Clothing: The Bible on its Length: Nakedness / Modesty in Scripture
More Resources on the Christian Family
The Length of Scriptural Clothing / Apparel
by
Thomas D. Ross
In matters of dress, the men and women of the world, as in other areas, maintain no consistent or deliberate order; they simply follow the trends of worldly leaders and the devil who directs them. God, however, demands a righteous standard for His saints, in accord with His holiness. He has revealed that standard in His Word. The Christian will want to dress to please His God, so his outward apparel will reflect the desire of his heart to conform in all things to the image of the Divine Son of Man, His Savior.
The Bible teaches that nakedness is a shame (Exodus 32:25), so the Christian ought to avoid it. Clothing exists to cover uncleanness and nakedness. This is even apparent etymologically; mᵉʿil,[1] an exterior tunic or a long robe, “reaching to [the] feet,”[2] is associated with the trilateral root māʿal,[3] which fundamentally signifies “to act unfaithfully, treacherously,” specifying sin;[4] this evil must be covered by the garment. When a sinner is justified, the divine righteousness with which he is credited is compared to a robe (Isaiah 61:10, Revelation 7:14) which covers his nakedness (Revelation 3:18-19). God clearly desires His people clothed, not naked; if they are to obey His command, they must understand the Biblical definition of nakedness, for the world’s definition, complete nudity, is one of enmity with God. We see God’s definition, in relation to the length of garments, explicated in Isaiah 47:1-3:
1 Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. 2 Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. 3 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.
Contextually, God is declaring His judgment upon Babylon. That kingdom is called a “virgin” because “it had never been subdued and conquered from the first setting of it up, until it was by Cyrus … and also because of the beauty and glory of it: but now it is called to come down from its height and excellency.”[5] The picture of nakedness is in a context of judgment upon sin, immodesty, and desecration; a contrast is made between Babylon’s being “called tender and delicate” and her “nakedness” being uncovered and “shame” seen. Furthermore, the text specifies that to “make bare the leg” and “uncover the thigh” is to uncover “nakedness” in God’s eyes. The verb “make bare” in v. 2, the Hebrew ḥāśap̱, appears ten times in the Old Testament.[6] It signifies to “strip off, expose oneself by removing”—the usage in Isaiah 47:2—as well as “strip, lay bare,” with a subsidiary meaning of “tak[ing] from the surface, skim” and so referring to “draw[ing] water” or other liquids.[7] In Isaiah 20:4 the word appears in the context of sinners going “naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the[ir] shame.”[8] Here the verb is clearly associated with nakedness, as it is in Jer 13:26 (“discover thy skirts … that thy shame may appear”); other references to its “making bare” or “uncovering” include Isaiah 52:10, Jeremiah 49:10, and Ezekiel 4:7.[9] In Isaiah 47:2, then, to “make bare” the leg is to uncover it, to demonstrate nakedness. The hapax legomenon “leg” can refer to the “lower limbs”[10]; these must not be “made bare.” Isaiah continues with the phrase “uncover the thigh.”[11] The verb “uncover,” gālâ,[12] appears also in the phrases “uncover thy locks” and “thy nakedness shall be uncovered” (47:3)—by uncovering her leg or her thigh, Babylon was shamefully exposing her nakedness: “Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen” (47:3). What was shameful exposure of nakedness? Uncovering the šôq[13]—a word specifically for the “lower leg, calf,” as distinguished from the upper leg or “thigh.”[14] “When šôq refers to a man’s body it designates the lower part of the leg, the shank from the knees downward.”[15] The LXX translates šôq with knēmē,[16] a word specifically for the “part between knee and ankle … shank,”[17] or anatomically for the “tibia.”[18] The Latin Vulgate renders the word with a form of crūs, which is also employed for the “leg from knee to ankle … as opp[osed] [to] the thigh”[19]; it is “especially the lower leg, shin[,] [or] shank … of a man.”[20] The šôq is also contrasted with the yārēḵ,[21] a word used for the upper leg or “thigh.”[22] A Christian would be safe concluding that he should never expose any part of his lower leg on account of this verse. However, the fact that gālâ, “uncover,” is in the Hebrew verb tense known as the Piel[23] likely indicates that a complete uncovering of the lower leg is in view.[24] Nakedness, therefore, is completely uncovering the lower leg—any exposure at all of the “thigh,”[25] the part of the leg above the knee. Furthermore, modesty requires more than just avoiding the shame of nakedness. Modest clothing should descend considerably below the knee-joint to avoid getting close to the shame of Biblical nakedness.
