Qara: The Ancient Custom of TEARING your Clothes

Tearing Garments: qara, verb (Strong’s 7167)

Root: קָרַע

Sounds like: kaw-raw

In the Biblical era, the tearing of one’s clothes was an outward expression of big feelings, primarily grief, but also anger, outrage, shock and indignation. Let’s take a look at the examples found in the Bible:

Genesis 37:29, 34 After Joseph’s brothers decided to throw him into a pit, Reuben returned and found that his brother Joseph was no longer there. Not knowing that the other brothers had sold Joseph to slave traders,  Reuben tore his garments in guilt and grief. When they told their father, Jacob, that his son had (presumably) died, he also tore his garments in agony.

Genesis 44:13 When Joseph saw that his brothers did not recognize him in Egypt, he planned to trick them by slipping a vessel into Benjamin’s sack and accusing them of stealing. When the vessel was discovered in Benjamin’s sack the brothers all tore their clothes in fear of losing their youngest brother.

Numbers 14:6-9 When the spies went into the promised land and reported that it was too risky to enter, two of the spies (Joshua and Caleb) couldn’t believe the people’s lack of faith and they tore their clothes in anguish.

Joshua 7:5-12 Joshua also tore his clothes again, this time in fear, when he heard that the men of Ai were coming to destroy them.

Judges 11:30-40 In this particularly horrific story, Jephthah made a promise to YHWH to sacrifice the first person to come out of the door, so that the Ammonites could be defeated. When Jephthah’s daughter came through the door Jephthah tore his clothes in great grief knowing that he would live up to his promise and kill his own daughter.

There were many examples of David tearing his clothes:

2 Samuel 1:1-4, 11-12 When David heard that Saul and Jonathan had died he tore his clothes, wept, fasted, and grievously mourned.

2 Samuel 3:31-34 When king David heard that Abner had been violently killed by his cousin and commander, Joab, David demanded that Joab and all the people tear their clothes, don themselves in ashes, and mourn in the streets.

2 Samuel 13:17-19 When David’s daughter Tamar was raped by her brother, she tore her clothes, put ashes on her head, and cried bitterly. David did not tear his clothes for his daughter. This atrocity of incestuous rape set off a chain of events that would have devastating results on David’s family.

2 Samuel 13:30-33 Absalom, perhaps pushed by David’s lack of action, decided to take revenge for his sister’s rape. He would trick Amnon and kill him. David was led to assume that all  his sons had been murdered by his rebellious son Absalom, and so he tore his clothes and laid on the ground in grief. All his servants followed suit. However, all of Davis’s sons had not been killed. Only Amnon, the brother who had raped Tamar, perished. This was Absalom’s revenge in honour of his sister.

2 Samuel 15:30-34 After this event, Absalom tried to take the kingdom away from his father and claim it for himself. David and his loyal people left Jerusalem and they ascended the Mount of Olives barefoot and weeping. On their way David met Hushai, who mourned with torn clothes and dust on his head, and he asked him to enter the camp of Absalom as a false friend. Hushai agreed and was instrumental in bringing the downfall of Absalom.

2 Samuel 18:33, 19:1-4 Eventually the traitorous Absalom was killed, and although David greatly grieved his death, there was no mention that David tore his clothes at the news. 

After the reign of David, people continued the outward expressive symbol of tearing clothes:

1 Kings 21:21-29 The people under Ahab and Jezebel’s guidance had rejected YHWH, so YHWH announced that He would reject them and allow disaster to come upon them. In response, Ahab tore his clothes, put on sack-cloth and fasted in humility. YHWH, seeing Ahab’s humility, opted not to destroy Ahab, but to bring that fate upon Ahab’s sons instead.

2 Kings 2:12 Out of his own personal grief, the prophet Elisha tore his clothes when Elijah disappeared into heaven.

2 Kings 5:7-8 The king of Israel tore his clothes when the king of Aram demanded that he heal the Aram warrior, Naaman. Then the prophet Elisha chastised the king of Israel, asking him why he tore his clothes? According to Elisha, this request wasn’t a thing to grieve over. It was, potentially, a good thing that the Aramean’s put stock in the power of YHWH’s chosen prophet. (To learn more about this story check out last week’s blog post, or visit my youtube sermon, here: **).

2 Kings 6:30 The siege of Samaria by the Arameans was devastating. When the Israelite king heard that the people were eating their own children to survive the famine caused by the seige,  he tore his garments in great grief.

2 King 11:13-14 (see also 2 Chron 23:13) When the people decided to depose queen Athaliah and crown a new king, she tore her clothes in anger and shame and cried “treason”.

2 Kings 19:1 (see also Isaiah 37:1) When Assyria surrounded Jerusalem in a siege, king Hezekiah tore his clothes, wrapped himself in sackcloth and entered the Temple and called on the prophet, Isaiah, to offer a prayer for the remnant people. YHWH responded and promised victory.

