H8242 H8242
Sackcloth worn in mourning or penitence; also a coarse bag or sack for carrying grain
A coarse, dark fabric — typically woven from goat hair — that served two distinct purposes in the ancient world. Most often it appears as the garment of grief and repentance: Jacob tears his clothes and puts on saq when he believes Joseph is dead (Gen 37:34), kings gird it around their loins in national crisis (1 Kgs 20:31-32), and the prophets call Israel to 'put on sackcloth and roll in ashes' (Jer 48:37). Less frequently, the same word names the utilitarian grain bag, as in the Joseph narrative where the brothers' silver is hidden in their saqqim (Gen 42:25-35). The Spanish 'cilicio' and French 'sac' preserve both the penitential and material dimensions of this ancient textile.
Senses
1. sackcloth for mourning — Coarse woven cloth (usually of goat hair) worn against the skin as a sign of mourning, lamentation, or penitence before God. Dominating with 42 of 48 occurrences, this sense pervades prophetic and narrative literature. Jacob dons sackcloth for Joseph (Gen 37:34), David commands it after Abner's death (2 Sam 3:31), and Rizpah spreads it on the rock during her vigil (2 Sam 21:10). The psalmist celebrates when God turns 'my sackcloth into dancing' (Ps 30:11). The multilingual evidence — 'cilicio' (spa), 'sac' (fra), 'Sacktuch' (deu) — consistently points to a penitential garment rather than a container. 42×
AR["الْمَسْحَ", "بِ-مِسْحٍ", "بِالْمَسْحِ", "بِـ-مِسْحٍ", "مَسْحًا", "مَسْحٌ", "مَسْحٍ", "مُسوحًا", "مُسوحٌ", "مُسُوحًا", "مِسْحاً", "مِسْحًا", "مِسْحٌ"]·ben["-শোকবস্ত্রটি", "চট", "চটগুলি", "চটবস্ত্র", "শোকবস্ত্র", "শোকবস্ত্রের", ""]·DE["Krieg-sackcloth", "Sacktuch", "sackcloth"]·EN["sackcloth", "the-sackcloth", "was-sackcloth", "with-sackcloth"]·FR["sac", "שק"]·heb["ה-שק", "שׂק", "שק", "שקים"]·HI["टाट", "टाट-में"]·ID["dengan-kain-kabung", "kain-kabung"]·IT["cilicio", "sacco", "sackcloth"]·jav["bagor", "bagor-bagor", "goni", "kain-mau", "karung", "laken", "laken-goni", "lan-ing-sadaya", "luwung", "rasukan-goni"]·KO["굵은-베-로", "굵은-베-였고", "굵은-베를", "굵은베를", "베", "베-을", "베가", "베를", "베옷-을", "베와"]·PT["Saco", "era-cilicio", "o-pano-de-saco", "pano-de-saco", "panos-de-saco", "saco", "sacos"]·RU["веретище", "во-вретище", "вретища", "вретищами", "вретище", "вретищем", "мешковинами", "мешковины"]·ES["Saco", "cilicio", "de-cilicio", "el-cilicio", "saco", "sacos"]·SW["gunia", "magunia", "nguo-ya-gunia", "nguo-za-gunia", "nguo-za-magunia"]·TR["cul", "culu", "cuval-bezi", "çul", "çullar", "çulları", "çulun", "çuvalları"]·urd["ٹاٹ", "ٹاٹ-کے"]
Gen 37:34, 2 Sam 3:31, 2 Sam 21:10, 1 Kgs 20:31, 1 Kgs 20:32, 1 Kgs 21:27, 1 Kgs 21:27, 2 Kgs 6:30, 2 Kgs 19:1, 2 Kgs 19:2, 1 Chr 21:16, Neh 9:1 (+30 more)
