Exodus 28:32

Exo 28:32 And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent.

Ver. 32. That it be not rent.] To show that there should be no rents or schisms in the Church. {1Co 1:10; 1Co 1:13 1Ti 1:3}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Exo 28:32-33. An habergeon — A coat of armour. Pomegranates — The figures of pomegranates, but flat and embroidered.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(32) As it were the hole of a habergeon.—Linen corselets, or “habergeons,” were common in Egypt, and were shaped as is here indicated. The word used for “habergeon,” taklãrah, is thought to be Egyptian.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32. a hole for the head, &c.] It was not open behind or in front: it had simply a hole at the top, and was thrown over the head in the manner of a jersey.

woven work] the work of the weaver (Exo_36:1). In ch. 39. these words are attached not to the ‘binding’ (v. 23), but to the robe itself (v. 22); and that is probably their original place here (after ‘of the ephod’ in v. 31). The binding was to keep the edge of the hole from fraying.

a coat of mail] Heb. taḥãrâh, only here and in the ||, Exo_39:23 : Onk. שריון a coat of mail. No doubt, a linen corselet, the λινοθώρηξ of the Greeks (Il. ii. 529), is what is meant; Herodotus (ii. 182, iii. 47) mentions two made in Egypt for Amâsis.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And beneath upon the hem of it,.... Or the skirts of it, at the bottom of the robe:

thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; these were figures made of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, in the form of pomegranates: Jarchi says they were round and hollow, and made like hens' eggs, about the size of them, and of an oval form:

and bells of gold between them round about; according to some, the bells were put into the pomegranates, which is supposed to be the meaning of the phrase "between them", or, "in the midst of them"; and so Aben Ezra observes, that some say the bells did not appear, they were only in the midst of the pomegranates, and there they caused their sound to be heard: but according to our version and others, the bells were placed between the pomegranates, between every pomegranate and pomegranate there was a golden bell; and this seems to be plainly the sense of the following verse.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

A hole in the top of it. A mere circular hole for the head to go through, unaccompanied by a slit or longitudinal opening. In the midst of it. Midway between the two arm-holes. A binding of woven work round about the hole of it. This would strengthen the edge of the opening) and prevent it from tearing or fraying. The binding was probably sewn on after the frock was woven. As it were the hole of an habergeon. Linen corselets or habergeons have been found in Egypt. They were sometimes covered with metal scales, and were of the make here indicated. (See the author"s History of Egypt, vol. 1. p. 446.) The word here used for "habergeon" (takharah) is Egyptian.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

An habergeon - A coat of armour.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

והיה פי ראשו AND THE HOLE IN THE HEAD OF IT SHALL BE — the hole of the Robe which is at its top — that is, the opening which serves as a receptacle for the neck,

בתוכו IN THE MIDST THEREOF — Understand this as the Targum renders it: כפיל לגויה “turned in towards the inside” — the turn-in shall serve as its seam. It was weaver’s work (woven as such with the Robe) and not made with a needle.

כפי תחרא AS IT WERE THE HOLE OF A HABERGEON — This informs us that their habergeons had the neck-opening turned in.

לא יקרע means SO THAT IT BE NOT RENT — Indeed, whoever rends it, transgresses thereby a negative commandment because this is among the number of the negative commands contained in the Torah. The same is the case with (v. 28) “that the breast-plate be not loosened”, and similarly, (Exodus 25:15) “they shall not depart from it”, which is said of the staves of the ark (Yoma 72a).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.