The Train of His Robe —

“In the year that King Uzziah died,” declares the prophet Isaiah, “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1). In the ancient cultures, garments played an important role which is why Isaiah’s observation concerning the Lord’s robe, and specifically to the “train of His robe,” is especially significant.

The Hebrew word for train is shûwl (shool) which means hem, border, fringe, bottom, edge of a skirt, or train. In the ancient world, the hem or fringes of a garment represented authority, thus to cut off the hem of one’s garment was to strip that person of his authority and personality. In fact, a husband could divorce his wife by simply cutting off the hem of her robe. A nobleman could authenticate his name on a clay tablet by pressing his particular hem on a clay tablet. It was like a signature or a seal. Thus, when David cut off the hem of Saul’s garment, he was cutting off his genealogy that was embroidered in the hem. That was his symbol of kingship. This is why David later repented of that act against “the Lord’s anointed” (1 Sam 24). Joseph’s so-called “coat of many colours” was actually a seamless robe with a special hem which implied a position of privilege. When Ruth asked Boaz to put his hem over her, she was putting the claim of levirate marriage upon him which he, of course, accepted.[1]