Introduction: The Synoptic Gospels describe John the Baptist as wearing “a garment from camel’s hair (ἔνδυμα ἀπῒ τριχῳν καμήλου)” and “a girdle of a skin (ζώνην δερματίνην)” (Matt. 3:4; Mark 1:6). However, Jesus describes him as “neither eating bread nor drinking wine” (Luke 7:33, KJV). The Gospel of the Ebionites portrays John the Baptist as consuming manna-like cakes cooked in olive oil (Panarion 30.13.4-5) rather than locusts as depicted in Mark 1:6. An old Slavic version of Josephus’s Antiquities records John as saying that he lived on “cane and roots and tree-food” (Mead 1924, p. 104; cf. Tabor 2015). Given John’s known veganism and asceticism, it is unlikely that he wore animal skins. And the hairy garment and the leather belt can be reinterpreted as follows:
1. Linguistic Flexibility
The Greek phrases describing John’s clothing could refer to a garment textured like camel hair and a girdle resembling leather rather than actual animal products. Ancient cultures often described fabrics by their appearance rather than their material origin. Likewise, the character pei4 (皮) in the Hong Kong Cantonese phrase pei4baau1 (皮包), literally 'skin bag,' can refer to either synthetic leather, or genuine leather, or any material resembling leather.
2. Plant-Based Alternatives
In John the Baptist’s time, not all materials resembling fur or leather were of animal origin. There were plant-based substitutes for hairy garments and leather belts, including:
Flax or hemp fabric (coarse and rough, resembling camel hair);
Jute or sisal fibers (used for sackcloth, similar in texture to a camel-hair robe);
Palm or date fibers (woven into rough garments);
Barkcloth (made from the inner bark of trees, e.g., fig, mulberry, and breadfruit, and, when treated with oils or wax, closely resembling tanned leather in texture and function)
Palm fiber or woven reeds (used for belts and ropes);
Linen or hemp stiffened with natural resins or oils (easily mistaken for leather).
3. Symbolic Interpretation
John the Baptist’s “hairy garment” and “leathern girdle” may not have been intended as a literal description of the fabric’s composition but rather as an indicator of his asceticism and austerity in the style of the prophet Elijah wearing “a hairy garment with a leather belt around his waist” (2 Kings 1:8).
4. Conclusion
John the Baptist, as a righteous figure (Luke 3:10-11, Luke 3:2, Matt. 3:1, Mark 1:4,), adhered to a vigorous form of austerity, making it highly unlikely that he would wear the skins of innocent creatures, as Kendall Jenner, Jennifer Lopez, and Cate Blanchett do. Given his staunchly vegan diet, the linguistic flexibility of biblical descriptions, and the availability of plant-based textile alternatives, it is reasonable to conclude that John’s clothing was not made of actual animal skins but rather from plant-derived alternatives.
Full Text: https://www.vegantheology.net/post/john-the-baptist-wears-no-animal-skins-by-dr-chapman-chen
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