שַׂק
properly, a mesh (as allowing a liquid to run through)
Definition
The Hebrew word 'שַׂק' (saq) primarily refers to a coarse, woven fabric made from goat or camel hair, known as sackcloth. In the Old Testament, it serves two main purposes: as a material for making bags or sacks to carry grain and other goods (e.g., Genesis 42:25, 27), and as a garment worn during times of intense mourning, repentance, or national crisis (e.g., Genesis 37:34, 2 Samuel 3:31). The fabric's rough, uncomfortable texture made it a powerful physical symbol of grief and humility before God. In some ritual contexts, such as Leviticus 11:32, sackcloth could also refer to a coarse cloth used for practical purposes like covering contaminated objects.
Biblical Usage
The word appears 46 times across historical, prophetic, and poetic books. Its usage is evenly split between the literal sense of a 'bag' for provisions (common in Genesis narratives like Genesis 42) and the symbolic sense of 'sackcloth' as a garment of mourning or repentance. This symbolic usage is prominent in the Prophets (e.g., Isaiah, Jeremiah) and in historical accounts of national disaster or personal grief (e.g., 2 Samuel 21:10). Kings, prophets, and common people all wore it to express distress.
Etymology
Derived from the root שָׁקַק (shaqaq, H8264), meaning 'to run' or 'to flow through,' likely referring to the loose, mesh-like weave of the fabric that allows liquids to pass through. This root connection highlights the material's coarse, porous nature. Cognates exist in other Semitic languages (like Akkadian 'saqqu') for similar coarse cloth or bags.
Semantic Range
Sackcloth is a profound biblical symbol of repentance, humility, and lament before God. Donning it was an external, culturally recognized act of inward contrition, often accompanying fasting and prayer (e.g., Jonah 3:5-8). It visually represented the tearing of one's heart (Joel 2:13) and was used by prophets to call nations to turn from sin. Understanding this physical symbol enriches reading by clarifying the intensity of biblical scenes of mourning and the expected posture of repentance.
In ancient Israelite and Near Eastern culture, wearing sackcloth was a universal, non-verbal language of extreme grief, distress, or penitence. It was not everyday clothing but a deliberate, dramatic act. The rough goat-hair fabric was intentionally uncomfortable, making the wearer's distress physically manifest. This differs from modern mourning customs, where black attire is more common but lacks the same intentional physical discomfort and immediate symbolic recognition.
אַמְתַּחַת ('amtachat, H572) — a more general term for a bag or sack, often for storing money or valuables, without the specific material connotation of sackcloth. בֶּגֶד (beged, H899) — the general word for garment or clothing; sackcloth is a specific, coarse type of beged worn for mourning.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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