Sackcloth

Occurrences in Scripture

The Old Testament repeatedly depicts people in grief or crisis putting on sackcloth.

• Genesis 37:34: Jacob, believing that Joseph was dead, tore his clothes and put sackcloth upon his loins.
• 2 Samuel 3:31: David commanded the people to gird themselves with sackcloth at Abner's funeral.
• 1 Kings 21:27: Ahab, upon hearing the word of judgment, put sackcloth upon his flesh and fasted (Ahab and Jezebel).
• 2 Kings 19:1: Hezekiah, hearing of the Assyrian threat, covered himself with sackcloth and went up to the temple.
• Esther 4:1: Mordecai, hearing of the decree to destroy the Jews, put on sackcloth with ashes.
• Jonah 3:5–8: The people of Nineveh, from the king down to the common people, put on sackcloth and repented.
• Daniel 9:3: Daniel prayed with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

In the New Testament, Jesus rebuked the unrepentant towns, saying that had the same works been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented in sackcloth (Matthew 11:21; Luke 10:13). In Revelation 11:3, the two witnesses prophesy for 1,260 days clothed in sackcloth. In Revelation 6:12, the New Korean Revised Version renders the same original word as "mourning clothes woven of black hair."

Background and Original Terms

The Hebrew saq and the Greek sakkos refer to a coarse fabric used to make grain sacks. The English word "sack" derives from this term. Sackcloth is generally described as a dark fabric woven from goat hair or camel hair. The image in Revelation 6:12 of the sun becoming black like this fabric also reflects its color.

Sackcloth is understood to have often been wrapped around the waist against the bare skin. Together with tearing one's clothes, putting ashes on the head, and fasting, it was a custom that gave bodily expression to grief and self-humbling.

The Korean word be denotes a plant-based fabric such as hemp cloth. Korean Bibles appear to have chosen this term in keeping with the Korean custom of wearing hemp clothing during funeral rites. Consequently, the Korean rendering differs from the material indicated by the original terms.

Meaning Across Scripture

Sackcloth carries three broad meanings in Scripture.

• Mourning for the dead: The examples of Jacob and David belong to this category.
• Repentance and humility: Examples include Ahab, Nineveh, and Daniel. Sackcloth was a sign of humbling oneself before God.
• Supplication in times of national crisis: Examples include Hezekiah and Mordecai.

Psalm 30:11 declares that God has "put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness." Here the removal of sackcloth serves as an image of sorrow turned to joy. The New Testament carries forward sackcloth as a symbol of repentance. Revelation also uses sackcloth as a symbol of the solemnity of judgment and prophecy.

Interpretation and Points of Debate

Interpretations differ as to why the two witnesses wear sackcloth.

• One view sees it as the image of prophets who mourn the sins of the world and call for repentance.
• Another view connects it with the hairy garment of Elijah or the camel-hair clothing of John the Baptist, reading it as prophetic attire.

However, these garments are described with different words in the original languages, and the text provides no basis for asserting that they are the same garment. The identity of the two witnesses is also disputed. Some identify them as Moses and Elijah, others as Enoch and Elijah, and still others take them as a symbolic reference to the church or the witnessing community.

In the Korean Church

Sermons in Korean churches commonly hold up the repentance of the Ninevites as a model and use the expression "repentance in sackcloth and ashes." The expression is frequently cited at fasting prayer meetings and at gatherings that emphasize repentance. Churches that observe the liturgical calendar may also hold a rite of imposing ashes on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. This rite is often explained against the background of the biblical custom of sackcloth and ashes.