Description
The sash was a long cloth belt that was wrapped several times around the waist of the High Priest over the tunic (see Tunic, shirt). His fellow priests also wore sashes. According to EXO 39:29, the High Priest’s sash was embroidered of four kinds of thread. According to post-biblical Jewish tradition, it was 32 cubits (about 16 meters or 53 feet) long. Even if the tradition exaggerates the length, it was probably long enough to be wound around the waist several times before being tied. See the illustration at Ephod.
Translation
In modern English the word “girdle” (RSV) for this belt is misleading. In addition to its purely functional use as a long embroidered sash that was wrapped around the midsection, it also seems to have had a symbolic meaning as a sign of the priesthood. Many English versions use the word “sash,” but in some languages it may be necessary to say “broad band.” In LEV 8:7 it should be carefully distinguished from “the skilfully woven band of the ephod” (RSV; GNT “its finely woven belt”), mentioned later in this verse (see Ephod).
See also the discussion at Waistband, sash, belt.