently has, as its right-hand

component, the feminine word li,banoj (i.e., in the sense of “frankincense”), the

compound word may instead allude to the story of the high priest Aaron and the

(bronze) censer that he used in a mediatorial way to make atonement for the Israelites in

Num 16.

Each of these elements does not provide the same level of persuasive appeal to

the hypothesis of high priestly dress imagery in Rev 1; some are certainly more

compelling than others. Despite the distinct possibility of dress ambiguity resulting

from the association of these dress elements, their combined weight is nevertheless

impressive and worth consideration. Each element collectively and cumulatively

fashions a sartorial network of role-related meaning and underscores linguistically,

allusively, and contextually a high priestly meaning, providing iconic coherence to the

overall high priestly portrayal.

Furthermore, such high priestly imagery provides role-related identity triggers

for understanding Jesus in succeeding chapters of Revelation. In particular, Jesus’

messages to the seven churches in chaps. 2-3 entail the equivalent of high priestly

mediation between those who are alive and those on the verge of death. There he

encourages, rebukes, warns, and comforts the believing communities in their various

states of spirituality. I would suggest that the groundwork for understanding and

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appreciating such intercessory ministry by Jesus in these chapters has been laid via

John’s visual description of Jesus in chap. 1 in terms of high priestly dress imagery.

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 CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSIONS

Summary of the Research

In this study I have attempted to examine how dress imagery in the book of

Revelation can contribute to a better understanding of the identity of Jesus Christ. In

particular, I have examined whether or not John specifically portrays Jesus in chap. 1

with high priestly dress as a means of evoking a high priestly, role-related identity. In

the first chapter of this study I introduced the subject and indicated that not only is there

no scholarly consensus with regard to any portrayal of a high priestly identity for Jesus

in Revelation, but also that a number of discussions about the subject are polemical in

nature. This is particularly the case with Rev 1:13, a crucial text often at the center of

such discussions, largely on the basis of John’s reference to the dress term podh,rhj.

In chap. 2 I examined contemporary understandings of dress in academia.

Scholars of dress have concluded that the concept of dress includes not only clothes but

also ornaments, cosmetics, devices, treatments, equipment, and tools. Anthropologists,

psychologists, and sociologists in particular have frequently discussed the significant

and potent communicative properties of dress. They have notably underscored the fact

that dress communicates various types of identities (e.g., age, ethnic, gender, political,

socioeconomic, and other identities). Furthermore, contemporary discussion has

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concluded that dress can also communicate a role-related identity. At the same time, a

number of interpretive obstacles can potentially distort, inhibit, or block the correct

perception of dress communication, and thus one needs to utilize both caution and

balance in decoding such dress messages.

In chap. 3 I surveyed the copious evidence from the ANE to the Roman world

and from the OT to the NT that illustrates that dress was not only understood to be an

important necessity but also a means of communicating much critical information to

others. Dress was perceived to be an extension of one’s personality and consequently an

aid in the personal identification of others. Furthermore, literary evidence clearly

demonstrates that dress could also assist one in formulating a number of identity

constructions, such as those in reference to economic status, ethnicity, gender,

occupational role, and status transitions. In several ways the communicative properties

of ancient dress were more direct, efficient, and effective than those of contemporary

dress, since such modern dynamics as globalization and mass marketing have

contributed to a more ambiguous visual identity construction. At the same time, ancient

texts unsurprisingly indicate that clear or correct identity perception via dress was not

automatic; the use of disguises, for instance, could distort and obstruct, even as they can

today. This chapter nevertheless indicated that any texts in Revelation that evince an

interest in the dress of Jesus would be fruitful for examination in terms of high priestly

identity markers.

