Footwear was the leather sandal, fastened with a strap, the “latchet” John the Baptist counted himself unworthy to unloose (Mark 1:7). Sandals were worn neither indoors nor on holy ground (“put off thy shoes,” Ex 3:5), and going without them otherwise signaled great poverty or deep mourning. The girdle bound the loose tunic for action, tucking up the laps for running, walking, or work, which is what “gird up thy loins” means, and the fold of the garment above it was the everyday pocket.
Daily life in Bible times
Sandals & girdle
Clothing & dress
Sources, trace every one
Every cited verse, in full. Tap any reference to open it in the reader.
- Mark 1:7bsb
And he proclaimed: “After me will come One more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
- Exodus 3:5bsb
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
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