2. sack or bag — A bag or sack made of coarse material, used for transporting grain or goods. This concrete, utilitarian sense appears six times, concentrated in the Joseph cycle where the brothers' grain sacks become instruments of dramatic irony: silver concealed in their saqqim (Gen 42:25,27,35). Possibly also in Lev 11:32, where a saq is listed among vessels that become unclean. The translation shift is telling: where mourning contexts yield 'sackcloth/cilicio,' these passages produce 'sack/saco/Säcke' — a plain container word. 6×
AR["أَكياساً", "جُوالِقَهُ", "جُوالِقَهُمْ", "جُوالِقِهِ", "فِي-جُوالِقِهِ", "مِسْحٍ"]·ben["চট", "তাদের-থলি", "তার-থলিতে", "থলি", "থলে"]·DE["ihre-Säcke", "in-seinem-Sack", "sack", "sacks", "seinen-Sack"]·EN["his-sack", "in-his-sack", "sack", "sacks", "their-sacks"]·FR["dans-son-sack", "leur-sacks", "sack", "sacks", "son-sack"]·heb["ב-שקו-ו", "שק", "שקו-ו", "שקיהם-ם", "שקים"]·HI["अपना-थैला", "अपने-थैले", "अपने-थैले-में", "बोरा", "बोरे"]·ID["di-karungnya", "karung", "karung-karung", "karung-karung-mereka", "karungnya"]·IT["in-suo-sack", "loro-sacks", "sack", "sacks", "suo-sack"]·jav["ing-karungipun", "kantong", "karung", "karung-karungipun", "karungipun"]·KO["그들의-자루들을", "그의-자루", "그의-자루-에", "그의-자루를", "자루나", "자루들을"]·PT["em-saco-dele", "saco", "saco-dele", "sacos", "sacos-deles"]·RU["в-мешке-его", "мешка", "мешки", "мешки-свои", "мешок-его", "мешок-свой"]·ES["en-saco-suyo", "saco", "saco-suyo", "sacos", "sacos-de-ellos"]·SW["gunia", "magunia", "mtumbi-wake", "na-kumpa", "na-tazama", "wake"]·TR["çuval", "çuvallar", "çuvallarını", "çuvalına", "çuvalındaydı", "çuvalını"]·urd["بوروں-اپنے", "بوریا", "بورے", "بورے-اس-کے", "بورے-اس-کے-میں", "بورے-اپنے"]
Related Senses
G0846 1. third-person pronoun reference (5552×)H???? 1. (4670×)H6213a 1. do, perform, act (2383×)G4160 1. do, act, perform (473×)H2719 1. sword, weapon of war (410×)H4196 1. altar (place of sacrifice) (403×)H5221 1. Hifil: to strike in battle, smite enemies (362×)H0899b 1. garment, article of clothing (216×)H6213a 2. make, construct, fabricate (148×)H7393 1. chariot, chariotry (117×)H3772 1. cut a covenant / make a pact (97×)H5060 1. touch physically (Qal) (96×)H3615 1. complete a task (Piel) (85×)H3772 2. cut off / destroy (Hifil causative) (81×)H3920 1. capture, seize (Qal) (76×)H???? 12. (76×)H3772 3. be cut off / be eliminated (Niphal) (74×)H6213a 3. be done, be made (Niphal) (73×)H7198 1. bow (weapon) (72×)H7979 1. table (71×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† שַׂק n.m. Jos 9:4 sack sackcloth (v. SchwallyZAW xi (1891), 173 who conj. Egyptian origin; NH סַק sackcloth (rare); Assyrian šaḳḳu, sack (DlHWB 687 a), sackcloth (WklAltor. Forsch. vi. 44); Ethiopic ሠቅ = BH; Aramaic סַקָּא, ܣܰܩܳܐ; Gk. σάκκος LewyFremdw. 87);—abs. שׂ׳ Gn 37:34 +, שָׂ֑ק Je 48:37 +; sf. שַׂקִּי ψ 30:12, etc.; pl. שַׂקִּים Jos 9:4 +, sf. שַׂקֵּיהֶם Gn 42:35;— 1. sack, for grain Gn…