The Breastpiece of Judgment

In addition to the ephod, the high priest of ancient Israel wore a breastpiece of judgment. Exodus 28:15–30 describes this breastpiece, which, as we will see over the next few days, functioned as a pouch for the Urim and Thummim, which were used to discern God’s will (Ex. 28:29–30). Today we are focusing on verses 15–28, which give the directions for constructing the breastpiece.

Like the ephod and the curtains for the tabernacle (Ex. 28:6–14; see Ex. 26), the breastpiece of judgment was made of gold and of blue, purple, and scarlet yarns. Again, the similarity between the tabernacle and the priestly garments made the high priest in a sense a mini-tabernacle. God’s presence in the tabernacle was associated in a special way with the high priest himself, thereby anticipating Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest, who is the very incarnation of our Creator (see Heb. 2:5–18).

The breastpiece of judgment featured twelve precious stones arranged in four rows, three on each row (Ex. 28:16–20). Notably, Ezekiel 28:13 indicates that many of these gems were found in the garden of Eden. This is one of many reasons that scholars believe the tabernacle and priesthood of Israel were a new Eden of sorts, the original Eden being God’s tabernacle where He dwelled with humanity before the fall. The tabernacle and priesthood were types of Eden, reminding Israel of the Lord’s intent to dwell with humanity and pointing forward ultimately to the coming of a glorified and perfected new Eden at the consummation of all things (see Rev. 21:1–22:5).

Finally, the names of the twelve sons of Israel (Jacob)—Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Naphtali, Issachar, Gad, Asher, Dan, Zebulon, Joseph, and Benjamin—were inscribed on these stones, one name on each stone (Ex. 28:21–28). We noted how the engraving of these names on the stones on the high priest’s shoulders (Ex. 28:9–12) revealed the high priest as the representative of Israel, and having them on his breastpiece reinforces the point. He carried the names of Israel on his heart, pointing to the fact that Christ, the Great High Priest, has His people on His heart. Matthew Henry writes: “The high priest had the names of the tribes both on his shoulders and on his breast, intimating both the power and the love with which our Lord Jesus intercedes for those that are his. He not only bears them up upon his heart, as the expression here is (Ex. 28:29), [but] carries them in his bosom (Isa. 40:11), with the most tender affection. How near should Christ’s name be to our hearts, since he is pleased to lay our names so near his!”