7. The Golden Plate
BOOK THREE
rows on the rational contains three stones corresponds to the sequence of the yearly cycle, which is divided into four seasons of three months each.
Now in the Scriptures the entire year is designated as the time of our salvation, in which we strive for an eternal reward. As the Saviour himself bears witness, he was sent in accordance with the saying of Isaiah to preach the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of recompense.' The psalmist also sings to him concerning the same year, saying, 'You bless the crown of the year with your goodness. '2 For in the present time he gives them the goodness of right faith and working, and on the day of recompense he will give the crown of everlasting blessing.
THE GOLDEN PLATE
28:36-8 You shall also make a plate of the purest gold, on which you shall engrave with engraver's work, 'Holy to the Lord'. And you shall tie it with a blue ribbon, and it shall be upon the turban, hanging down over the forehead of the high priest. This golden plate on the forehead of the high priest, on which was engraved 'Holy to the Lord' (or 'The Holy of the Lord', as it is related farther on3) was holier than his other garments, and rightly so, because just as the divine power stands out above everythmg that it has created, so was it necessav that its name should stand out higher by surmounting the other garments and adornments of the high priest, and sanctify them all (as it were) by occupying a prominent position on his forehead. Now this signifies the vely pledge of our profession whch we bearonourforehead:eachofus sayingwith the Apostle,MayInever boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. And rightly was th~s the only thing in the vesture of the high priest that was made completely of gold, so that it might show forth the purity of the hearts in which we ought to recollect the mysteries of our redemption, or the purity of the bodies upon which they ought to be worn. Or perhaps the priest wears 'The Holy of the 1 Isa. 61 :2; Luke 4: 19
2 Ps. 65: 11 (64: 12) 3 h o d . 39:29 (Vulg.) 4 The repeated signing of the cross on the foreheads of those enrolled for baptism was a conspicuous feature of the catechunicnal rites of the Roman liturgy, as was the twofold signing of the cross with chrism (once by a presbyter and once hy the bishop) on the foreheads of the newly baptized; see the Gelasian Sacramentary 1, 26-44 (ed. Wilson, 34-87) and the Ordo
Romanus XI 1-105 (ed. Andrieu, 2: 417-47). Cf. the early ninth-century Irish Stowe Missal fol. 46v-59 (ed. Warner, 32: 24-33), which has only one post-baptismal anointing (by a presbyter), but also calls for the sign of the cross to be made upon the right hand of the newly baptized.
5 Gal. 6:14
BOOK THREE
13 1 Lord' inscribed in gold on his forehead so that he might mystically suggest that we should venerate and embrace the passion of our Lord and Saviour through which we have been redeemed in such a way that we recognize in it the brightness of the divine majesty through which we were created, and which it is equally necessary forus to confess. Furthermore, [the high priest was suggesting] that we confess the death of the humanity assumed by [our
Lord] in such a way that we acknowledge that the Same humanity immediately rose again from death unto eternal glory.
Now 'The Holy of the Lord', which is ordered to be engraved on the plate, signifies his holy and venerable name, which among the Hebrews is accustomed to be written with four vowel letten, that is, with ioth, he, vav, and he; the interpretation of these sounds is ineffable in their language,' not because it cannot be spoken but because it cannot be comprehended by the understanding or the intellect of any creature. And since there is nothing that can woItluly be said concerning [his name], on that account is it quite rightly said to be ineffable, in accordance with that [sayin ] of the Apostle,
And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding; the psalmist also (1 1.11
P says, Great is the Lord, andgreatly to be praised, andofhisgreatness there is no end.
Properly was the same name of the Lord inscribed on the forehead of the high priest with four letters, in order to sigrufy the same number of parts of the Lord's cross which we were going to bear on our foreheads, that is, the upper, the lower, the right, and the left. Moreover, we bear 'The Holy of the Lord' engraved in gold on our foreheads when we are purged of the uncleanness of the vices which we inherited from our first parent [Adam], and receive in ourselves the image and likeness of our Creator, in which we have been created. We do not conceal in secret the fact that we have received it, but we openly make it known to everyone by word and deed, in accordance with that [saying] of the Apostle: Just as we have borne the image of the earthly [man], let us also bear the image of the heavenly
[man].4 He explains this even more clearly when he speaks to the Colossians, saying, But now you must also put away all anger, indignation, malice, blasphemy, filthy speech j-om your mouth. Do not lie to one
1 Jerome, Ep. 64, 17, 1 (CSEL 54. 604, 16-1 8). In Hebrew the Tetragrammaton is actually comprised of four consonants; Jerome simply says that it is written 'in four letters'. Ekde may have been confused about this due to his lack of firsthand knowledge of Hebrew, on which see Sutcliffe (1935).
2 Phil. 4:7
3 Ps. 145:3 (144:3) 4 1 Cor. 15:49
BEDE: ON THE TABERNACLE
another, since you have strippedyourselves of the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created him.' In the Apocalypse, John also writes of this [inscription], namely, 'The Holy of the Lord', saying, I suw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were one hundred for&-four thousand who had his name and his Father S name written on their foreheadx2 Once again, in describing the brightness of the heavenly homeland, he says, And the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will serve him, and they will see his face, and his nnnie will be on their forehead^.^ Consequently, since all of those who follow the Lamb
(that is, all the faithful) ought to have this same most sacred and venerable name on the very forehead of their profession, how much more necessary must it be for those chosen for leadership of the Lord's flock, having received the priesthood and the spiritual office of teaching, to exhibit in themselves an example of virtue for all?
Now the plate containing 'The Holy of the Lord' is tied to the turban of the high priest with a blue ribbon when we are greatly strengthened in our faith by the hope for heavenly rewards which is designated by [the colour] blue. Therefore, we shall strive all the more intently to keep undefiled that which we know to be the only way of salvation, [which we can understand as] either the sacraments of our redemption or the image and likeness of our Creator and Redeemer.
We shall speak about the figure of the turban later on, in its own proper place. But because a priest ought to be so industrious that he is able to correct and chastise the sins of the people by his exhortation, rebuke, and admonition, and so deserving before God that he is able to wash them away with his prayers, rightly is there added:
[ I 1-51 28:38 And Aaron shall bear the guilt of those things that they will offer and sanctify among the children of Israel in all their gifts and offerings. Surely the high priest bears the guilt of his subjects (that is, he bears it away and removes it) when his teaching calls them to repent of their transgressions, or when he procures the favour of the righteous Judge toward those who are penitent by making supplication for his grace. And he does this in the gifts and offerings that they will offer and sanctify to the Lord when he absolves the penitent from the guilt of the evil deeds they have previously committed, for the sake of the fruits worthy of repentance4
1 Col. 3:8-10 2 Rev. 14:l 3 Rev. 223-4 4 Matt. 3:8; Luke 3:s