Text: Ezekiel 44:17
OT Text Referred to: Deuteronomy 22:11
Subject: standards for garments of priests
Source: Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament (1866)
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Longitudinal Theme
Significance: Ezekiel 44:17-18 specifies that priests must wear linen (פִּשְׁתִּים, pishtim) garments with no wool (צֶמֶר, tsemer) touching their bodies, echoing Deuteronomy 22:11's prohibition against wearing שַׁעַטְנֵז (sha'atnez, "mixed fabric of wool and linen"). While the Deuteronomic law applies to all Israelites, Ezekiel applies the unmixed-fabric principle specifically to priestly service in the inner court. The prohibition against causing perspiration (44:18) adds a practical rationale: wool retains heat and induces sweat, which would introduce bodily impurity into sacred space. The eschatological temple intensifies the holiness boundaries by making the general sha'atnez prohibition a specific priestly regulation.