The ephod was the chief garment of the High Priest — a sleeveless linen apron-like vest worn over the inner robes, made of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen. On its shoulder pieces were two onyx stones engraved with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel — six on each stone — so that the High Priest bore the names of God's people before the LORD whenever he entered the holy place (Exod 28:6–14). The ephod also held the breastpiece of judgment containing the Urim and Thummim — the divine lots by which God's will was discerned (Exod 28:30). To "inquire of God" through the priest often meant the ephod was employed. David "inquired of the LORD" through Abiathar the priest with his ephod (1 Sam 23:9–11). The ephod thus represents priestly mediation — standing before God on behalf of the people, bearing their identity, and seeking His direction.
EPHOD, n. [Hebrew.] A species of garment used by the Jewish priests, and particularly the high priest. The common ephod was of plain linen; the high priest's was more richly ornamented and embroidered with gold, blue, purple and scarlet, and worn over the tunic and robe. It had two shoulder-pieces, and over the front, a breastplate (or pectoral) containing the Urim and Thummim, by which the high priest inquired of God.
The ephod foreshadows what Christ fulfills perfectly: the true High Priest who does not merely wear the names of His people on His shoulders — He bears them in His very body, in His wounds, before the Father. The danger of the ephod's legacy is seen even in Scripture: Gideon made a golden ephod for Israel that "became a snare to Gideon and to his family" as Israel "whored after it" (Judg 8:27). A sacred instrument became an idol. This is the church's recurring temptation — to take what God ordained as a means of access and turn it into an object of veneration. Rituals, vestments, forms of worship meant to direct us to God can themselves become gods. Every ephod becomes a snare if we trust the garment rather than the God it points to.
• Exodus 28:6–14 — The detailed instructions for constructing the high priest's ephod with the onyx stones bearing the names of the twelve tribes.
• Exodus 28:30 — "In the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim…Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the LORD."
• 1 Samuel 23:9 — "David knew that Saul was plotting harm against him. And he said to Abiathar the priest, 'Bring the ephod here.'"
• Judges 8:27 — "Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city…and all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon."
• Hebrews 4:14–16 — "We have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens…Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace."