Bible Dictionaries
Sackcloth

Holman Bible Dictionary

A garment of coarse material fashioned from goat or camel hair worn as a sign of mourning or anguish, also marked by fasting and sitting on an ash heap (Isaiah 58:5 ). Jonah 3:8 notes even animals mourned in sackcloth. The shape of the garment could have been either a loose-fitting sack placed over the shoulders or a loin cloth. The word sack is a transliteration of the Hebrew word rather than a translation.