“... The ritual was performed by a distinctive group of officiants. The primary participant in the Egyptian ritual was held foremost by the sm-priest under the direction of the ẖry-ḥbt, or “ritualist.” Throughout the ceremony, the sm-priest repeatedly puts on and takes off the qnỉ garment and in its stead dons the skin of a panther, ba. At no point throughout the ceremony is he not wearing one of the special articles of clothing. [...] The qdš extended to the garb. The clothing is labeled bigĕdê-qōdeš from the beginning of the prescriptions, 28:2, 4. Its sanctity is further confirmed by prescriptions to remove the dress when leaving the sacred space, Lev 6:3–4. Reason for the regulation may also be found in Ezek 42:14 and 44:19, kî qōdeš hēnnah. In its stead, other garments are donned. The putting-on and putting-off of the garb underscores the transformative function of the ancient dress. When donned, its wearers clad in the very garments of the tabernacle and ritually attributed qdš, could approach the deity. Without the garb and accompanying ritual, a meeting with the deity could not occur. [...] The Egyptian rite confirmed the perception that dress not only identifies and empowers but may transform, through ritual and incantation, its wearer into the divine. [...] While the Egyptian rite symbolically expressed a complete transformation of the priest as a deity for a portion of the rite, the attestation provides a backdrop for the biblical perception that, through ritual, garb effectively may transform its wearer as divine. ...”