The Hebrews - A History of Costumes
We possess very few representations of Hebrew costume apart from some found in the ruins of Nineveh...
by Manpreet

We possess very few representations of Hebrew costume apart from some found in the ruins of Nineveh. Taken with the descriptions furnished by the Old Testament, these, however, enable us to make out quite clearly a distinct type. A sort of shirt and a cloak constituted the earliest dress. In the reign of David, under Assyrian and Phoenician influence, the material gradually became richer and finer, but, speaking generally, the original cut was closely adhered to (C. 1000 B.C.)

Men's dress consisted of a shirt-like under-garment of full length, with sleeves of varying length, and a rectangular piece of material which could be wrapped round the body as desired. One shirt was not alwavs considered enough, and some men wore two, the one next the skin being of linen and longer than the upper one, which was of wool.

A very ornamental item of Hebrew dress was the girdle, used to keep the under-garment in place over the loins. It was originally made of leather, but by and by it was made of expensive material inter-threaded with gold, or even of metal adorned with precious stones. Over these was worn the traditional cloak-like plaid. In later days, shortly before and during the Assyrian captivity, other upper garments came into use. One form was shaped like a caftan; another was made in two parts and sewn together on the shoulders so as to form a front and back part. This last-mentioned garment, although certainly of Assyrian or Babylonian origin, was an important item in the wardrobe of the high priest, and, like the rectangular cloak, was adorned at the four corners with purple tassels in remembrance of the statutes of Jehovah. At a later time, by an ostentatious enlargement of these tassels, the scribes and Pharisees sought to distinguish themselves from ordinary people as specially religious.

This upper garment was very simple. It was merely two pieces of material identically alike, either rectangular (Fig. 1) or having the lower corners rounded. These were sewn at the shoulders so that the garment remained open at the sides (Fig. 2, A). The caftan-like costume, on the other hand, was also in two pieces, a front and a back, but it had sleeves, and was closed at the sides (see Fig. 3). It was, however, open all down the front, and was kept in place by a cord.