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Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

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DRESS. The words used in the original for articles of dress have lost much of their force through great variation in translation in the Authorized Version. For clothes in general ἔνδυμα occurs; it is translation ‘clothing,’ Matthew 7:15; ‘raiment,’ Matthew 3:4; Matthew 6:25; Matthew 6:28; Matthew 28:3, Luke 12:23; ‘garment,’ Matthew 22:11-12. ἰμάτιον signifies an outer garment, a mantle or cloak; it is translation ‘garment,’ Matthew 9:16; Matthew 9:20-21; Matthew 14:36; Matthew 21:8; Matthew 23:5; Matthew 27:35, Mark 2:21; Mark 5:27; Mark 6:56; Mark 10:50; Mark 11:7-8; Mark 13:16; Mark 15:24, Luke 5:36; Luke 8:44; Luke 19:35; Luke 22:36, John 13:4; John 13:12; John 19:23; ‘cloak,’ Matthew 5:40, Luke 6:29; ‘clothes,’ Luke 8:27 (sing. in Greek); (plural) ‘clothes,’ Matthew 21:7; Matthew 24:18; Matthew 26:65, Mark 5:28; Mark 5:30; Mark 15:20, Luke 19:36; ‘raiment,’ Matthew 11:8; Matthew 17:2; Matthew 27:31, Mark 9:3, Luke 7:25; Luke 23:34, John 19:24. The scarlet or purple robe of Jesus is called ἰμάτιον in John 19:2, χλαμύς in Matthew 27:28; Matthew 27:31, ἑσθής in Luke 23:11, and in Mark 15:17; Mark 15:20 simply ‘the purple,’ τὴν τορφύραν (cf. Luke 16:19). ἰματισμός is translation ‘raiment,’ Luke 9:29; ‘vesture,’ Matthew 27:35, John 19:24—in both passages it stands in antithesis to ἱμάτιον—and ‘apparel’ (ἑν ἱματισμῷ ἐνδοξω), Luke 7:25. στολή—the Lat. stola—is used for the long garments of the scribes, translation ‘long clothing’ Mark 12:38, ‘long robes’ Luke 20:46; for the ‘best robe’ of the Prodigal Son, Luke 15:22; for the ‘long garment’ of the Resurrection angel, Mark 16:5—in the parallel passage ἐσθησις, ‘garment’ is used, Luke 24:4. χιτών signified an under-garment, and is translation in Authorized and Revised Versions ‘coat’ in Matthew 5:40; Matthew 10:10, Mark 6:9, Luke 3:11; Luke 6:29; Luke 9:3, John 19:23. The plural is in Mark 14:63 translation ‘clothes,’ though in the parallel passage Matthew 26:65 ἱμάτια is used. Closely connected with clothes we have λέντιον, the towel with which Christ girded Himself, John 13:4-5; σουδάριον, ‘napkin,’ of Luke 19:20, John 11:44; John 20:7; ὀθόνιον, ‘linen cloth,’ of Luke 24:12, John 19:40; John 20:5-7; σινδών, ‘linen cloth,’ of Matthew 27:59, Mark 14:51-52; and βύσσος, ‘fine linen,’ Luke 16:18; ὑτόδημα, ‘shoe,’ Matthew 3:11; Matthew 10:10, Mark 1:7, Luke 3:16; Luke 10:4; Luke 15:22; Luke 22:35, John 1:27; σανδάλιον, ‘sandals,’ Mark 6:9; ζώνη, ‘girdle,’ Matthew 3:4, Mark 1:6, ‘purse,’ Matthew 10:9, Mark 6:8; τήρα, ‘scrip,’ Matthew 10:10, Mark 6:8, Luke 9:3; Luke 10:4; Luke 22:35-36.

All the references to clothes in the Gospels are to male costume. There are very few indications of the materials of which they were made or of their shape. John the Baptist had his raiment (ἔνδυμα) of camel’s hair, and a girdle of leather about his loins (Matthew 3:4 ||)—like many a roughly clad man in Palestine to-day. The rich man of the parable was clothed in ‘purple and fine linen’ (βύσσος), Luke 16:19. The three body-garments commonly mentioned are the cloak (ἱμάτιον),—a word used also in the plural for ‘garments’ in general,—the ‘coat’ (χιτών), and the girdle (ζώνη). The headdress is never definitely mentioned, but we know that it was practically universal to cover the head.

