Friday, July 31, 2020

Exodus 28:40-43 comments: linen breeches versus trousers, more Fundamentalist errors in reading comprehension




Exodus 28:40 ¶  And for Aaron’s sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty. 41  And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office. 42  And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach: 43  And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.

One of the most interesting things about this passage is found in verse 42. Fundamentalists in America make a big deal about women not wearing slacks, pants, or trousers. They refer to them as the Biblical breeches. The problem with that is that breeches are underwear that go from the loins to the thighs.

Loins and thighs are references to the parts of the body that contains the reproductive organs and organs of waste elimination. On the outside of the body it is the area where a sword or dagger is hung.

Genesis 35:11  And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins
 
Song of Solomon 7:1  How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.   

Judges 3:16  But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.

Pants wearing didn’t become common in Europe until the 8th century AD, after the fall of the western Roman Empire.[1] The first recorded wearing of pants was for the horse-riding Scythians of the 8th century BC. The Romans regarded wearing pants as a sign of being barbarians due to the horse-riding hordes that constantly threatened the empire. How people have twisted the Bible when they have an agenda to push is amazing. The God of the Bible values modesty and this was a very clear command and a warning but twisting the Bible to suit a social agenda is not acceptable.


[1] LiveScience, “Explained: Why We Wear Pants,” July 16, 2012. https://www.livescience.com/34077-wearing-pants-horse-riding.html

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