In chap. 4 I surveyed the literary evidence regarding the dress of the Jewish high

priest. The dress of the high priest was powerful in identifying his status and role within

the Israelite cultus. Scholars have nonetheless faced obstacles in interpreting not only

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the meaning but even the actual nature of various high priestly dress items (e.g., the

ephod and the Urim and Thummim), with OT catalogs of the ritual dress elements of the

high priest themselves not being uniform. Furthermore, in comparing these high

priestly dress elements with those of the common priests, some elements are identical,

some similar, and others unique. Both ancient and modern interpreters have

consequently exhibited difficulty cataloging, describing, and interpreting the specific

ritual dress elements of the high priest. Despite all of this, it remains possible to

categorize the high priest’s ritual dress into dress items utilized regularly during the year

and dress items utilized once a year on Yom Kippur. Fluidity in descriptions also

suggests that metonymy and synecdoche were in play in some of the texts. In addition,

on the basis of contemporary understandings of dress, I have suggested that high priestly

dress should include such elements as bare feet, the censer, and incense, since bare feet

are an example of negative dress, a censer can be classified as a dress tool, and incense

can be viewed as a dress cosmetic.

Finally, in chap. 5 of this study I examined several verses in Rev 1 that contain

clear dress imagery for Jesus. Here I focused on 1:12-16, the primary passage in

Revelation in which scholars have debated the presence or absence of high priestly

sartorial imagery as an indicator of a high priestly status for Jesus. In these verses I

have argued that the reference to the podh,rhj that the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou wears,

when seen in combination with the contextually integrated reference to him in the midst

of the seven golden lampstands (1:12-13), communicates a high priestly identity. The

other dress elements (the zw,nhn crusa/n, the bare feet, and the appearance of his feet

like calkoliba,nw|), while contributing in varying degrees to the plausibility of the high

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priestly imagery in this passage, combine with the podh,rhj to substantiate a sartorial

ensemble impressively communicative of high priestly identity in this inaugural vision

in Revelation.

Implications of the Research

The results of this study suggest at least four important implications for

interpreting Revelation and the New Testament as a whole. First, the electric impact of

the dress of the high priest on observers in the Second Temple period is mirrored by the

prominent position it holds in John’s inaugural vision in Rev 1: The first thing John

mentions after describing the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in the midst of the seven golden

lampstands is that he wears high priestly dress. After describing the rest of his vision of

the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou, John writes that he fell down as if he were dead (1:17).

While it is true that Jesus subsequently encouraged John to not be afraid (1:17), it is

unlikely that his fear stemmed solely from the high priestly dress that Jesus wore.

Rather, it is more likely that other elements of this vision (e.g., the blazing eyes, the

sword protruding from his mouth) contributed to John’s overall fear. 1 In a chapter that

implicitly polemicizes against the rule of earthly rulers,2 the powerful communicative

meaning of the high priestly dress reveals the role-related spiritual superiority of Jesus

over any such ruler.

Second, dress imagery implicitly provides profound christological information in

1
Cf. Dan 10:5-9.
2
On such polemics in Rev 1:5 cf., e.g., Aune (Revelation 1-5, 40), Osborne
(Revelation, 63, 92), and Smalley (The Revelation to John, 34-35).

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Revelation. Additionally, christological titles for Jesus in Revelation must not

inappropriately shape or restrict the meaning of dress imagery there. For instance, while

it is clear that one of the most significant titles for Jesus in Revelation is “King of

Kings,”3 some exegetes have assumed that this royal identity appears in the sartorial

imagery one finds in 1:12-16.4 But as I have demonstrated, such sartorial imagery

instead points to a high priestly identity. In addition to the royal role of Jesus that is

transparent in Revelation, he also appears as high priest, perhaps suggestive of a king-

(high)priest similar to the Melchizedekian identity for Jesus found in the Epistle to the

Hebrews.5

The third implication is that Revelation and Hebrews—the two most cultic

works in the NT—share not only interest in the tabernacle, temple, and related cultic

and sanctuary imagery, but they also share a high priestly understanding of Jesus. This

demonstrates that the high priestly understanding of Jesus that is so obvious in Hebrews

cannot be restricted to just that work in the NT. This consequently opens up the debate