These references indicate that the clothes worn by Christ, His disciples, and the great majority of His adherents, were of the simplest kind; but among the richer classes there are indications, as is seen in the references given above, of more sumptuous robes. Indeed, among the better class of townsfolk it is probable that Jewish costume was largely modified under Hellenic and Roman influence. In dealing with the former more important subject, the probable costume of the founders of Christianity, the most hopeful sources of information are (1) the costumes of Jews, and (2) the dresses worn to-day among people of simple life in modern Palestine.

1. The dress of orthodox Jews is as various as their language and lands of residence. Neither in the head-dress, nor in the long Sabbath robes of the Rabbis, nor in the ordinary under-garments, are there any uniform features. There are, however, two special garments which are worn by orthodox Jews the world over; these are the tallîth and the arba‘ kanphôth. The tallîth, or praying shawl, is a rectangular woollen shawl about 3 feet by 5,^{* [Note: Much larger tallîths are also worn, reaching at times even to the ankles. See art. ‘Tallith’ in Jewish Encyc. vol. xi.]} usually white, with dark stripes across two of the sides. From each corner hangs a tassel or fringe; these are known as the zizith. Each consists of eight threads twisted together in five knots (See Border). The tallîth is always worn in the synagogue and at prayer time: it then covers the head and shoulders. Jews who affect special sanctity—especially those living in the Holy Land—often wear it all day, as was once the common custom. In the Middle Ages, in consequence of the persecution which the Jews then underwent on account of their religious customs, the habit of wearing the tallîth in public had to be given up; but as the Jews view the wearing of the fringes as a religious duty (Deuteronomy 22:12, Numbers 15:38), they made a special under-garment to carry them. This consists of a rectangular piece of woollen or even cotton material, about 3 feet long by a foot wide; it has a large hole in the centre through which the head is put, so that the garment comes to lie over the chest and back like a kind of double chest-protector. At the four corners are the zizith, and the garment is known as the ‘four corners,’ arba‘ kanphôth, or sometimes as the tallîth katon, or small tallîth. It is worn by small children, but the tallîth proper only by a boy after he has become bar mizvah, a ‘son of the Law,’ at thirteen. As the earliest mention of the arba‘ kanphôth is in 1350, it is manifest that it cannot have existed in NT times. With the tallîth, however, the case is different. It is certain that this is the altered form of an outer garment which existed in early times, and was known in Heb. as the simlah and in Gr. as himation. In the ‘hem’ or ‘border’ (κράσπεδον, Matthew 9:20; Matthew 14:36, Mark 6:56, Luke 8:44) we have reference to the fringed border of the cloak; and even more definite is the reference in Matthew 23:5, when the scribes and Pharisees are reproved for unduly lengthening the fringes (τὰ κράσπεδα) of their garments.

2. The clothes of the ordinary fellah, or peasant in modern Palestine, are five in number,—shirt, cloak, girdle, shoes, and head-dress.

The shirt or kamîs is a simple straight garment, extending from the neck almost to the feet, with short, or sometimes long, loose, sleeves. It is usually of calico; it may be of linen. Among the fellahîn it is white, among the Bedawîn (who often go about in nothing else) it is dyed blue. It is usually open in front more than half-way to the waist, but is brought together at the neck by a button or knotted thread. It is worn night and day.

Over the shirt is fixed the zunnâr or girdle, a most necessary article of clothing. It may be of leather, with buckles, or woven of camel’s hair, or of brightly-dyed silk or cotton. The woven belt is wound tightly two or three times round the waist, and is fixed by tucking the free end into the belt itself. In the girdle is carried, as in NT days (Matthew 10:8, Mark 6:8), the money, often knotted into a corner of a handkerchief, and also the pen and ink of the learned or the dagger of the fighter. When the man is ‘girded’ for work the kamîs is hitched up to the tightened belt, as high as the knees. The upper part of the shirt is commonly drawn up loose above the girdle, so that a considerable space is left between the chest and the shirt. This is known as the u‘bb or ‘bosom,’ and in this are carried many things; for example, the bread and olives for the midday meal, the seed or corn for sowing (Luke 6:38), or, in the case of a shepherd, a newborn lamb or kid (cf. Isaiah 40:11).

