WOMEN IN THE BIBLE Clothing

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	CLOTHING
	*Fragment of linen from Tel El Amarna, c.1350BC*				ON THIS PAGE: CLOTHING Fabric production Design of clothing Items of clothing Jewelry Cosmetics Archaeological evidence Activities HOUSING Tent dwellings Houses Activities
	FABRIC PRODUCTION Clothing in ancient Israel was usually · woolen fabric, either dyed or in its natural color, or · linen, made from a plant called flax. Women were largely responsible for production of clothing in all stages of manufacture. They · shared responsibility for tending the animals in the flock · sorted and carded the wood after the goats and sheep had been shorn · spun the wool into lengths of fabric, using portable looms · grew and harvested flax for linen · dried the flax · carded and spun the flax into either fine or coarse linen strips (linen produced by the Egyptians could be woven finer than the fabric in a modern handkerchief). · prepared dyes of various colors: blue from wood, yellow from pomegranate, lilac from myrtle, etc. Even the poorest Jewish women used vegetable dyes to get a range of colors for the family’s woolen clothes. Flax did not take dye well.

	*Traditional Middle Eastern embroidered robes*
	DESIGN OF CLOTHING The Bible covers a time span of several thousand years, but the type of clothing worn by most Jewish people during that time did not change much. Jewish styles seem to have been influenced by both the simplicity of the Egyptians and the flamboyance of the Mesopotamians. Jewish clothing was fringed, but not like Mesopotamian clothing, which had fringes, overlapping fabric, frills, borders and colored braiding - less was not more in ancient Mesopotamia.
	*This statue of a 2nd century Roman priestess of Isis shows how a loose tunic and over-mantle could be draped and tied to make it more practical and attractive*
	ITEMS OF CLOTHING Both women and men wore a loincloth, the equivalent of underpants. This was a long thin strip of cloth which was wound around the waist and then between the legs, with the end tucked in at the waist. Women probably wore some sort of binding around their breasts. The main garment, worn by both women and men, was the halug, a tunic. This was made of two rectangular pieces of cloth joined in a long seam along the top of the arms, with a hole left for the head to go through. It also had a seam running down both sides, with holes left for the arms.
	*Women had different clothes for work days and for festival days*

	Clothes worn by the nobility were likely to show the influence of Egyptian, Greek or Roman fashions
	The halug could be gathered up in a bunch at the shoulders, either with a clip or a tip-loop, or it could be tucked up at the waist if heavy work was being done. Halugs made of fine linen or wool could be draped to fall gracefully. The halug was worn with a belt, either leather or metal, the decoration depending on the wealth of the wearer. A cloak could be worn over the halug. The edges and fringes of the cloak were often decorated. When women went into public places, they wrapped their long hair in a piece of cloth. This cloth held their hair in place and acted as a head covering in the hot climate. It could also be used as a face covering. Rebecca used it to hide her face when she first met Isaac (Genesis 24:65). Total veiling, as worn by some Islamic women today, was not practiced. Sarah’s beauty was obviously visible to those around her (Genesis 12). Rebecca was not veiled when she was drawing water from the spring (Genesis 24:16). Ancient people loved to decorate themselves with jewelry, which, as today, was valued for its beauty and for the status it gave to its owner. Every woman had jewelry, which was part of her personal wealth.

	*Necklace, 13th centuryBC; Golden rosettes, 7th centuryBC; Gold necklace 5th centuryBC*

	Cosmetics were used by women at all levels of society. We know that women in ancient times manicured their nails, tweezed superfluous hair, and outlines their eyes in colors including black, green, aqua, terracotta and charcoal. Make-up, especially for the eyes, was popular. Of course, there is no direct evidence that women in ancient Israel wore make-up, since there are no Israelite statues or images similar to the Egyptian ones shown here. But Israel was always influenced by its powerful neighbor to the south, and it is reasonable to suppose that this influence also affected Hebrew/Israelite women.