2 Kings 22:11-20 (see also 2 Chron 34) After reading the sacred book of the Law (Torah), which had not been read for many years, king Josiah tore his clothes in sorrow and humility. Huldah the prophetess shared YHWH’s response to Josiah’s messengers:

2 Kings 22:18-20

[Huldah:] ”To the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of YHWH, this is what you shall say to him: “This is what YHWH, the God of Israel says: ‘Regarding the words which you have heard, since your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before YHWH when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become an object of horror and a curse, and you have torn [wa-ti’q’ra וַתִּקְרַע֙] your clothes and wept before Me, I have indeed heard you,’ declares YHWH.” Therefore, behold, I am going to gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not look at all the devastation that I am going to bring on this place.’” So they brought back word to the king.

Jeremiah 41:1-8 After the Babylonians defeated Judah, Gedaliah, a Jewish man, was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar to be the Governor of his newly acquired Babylonian territory. Ishmael and his men assassinated Gedaliah and murdered all the Jews who were with him at a banquet. This meant that there would be no Jew looking after the land. Before the news came out about the slaughter, eighty men from Shiloh, lamenting their loss against Babylon, came to Judah with torn clothes, shaved beards, cut skin, and carrying grain sacrifices and incense. Ishmael and his men killed most of them and threw them into the city cistern.

Job 1:20 When Job heard that all of his children had died, he tore his clothes, shaved his head, fell down to the ground and worshipped YHWH. In solidarity, three of Job’s friends met with Job. Upon seeing him they tore their clothes and wept (Job 2:12).

Ezra 9:1-6 During the second Temple period, after the exiles were allowed to return from Babylon, Ezra tore his clothes and pulled out his hair when he heard that the people had intermarried with Gentiles.

Esther 4:1-3 While the Jews were living in Persia, after the exile, Mordecai heard about Haman’s plot of genocide (an attempt to wipe out the Jewish race). In response to this terrible news, he tore his clothes, draped himself in sackcloth and ashes, and wailed in the city. The Jews in the city followed suit in their grief and worry.

In the New Testament era we can see that the practice of tearing one’s garments continued. During Yeshua’s trial, the High Priest famously tore his garments after hearing Yeshua’s response to the priest’s inquiry, “tell us whether You are the Messiah, the Son of God”

Matthew 26:51-67 (see also Mark 14:61-65)

Now the chief priests and the entire Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward, and said, “This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.’” 

The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You offer no answer for what these men are testifying against You?” But Jesus kept silent.

And the high priest said to Him, “I place You under oath by the living God, to tell us whether You are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Then the high priest tore [Greek: dierrēxen] his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? See, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?” They answered, “He deserves death!” Then they spit in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, “Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?”

It’s worth pointing out that this action was particularly dramatic considering that the Priest’s garment (ephod) was designed to resist tearing (see Exodus 28:32, Exodus 39:23).

There was also an exanoke of tearing garments during Paul and Barnabas’ missionary activities. After a disabled man was miraculously able to walk, the people of Lystra thought Paul and Barnabas were gods:

Acts 14:11-15a  

When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have become like men and have come down to us!” And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, since he was the chief speaker. Moreover, the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. 

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about it, they tore [Greek: diarrēxantes] their ]robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men, of the same nature as you, preaching the gospel to you, to turn from these useless things to a living God…”

Prophetic Tearing

One of the primary prophecies was the tearing of the kingdom. Israel was never meant to be a kingdom nation. YHWH was their king, but they so badly wanted to be like their neighbours. YHWH allowed it, but under the strict rule of having no other gods in the kingdom and listening and obeying the voice of YHWH. When Saul violated these ground rules, he realised that he had lost his kingship and he, indeed, tore some clothes, but they weren’t his clothes:

1 Samuel 15:24-31

Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have violated the command of YHWH and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. Now then, please pardon my sin and return with me, so that I may worship YHWH.” 

But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of YHWH, and YHWH has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 

Then Samuel turned to go, but Saul grasped the edge of his robe, and tore it [wai-yiqara וַיִּקָּרַֽע]. So Samuel said to him, “YHWH has torn [qara קָרַ֨ע] the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbour, who is better than you. Also the Glory of Israel will not lie nor change His mind; for He is not a man, that He would change His mind.” 

Then Saul said, “I have sinned; but please honour me now before the elders of my people and before all Israel, and go back with me, so that I may worship YHWH your God.” So Samuel went back following Saul, and Saul worshipped YHWH.

After Samuel died, Saul feared the fact that he was without access to YHWH, so he used a sorceress to bring Samuel back from the dead:

1 Samuel 28:15-19

And Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” 

Saul replied, “I am very distressed, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has abandoned me and no longer answers me, either through prophets or in dreams; therefore I have called you, so that you may let me know what I should do.” 