Other words in the Old Testament for garments provide further illumination on the Scriptural doctrine of apparel. In 1 Sam 15:27 (cf. 1 Sam 28:14), Samuel wore a “mantle,”[26] an exterior tunic that extended to the feet.[27] Samuel had worn such long clothing since, when a little child, he received such a garment from his godly mother (1 Sam 2:19). The high priest also wore such a garment,[28] as did Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:4), and Israel’s kings.[29] The king’s daughters were also clothed to the foot (2 Samuel 13:18); although women’s garments were markedly different (Deuteronomy 22:5), they were of comparable length. Ezra was covered to the ankles (Ezra 9:3, 5), as were Job (Job 1:20) and his friends (Job 2:12). This long garment is compared to justice (Job 29:14). Indeed, Jehovah Himself is represented as wearing one (Isaiah 59:17), along with all He has justified (Isaiah 61:10). Furthermore, Scripture indicates that “half” of one’s garment descends to the middle of the body, so that half is above the waist and half below—such descriptions specify that those wearing them were covered from the neck to the foot.[30] The pattern for the length of clothing among the righteous in the Old Testament was to wear garments that cover the entire leg.[31] In no case did Old Testament saints model wearing garments that were less than knee-length, for such was nakedness.
On occasion, Scripture speaks of men “gird[ing] up” their “loins.”[32] “When work or a journey was in contemplation, the girdle was put on, and part of the tunic drawn up till it hung over in folds. Hence this operation of ‘girding the loins’ became a figure for energetic action.”[33] Scripture never speaks of women girding up their loins. When men girded their loins, their robes did not hang all the way down to the feet, as the robe was drawn up to some degree to provide for more free movement. However, there is no indication in Scripture that when the righteous girded their loins they were to bring their robes above their knees. Godly men who were working with their loins girded would have their robes below their knees far enough to both cover nakedness—the knee-line—and maintain modesty—have clothing below the knee line—while having their robes high enough to facilitate their work. The Biblical pattern remains for clothing to cover the leg all the way to the foot, while when need requires—especially for men—it can be raised somewhat while still remaining below the knee.
The New Testament provides further instruction and example about the appropriate length of clothing. The saints in heaven wear “robes,”[34] the Greek stolē,[35] as do angels[36] and the redeemed on earth.[37] Outward righteousness is associated with such clothing.[38] The stolē is “a loose outer garment … which extended to the feet,”[39] a “long robe” that conveyed “dignit[y].”[40] The more generic word himation[41] does not lexically necessitate any particular length, but no Biblical example provides any evidence of the godly wearing anything other than a full length robe,[42] while a number of references clearly refer to garments comparable to the stolē.[43] The Lord Jesus Christ wore a garment “down to the foot” (Revelation 1:13),[44] comparable to the full-length robe of the Old Testament’s high priest.[45] As does the Old Testament, so the New Testament patterns clothing that covered the full leg, and in no case was above the knee.
The precepts and examples of Scripture are written to give the Christian examples and admonition. (1 Cor 10:6). Believers do well to follow them, and dress in accord with the positive Biblical examples and as did the great Pattern for godliness, the Lord Jesus Christ. Wearing clothing that exposes any area above the knee is nakedness. Since being a hair-breath from nakedness is not modest, Christian clothing should descend significantly below the knee, as the godly would not want to even be close to nakedness in their apparel (Romans 14:23; 1 Thessalonians 5:22). Furthermore, the words employed for the typical garments worn by the people of God in Scripture indicated clothing that covered the entire lower leg. The Biblical pattern is wearing, outside of special circumstances, clothing that covers the legs to the ankles. Apparel that leaves believers naked above the knee cannot be justified by Biblical precept or example.
Appendix 1:
An Archaeological Example of Girded Loins[46]
The image above depicts a male figure with his loins girded. One can note that his robe still covers him to below his knees. It was clearly possible for a man to have his loins girded while still being covered to at least the knee.
Appendix 2:
The Clothing of Christ[47]
In his book The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim notes:
[In the episode of Christ healing the woman who touched His outer garment, Mark 5:27ff. + the parallel passages] we can obtain a glimpse of Christ’s outward appearance and garb[.] [I]t may be well to form such accurate conception of it, as is afforded by a knowledge of the dress of the ancient Hebrews. The Rabbis laid it down as a rule, that the learned ought to be most careful in their dress. … [Typical garments] consisted … of six, or perhaps more generally, of five articles: the shoes, the head-covering, the Tallith or upper cloak, the girdle, the Chaluq or under-dress, and the Aphquarsin or innermost covering. … Three, or else four articles commonly constituted the dress of the body. First came the under-garment, commonly the Chaluq or the Kittuna (the Biblical Ketoneth), from which latter some have derived the word ‘cotton.’ The Chaluq might be of linen or of wool[.] … The sages wore it down to the feet. It was covered by the upper garment or Tallith to within about a handbreath[.] … The Chaluq lay close to the body, and had no other opening than that round the neck and for the arms. At the bottom it had a kind of hem. … Closely similar to, if not identical with, the Chaluq, was the ancient garment mentioned in the Old Testament as Kethoneth, to which the Greek ‘Chiton’ (χιτών) corresponds. As the garment which our Lord wore (John 19:23), and those of which He spoke to His Apostles are designated by that name, we conclude that it represents the well-known Kethoneth or Rabbinic Kittuna. This might be of almost any material, even leather, though it was generally of wool or flax. It was sleeved, close-fitting, reached to the ankles, and was fastened round the loins, or just under the breat (comp. Rev. 1:13), by a girdle. … We can now form an approximate idea of the outward appearance of Jesus[.] … The Chaluq, or more probably the Kittuna, which formed His inner garment, must have been close-fitting, and descended to His feet, since it was not only so worn by teachers, but was regarded as absolutely necessary for any one who would publicly read or “Targum” the Scriptures, or exercise any function in the Synagogue.
[1] מְעִיל, Exodus 28:4, 31, 34; 29:5; 39:22-26; Leviticus 8:7; 1 Samuel 2:19; 15:27; 18:4; 24:4, 11; 28:14; 2 Samuel 13:18; Isaiah 59:17; 61:10; Ezekiel 26:16; Psalm 109:29; Job 1:20; 2:12; 29:14; Ezra 9:3, 5; 1 Chronicles 15:27.
[2] Josephus, Antiquities 3.7.4, defines the mᵉʿil as “a long robe, reaching to [one’s] feet”: ποδήρης δ’ ἐστὶ καὶ οὗτος, μεεὶρ καλεῖται κατὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν γλῶσσαν. BDAG defines ποδήρης as “a robe reaching to the feet.”
[3] מָעַל,
[4] Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977), 591, on מָעַל.
[5] John Gill, An Exposition of the Old Testament, vol. 5, The Baptist Commentary Series (London: Mathews and Leigh, 1810), 273, on Isaiah 47:1.
[6] Isaiah 20:4; 30:14; 47:2; 52:10; Jeremiah 13:26; 49:10; Ezekiel 4:7; Joel 1:7; Haggai 2:16.
[7] Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977), 362, on חָשַׂף.
[8] עָר֣וֹם וְיָחֵ֑ף וַחֲשׂוּפַ֥י שֵׁ֖ת עֶרְוַ֥ת מִצְרָֽיִם׃.
[9] Isaiah 52:10 & Ezekiel 4:7 show that there is nothing shameful about making one’s arms bare. Uncovered arms are not, Biblically speaking, nakedness, nor are they shameful.
[10] David J. A. Clines, ed., The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press,1993–2011), 305, on שׁוּל II. The word the Authorized Version translates “leg” in Isaiah 47:2, שֹׁבֶל, is “a by-form of שׁוּל” (Shalom M. Paul, Isaiah 40–66: Translation and Commentary, Eerdmans Critical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2012), 291, on Isaiah 47:2).
Alternatively, שׁוּל I refers to “skirts, seams,” or “the hem of [a] robe” (David J. A. Clines, ed., The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993–2011), 304, on שׁוּל I). Lifting up one’s robe would make bare the leg, which would also justify the translation in the KJV.
[11] גַּלִּי־שׁ֖וֹק.
[12] גָּלָה. The verb appears 187 times in 167 verses: Genesis 9:21; 35:7; Exodus 20:26; Leviticus 18:6-19; 20:11, 17-21; Numbers 22:31; 24:4, 16; Deuteronomy 23:1; 27:20; 29:28; Judges 18:30; 1 Samuel 2:27; 53:7, 21; 4:21-22; 9:15; 14:8, 11; 20:2, 12-13; 22:8, 17; 2 Samuel 6:20; 7:27; 15:19; 22:16; 2 Kings 15:29; 16:9; 17:6, 11, 23, 26-28, 33; 18:11; 24:14-15; 25:11, 21; Isaiah 5:13; 16:3; 22:8, 14; 23:1; 24:11; 26:21; 38:12; 40:5; 47:2-3; 49:9, 21; 53:1; 56:1; 57:8; Jer. 1:3; 11:20; 13:19, 22; 20:4, 12; 22:12; 24:1; 27:20; 29:1, 4, 7, 14; 32:11, 14; 33:6; 39:9; 40:1, 7; 43:3; 49:10; 52:15, 27-28, 30; Ezekiel 12:3; 13:14; 16:36-37, 57; 21:29; 22:10; 23:10, 18, 29; 39:23, 28; Hos. 2:12; 7:1; 10:5; Amos 1:5-6; 3:7; 5:5, 27; 6:7; 7:11, 17; Micah 1:6, 16; Nahum 2:8; 3:5; Psalm 18:16; 98:2; 119:18; Job 12:22; 20:27-28; 33:16; 36:10, 15; 38:17; 41:5; Proverbs 11:13; 18:2; 20:19; 25:9; 26:26; 27:5, 25; Ruth 3:4, 7; 4:4; Lamentations 1:3; 2:14; 4:22; Esther 2:6; 3:14; 8:13; Daniel 10:1; Ezra 2:1; Nehemiah 7:6; 1 Chronicles 5:6, 26, 41; 8:6-7; 9:1; 17:25; 2 Chronicles 36:20.
[13] שׁוֹק.
[14] Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977), 1003, on שׁוֹק.
[15] Victor P. Hamilton, “2350 שׁוק,” in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 912.
[16] κνήμη.
[17] Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Henry Stuart Jones, et al., A Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996), 964, on κνήμη. See also Johan Lust, Erik Eynikel, and Katrin Hauspie, A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint: Revised Edition (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft: Stuttgart, 2003), on κνήμη.
[18] Franco Montanari, Ivan Garofalo & Daniela Manetti, The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek (Boston: Brill, 2015), on κνήμη.
[19] Edward Ross Wharton, Etyma Latina: An Etymological Lexicon of Classical Latin (London: Rivingtons, 1890), 25, on crūs.
[20] P. G. W. Glare, ed., Oxford Latin Dictionary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), on crūs.
[21] יָרֵךְ.
[22] Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977), 437, on יָרֵךְ. See Judges 15:8. The יָרֵךְ presumably extends from the “loins” (Exodus 28:42) to the lower leg, the שׁוֹק, beneath, although it may at times bear a restricted sense that covers only part of that area or be used euphemistically.
Maimonides states: “The leggings—whether of the High Priest or an ordinary priest—extend from the loins until the thighs, i.e., from above the navel, close to the heart, until the end of the thigh, i.e., until the knee” (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, “Hilchot Kelei HaMikdash,” (Laws of the Temple Vessels / Vessels of the Sanctuary and Those Who Serve Therein), Chapter 8, Halakhah 18 (8:18), elec. acc. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1008233/jewish/Klei-Hamikdash-Chapter-8.htm). This would support the יָרֵךְ in Exodus 28:42 covering the entire upper leg to the knee.
In relation to inanimate objects, the יָרֵךְ refers to the entire side or flank of the altar, the side of the tabernacle, or the “shaft” of the candlestick or lampstand (Exodus 25:31; 40:22, 24; Leviticus 1:11; Numbers 3:29, 35; 2 Kings 16:14).
[23] גָּלָה appears in the Piel 56 times in the Old Testament: Leviticus 18:6-19; 20:11, 17-21; Numbers 22:31; Deuteronomy 23:1; 27:20; Isaiah 16:3; 22:8; 26:21; 47:2; 57:8; Jer. 11:20; 20:12; 33:6; 49:10; Ezekiel 16:37; 22:10; 23:10, 18; Hosea 2:12; Micah 1:6; Nahum 3:5; Psalm 98:2; 119:18; Job 12:22; 20:27; 41:5; Proverbs 11:13; 25:9; Ruth 3:4, 7; Lamentations 2:14; 4:22.