In order of importance next comes the head-dress, of which two distinct types are in daily use—the turban and the kufîych. Under both of these is worn the tekkîyeh or ’arǎkîyeh, a small plain close-fitting cap of felt, wool, or even cotton; this is commonly not removed even at night. When one has worn thin, a new one is placed on the top, so that two or three layers are quite usual; and between the layers the fellah keeps small papers of value. When a turban is worn, the red fez or tarbush is placed over the skull-cap, and the leffeh or turban is wound round its sides. The leffeh among the fellahîn is usually of particoloured cotton or silk, red and white or yellow being common. In the towns it is often ornamented with yellow silk worked in patterns; while the haj who has made the Mecca pilgrimage, and the Druse, wear plain white; and the sherîf or ‘descendant of the prophet’ wears green. The other form of head-dress is more ancient and the more primitive: probably it is more like the peasant dress of NT times. It consists of a kufîyeh or large napkin of white or coloured cotton or silk, as much perhaps as a yard square, folded diagonally to make a triangular piece, and laid on the head with the apex backward; and the ’akâl, a rope-like circle of camel’s hair, laid double over the top of the head to keep the kufîyeh in position. The free ends of the kufîyeh are wound round the neck according to taste, being used on journeys in the hot sun to cover at times, all the face below the eyes. It is a most efficient and practical head-dress, especially when worn over a felt tekkîyeh. The napkin referred to in Luke 19:20 may have been of the same nature, and the napkins of John 11:44; John 20:7, though used to cover the face of the dead, may have been made for the head of the living.

These three garments are the essentials; in such will a man work all day, and, if very poor, even go journeys; but in the latter event he would be an object of pity unless he had an ‘abâ or cloak. This is made of camel’s or goat’s hair or of wool, and among the fellahîn is usually of white and brown in stripes or of plain brown. The superior qualities are often white or black. The ordinary ‘abâ is made of a long rectangular piece of material, with the sides folded in and sewn along the top; it is thus very square, when new, across the shoulders. It has no sleeves, and though there are slits just below the upper corners through which the arms may be put, it is almost always worn resting over the shoulders and upper arms. It extends half-way between the knees and the feet. During sleep, especially on journeys when the traveller has no bed, it is made to cover the whole person, the man either wrapping it round him, or, if there is a sack or mat on which to lie, curling himself under it as under a blanket.

Shoes are to-day almost universally worn; but a fellah with a new pair of shoes will often, when outside the town, prefer to save his shoes from wear and tear by carrying them. Sandals are still worn, but not commonly as formerly, when the sandal seemed to make the simplest foot-gear (Mark 6:9).

The costume of the Palestine peasant, above described, was probably, with no doubt differences in materials and in cut, the costume of the country folk of NT and pre-NT times. The kamîs is the equivalent of the χιτών, and that was the kěthôneth of the OT. Now, as then, it is at times woven in one piece without seam (John 19:23). The ‘abâ is the modern equivalent of the ἱμάτιον, the simlah of the OT. It was the outer cloak which might not be retained as a pledge after sunset (Exodus 22:26). It is quite possible that in Matthew 5:40 there is a reference to this. The Rabbis stated that the reason the cloak might not be removed was because the zîzîth with their blue and white threads were a reminder of the Law. Christ teaches here that when a man does an injury, within legal limits, as in taking the shirt, His follower must be prepared to go a step farther, and give up even what the Law protects him in keeping. The reversal of the order in Lk., though more intelligible to Gentiles, misses the special reference to the Jewish Law. Like the modern ‘abâ, the himation was cast aside for quick movement (Mark 10:50, John 13:4; John 13:12), left aside when working in the fields (Mark 13:16); and being dispensed with in fighting, might profitably be exchanged for a sword when danger was near (Luke 22:36). It might be spread on the ground to form a carpet for an honoured person (Matthew 21:8), and might be used in lieu of a saddle, folded across an ass’s back (Mark 11:7-8). In every one of these details the use of the modern ‘abâ in Palestine could furnish parallels.