Samuel said, “But why ask me, since YHWH has abandoned you and has become your enemy? And YHWH has done just as He spoke through me; for YHWH has torn [wai’yi’q’ra וַיִּקְרַ֨ע] the kingdom from your hand and given it to your neighbour, to David. Just as you did not obey YHWH and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so YHWH has done this thing to you this day. Furthermore, YHWH will also hand Israel along with you over to the Philistines; so tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Indeed, YHWH will hand the army of Israel over to the Philistines!”

Samuel was yanked out of the realm of heaven only to confirm that YHWH had fulfilled his promise to Saul: the kingdom had been torn out of his reach and given to David.

Two generations later Solomon would face the same issue. Because of his disobedience and his unrepentance, YHWH would tear the kingdom away from Solomon. However, this time, because YHWH had promised David an eternal line to the throne, YHWH would not tear away the entirety of the kingdom: 

1 Kings 11:9-13

Now YHWH was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from YHWH, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him regarding this thing, that he was not to follow other gods; but he did not comply with what YHWH had commanded. So YHWH said to Solomon, “Since you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will certainly tear tear [qa’roa e-q’ra קָרֹ֨עַ אֶקְרַ֤ע] the kingdom away from you, and will give it to your servant. However, I will not do it in your days, only for the sake of your father David; but I will tear [e-q’ra’ena אֶקְרָעֶֽנָּה] it away from the hand of your son. Yet I will not tear [lo e-q’ra לֹ֣א אֶקְרָ֔ע] away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

Solomon was spared from seeing his kingdom torn apart, but his heir would feel the loss. Jeroboam would take over the ten tribes that Solomon’s family would lose:

1 Kings 11:29-34a

And it came about at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had clothed himself with a new cloak; and both of them were alone in the field. Then Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which was on him and tore [wai-yi’q’raeha וַיִּ֨קְרָעֶ֔הָ] it into twelve pieces. And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces; for this is what YHWH, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, I am going to tear [qo’rea קֹרֵ֤עַ] the kingdom away from the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes (but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel), because they have abandoned Me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the sons of Ammon; and they have not walked in My ways, doing what is right in My sight and keeping My statutes and My ordinances, as his father David did. Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand…”

Defying God was often the catalyst for a great tearing. Jeroboam routinely defied YHWH. While burning incense at the altar that he built in Bethel, an unnamed prophet spoke against him:

1 Kings 13:1-5

Now behold, a man of God came from Judah to Bethel by the word of YHWH, while Jeroboam was standing at the altar to burn incense. And he cried out against the altar by the word of YHWH and said, “Altar, altar, this is what YHWH says: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall burn on you.’”

Then he gave a sign on the same day, saying, “This is the sign which YHWH has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn [ni-q’ra נִקְרָ֔ע] to pieces and the ashes which are on it shall be poured out.’” 

Now when the king heard the statement of the man of God which he cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” But his hand which he had stretched out toward him dried up, and he could not draw it back to himself. The altar also was torn [ni-q’ra נִקְרָ֔ע] to pieces and the ashes were poured out from the altar, in accordance with the sign which the man of God had given by the word of YHWH.

The tearing of the altar and the pouring of ashes was a rejection of the sacrifices that Jeroboam was giving. He wasn’t a sincere follower of YHWH. He worshipped other gods and the consequences were dire. Jeroboam’s son Abijah would be struck with a fatal illness. As Abijah was dying, the prophet Ahijah (not to be confused with ABijah, the son) delivered a prophecy to Jeroboam’s wife, saying:

1 Kings 14:6b-10

“Come in, wife of Jeroboam; why do you make yourself unrecognizable? Nevertheless, I am sent to you with a harsh message. Go, say to Jeroboam, ‘This is what YHWH, the God of Israel says: “Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over My people Israel, and tore [wa-e’q’ra וָאֶקְרַ֤ע] the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you—yet you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, to do only that which was right in My sight; you also have done more evil than all who were before you, and you have gone and made for yourself other gods and cast metal images to provoke Me to anger, and have thrown Me behind your back— therefore behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and I will eliminate from Jeroboam every male person, both bond and free in Israel, and I will make a clean sweep of the house of Jeroboam, just as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone.”

As soon as Jeroboam’s wife returned home, their son died. The sweeping had begun and the tearing was fierce.

Poetically Torn

Tearing is a very visual, dramatic, action and perfect for poetic impact. Solomon expressed, in his epic time poem, that there was: “A time to tear [li-q’roa לִקְר֙וֹעַ֙] apart and a time to sew together” (Ecclesiastes 3:7a). And as we’ve seen, the Bible was full of tearing, but not as much sewing or mending.

