1Ki 20:32 so they girded their loins with c, and ropes
Neh 9:1 gathered .. with c and earth on them
Est 4:1 clothed himself with c and ashes, and went by way of
Psa 30:11 you loosed my c, and girded me with joy
Psa 35:13 when they were sick, I put on c
Isa 20:2 go and remove the c from your loins, and barefoot
Isa 37:1 Hezekiah .. covered in c came to the house
Jon 3:5 put on c from the greatest to the
Rev 6:12 the sun turned black as cloth
Sackcloth (Heb. saq; Ac. shaqqu; Gr. sákkos; all mean “sack” or “burlap”). Wearing sackcloth – a coarse, dark cloth usually woven from goat or camel hair – was a symbol of deep sorrow and lamentation (2Sa 3:31; 2Ki 19:1,2). It appears that it was sometimes worn around the waist as a girdle, but it may also have been used as a loose cloak that covered most of the body (Gen 37:34; 1Ki 20:31; Isa 20:2; etc.) . Sometimes the mourner tore his clothes before putting on the symbolic hair shirt, which in some cases was worn directly on the skin (1Ki 21:27; 2Ki 6:30; Isa 32:11; etc.). Those who dressed in it often put ashes on themselves or lay down on them (Est 4:1,3; Isa 58:5; Jer 6:26; Jon 3:6; etc.); sometimes earth was thrown on top (Neh 9:1). The king of Nineveh put on 231 sackcloth and sat on ashes to show his repentance and his fear of impending judgment (Jon 3:6; cf Job 2:8). Isaiah seems to have dressed him, at least for a time, as a peculiar garment (Is. 20:2). Under the 6th seal the sun is said to have become “black as sackcloth” (Rev 6:12), no doubt modeled on cloth made from the hair of black goats*. In 11:3, “two witnesses” prophesy 1,260 days “clothed in sackcloth.”
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
sayal, sack, rough garment or horsehair waist that was worn as a result of meat, for penance or mourning, when fasting; in Israel, c. goat hair; Gen 37, 34; 2 S 21, 10 and 27; 2R6.30; 19, 1-2; 1 Chr 21, 16; Ne 9, 1; Jdt 4, 10; and 14; 8, 5; 9, 1; 10, 3; Sta 4, 1-4; 1M2, 14; 3, 47; 2 M 3, 19; 10, 25; Jb 18, 15; Salt 30 (29), 12; 35 (34), 13; 69 (68), 12; Is 15, 3; 20, 2; 22, 12; 37, 1-2; 50, 3; 58, 5; Jer 4, 8; 6, 26; 48, 37; 49, 3; Lm 2, 10; Ba 4, 20; Ezek 7, 17; 27, 31; Dan 9, 3; Am 8, 10; John 3, 5-6; Mt 11, 21; Lk 10, 13; Rev 11, 3.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
The Castilian word is derived from the lat. cilicium, a coarse, dark-colored cloth material, usually made from goat hair. It was used by the mourners or those who accompanied the coffin (2Sa 3:31; 2Ki 19:1-2), the prophets (Isa 20:22; Rev 11:3) and the captives (1Ki 20:31). It was usually worn over another article of clothing, but sometimes directly on the skin (1Ki 21:27; 2Ki 6:30; Job 16:15; Isa 32:11; Jon 3:6).
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
Coarse cloth that was used to make sacks or bags where fruits and other objects were loaded. They were generally dark in color and made from goat hair. The name comes from †¢Cilicia, a place famous for the manufacture of this fabric. Due to its humble use, its ugliness and the inconvenience of wearing it next to the skin, the c. he dressed to express humiliation, mourning and repentance. Jacob †œput c. on his back, and mourned † for the supposed death of Joseph (Gen 37:34). David repented that he had numbered the people, and seeing Jehovah’s angel ready to pass judgment on Jerusalem, he and the elders “fell on their faces, covered with c.” (1Ch 21:16).
In a moment of repentance for his sins, King †¢Ahab †œrended his clothes and put on c. on his flesh, fasted, and slept in c.† (1Ki 21:27). † ¢ Mordecai, hearing the sentence upon his people, † œput on c. and ashes, and went through the city crying with a loud and bitter cry† (Es 4:1). Job says: “I saw c. on my skin, and I put my head in the dust† (Job 16:15). Similarly, David says: “I put c. for my dress† (Ps 69:11). There are many expressions in the Scriptures in which the terms †œc. and ash† to indicate deep mourning or regret. Thus, the Lord Jesus, speaking of the cities of Capernaum, Chorazin and Bethsaida, pointed out that if the wonders that were done in them had been done in Sodom and Gomorrah, “long ago they would have repented in c. and into ashes† (Matt 11:21).
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
tip, TEJI COST
vet, A coarse cloth made generally of goat hair (Rev. 6:12). It was worn as a sign of mourning, of affliction (2 Sam. 3:31; 2 Kings 19:1, 2), and used frequently, if not habitually, by the prophets (Isa. 20:2; Rev. 11: 3) and by captives (1 Kings 20:31; cf. Is. 3:24). The clothing probably resembled a sack, slit at the front, and with openings for the head and arms. The Israelites used them on occasions to cover themselves with them (Gen. 37:34; 1 Kings 20:31), they girded them (2 Sam. 3:31; Ez. 7:18; Jl. 1:8), putting them usually over another garment (Jn. 3:6; cf. 2 Sam. 21:10), but sometimes directly on the skin (1 Kgs. 21:27; 2 Kgs. 6:30; Jb. 16:15 ; Isa. 32:11).
