Ancient Egyptian Sacred Girdles.
In all passages, except Isa. xxii, 21, -2"!!< is used of the girdle of the priests onl}', but in that instance it appears to have been worn by Shebna, the treasurer, as part of the insignia of his office ; unless it be sup- posed that he was of priestly rank, and wore it in his priestly capacity. He is called " high-pricsf in the
GIRDLE
877
GIRGASHITE
Chronicon Paschale, p. 115 a, and in the Jewish tradi- tion quoted bj' Jarchi ad loc. (J. The "curious gir- dle" (2Tn, che'sheb, something requiring inventive art, Exod. xxviii, 8) attached to the ephod was made of the same materials and colors as the ephod, that is, of "gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and tine twined linen." Josephus describes it as sewed to the breast- plate. After passing once round it was tied in front upon the .seam, the ends lianging down {A7ii. iii, 7, 5). According to Maimonides, it was of woven work. See Ephod. 7. In addition to these, P'^S'^nS, pethiffU', a covering or festive mantle (" stomacher," Isa. iii, 24), is a costlj'' girdle worn by women. The Vulgate ren- ders it fascia pectoralis. It would thus seem to corre- spond with the Latin sirophium, a belt worn by women about the breast. In the Sept., however, it is trans- lated xiTojif [.ttrro—up<l)vpoQ, " a tunic shot with purple," and Gesenius has '■'■huntcs FeyerkleiiV (comjiare Scliro- der, De Vest. Mul. p. 137, 404). 8. The Q-'-i^i.-p, Msh- shuriin', c\os&\y-tied articles, mentioned in Isa. iii, 20 (" head-bands") ; Jar. ii, 32 (" attire"), were probably girdles, although both Kinichi and Jarchi consider them as fillets for the hair. In the latter passage the Vul- gate has again fascia jJectoi-alis, and the Sept. crrjOo- 0£(T/i/f, an appropriate bridal ornament. See each of the above renderings in their place.
The common girdle was made of leather (2 Kings i, 8 ; Matt, iii, 4), like tliat worn hy the Kedouins of the present day, wlioni Curzon describes as "armed with a long crooked knife, and a pistol or two stuck in a red leatliern girdle" {Monist. of the Levant, p. 7). In tlie time of Chardin the nobles of Mingrelia wore girdles of leather, four fingers broad, and embossed with sil- ver. A finer girdle was made of linen (Jer. xiii, 1 ; Ezek. xvi, 10), embroidered with silk, and sometimes with gold and silver thread (Dan. x, 5 ; Rev. i, 13 ; XV, G), and frequentlj' studded with gold and precious stones or pearls (Le Bru3m, Vo'j. iv, 170 ; coinp. Virgil, j-Eneid, ix, 359). Morier (^Second Journe;/, p. 150), de- scribing the dress of the Armenian women, says, "They wear a silver girdle which rests on the liips, and is generally curiously wrought." The manufacture of girdles formed part of the employment of women (Prov. xxxi, 24).
The girdle was fastened by a clasp or buckle (2 Kings i, 8 ; Matt, iii, 4; Mark i, 4) of gold or silver, or tied in a knot (Jer. xiii, 1 ; Ezek. xvi, 10), so that the ends hung down in front, as in the figures on the ruins of Persepolis. It was worn by men about the loins, lience the expressions "girdle of tlie loins" or " of the reins" (□'I'lri^ "ilTX, Isa. xi, 5; C'rfbn "I'lTN, Isa. v, 27). The girdle of women was generally looser than that of the men, and was worn aliout the hips, except when they were actively engaged (Prov. xxxi, 17). Curzon (p. 58), describing the dress of the Ejj'ptian women, saj's, " Not round the waist, but round the hips a large and heavj- Cashmere shawl is worn over the yelek, and the whole gracefulness of an Egvptian dress consists in the way in which this is put on." The mil- itary girdle was worn about the waist; the sword or dagger was suspended from it (Judg. iii, IG; 2 Sam. XX, 8 ; Psa. xlv, 3). In the Nmeveh sculptures the soldiers are represented with broad girdles, to which the sword is attached, and through which two or even three daggers in a sheatli are passed (comp. Q. Curtius, iii, 3). Hence girding up the loins denotes preparation for battle or for active exertion (1 Kings xviii, 4G ; 2 Kings iv, 29; Job xxxviii, 3; Prov. xxxi, 17; Jer. i, 17 ; Luke xii, 35 ; 1 Pet. i, 13) ; and to " loose the gir- dle" was to give way to repose and indolence (Isa. v, 27). To loose the girdle and give it to another was a token of great confidence and affection (1 Sam. xviii, 4). In times of mourning, girdles of sackcloth were worn as marks of humiliation and sori'ow (Isa. iii, 24 ; xxii, 12).
In consequence of the costly materials of which gir^ dies were made, they were frequently given as pres- ents (1 Sam. xviii, 4 ; 2 Sam. xviii, 11), or in token cf honor (Rev. i, 15), as is still the custom in Persia (comp. INIorier, p. 93). Villages were given to the queens of Persia to supply them with girdles (Xenoph. Anah. i. 4,9; Plato, -4 /c.i, 123). 1
Ancient Girdles: 1,3, Egyptian; 2, rerscpolitiin ; 4, 5,6, As- syrian.
They were used as pockets, as among the Arabs still (Niebuhr, Descr. p. 56), and as purses, one end of the girdle being folded back for the purpose (Matt, x, 9 ; Mai'k vi, 8). Hence "zonam perdere," "to lose one's purse" (Hor. Epist. ii, 2, 40; compare Juv. xiv, 297). Inkhorns were also carried in the girdle (Ezek. ix, 2).