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Female Dress in the Bible (Endnotes)

1. In spite of the resemblance between the dress of men and women, there were distinct differences. The Law commanded: “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God” (Deut. 22:5). Close

2. These horns are modern. Thomson points out that they grew from modest beginnings as a device to keep the veil off the face to silver and gold horns that were so long that servant girls had to place the veil over them. After 1845 the Maronite clergy spoke out against them, and soon they fell out of fashion. They are not used any longer. W. M. Thomson, The Land and the Book (Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI, reprinted 1954), pp. 73 and 74. Close

3. Moslem customs about facial veils differ from biblical ones. According to Moslem Law women are required to wear a veil in public, but prostitutes are forbidden to. This fact has confused people who write about biblical customs, because many of them assume that the Moslem customs were also the customs in biblical times, which is not always the case. The evidence from biblical times reveals that women did not generally wear veils in public. However, they were worn sometimes, especially at special occasions such as weddings, and they were used as an article of ornamental dress. The ease with which women were recognized in public is some of the evidence that veils that fully covered the face were not usually worn in public in the biblical culture (Gen. 12:14, 24:16, 29:10; 1 Sam. 1:12; etc.). Also, the archaeological evidence from the ancient monuments, rock cuttings, and tombs, including those from the surrounding cultures such as Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian, show the women without veils. Tamar put on a veil when she pretended to be a prostitute, and although she did it to disguise herself, the fact that her veil was not questioned or challenged shows that prostitutes could legitimately wear veils in biblical times (Gen. 38:14 and 15). Furthermore, the fact that she put on the veil to disguise herself shows she did not normally wear one. Rebekah was traveling without a veil, but put one on when she was about to meet her new husband, a gesture of modesty and respect (Gen. 24:65). Close

4. Archaeology has revealed that make-up has always been important to woman. Jewelry, perfume, and make-up are found on the inscriptions and rock carvings and in the tombs and graves of women from every time period. Close