Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 8:9
And he put the miter upon his head; also upon the miter, [even] upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the LORD commanded Moses.
9. the mitre ] turban as R.V. mg. Heb. minpheth in Lev. here and Lev 16:4 (the linen mitre) only: in Exod. (in the cognate passages) Exo 28:4; Exo 28:37; Exo 28:39, Exo 29:6, Exo 39:28; Exo 39:31. It was made of fine linen; tradition describes it as 24 ft. long, so it was probably wound round the head like a turban. Besides the passages quoted, where it denotes the headdress of the high priest, it occurs only in Eze 21:26 (Heb. 31). ( mitre R.V., diadem A.V.). Another word ( nph) from the same root occurs Isa 62:3 (’ri), translated ‘diadem,’ in parallelism with the common Heb. word for ‘crown’; and in Zec 3:5 with reference to the high priest Joshua. It is strange that nph should be used in the Zechariah passage to denote a mitre for the high priest, if minpheth were already the technical term used for that portion of his attire.
Josephus ( Ant. iii. 7. 6) says that the high priest’s mitre was like that of all the other priests, but another word is used (see Lev 8:13) for the head-dress of Aaron’s sons. He describes fully another mitre with a triple golden crown. This was probably an ornament added in later times. Alexander Balas sent a purple robe and a crown of gold to Jonathan which he wore at the Feast of Tabernacles b.c. 153 ( 1Ma 10:20 ). This may be the crown described by Josephus.
upon the mitre, in front ] In A.V. ‘upon his forefront,’ ‘his’ refers to the mitre and in modern English would be ‘its.’
the golden plate, the holy crown ] The golden plate is described Exo 28:36-37. The Heb. word ( ), translated ‘plate,’ implies something bright and glittering, and is elsewhere used of a flower. The plate was fastened by its lace of blue to the turban (Exo 28:37, Exo 39:31) and would appear as an ornament or diadem in the headgear of the high priest. It is called ‘the holy crown’ in Exo 29:6, and here both names are given to it. The same combination occurs in Exo 39:30 where the English ‘the plate of the holy crown of pure gold’ conveys the impression that the ‘plate’ and the ‘crown’ are different instead of synonymous.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 9. And he put the mitre] See Clarke on Ex 28:36.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This here added, either because Nadab and Abihu had been led to their error by drinking too much, which might easily fall out when they were feasting and full of joy for their entrance into so honourable and profitable an employment; or at least because others might thereby be drawn to commit the same miscarriages, which they might now commit from other causes. Drunkenness is so odious a sin in itself, especially a minister, and most of all in the time of his administration of sacred things, that God saw fit to prevent all occasions of it. And hence the devil, who is Gods ape in his prescriptions for his worship, required this abstinence from his priests in their idolatrous service.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And he put the mitre upon his head,…. Which was made of fine linen, and was a wrap of that of a considerable length about his head, Ex 28:39
also upon the mitre, [even] upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate; which was put upon the forehead of the high priest, reaching from ear to ear, and was fastened to the mitre with a blue lace, and had on it this inscription, “holiness to the Lord”:
Ex 28:36 and is here therefore called
the holy crown: denoting both the sanctity and the dignity of the high priest, and typical of Christ, who is holiness itself, and to his people, and is now crowned with glory and honour, being a priest upon the throne: hence the Jews u speak of the crown of the law, and of the crown of the kingdom, and of the crown of the priesthood: and this, as all the rest, was done
as the Lord commanded Moses; all these were made according to the divine order, and were put on in the manner and form he directed him; of the mystery of the mitre and the crown, [See comments on Ex 28:39] [See comments on Ex 28:36] [See comments on Ex 28:37].
u Pirke Abot, c. 4. sect. 13.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(9) And he put the mitre.See Exo. 28:36-38.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. The mitre This was a turban, since its Hebrew name is from a verb signifying to wind about. This was a very splendid head-covering, worn only by pontiffs and kings, (Eze 21:26,) as an emblem of dignity, styled in Sir 45:12 , “an ornament of honour, a costly work, the desire of the eyes.”
The holy crown It was called holy because it had the tetragrammaton the four-lettered Hebrew word for Jehovah inscribed upon it. Exo 28:36. It was of fine linen, with a fillet of blue lace, symbolizing heaven, and over it a golden diadem, “on which,”
says Josephus, “blossomed a golden calyx like the flower of the henbane.” The engraved golden plate was a gold band, two fingers broad, tied behind with blue lace embroidered with flowers. It bore the inscription, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Reader! observe what the church saith concerning the crowning of the LORD JESUS, in the day of his espousals, and this will be the best explanation of this verse of scripture. Song 1-8.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
mitre = turban or tiara. See Exo 28:36-38.
golden plate, or crown. Exo 28:36, &c.
holy. See note on Exo 3:5.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Exo 28:4, Exo 28:36-38, Exo 29:6, Exo 39:28-30, Zec 3:5, Zec 6:11-14, Phi 2:9-11
Reciprocal: Exo 28:37 – the mitre it Exo 39:8 – General Lev 8:4 – General Lev 21:12 – for the crown Deu 10:8 – time the Lord Eze 16:11 – and a Zec 14:20 – HOLINESS
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lev 8:9. The holy crown The crown signified the dignity of the high- priest, and its being termed holy, the sanctity of his person and office. Thus he was a type of Christ, crowned with glory and honour, perfectly holy, and consecrated for evermore.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
8:9 And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, [even] upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the {a} holy crown; as the LORD commanded Moses.
(a) So called, because this superscription, “holiness to the Lord” was graven in it.