Thinking out loud here, for some illustrations I'm doing, but it might be interesting to other people. Sorry I haven't linked the verses - that would be a massive faff.
In 1 Samuel 18v4:
Then Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his military tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.
The clothing words chosen by translators can vary widely, so it's always worth checking out the original Hebrew (While looking up
an interlinear is not a substitute for actually knowing Hebrew, I do know about ancient clothes, which, by the word choices they sometimes make, most translators don't. Not their fault - they can't know details of every subject!)
So, what Jonathan gave David was a mᵊʿîl, a maḏ and a ḥăḡôr (plus the sword and bow).
mᵊʿîl is a fairly clear clothing word.
- The high priest wore a blue one over his tunic (kutōneṯ), with pomegranates & bells round the hem and an opening in the center. Exodus 39v23-25
- Samuel's mother made him a little one every year 1 Samuel 2v19, and he wore one as an adult too 1 Samuel 15v27
(and as a ghost 1 Samuel 28v14). Saul wore one too - and in both cases they had a corner (or edge) that could be torn/cut off 1 Samuel 24v4.
- The 'long-sleeved/decorated robes' (pas kutōneṯ) that David's daughters wore were a kind of mᵊʿîl 2 Samuel 13v18 - and since Joseph also wore a pas kutōneṯ Genesis 37v3, I'm guessing his was also a kind of mᵊʿîl.
- David wore a linen one (plus an ephod) to dance before the ark 1 Chronicles 15v27.
- Various people also tore theirs when mourning, but that doesn't really tell us what they're like, except that they're occasionally mentioned in addition to 'beḡeḏ' (clothes) e.g. Ezra 9v3. And some random princes in a prophecy took them off Ezekiel 26v16.
- It's also used metaphorically for being clothed in joy, wrath or strength.
Therefore, I think 'robe' sounds like a good translation. Not a basic everyday tunic, but serving a similar purpose of clothing the whole body. Sometimes (always?) worn over a tunic. And, based on the descriptions, I think a voluminous, belted-poncho type robe, common in many ancient societies, such as Egypt, Persia, Greece & Rome.
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Persian guard in the British Museum
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My reconstruction. It's just a rectangle with a hole, but gives the impression of long sleeves.
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I like to draw their style based (loosely) on the rather unintelligible clothes on this ivory from Megiddo:
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This is bronze age, therefore close to David's time.
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ḥăḡôr is definitely a belt, or anything you gird yourself (ḥāḡar) with Genesis 3v7 - sometimes specifically a military belt 2 Samuel 20v8 (and sometimes used as a metonymy for being armed 2 Kings 3v21) . Sometimes not military at all Isaiah 3v24.
In context, a military belt would make sense.
And then there's the
maḏ. Unfortunately there aren't that many instances of it, and they don't all appear to be referring the the same thing.
- It is once used to refer to a priest's linen robe (usually called a kutōneṯ) Leviticus 6v10.
- Ehud strapped his 18" sword to his right thigh under his maḏ, and was able to access it quickly with his left hand Judges 3v16-21.
- In a clearly military context, Saul lent his to David, and he strapped his sword over it 1 Samuel 17v38-39. Joab also wore one with a belt and sword over it 2 Samuel 20v8. An unnamed Benjamite fled from battle with a torn one (in mourning?) 1 Samuel 4v12.
- People who travel the roads on white donkeys sit on them 🤷♀️ Judges 5v10.
- It's used metaphorically in a Psalm - 'He wore cursing like his maḏ" - which could be any kind of clothing Psalm 109v18.
- And that's it*.
In three of those instances someone 'puts it on' (lāḇaš), but Joab 'girded himself' (ḥāḡar) with his. So are we talking about a kilt? A military kilt? Kilts certainly were worn in warfare, sometimes with nothing else - see the armed man in the ivory above.
But what style of kilt? Why did Saul think it would help David, instead of him just wearing the armour over normal clothes? Were his normal clothes loose and baggy? Or was the kilt reinforced or padded in some way? What would it look like? Was Jonathan wearing it over his mᵊʿîl (certainly a kilt over a robe was sometimes worn by people like Philistines, Syrians, and Kushites)? Or, based on the order the clothes are mentioned, was he at that point only wearing the mᵊʿîl (presumably over a tunic), not any of his military gear, which it doesn't specifically mention him taking off?
Watch this space for my solutions...
*It also seems to mean 'measure' Jeremiah 13v25, but that doesn't help, as the etymology of clothing words is often weird - in English, 'shirt' and 'skirt' come fom the same root!
