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Article ON THE ANTIQUITY OF GLOVES. Page 1 of 1
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On The Antiquity Of Gloves.
ON THE ANTIQUITY OF GLOVES .
TO THE EDITOR . SIR , —Having recently been in company with several Brethren , the conversation turned on the antiquity of gloves . I have since been curious enough , to inquire into the subject , as to the opinions of our ancient writers . I am happy to inform you , that my labours have been well paid , having found elucidations of the subject in the original Holy Writ . I have therefore annexed some observations from the most apfoundation of
proved authors , in conjunction ivith remarks on the loosing and taking off the shoe , which I trust will be interesting to your readers . In olden times it was the custom ( among the Jews and Egyptians ) to draw the Glove from off the hand in ratifying any bargain , the idea was , that such act was a kind of pledge or solemn declaration , that both parties were perfectly willing to accede to the proposition made . The same practice was observed by some nations , when any two men agreed and cast
to fig ht a duel , the Glove was drawn from the hand of the one , at the feet of his antagonist , as a sort of challenge ; it is , however , not precisely known whence the origin of this ancient custom . This practice is , however , widely different from that commonly called slipping the shoe , as stated in the sacred volume , where Moses was directed to pull off his shoes because the ground whereon he stood was holyVide Exodusiii 5
. , . . By Joshua the same reason was given for being directed to take off his shoes . Joshua , v . last verse . The learned Abarbanel , in his commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy , ingeniously points out the nice distinction between the following Hebrew Synonimes , namely ,
\ bji ' tfytz } bv Cholots Shotof Shol Shol signifies , to slip off the shoe in reverence of the spot whereon the person stood , as hy Moses , Exod . iii . 5 ; Joshua , v . last verse . Sholof , signifies , to draw the Glove from the hand in ratifying a bargain , as by Ruth , iv . 7 .
" Pi"J , Nangal , here means glove ; whereas , in the places before quoted , Nangal means shoe , as rendered in the school of the late learned Mendelsohn , viz . Handschuh . Cholots , pulled off in disgrace from the foot of the brother-in-law who refused to marry his brother ' s wife , as a mark of reproach and disgrace . Deuteronomy , xxv . 9 . The word NangalbRuthis improperlrendered in the English
, y , y Bible , Shoe , as will appear from the following illustration . By H ^ H in Deuteronomy it is understood to have been done as a mark of disrespect and reproach , whereas on the contrary by Ruth , it Was an act of charity and kindness towards her on the part of Boaz , and at the same time a mode usually adopted in ratifying or establishing a bargain between man and man . Thus it will that the translation
appear of Nangal above quoted from the German school is correct , from the reason of its being preceded by the verb Sholof , as also from the opposite signification it always bears when accompanied by Cholotz . Having thus quoted authority , I trust it will sufficiently satisfy certain parties as to explanation . GEORGE AARONS .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Antiquity Of Gloves.
ON THE ANTIQUITY OF GLOVES .
TO THE EDITOR . SIR , —Having recently been in company with several Brethren , the conversation turned on the antiquity of gloves . I have since been curious enough , to inquire into the subject , as to the opinions of our ancient writers . I am happy to inform you , that my labours have been well paid , having found elucidations of the subject in the original Holy Writ . I have therefore annexed some observations from the most apfoundation of
proved authors , in conjunction ivith remarks on the loosing and taking off the shoe , which I trust will be interesting to your readers . In olden times it was the custom ( among the Jews and Egyptians ) to draw the Glove from off the hand in ratifying any bargain , the idea was , that such act was a kind of pledge or solemn declaration , that both parties were perfectly willing to accede to the proposition made . The same practice was observed by some nations , when any two men agreed and cast
to fig ht a duel , the Glove was drawn from the hand of the one , at the feet of his antagonist , as a sort of challenge ; it is , however , not precisely known whence the origin of this ancient custom . This practice is , however , widely different from that commonly called slipping the shoe , as stated in the sacred volume , where Moses was directed to pull off his shoes because the ground whereon he stood was holyVide Exodusiii 5
. , . . By Joshua the same reason was given for being directed to take off his shoes . Joshua , v . last verse . The learned Abarbanel , in his commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy , ingeniously points out the nice distinction between the following Hebrew Synonimes , namely ,
\ bji ' tfytz } bv Cholots Shotof Shol Shol signifies , to slip off the shoe in reverence of the spot whereon the person stood , as hy Moses , Exod . iii . 5 ; Joshua , v . last verse . Sholof , signifies , to draw the Glove from the hand in ratifying a bargain , as by Ruth , iv . 7 .
" Pi"J , Nangal , here means glove ; whereas , in the places before quoted , Nangal means shoe , as rendered in the school of the late learned Mendelsohn , viz . Handschuh . Cholots , pulled off in disgrace from the foot of the brother-in-law who refused to marry his brother ' s wife , as a mark of reproach and disgrace . Deuteronomy , xxv . 9 . The word NangalbRuthis improperlrendered in the English
, y , y Bible , Shoe , as will appear from the following illustration . By H ^ H in Deuteronomy it is understood to have been done as a mark of disrespect and reproach , whereas on the contrary by Ruth , it Was an act of charity and kindness towards her on the part of Boaz , and at the same time a mode usually adopted in ratifying or establishing a bargain between man and man . Thus it will that the translation
appear of Nangal above quoted from the German school is correct , from the reason of its being preceded by the verb Sholof , as also from the opposite signification it always bears when accompanied by Cholotz . Having thus quoted authority , I trust it will sufficiently satisfy certain parties as to explanation . GEORGE AARONS .