Page 7 of 8 Original Research
hp://www.ve.org.za Open Access
and fine clothing is replaced with coarse and unattractive
sackcloth, the person acts out his or her inner life experience.
There is a kind of transformation from a joyful mood to a
painful state. Tearing one’s garment expresses in a powerful
gesture, which can be violent and spontaneous, a sudden
drastic change.
Only doleful life situations of various types can induce one
into tearing one’s garments. Conspicuous among these is the
real or imagined death of a loved one. It is a separation in this
present world and tearing clothes signifies both the reality of
the separation and the psychological status of the bereaved.
It is a condition of intense distress that does not deserve
comfortable fine garments. Because garments are readily at
hand, the mental agony and anger of the sufferer are vented
on what is very close.
Humiliation and repudiation experienced from others, like in
the case of Tamar (2 Sm 13) and perhaps by Joseph’s brothers
(Gn 44:12–13), are painful and such degrading condition can
be represented by rending garments. Just as humiliation
renders one less human, torn clothing manifests the
frustrating emotion of the person affected.
Fear and horror of imminent danger is also another life
situation that leads to tearing garments. There seems to be in
the torn garments of the sufferer an anticipation of what will
happen. The person experiences or lives in the present
what he strongly believes will befall him. Such inner feeling
must have led Athaliah to tear her garments (2 Ki 11:14). King
Hezekiah and his officials imagined the reality of national
disaster (2 Ki 19:1). The inhabitants of Gazara lived in the
present an imminent danger that would be like violent
dehumanisation (1 Macc 13:45).
Firm and unalloyed adherence to God’s law and promises
denotes life for his faithful (Ps 1; 119). In contrast, deviation
from God’s way is tantamount to a disaster that leads to
death, which begins already in this world with some
corrective measures from God; the faithful shudder at those
who infringe on God’s law. Joshua and Caleb tore their
garments (Nm 14:1–7) in amazement at those who were
unbelieving in God’s promise of the Land. King Josiah
manifested his anger by tearing his garments (2 Ki 22:11)
because the dictates of the law were ignored by his people.
The ritual of tearing clothes by both the king and reconnoitres
denotes the consequence of unbelief on the part of those who
should have had strong faith in God. Josiah articulates it in
these words: ‘for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled
against us, because our ancestors did not obey the words of
this book’ (2 Ki 22:13).
Conclusion
The writers of Sacred Scripture were rarely engaged in a
systematic treatise on some ancient customs. Readers have to
scan closely through the texts and the extant extra-biblical
writings in order to understand the nature and the meaning
of such practices. Lack of sufficient information can make the
significance of these ancient customs very elusive. Moreover,
some of the ancient practices are so interwoven that they
make them difficult for modern readers to differentiate one
from the other. Tearing garments in the OT is a case in point
which is the subject of this research. Its use in the OT is so
multifarious for it occurs in varied painful life situations of
those who practised it. Clothing is identified with the person
who wears it. It is also observed that anyone in any kind of
mournful or threatening situation could rend his or her
garments in order to release or forcefully express his or
her strong emotions. Persons in the position of authority
or responsibility feature most in this practice. This can be
attributed to the prevalent projection of leaders in the OT. It
is most likely that common people also tore their garments,
even when they are not recorded in the OT.
The mode of tearing clothes is also not clear in the OT. Besides
Elisha who tore his mantle in two, the writers did not record
how this ritual was carried out. They, however, were very
consistent, with the exception of Leviticus, in using the verb
ערק ‘to rend, tear’, which does not also convey the mode of
rending garments. One thing certain about the practice,
which is sometimes accompanied by other gestures such us
wearing sackcloth and putting ashes on one’s head or
praying, is that it occurred invariably at an unpleasant
moment in a person’s life. Our close reading of the texts
shows that it denotes the rending of the inner being of a
person.
Acknowledgements
Compeng interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests
with regard to the writing of this article.
Authors’ contribuons
O.M.J carried out this research. F.C.U. provided editorial
assistance for the article.
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