With respect to the χιτών in two separate references (Matthew 10:10 etc. and Luke 3:11), two ‘coats,’ i.e. shirts, are spoken of rather as luxuries than necessities for the traveller—as is to-day the case with the kamîs. Two ‘cloaks’ would be such unlikely baggage as not to need mentioning.

The girdle or zunnâr is the equivalent of the ζώνη, as is specially shown in its use as a purse. There is, however, another girding referred to in some passages. John the Baptist’s girdle may quite probably have been a broad ‘loin cloth’ extending from waist to knee,—a very ancient dress,—while over the shoulders hung a rough coarse-haired ‘abâ. It is not unreasonable to suppose that, like the modern dervîsh, he wore his long hair uncovered. It is evident that his costume was intentionally distinctive. When Peter was found by the risen Master engaged in his old business of fishing, he, like the modern Galilaean fishermen when fishing near shore, was probably girded only with a loin-cloth, and therefore described as ‘naked’ (John 21:7). Christ girded Himself with a towel before washing the disciples’ feet, to make Himself in outward form more like a slave (John 13:4-5). It is evident that in the crucifixion, at least of Jews, who would not have tolerated absolute nudity, the victim, after the removal of his clothes, was girded round the waist; Peter must have understood the words ‘another shall gird thee’ as foretelling that event (John 21:18).

The long garments of the scribes and Pharisees find their modern counterparts in the long cloak used by Moslem religious leaders, the jibbch, and in the velvet, plush, and silk robes of gorgeous colours favoured by the leading Rabbis of the Ashkenazim Jews, on Sabbath and feast-days. In city life, garments additional to those described above are always worn. Over the kamîs, but included within the girdle, is a striped coloured robe reaching to near the feet, called the kumbaz, and, among the better dressed, over this is worn the sudrîyeh or ornamental waistcoat. Lebâs or drawers, though utterly despised by the true Arab, are in common use in towns. Many other varieties of garments might be mentioned. Those already named and doubtless others all had their counterparts in NT times, but there is no hint that any but the simplest forms of peasant dress were worn by Christ and His disciples. It has indeed been thought that the garments divided by the soldiers must necessarily have been five, of which four, the cloak (ἱμάτιον), the shoes or sandals, the girdle and the head-dress, were ‘divided among them,’ and the fifth, the χιτών or shirt of finer quality, woven perhaps by the hands of His mother herself, apportioned by lot.

The στολή was evidently considered among the circle of Jesus a robe of dignity; it is the ‘best robe’ brought forth for the returning prodigal; it is used to describe the clothing of the ‘young man’ at the tomb (Mark 16:5), and the imposing garments of the scribes (Luke 20:46 etc.).

The unsatisfactoriness of patching with new cloth a much worn garment (Matthew 9:16, Mark 2:21), and the ubiquitousness of that scourge, the clothes-moth (Matthew 6:19-20, Luke 12:33), are daily to be seen illustrated in Palestine. The custom of providing guests with clean ‘wedding garments’ is still known, though unusual, in the modern East. But the entertainment of the very poor by the well-to-do at such feasts, evidently then far from uncommon, must have made such a precaution absolutely necessary. In the account of the ‘rich man’ (Luke 16:19), we have reference to two of the expensive materials for dress—the purple dye obtained from the murex on the coasts of Tyre, and the βύσσος, or ‘fine linen,’ which was imported at great expense from Egypt.

Reference is made at the beginning to the various terms used to describe the robe put on Christ by the mocking soldiers. Of these the χλαμύς, or military mantle, fastened by a buckle on the right shoulder so as to hang in a curve across the body, would appear to have been the most distinctive and suitable for the purpose.

Literature.—Tristram, Eastern Customs in Bible Lands; Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah; art. ‘Dress and Personal Adornment in Modern Palestine,’ by Masterman in Biblical World, 1902; Nowack’s and Benzinger’s Heb. Arch.; artt. ‘Dress’ or ‘Costume’ in Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (by Mackie), in the Encyc. Bibl. (by Abrahams and Cook), and in the Jewish Encyc. (by Nöldeke).

E. W. G. Masterman.