Bible Dictionary
CAMEL'S HAIR
Camel’s hair was the material associated with John the Baptist’s rough garment. The description emphasizes his austere, prophetic manner of life; the garment may have been made from camel hide or coarse camel hair.
Definition
Camel’s hair was the material associated with John the Baptist’s garment. The garment was probably made from a treated camel skin rather than the more expensive woven camel-hair fabric, since the latter would not suit the austerity of the description.
Biblical Usage
Matthew and Mark mention camel’s hair in describing John’s raiment. The detail contributes to the portrayal of his austere manner of life. The source material does not establish that Elijah’s mantle was made of camel’s hair.
Historical Background
In parts of Syria, poor people used the skins of dead animals for cloaks and domestic articles after treating the inner surface. Woven camel hair could be softer and glossier than wool, but a hairy garment in the East was also commonly made from goat hair or wool.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>(triches kamelou): In Mt 3:4 and Mr 1:6 the description of John's raiment is explicit to the extent of telling the kind of hair of which his raiment was made. It is probable that his garment was made of a tawed camel skin, for the more expensive woven camel's hair garment would not be in keeping with the rest of the description. It is still common among the poor in some parts of Syria, when a camel or other animal dies, to remove its skin and, after treating the inner surface to stop decomposition, to make it up into various domestic articles. The writer once saw a peasant dragging a skin along the road which proved to be that of a donkey which had just died on the route. His intention was probably to make it up into a cloak. Some believe that Elijah's mantle was of camel's hair (2Ki 1:8; compare Zec 13:4). Of that we cannot be sure, for in the East today the hairy garment is usually goat's hair or wool either woven or still clinging to the skin. It was much more likely to have been one of these latter. See SHEEP. Camel's hair, when woven into fabrics, as in rugs, makes an article of even softer and more glossy texture than wool.</p><p>See WEAVING.</p><p>James A. Patch</p>