3
Rev 17:14 and 19:16: Basileu.j basile,wn. Cf. “the ruler of the kings of the
earth” (o` a;rcwn tw/n basile,wn th/j gh/j [1:5]).
4
E.g., Hendrickson (More Than Conquerors, 71), Kiddle (Revelation, 15), and
Metzger (Breaking the Code, 27).
5
Notice explicit references to Melchizedek in Heb 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:1, 10, 11, 15,
17 and see the discussion in, e.g., Cullmann, Christology, 83-107; and Torleif Elgvin,
“Priests on Earth as in Heaven: Jewish Light on the Book of Revelation,” in Echoes
from the Caves: Qumran and the New Testament, ed. Florentino García Martínez,
Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah 85 (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 274-75, 278. Such
a possible implicit Melchizedekian identity in Revelation (i.e., king-priest) would
suggest that there is both continuity and discontinuity with the OT high priesthood.
This consequently provides another approach towards explicating the apparent lack of a
total sartorial identification in Rev 1 with the dress of the OT high priest.

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of the origins of high priestly imagery in the NT. Hebrews, which shows no need to

argue the case but instead simply asserts it,6 cannot be seen as anomalous in the NT in

its understanding of Jesus as high priest since Revelation also evinces high priestly

imagery for Jesus. Similarly to Hebrews, Revelation does not attempt to argue the point

but describes a majestic Jesus with high priestly sartorial imagery in the introductory

chapter.

The final implication of this study that I wish to mention is that the overall dress

imagery which is so prevalent throughout Revelation indicates that it bears significant

weight for John. In fact, it bears more interpretive weight than many commentators

have typically granted it. Since Revelation “is liberally strewn with clothes,” 7 dress

imagery there deserves sustained study. This study demonstrates the importance of

dress in the opening chapter of Revelation for elucidating the role-related identity of

Jesus and is an example of the kind of analysis that one could carry out on other

sartorial images found elsewhere throughout Revelation. One must analyze such

sartorial imagery to determine whether identity issues are at play and whether such

identity triggers could enrich—if not provide a key to—the interpretation of the

numerous texts in which such imagery occurs. In other words, one cannot view dress

that various characters in Revelation wear as simply describing what these characters

are wearing. If one does not attemp to identify and investigate dress elements that

potentially have identity triggers, one’s interpretational conclusions will be severely

6
Cf., e.g., the first three references to Jesus as high priest in Hebrews (2:17; 3:1;
4:14-15).
7
Neufeld, “Under the Cover,” 71.

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diminished—if not shown to be entirely inadequate and even faulty.

Suggestions for Further Research

Because of the limits of this study, a number of potentially rewarding areas for

future research remain, and I will list five of them here. First is the need to examine two

other textual clusters in Revelation for high priestly imagery in relation to Jesus: 14:14-

16 and 19:11-16. In the former text John mentions the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou for the

second and final time, and he describes him as sitting on a white cloud and wearing a

ste,fanon crusou/n (“golden wreath/crown”) on his head, a dress description that may

well be high priestly in nature.8 In the latter text, at least three dress items in the

description of the Rider on the White Horse suggest the possibility of high priestly

imagery: (1) the “many diadems” (diadh,mata polla,) on the Rider’s head (v. 12);9 (2)

the mysterious “inscribed name” (o;noma gegramme,non)10 that only the Rider knows (v.

12); and (3) the “robe dipped in blood [ i`ma,tion bebamme,non ai[mati]”11 (v. 13). An

examination of these two passages, both of which have linguistic links to the o[moion

8
Cf. the ste,fanon crusou/n worn by the high priest in LXX Sir 45:12.
9
This may relate to coronal imagery for the high priest found in a Qumran text;
see the New Jerusalem text from Qumran (11Q18 14 II, 2-5), which apparently
describes a ceremony for crowning a high priest with seven crowns. Wis 18:24 utilizes
the same Greek term (dia,dhma) to describe the diadem of the high priest.
10
This possibly refers to the tetragrammeton of the high priest, which was
inscribed on the plate or rosette of pure gold (Exod 28:36: rAhj' bh'z" #yC / pe,talon
crusou/n kaqaro.n). On this see, e.g., Barker (Revelation, 50-56, 302-309).
11
On the many variants in this verse suggesting “sprinkled” instead of “dipped,”
see, e.g., Aune (Revelation 17-22, 1043, n. 13.b-b.). Barker suggests that a “sprinkled”
robe might suggest the robe of the high priest on Yom Kippur (Revelation, 308).

