Q. 1. In the Holy Bible, there are a number of references to the sackcloth that was worned by the believers as an outward sign of grief, humility, and/or, sadness. [See 1 Mac 3:47; Esther 4:3-4; Is 58:5; Jer 6:26; Dan 9:3; Jon 3:6; Mt 11:21.] What is a sackcloth?

A. 1. When reference is made to a sackcloth, many believers visualize a person wearing a burlap bag with holes for the head and arms. Such is not accurate. In biblical days, the sackcloth was made from the coarse hair of a black goat.

The wearing of a sackcloth, that caused a degree of pain and discomfort, was worn by one who was mourning or as a public sign of repentance, atonement, and/or submission. For this reason, sackcloth was sometimes worn by the Prophets as an outward sign of their call to repentance.