[Illustration: FIG. 11.--Prisoners of Lachish.]
Before passing to the special covering for the feet and head some
further reference to the Old Testament usage may be made. Among the
Hebrews the outer garment, as distinct from the inner loin wrapper
([)e]z[=o]r) or tunic, evidently took many forms. The tunic
(_kutt[=o]neth_, cf. [Greek: chiton], _tunica_), like its Greek
counterpart, was apparently of two kinds, for, although essentially a
simple and probably sleeveless garment, there was a special variety worn
by royal maidens and men of distinction, explicitly described as a tunic
of palms or soles (_pass[=i]m_), that is, one presumably reaching to the
hands and feet (Gen. xxxvii. 3; 2 Sam. xiii. 18 sq.).[6] The
_kutt[=o]neth_ could be removed at night (Cant. v. 3). For the outer
garments the most distinctive term is the _simlah_. This was worn by
both sexes, though obviously there was some difference as regards
length, &c. (Deut. xxii. 5). Ruth put one on before going out of doors,
and its folds could be used for carrying small loads (Ruth iii. 9; Ex.
xii. 34). The law forbade the creditor to retain it over-night as a
pledge (Ex. xxii. 26 sq.), and consequently we may assume that it was a
large outer wrapper which could be dispensed with out of doors by men,
or indoors by women. The _simlah_ of the warrior (Isa. ix. 5) can be
illustrated from the Assyrian sculptures (Ency. Bib., art. "Siege");
according to Herodotus (vii. 69) the Arabs under Xerxes wore a long
cloak fastened by a girdle. The outer girdle (Heb. _hag[=o]rah_; the
Arabic equivalent term is a kilt from thigh to knee) varied, as the
monuments show, in richness and design, and could be used as a
sword-belt or pocket much in the same way as the modern native uses the
long cloth twined twice or thrice around his body. The more ornate
variety, called _ab[=n][=e]t_, was worn by prominent officials (Isa.
xxii. 21) and by the high priest. The modern oriental open waistcoat
finds its fellow in the jacket or bolero from ancient Crete, and seems
to have been distinctively Aegean. The same may also be true of
breeches. The pantaloons worn by modern females, with short tunic and
waistcoat, are not found among the Bedouin (e.g. of Sinai), trousers
being considered undignified even for men. But a baggy kind of
knickerbockers is represented in old Aegean scenes, and it is
noteworthy that the Arab _mi'zar_ (drawers such as were worn by
wrestlers or sailors) takes its name from the _iz[=a]r_ or loin-cloth
(_Ency. Bib._ 1734). Such a cloth may once have passed between the legs,
being kept in position by the waistband (examples in Perrot and Chipiez,
_Greece_, ii. 198 sq., 456). On the other hand, among the Africans of
Punt the waistcloth passes from each knee to the opposite thigh, and two
sashes hang down to conceal the parts where they intersect (Muller,
108). The people of Keft (Aegeans) wore a similar arrangement which is a
step in the direction of the proper drawers. The latter are found
exceptionally upon Semitic Bedouin with an upper covering of bands wound
round the body (Muller, 140). However, the woven decorated drawers in
Cyprus do not appear to be of Semitic origin (J. L. Myres, _Classical
Review_, x. 355), and it is not until later that they were prescribed to
the Israelite priests (Ezek. xliv. 18). But the garment as explained by
Josephus (_Ant._ iii. 7. 1) was properly a loin-cloth (cf. the examples
from Punt), and the reason given for its use (Ex. xxviii. 42) points to
a later date than the law which enforced the same regard for decency by
forbidding the priests to ascend altars with steps (ib. xx. 26). As
trousers were distinctively Persian--though the Persians had the
reputation for borrowing Median and foreign dress (Herod. i. 71, vii.
61)--they were no doubt familiar in Palestine in the post-exilic age,
and in the Roman period the _braccae_ and _feminalia_ were certainly
known. On supposed references to breeches in Dan. iii. 21, see _Journ.
of Philology_, xxvi. 307-313.
[Illustration: FIG. 12. Assyrian Warriors with captured Idols.]
Footgear.
Special protection for the feet was chiefly necessary in rocky districts
or upon long journeys. In early Egypt men of rank would be followed by a
servant carrying a pair of sandals in case of need; but in the New
Kingdom they were in common use, although a typical difference is
observed when princes appear unshod in the presence of the Pharaoh, who
wears sandals himself. The simplest kind was a pad or sole of leather or
papyrus bound to the foot by two straps, one passing over the instep,
the other between the toes.[7] A third was sometimes fastened behind the
heel, and the front is often turned up to protect the toe (Egypt and
elsewhere). The Semites of the XIIth Dynasty wore on their journeys
sandals of black leather, those of the women and children being more
serviceable, and, in the case of women, parti-coloured. Practically the
same simple sandal came into use everywhere when required. But the
warrior had something stouter, and the Hittites wore a turned-up shoe
bound round the legs with thongs. Among the latter is also found a piece
of protecting leather reaching halfway up the shin, and similar
developments with tight-fitting bandages, buskins or laced garters were
worn in Assyria and Asia Minor (see fig. 12). Such coverings find their
analogies among the peasants of modern Cilicia and Cappadocia.
Stockings, it may be added, do not appear, and are quite exceptional at
the present day.
[Illustration: From Palestine Exploration Fund _Quarterly Statement_,
Oct, 1907.