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Biblical clothing


The clothing of the people in Biblical times was made from wool, linen, animal skins, and perhaps silk. Most events in the Old and New Testament take place in Ancient Israel, and thus most Biblical clothing is ancient Hebrew clothing. They wore underwear and cloth skirts.

Complete descriptions of the styles of dress among the people of the Bible is impossible because the material at hand is insufficient. Assyrian and Egyptian artists portrayed what is believed to be the clothing of the time, but there are few depictions of Israelite garb. One of the few available sources on Israelite clothing is the Bible.

The earliest and most basic garment was the 'ezor (ay-ZOHR, all pronunciations are approximate) or ḥagor (kha-GOHR), an apron around the hips or loins, that in primitive times was made from the skins of animals. It was a simple piece of cloth worn in various modifications, but always worn next to the skin. Priests wore an 'ezor of linen known as a 'ephodh. If worn for mourning, it was called a saḳ.

When garments were held together by a belt or girdle, the cloth was also called an 'ezor or ḥagor.

The 'ezor later became displaced among the Hebrews by the kethōneth (ke-TOH-net, translated into Greek as chitōn) an under-tunic, corresponding most nearly to our long shirt. The kethōneth appears in Assyrian art as a tight-fitting undergarment, sometimes reaching only to the knee, sometimes to the ankle. In its early form the kethōneth was without sleeves and even left the left shoulder uncovered. In time men of leisure wore kethōneth with sleeves. In later times, anyone dressed only in the kethōneth was described as naked (1Samuel 19:24, Isaiah 20:2, 2Kings 6:30, John 21:7); deprived of it he would be absolutely naked.


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