[24] Compare Ezekiel 16:37, “discover [גָּלָה in the Piel] thy nakedness … that they may see all thy nakedness” and Ruth 3:4, 7, where the Piel of גָּלָה refers to completely uncovering the feet, rather than uncovering only a portion of that bodily member. The Hebrew Piel frequently intensifies the action specified in the Qal.
[25] Isaiah 47:2 is the only place where the KJV translates שׁוֹק as “thigh.” The translation is justifiable because any exposure of any part of the upper leg or “thigh” is—as a result of the lower leg being completely uncovered—Biblically speaking, nakedness.
[26] מְעִיל.
[27] Josephus, Antiquities 3.7.4 & BDAG, ποδήρης.
[28] Exodus 28:4, 31, 34, 29:5, 39:22-26, Leviticus 8:7.
[29] 1 Samuel 24:4, 11, 1 Chronicles 15:27; cf. Ezekiel 26:16.
[30] 2 Samuel 10:4; 1 Chronicles 19:4. When “half” (חֲצִי) of the garments of David’s messengers were removed by the Ammonites in order to humiliate them and Israel, they were unclothed from their waist area downward.
Obviously, dividing the clothing of the body in half at the waist is not a matter of mathematical precision, but an estimate. However, had David’s men only been wearing robes that were the length of modern shorts, rather than garments that went to their feet, removing the lower half of their garments would have resulted in a cut much higher than where the passages specify.
[31] When God clothed Adam and Eve in “coats” (כֻּתֹּ֫נֶת) of skin, the garments likely were foot-length because of the picture of justification based on the sacrifice of Christ which completely covers nakedness, as well as the fact that the garments covered more than did the fig-leaf “aprons” (Genesis 3:7), but the other uses of the word are not absolutely conclusive without taking into consideration the typology.
[32] 2 Kings 9:1; Job 38:3; 40:7; Jeremiah 1:17.
[33] James Hastings et al., Dictionary of the Bible (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1909), 197, article “Dress.”
[34] Revelation 6:11, 7:9, 13, 14.
[35] στολή.
[36] Mark 16:5.
[37] Luke 15:22.
[38] Mark 12:38; Luke 20:46. It is good to wear garments that represent outward righteousness. It is not good, like a hypocritical Pharisee, to wear garments that represent righteousness while being wicked on the inside. But the solution to such hypocrisy is to repent of sin and receive a clean heart, rather than throwing off the modest apparel that represents outward holiness.
[39] Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Being Grimm’s Wilke’s Clavis Novi Testamenti (New York: Harper & Brothers., 1889), 589, on στολή.
[40] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 73, on στολή.
[41] ἱμάτιον.
[42] Matthew 5:40, 9:16, 20, 21, 11:8, 14:36, 17:2, 21:7, 8, 23:5, 24:18, 26:65, 27:31, 35, Mark 2:21, 28, 30, 6:56, 9:3, 10:50, 11:7, 8, 13:16, 15:20, 24, Luke 5:36, 6:29, 7:25, 8:27, 44, 19:35, 36, 22:36, 23:34, John 13:4, 12, 19:2, 5, 23, 24, Acts 7:58, 9:39, 12:8, 14:14, 16:22, 18:6, 22:20, 23, Hebrews 1:11, James 5:2, 1 Peter 3:3, Revelation 3:4, 5, 18, 4:4, 16:15, 19:13, 16.
[43] Matthew 17:2, 23:5, Mark 9:3, Revelation 3:4, 5, 18, 4:4, 16:15, 19:13, 16.
[44] ποδήρης.
[45] ποδήρης, Exodus 25:7; 28:4, 31; 29:5; 35:9, LXX.
[46] The 9th century B. C. Assyrian image reproduced below is in the public domain. It is reproduced from https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/322490, and is the property of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, NY, USA.
[47] Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, vol. 1 (New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1896), 620-624. Footnotes in the original source have been omitted. The extract emphasizes the portion of the section that relates to the length of the Lord’s clothing.
