Men's Clothing
WASHING CLOTHES
The Arab women in washing their clothes today usually go to nearby sources of water such as streams, pools, or watering troughs. They will dip their clothes in and out of the water, and then placing them upon flat stones which abound in Israel, they will beat them with a club which is about a foot and a half long. They carry the wa...
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When the night arrived for the wedding festivities to begin, and it was time to go for the bride, the groom was dressed as much like a king as possible. If he were rich enough to afford it, he wore a gold crown. Otherwise it would be a garland of fresh flowers. His garments would be scented with frankincense and myrrh, his girdle would be a silken ...
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The law of Moses forbade a man to wear a woman's clothing, and a woman to wear a man's clothing (Deuteronomy 22:5). Among the Bedouin Arabs of Israel there is a great care that either sex shall not imitate the other in matters of dress. A traveler one day discovered a Bedouin man who had put on a woman's garment while doing some rough work. He was ...
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Dress and Ornamentation
THE STYLES OF DRESS in Anglo-Saxon lands are undergoing a constant change, whereas, in Eastern countries, the manner of dress today is largely the same as it was centuries ago. There is a prevalent view in Bible lands that it is morally wrong to change anything that is ancient. Thus the prevailing Palestinian dress of moder...
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THE INNER GARMENT - TUNIC OR SHIRT
The tunic (often translated "coat") was a shirt which was worn next to the skin. It was made of leather, haircloth, wool, linen, or in modern times, usually of cotton. The simplest form of it was without sleeves and reached to the knees or sometimes to the ankles. The well-to-do wore it with sleeves and extending...
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THE OUTER TUNIC OR ROBE
In Bible times there was a looser and longer kind of tunic that was sometimes used but not by the ordinary people. Scripture indicates its use by kings (I Samuel 24:4), prophets (I Samuel 28:14), nobles (Job 1:20), and sometimes youths (I Samuel 2:19). Some Bible scholars believe it to have been a third garment, i.e., in ad...
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THE OUTER TUNIC OR ROBE
In Bible times there was a looser and longer kind of tunic that was sometimes used but not by the ordinary people. Scripture indicates its use by kings (I Samuel 24:4), prophets (I Samuel 28:14), nobles (Job 1:20), and sometimes youths (I Samuel 2:19). Some Bible scholars believe it to have been a third garment, i.e., in ad...
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THE GIRDLE
If the tunic was ungirded it would interfere with a person's ability to walk freely, and so a girdle was always worn when leaving home for any kind of a journey (See II Kings 4:29; Acts 12:8). There were and are today two kinds of girdles.
One, a common variety, is of leather, usually six inches broad and furnished with clasps. This wa...
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THE OUTER GARMENT, OR MANTLE
The outer garment which the Palestinian villager wears, is a large cloak which would serve the purpose of a Westerner's overcoat. It is made of wool or goat's hair and sometimes of cotton. It is dark brown and different shades with whitish perpendicular stripes. It serves as a shelter from the wind and rain, and as a b...
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HEADDRESS
The Jews of Bible times gave much attention to the care of their hair. The young people loved to wear it long and curled (Song of Solomon 5:11), and they were proud to have thick and abundant hair (II Samuel 14:25,26). Middle-aged men and priests would occasionally cut their hair but very little. Baldness was scarce and suspicion of lepr...
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