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
1. sakkos (savkko”, 4226), coat material of goat or camel hair, and therefore dark in color (Rev 6:12); Jerome translates it as saccus cilinus (made from the hair of the black Cilician goat; the Romans gave it the name cilicium); see Isaiah 50:3; it was also used to make riding shawls (Jos 9:5); also to make sacks (eg, Gen 42:25), and to make garments worn to express mourning or repentance (Mat 11:21; Luk 10:13), or for purposes of prophetic witness (Rev 11: 3). In the KJV it is translated as “sack” in all passages except Luk 10:13:¶ 2. trichinos (trivcino”, 5155), related to thrix, means “of hair”, see HAIR, HAIR, and is translates in the RVR as “of sackcloth” in Rev 6:12, as well as in the RV and that in the VM (RVR77: “of horsehair”).¶
Source: Vine New Testament Dictionary
rough cloth (Heb. śaqgr. sakkos), generally made of goat hair (Sifra 53b), black in color (App. 6.12). The same voice heb. sometimes it means “sack” or “sack” (eg Gen. 42.27), which was evidently made of this material.
Cilice was dressed as a sign of mourning for the dead (Gn. 37.34; 2 S. 3.31; Jl. 1.8; Judit 8.5), as an expression of mourning for personal or national disasters (Job 16.15; Lm. 2.10; Est. 4.1; 1 Mac. 2.14), as penance for sins (1 K. 21.27; Neh. 9.1; Jon 3.5; Mt. 11.21), or as a special prayer to ask for deliverance (2 K. 19.1–2; Dn. 9.3; Judit 4.10; Baruch 4.20; 1 Mac. 3.47).
Often the form of the symbolic sackcloth was a band or short skirt (similar to the Scottish one) around the waist (1 Ki. 20.31–32; Is. 3.24; 20.2; 2 Mac. 10.25). Usually it was worn on the skin (2 Kings 6.30; Job 16.15; 2 Mac. 3.19), and sometimes even all night (1 Kings 21.27; Jl. 1.13). In one case it replaces a tunic, presumably over other garments (Jon. 3.6). Sometimes it was placed on the ground, to lie on it (2 S. 21.10; Is. 58.5), or it was extended in front of the altar or on it (Judit 4.11–12).
Palestinian herdsmen wore sackcloth because it was cheap and durable (TB, Shabbath 64a). Occasionally the prophets wore it as a symbol of the repentance they preached (Is. 20.2; Rev. 11.3). According to Jon. 3.8 and Judith 4.10 even the animals wore sackcloth as a sign of national supplication. Wearing sackcloth as mourning and penance was practiced not only in Israel but also in Damascus (1 R. 20.31), Moab (Is. 15.3), Ammon (Jer. 49.3), Tire (Ez. 27.31), and Nineveh (Jon. 3.5).
The sackcloth dress is used in a figurative sense for the darkening of the heavenly bodies in Is. 50.3.
Bibliography. C. Wau, “Ceniza”, °EBDM, t
G. Dalman, Arbeit und Sitte, 5, 1939, p. 18, 165, 176, 202; HF Lutz, Textiles and Costumes among the Peoples of the Ancient Near East, 1923, pp. 25–26, 176–177; P. Heinisch, “Die Trauergebrauche bei den Israeliten”, Biblische Zeitfragen 13, 1931, 7–8, pp. 16–17.
JT
Douglas, J. (2000). New Biblical Dictionary: First Edition. Miami: United Bible Societies.
Source: New Bible Dictionary
(Latin, cilicium; French, cilice).
A rustic cloth dress made from the hair of goats and worn in the form of a shirt or a belt around the waist, by way of mortification and penance. The Latin name is said to be derived from Cilicia, where this cloth was made, but the piece itself was probably known and used long before it was given this name. The sackcloth, for example, so often mentioned in the Holy Scriptures as a symbol of mourning and penance, was probably the same thing; and the camel hair dress worn by Saint John the Baptist was no doubt something similar. The first biblical use in its Latin form appears in the Vulgate version of Psalm 35(34),13, “Ego autem, cum mihi molesti essent, induebar cilicia. This is translated as horsehair in the Douay Bible, and sackcloth in the Anglican Authorized Version and the Book of Common Prayer.
During the first centuries of Christianity, the use of cilice became very common, as a means of corporal mortification and as an aid to the wearer to resist the temptations of the flesh, not only among ascetics and those who aspired to a life of perfection, but even among ordinary laymen in the world, who made it serve as an unassuming antidote to the outward luxury and comfort of their lives. For example, St. Jerome mentions that men in high worldly positions frequently wore sackcloth under their rich and splendid garments. Saint Athanasius, Saint John Damascene, Theodoret and many others also testify to its use in their time. However, Juan Casiano disapproved of its use by monks, because if it was worn on the outside it was too obvious and smelled of vanity, and if it was worn underneath it hindered the freedom of the body in carrying out manual work. Saint Benedict does not specifically mention it in his Rule, but Van Haeften states that it was used by many of the early Benedictines, although the Order did not prescribe it universally.
Later, it was adopted by most of the religious orders of the Middle Ages, in imitation of the first ascetics; and it was sometimes made of fine wire to increase the discomfort caused by its use. It was not limited to monks, but was still quite common among laymen as well. Charlemagne, for example, was buried in the sackcloth he had worn during his lifetime (Martene, “De Ant. Eccl. Rit.”). The same is recorded of Saint Thomas of Canterbury. There was also a symbolic use for the sackcloth. St. Augustine says that in his day the candidates for baptism stood barefoot on a sackcloth during a part of the ceremony (De Symb. ad Catech., II, 1). Penitents wore it on Ash Wednesday, and in the Salisbury Rite they carried a horsehair banner in procession at their reconciliation on Maundy Thursday. A…