	1st century wooden combs found at the Women's hairpins of ivory and metal Qumran site in the Judean Desert
	ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE We have a good idea of clothing in New Testament times because of a discovery made in Israel in 1960. Bedouin tribesmen found many artifacts in a cave near En-gedi on the Dead Sea, which were dated to the Bar Kokhba War in 132CE. The cave was in a rocky cliff-face. It appears that during the Bar Kokhba War a group of 17 people, including six children, were trapped in the cave. They starved to death there, rather than surrender to the Roman soldiers who were camped immediately above the entrance to their cave. A range of textiles was found with their skeletons. There were women’s cloaks, a child’s linen shirt, and skeins and balls of unspun purple wool. Laboratory analysis showed that three basic dyes had been used to obtain 34 different colors of thread (the three dyes were saffron yellow, indigo blue and alazarin red). Among the artifacts found in the cave were pieces of jewelry, a box for powder and a brass mirror in a wooden frame.

	*Detail of gold necklace 4th century BC Crescent pendant, Roman*
	ACTIVITIES Dressed for the Occasion Using the information in this section, design an outfit you might have worn if you had lived in biblical times. You may use drawings or a written description to show the clothes you have chosen. Describe the cut, the fabric and the color of each item.

	HOUSING
	There were two types of dwelling in ancient Israel: tents used by nomadic and semi-nomadic groups, and houses, either large or small, used by ordinary people. TENT DWELLINGS Tents were used by nomadic people, who followed their flocks to pasture and water, and moved around according to the seasons semi-nomadic people, based in a village but living part of the year in upper or lower pasture areas. The tents used were larger than modern tents. They had two sections: a front section, where the men of the family lived and visitors were entertained a private section at the rear, for the women and their children. The tents were made from goats’ hair, woven in strips on large looms. Women wove the fabric for the tents, stitched them together, kept them in good repair, set them up when the camp was established, and folded and stowed them when it was time to move on. It would seem heavy work to us, but the Israelite women were strong and skilled, and they were used to working as a group.

	*A tent made of goats' hair*
	HOUSES Houses gradually replaced tents when agriculture and villages replaced the nomadic way of life, but they both continued in use through biblical times. Stone for building was plentiful in most of Palestine, and was generally used at least in the foundations. The basic floor plan used for houses was usually similar to the one used for the Roman insula: a central courtyard with a number of rooms opening off it. These rooms were small by our standards, with a minimum of windows. Lattice work and shutters were used to cover window openings (see the story of Sisera’s mother in Judges 5:28). The size of the rooms was limited by the fact that rooms could only be as wide as the beams that supported the roof. Beams, usually wooden, reached from one wall to the other, and were covered with a mixture of woven branches and clay, which was smoothed with a stone roller. The inner walls were finished with a smooth coat of clay or plaster, which could be decorated with frescoes, elaborate ones in the houses of the rich, simpler ones in peasant houses. Wide stone benches for sitting and sleeping, and shelves for storage were built into the structure itself.
	*Artist's impression of a 1st century house*

	A wooden ladder or a set of stairs led to the roof, which was used as an outdoor room partly shaded by matting or a tent-like superstructure. Because the inside rooms tended to be small and dark, the courtyard and the roof were important parts of the house, and were used for tasks that needed a good light, for example spinning and weaving, and food preparation. The flat roof area might also be used for sleeping, working and drying food or textiles (see the story of Rahab the prostitute in Joshua 2:6). In the courtyard you might find the mikveh, for both men and women a cooking area with a fire, cooking utensils and possibly an oven implements for grinding small amounts of grain a covered area where people sat while they worked or talked the family animals, possibly a donkey, goats or a cow As you can imagine, this area was crowded with people, animals and activity at almost any time of the day.
	By modern standards, the houses of ancient people were sparsely furnished, with only necessities such as a table, stools and lamps. People often sat on cushions or mats on the floor. Joseph, the husband of Mary of Nazareth, was probably a builder rather than a carpenter, since a small village wouldn't need much furniture.

	*Reproduction of a kitchen in Roman times*

	This is the kind of couch used by members of the upper classes; poorer people used stone or wooden benches covered with matting and blankets
	ACTIVITIES There’s No Place Like Home Using your school or local library, or the Internet, find out about the manufacture or construction of one of the types of dwelling described in this section. Present your findings visually, using either a scale drawing or a model of the reconstructed dwelling. Supplement this with a verbal explanation of the methods used in the manufacture or construction of the dwelling you have chosen.