Bible Dictionary
Sackcloth
Sackcloth was coarse, dark cloth commonly made from goat hair. It was used for sacks and worn as a sign of mourning, humiliation, or repentance.
Definition
Sackcloth was a coarse, rough, dark fabric usually made from goat hair. It was used for sacks and worn as a garment expressing mourning, humiliation, or repentance.
Biblical Usage
Biblical figures wore sackcloth in grief and mourning, sometimes next to the skin. It also signified repentance, and the people of Nineveh put it upon their animals.
Historical Background
The material resembled the Roman cilicium. Its rough texture and dark appearance made it suitable as a visible sign of sorrow and self-humiliation.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Cloth made of black goats’ hair, coarse, rough, and thick, used for sacks, and also worn by mourners (Gen. 37:34; 42:25; 2 Sam. 3:31; Esther 4:1, 2; Ps. 30:11, etc.), and as a sign of repentance (Matt. 11:21). It was put upon animals by the people of Nineveh (Jonah 3:8).
Smith's Bible Dictionary
cloth used in making sacks or bags, a coarse fabric, of a dark color, made of goat’s hair, (Isaiah 50:3; Revelation 6:12) end resembling the eilicium of the Romans. It, was used also for making the rough garments used by mourners, which were in extreme cases worn next the skin. (1 Kings 21:27; 2 Kings 6:30; Job 16:15; Isaiah 32:11)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>sak'-kloth.</p><p>See BURIAL.</p>