Bonnet

The "bonnet" of older English Bibles is, in UPDV, the turban — the linen headwear that crowns the priestly vestments and that also surfaces, more ornamentally, in the wardrobe of the daughters of Zion. The same Hebrew object is the priest's turban on Aaron's sons and the high priest's linen turban on Aaron himself, with a parallel feminine turban worn by women.

A Turban for Glory and Beauty

The turban enters the vestment instructions as part of the apparel that distinguishes Aaron's sons in their priestly office. The command is paired with belts and coats and is given a stated purpose: "And for Aaron's sons you will make coats, and you will make for them belts, and turbans you will make for them, for glory and for beauty" (Ex 28:40). The "glory and beauty" clause is the same phrasing that frames the high-priestly garments as a whole, so the turban is not an undergarment or a private item; it is part of the public, sanctified appearance of the priesthood at the altar.

The High Priest's Turban

For Aaron himself the turban is named at the head of the inventory of the holy garments, alongside the breastplate, ephod, robe, coat, and belt: "a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a coat of checker work, a turban, and a belt: and they will make holy garments for Aaron your brother, and his sons, that he may serve me in the priest's office" (Ex 28:4). In the consecration sequence the turban is the platform for the holy crown: "and you will set the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban" (Ex 29:6). Two acts are layered — the turban set on the head, then the crown set on the turban — so the high-priestly bonnet is the seat on which the inscribed plate of consecration rests.

The material is specified when the workmanship is summarized: "and the turban of fine linen, and the goodly turbans of fine linen, and the linen undergarments of fine twined linen" (Ex 39:28). Both items, the singular turban for Aaron and the plural turbans for his sons, are of the same fine linen, of a piece with the rest of the holy fabric.

Binding the Turbans on Aaron's Sons

The act of putting on the turbans is itself part of the rite of installation. The instruction is: "And you will gird them with belts and bind turbans on them: and they will have the priesthood by a perpetual statute: and you will consecrate Aaron and his sons" (Ex 29:9). Belts and turbans together fasten the priests to the office; the binding of the turban is one of the actions by which "they will have the priesthood by a perpetual statute."

The narrative execution of this command lands in Leviticus 8, where Moses carries the order out: "And Moses brought Aaron's sons, and clothed them with coats, and girded them with belts, and bound turbans on them; as Yahweh commanded Moses" (Le 8:13). The verbs match the prior command — clothed, girded, bound — and the closing clause "as Yahweh commanded Moses" anchors the turban as one of the items by which the consecration is made obedient to the original instruction.

Linen Tires in the Restored Sanctuary

Ezekiel's vision of the future temple service preserves the same turban. The rule for the ministering priests is: "They will have linen turbans on their heads, and will have linen undergarments on their loins; they will not gird themselves with [anything that causes] sweat" (Eze 44:18). The turban is again of linen, again set on the head, again paired with linen undergarments — the Mosaic pattern carried forward into the priestly service that the prophet sees. The added clause about not girding with anything that causes sweat is part of the same concern for the turban and undergarments as fitting the holy precinct.

The Turbans of the Daughters of Zion

The turban is not exclusively priestly. Isaiah's catalog of the finery that Yahweh will strip from the haughty daughters of Zion lists the turban among the women's ornaments: "the turbans, and the ankle chains, and the sashes, and the houses of the soul, and the amulets" (Isa 3:20). The wider catalog stretches further — "the festival robes, and the mantles, and the shawls, and the satchels; the hand-mirrors, and the fine linen, and the turbans, and the veils" (Isa 3:22-23) — and the whole adornment is set up to be taken away: "instead of well set hair, baldness; and instead of a robe, a girding of sackcloth; branding instead of beauty" (Isa 3:24). The same turban that, on the priest, signified "glory and beauty" is here exhibited as worn for self-display, and it is exactly that beauty that judgment removes.

See Also

The wider wardrobe to which the bonnet belongs — coats, ephod, robe, belts, turbans together, and the women's ornaments of Isaiah 3 — is collected under Dress. The high priest's turban with its crown is treated more fully under Mitre.