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Clothing and adornment
Sandals
Hebrew na’al · Greek hypodēma, sandalion · a leather sole tied on with thongs
Footwear was usually a sandal: a sole of leather, sometimes of wood, held on by leather strips or thongs laced around the foot and ankle. Sandals were an essential part of dress — captives from Judah sent home from Samaria were given clothing, sandals and food (2 Chronicles 28:15) — and walking barefoot in a town was a sign of deep poverty. On a long journey people might carry their sandals until the next town, to save the leather. Feet in open sandals soon got dusty, so a host offered guests water to wash them (Genesis 18:4).
Sandals came off indoors and on holy ground: Moses and Joshua were told, “Take off your sandals” (Exodus 3:5; Joshua 5:15). Mourners went barefoot, as David did on the Mount of Olives (2 Samuel 15:30). In earlier times in Israel a man confirmed an exchange of property by taking off his sandal and giving it to the other party (Ruth 4:7). Untying someone’s sandal straps was a servant’s task, and John the Baptist said he was not worthy to do it for the one coming after him (Mark 1:7).
Key verses
Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree.“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.Now in former times in Israel, concerning the redemption or exchange of property, to make any matter legally binding a man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party, and this was a confirmation in Israel.And he began to proclaim: “After me will come One more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.“Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”Sources
Adapted and shortened from the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers · CC BY-SA 4.0 — Clothing: Footwear; Mourning
Adapted from Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary: articles chosen, shortened and retold in our own words (history, nature and daily life only) and, in languages other than English, machine-translated. The original work by Tyndale House Publishers is available for free at tyndaleopenresources.com.
