decently: it was also parted where the hands were to
come out.

5. Besides these, the high priest put on a third garment, which was
called the Ephod, which resembles the Epomis of the Greeks. Its make
was after this manner: it was woven to the depth of a cubit, of several
colors, with gold intermixed, and embroidered, but it left the middle of
the breast uncovered: it was made with sleeves also; nor did it appear
to be at all differently made from a short coat. But in the void place
of this garment there was inserted a piece of the bigness of a span,
embroidered with gold, and the other colors of the ephod, and was called
Essen, [the breastplate,] which in the Greek language signifies the
Oracle. This piece exactly filled up the void space in the ephod. It
was united to it by golden rings at every corner, the like rings being
annexed to the ephod, and a blue riband was made use of to tie them
together by those rings; and that the space between the rings might
not appear empty, they contrived to fill it up with stitches of
blue ribands. There were also two sardonyxes upon the ephod, at the
shoulders, to fasten it in the nature of buttons, having each end
running to the sardonyxes of gold, that they might be buttoned by
them. On these were engraven the names of the sons of Jacob, in our own
country letters, and in our own tongue, six on each of the stones,
on either side; and the elder sons' names were on the right shoulder.
Twelve stones also there were upon the breast-plate, extraordinary in
largeness and beauty; and they were an ornament not to be purchased by
men, because of their immense value. These stones, however, stood in
three rows, by four in a row, and were inserted into the breastplate
itself, and they were set in ouches of gold, that were themselves
inserted in the breastplate, and were so made that they might not fall
out low the first three stones were a sardonyx, a topaz, and an emerald.
The second row contained a carbuncle, a jasper, and a sapphire. The
first of the third row was a ligure, then an amethyst, and the third an
agate, being the ninth of the whole number. The first of the fourth row
was a chrysolite, the next was an onyx, and then a beryl, which was the
last of all. Now the names of all those sons of Jacob were engraven in
these stones, whom we esteem the heads of our tribes, each stone having
the honor of a name, in the order according to which they were born. And
whereas the rings were too