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ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in Rev 1,12 could potentially corroborate the conclusion made in this

study that high priestly dress does indeed occur in relation to Jesus in Revelation.

Second, another potentially fruitful field of study would be to analyze the dress

of characters explicitly described as angels in Revelation that are possibly suggestive of

angelomorphic christology. Perhaps the most extensive conclusions regarding

angelomorphic christology in the book of Revelation were set forth by Gundry in 1994 13

and updated in 2005, in which he saw angelomorphic christology in John’s references to

or portrayals of such angelic figures as the sent angel in 1:1 (cf. 22:6), the angel with the

seal of God in 7:2-3, the angel who holds a golden censer and stands at the altar of

incense in 8:3-5, the mighty angel in chap. 10 with the rainbow on his head, the glorious

angel in 18:1-3 who fills the earth with his splendor, the strong angel in 18:21-24 who

casts a millstone into the sea, and the angel with the key and chain who throws Satan

into the abyss in 20:1-3.14 While many scholars have not accepted the sweeping nature

of Gundry’s approach,15 one cannot deny that some of the descriptions of these angels in

12
The Rider on the White Horse has eyes like “a flame of fire” ( flo.x puro,j) and
“a sharp sword emerging from his mouth” (evk tou/ sto,matoj auvtou/ evkporeu,etai
r`omfai,a ovxei/a [19:15]); cf. the description of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in 1:14
(flo.x puro,j) and 16 (evk tou/ sto,matoj auvtou/ r`omfai,a di,stomoj ovxei/a
evkporeuome,nh [“a sharp, double-edged sword emerging from his mouth”]).
13
Gundry, “Angelomorphic Christology in the Book of Revelation,” in Society of
Biblical Literature 1994 Seminar Papers, ed. Eugene H. Lovering, Jr., Society of
Biblical Literature Seminar Papers Series 33 (Atlanta: Scholars, 1994), 662-78.
14
Gundry, “Angelomorphic Christology (2005),” 377-98.
15
See, e.g., Gieschen (Angelomorphic Christology, 261, n. 55), Hannah (Michael
and Christ, 153-54), and Hoffmann (Destroyer and the Lamb, 68-71, 75). These all
interact with Gundry’s 1994 study.

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Revelation contain dress imagery. Since there existed a close, symbolic relationship

between earthly priests and heavenly angels in Jewish interpretation,16 it would thus be

prudent to look beyond the dress imagery of Jesus and investigate the dress imagery of

such angels in Revelation, since they would constitute a potentially ripe field for testing

whether high priestly identity can be ascertained from dress with regard to

angelomorphic characters.17

Third, as I indicated in the introduction of this study, a number of scholars have

seen high priestly dress imagery in both the description of the dress of the Great

Prostitute in Rev 17 and the description of the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem

in Rev 21. Assuming that these conclusions are true, it would be useful to determine

precisely what relation the high priestly imagery in these texts might have to John’s use

