The Garment District

You are to keep My statutes. You shall not cross-breed two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment of two kinds of material mixed together.   Leviticus 19:19  NASB

You shall not wear a material of wool and linen combined together.  Deuteronomy 22:11  NASB

Two kinds/ wool and linen – On the surface even the addition in Leviticus to a commandment in Deuteronomy seems entirely unreasonable.  Why would wearing a garment of two fabrics, particularly of linen and wool, be a violation of God’s ordinances.  Is God really interested in the tailoring business?  I have read many Christian commentators who suggest that this verse is a case which justifies dismissing the Torah regulations as inapplicable today.  They go on to say since this seems to be some obscure rule governing an ancient people, it proves that the Jewish Law needs to be replaced with a more open theology of grace.  Certainly God can’t condemn us just because we have mixed fabric clothing.  How stupid is that!

What has been overlooked in this attempt to justify a “grace” theology is the cultural transition God is putting in place for His ex-slave nation.  If I told you that these two fabrics were associated with the Egyptian priesthood, and furthermore with the Egyptian practice of burial, would that open your eyes to the deeper reason God insists that his people not mix these fabrics?  Would you realize that this commandment is not about just any kind of cloth.  It is specifically about two fabrics that recall the Egyptian pagan religious rituals.  God wants His people to break free of the latent Egyptomania that they have lived with for generations.  Therefore, any substance or practice that reminds His chosen people of Egyptian thinking, that entices them to recall and return to the pagan culture, must be eliminated.

From a perception point of view, Linens had a significance serving as a mark of affluence and social standing among the populace in Egypt. The Pharaohs notably adorned themselves with linen garments of high quality, even in burial rituals where linen fabric was used to wrap them, symbolising wealth and stature in society. In Egypt, linen held a meaning beyond its material form. It symbolised purity and everlasting life to the people.[1]

We see that linen would have reminded God’s people of the Pharaohs, Egyptian purity, and Egyptian preoccupation with the after life.  But what about wool?

Around 300 BCE, cotton was introduced from India, silk from China and sheep were imported. However, linen continued to be the most favored fabric because silk was very expensive. During pharaonic times the Egyptians did not use wool because it was regarded to be ritually unclean.[2]

Notice that the combination of linen and wool really mixes two paradigmatic symbols embodying the cultural differences between Egypt and Israel.  Wool was unclean to Egyptians while it was an essential part of Israel’s culture, including the animal associated with penitential sacrifice.  Linen, on the other hand, was a part of the Egyptian religious emphasis on death, the polar opposite of God’s direction for Israel.  Now we understand that this commandment is about removing any traces of the slave culture, something just as applicable for us as it was for the Israelites.  The verse itself may find its home among those who have just left Egypt, but the application is for anyone who is leaving the pagan world behind.

Topical Index: wool, linen, slavery, Egypt, Leviticus 19:19, Deuteronomy 22:11

[1] https://woodsfinelinens.com/blogs/journal/the-history-of-linen-from-ancient-egypt-to-modern-luxury#:~:text=The%20Pharaohs%20notably%20adorned%20themselves,everlasting%20life%20to%20the%20people.

[2]https://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/anthropology/coptic/Coptweav.htm#:~:text=Around%20300%20BCE%2C%20cotton%20was,regarded%20to%20be%20ritually%20unclean.