28:31–35 God instructed that the hem of Aaron’s blue robe be decorated with gold bells and pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet material. The material was probably linen, but tradition assumes it was wool (see comment on 25:4). Aaron wore the robe under the knee-length ephod vestment, so the hem of the robe would be the main visible surface. God specified only the basic pattern: entirely of blue cloth, with an opening for the head and a woven edge like a collar (or “like leather”). The words so that it will not tear expressed concern for durability. The description does not mention sleeves.

The melodic repetition of the Hebrew in verse 34 (paʿamon zahab verimmon paʿamon zahab verimmon), literally, “a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate,” communicates the bea…