16
For examples of the OT interplay between angels and priests, see Zech 3:1-7
and Mal 2:7 (the latter text in which the priest is called a messenger/angel [ %a;l.m; /
a;ggeloj] of the LORD of hosts). Attridge is one of several recent commentators who
have concluded that the image of the high priest in Hebrews derives from “Jewish
notions of priestly angels” (Hebrews, 103; cf. p. 99, n. 234). On the relation between
angels and priests and/or high priests in Jewish interpretation, cf. also, e.g., the
following works with their related bibliographies: Barker, Great High Priest, 103-45;
Fletcher-Louis, Glory of Adam, 56-87; Gieschen, Angelomorphic Christology, 169-70;
Hannah, Michael and Christ, 32, 42-45, 60-61, 85-87, 100-101, 150-51; Himmelfarb,
Ascent to Heaven, 49-51 and 66-69; and McNicol, “Image of the Highest Angel.”
17
Note the following synthetic statement of Nils Alstrup Dahl: “No New
Testament author explicitly speaks about Christ as an angel or as the angel or archangel.
The Book of Revelation, however, transfers angelic attributes to the risen Christ (e.g.,
Rev. 1:13-16–cf. especially Dan. 10:5f.). Moreover, the risen Jesus is, like an angelic
prince, represented as the heavenly Paraclete, the intercessor or witness, the priest in the
heavenly sanctuary, and vice-regent at the right hand of God [emphasis supplied]”
(Jesus the Christ: The Historical Origins of Christological Doctrine, ed. Donald H. Juel
[Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991], 120). Dahl further states that “there seems to be
increasing agreement that angelology is one source of christological language” (ibid.,
121).

370
of high priestly dress imagery for Jesus in chap. 1.

Fourth, the results of this study should give more impetus towards ascertaining

high priestly imagery for Jesus in texts of the NT other than in Hebrews and Revelation.

While much work has already been done in this area,18 the view has long been held that

such high priestly imagery can be found only in Hebrews.19 Further research in this area

could provide the death knell to that viewpoint.

And fifth, as noted in the previous chapter, the motif of Jesus as Lamb is not

only repeatedly explicit but much more prevalent in Revelation than high priestly

imagery. April D. DeConick has recently indicated that both the high priestly

descriptions of Jesus in Hebrews and portrayals of Jesus as the Lamb in Revelation are

heir to the Jewish Kavod (glory) tradition.20 Study of how these trajectories might relate

to each other within Revelation could help to better situate the use of high priestly dress

imagery in John’s overall rhetoric.

18
E.g., Bond (“Discarding the Seamless Robe,” 183-94), Broadhead
(“Christology,” 21-34), Coppens (“Le messianisme sacerdotal,” 101-112), Cullmann
(Christology, 104-107), Fletcher-Louis (“Messiah: Part I,” 155-75; and “Messiah: Part
II,” 57-79), Friedrich (“Beobachtungen zur messianischen Hohepriestererwartung,” 265-
311), Heil (“Unique High Priest,” 729-45), Hengel (Studies in Early Christology, 144-
48), Moe (“Das Priestertum Christi,” cols. 335-38), Spicq (“L’origine johannique,” 258-
69), and Zimmerman (“Jesus of Nazareth,” 49-59).
19
E.g., Baigent (“Jesus as Priest,” 34-44), Lane (Hebrews, cxlii), Lindars
(Theology, 126), and Sowers (Philo and Hebrews, 119).
20
April D. DeConick, “What Is Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism?” in
Paradise Now, 14. She references high priestly and Lamb depictions in the following
texts: Heb 3:1; 4:14-16; 5:1-10; Rev 5:6-14; 7:13–8:1; and 14:1-5.

371
 Conclusion

As the adage goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” John’s rich

description of the o[moion ui`o.n avnqrw,pou in Rev 1 reveals much more about the

identity and role of Jesus Christ than one might deduce at first glance because of John’s

use of sartorial imagery. Without denying or diminishing other aspects of Jesus’

identity in chap. 1, I would assert that part of the complex identity of Jesus in this

chapter derives from John’s powerful and revealing use of sartorial imagery associated

in Jewish literature and history with the high priest. Such imagery helps to extend the

arc of John’s use of such cultic imagery as tabernacle, temple, sanctuary, lampstand(s),

incense, court, altar, and priests. And as such, his portrait of Jesus, including high

priestly sartorial imagery, expands and enriches the NT understanding of Jesus as High

Priest, which is explicit only in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and it further explicates

Jesus’ high priestly ministry of mediation and judgment among his faithful followers.

John’s prismatic and expansive portrayal of Jesus Christ in this first chapter thus

implicitly conveys to the Christian “priests” (1:6; cf. 5:10; 20:6) in the seven churches

the powerful message “We have a high priest, Jesus Christ!” 21

21
Cf. Heb 4:14.

372
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