Surprisingly the tearing image is only used once in the Psalter:

Psalm 35:11-17

[David:] Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me things that I do not know. They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, but my prayer kept returning to me.

I went about as though it were my friend or brother; I bowed down in mourning, like one who mourns for a mother. But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together; the afflicted people whom I did not know gathered together against me, they slandered tore [qa’r’u קָֽרְע֥וּ] at me without ceasing.

Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed at me with their teeth. Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, my only life from the lions.

Most translators have opted to insert the word slandered instead of tore, but that misses the dramatic impact. David, the poet king, meant to express the feeling of being torn by claws and gnashed by teeth, like he was in the grasp of a merciless wild animal. In these dire circumstances of helplessness, David called out to YHWH for rescue.

Years later, Isaiah prayed that YHWH would tear the division between God and humanity and come and dwell amongst His people:

Isaiah 64:1-2

Oh, that You would tear [qarata קָרַ֤עְתָּ] open the heavens and come down, that the mountains would quake at Your presence— as fire kindles brushwood, as fire causes water to boil— to make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence!

This prayer was fulfilled by the life and death of Yeshua. YHWH did come down as Emanuel ( meaning, God with us). He walked amongst the people and His sacrifice on the cross broke the chains of death,  and in doing so he broke open the barrier between God and His people:

Mark 15:37-39

But Jesus let out a loud cry, and died. And the veil of the temple was torn [Greek: eschisthē] in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw that He died in this way, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

The Temple curtain was completely torn all the way through. This dramatic event expressed both the grief of God (tearing the fabric) and the (not so subtle) hint that God was no longer hidden behind the curtain. A painful tearing opened up a new path. Believers could now be in the presence of God because Jesus’ sacrifice broke the curse of death that separated us from YHWH the great life-giver. 

Another prophecy tied to Yeshua, was the actions taken by the king of Judah, Jehoiakim. Jeremiah had dictated his prophecies to his scribe Baruch. These words were presented to king Jehoiakim (a son of the faithful king Josiah). King Jehoiakim tore the words of YHWH in Jeremiah’s scroll and threw it into the fire. He was not afraid of his actions, nor did he tear his clothes in humility. Instead, he ordered the capture of Jeremiah and Baruch (Jeremiah 36:21-32 ). YHWH, however, hid them away and told Jeremiah to re-write the scroll.

This tearing of God’s word can be symbolically found in Yeshua’s death. John’s poetic description of Yeshua, found in the beginning of his gospel narrative, described Yeshua as “the Word.” Jehoiakim’s tried to destroy the Word, but Jeremiah rewrote the words and they became YHWH’s eternal voice. The Adversary thought he had won when Yeshua was hung on the cross, but God re-wrote the narrative. There would be no death for the God of all creation. Yeshua went to the grave, but He did not stay there. Like the re-written word, He would be eternal.

In the end, YHWH had something to say about all this rendering/tearing of garments that people did throughout the centuries:

Joel 2:11b-14a

The day of YHWH is indeed great and very awesome, and who can endure it?

“Yet even now,” declares YHWH, “Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping, and mourning; and tear your heart [w-qir’u l-vavkem וְקִרְע֤וּ לְבַבְכֶם֙] and not merely your garments.”

Now return to YHWH your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in mercy and relenting of catastrophe. Who knows, He might turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him…

Render our hearts and not our garments. This is a lesson for all of us. We can be dramatic with our emotions, our outward expressions of grief, anger, shock and indignation, but YHWH knows our hearts and our sincerity. 

These days, people don’t rip their clothes in anguish, but perhaps social media is the new torn garment, a visible, outward, lament for all to see. The Social Media garment is a place to express our indignation and the rest of our big feelings. If sewn with humility and grace that might be fine, but for many there is no humility or grace attached to their web-postings. We should be careful and cautious of hypocritical expressions of grief and anger which will usually elevate the individual at the expense of others. Don’t fall into that trap as a writer or reader of social media. YHWH wants our genuine love, not our flair for the dramatic or any kind of attention seeking behaviour.

However, as one who has experienced great grief, the desire to rip something apart is completely understandable. There is a raw emotion attached to grief that is difficult to express. We must me very caring and compassionate to those grieving. To be alive and yet experience the darkness of death so closely is a feeling of being out of synch with a world. For the one grieving there is a slow rip that takes you out of time while the rest of the world carries on as normal. It feels wrong, like your stuck on a path full of thistles that won’t let you move forward. It’s a slow, painful, slog and each step brings more hurt, and yet standing still doesn’t lessen the pain.

 In our grief and mourning, let’s tear at our hearts, and open them up to YHWH’s love. In my experience, it’s the only way to live with grief and not die with it.

Next week: khesed and remembering my friend, Elmer MacDonald