LEATHER (עﯴר, H6425; δέρμα, δερμάτινος, leather, leathern, Gen 3:21; 27:15, 16; Lev 11:32; 13:48; Num 31:20; Matt 3:4; Mark 1:6; Heb 11:37). Leather, skin of an animal, hide, an article of clothing made of leather, tanned hide.

Leather from the skins of animals is one of the most ancient materials used for clothing, shoes, and other purposes and it is strange that the specific term “leather” is not found more often in the Bible. Most of the time, particularly in the OT, the term “skin” (עﯴר, H6425) is used to speak of the articles made from animal hides. The first mention of leather or skin is in the Garden of Eden where animal skin was the first wearing apparel of man: “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them” (Gen 3:21). Leather was widely used throughout the ancient Near E and also by the early Hebrews. This is apparent from the test used to determine leprosy in humans or their clothing: “When there is a leprous disease in a garment...or in a skin or in anything made of skin, if the disease shows greenish or reddish in the garment...it is a leprous disease and shall be shown to the priest” (Lev 13:47-49). Some scholars believe that “leprosy in garments” was the result of green or badly tanned skin which was infected with decay. Such garments, both of wool and of skin, were to be burned. Elijah is said to have worn a garment of hair cloth “with a girdle of leather about his loins” (2 Kings 1:8). John the Baptist also wore a garment of camel’s hair and a girdle around his waist (Matt 3:4). People who have killed others should purify “every garment, every article of skin, all work of goats’ hair” (Num 31:19, 20). In describing the sufferings of the saints, the writer of Hebrews uses the specific term “goat skin” (aigeion perma): “They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted” (Heb 11:37).

Besides being used for clothing, leather was used to cover the Tabernacle in the wilderness (Exod 26:14; Num 4:6). Complete hides of goats, properly tanned, with the holes sewn up, served as water and wine containers profusely in the Near E. Fermenting wine could not be placed into old skins but into new and more flexible containers (Matt 9:17; Judg 4:19). Early writing materials were of carefully tanned fine leather, particularly of kids or lambs. It became known as vellum and parchment. Paul asks Timothy to bring him some type of parchment or articles made of parchment (membrana) to him in prison (2 Tim 4:13). Parchment, however, should not be confused with papyrus, the most common writing material of ancient times. Leather also was used for tent-making and many other articles and utensils, such as armor, shoes, containers, ornaments, shields, whips, harness, etc. The DSS were written on tanned leather which was sewn together.

Leather came from various kinds of animals: oxen, donkeys, sheep, goats, kids, and rams (Gen 27:16; Exod 25:5). Skins of lizards, badgers, leopards, and crocodiles also were used in OT times. Some scholars believe that a tough lasting sandal was made from a special kind of skin, perhaps from a porpoise (Ezek 16:10).

In the early nomadic life each family tanned its own hides. In later times certain men took up the business of tanning, e.g., Simon the Tanner in Joppa (Acts 10:6). Generally the tanner cured leather by soaking it in large vats, scraping off all of the fat, blood and hair with sharp knives or stones, and then laying it out to dry. Afterward it was oiled and rubbed until it became tough and pliable. The tanner used lime or juices of plants and fruits, sometimes bark from trees, animal and vegetable oils, to tan and preserve the hide as well as dye it in various colors. The ancients were expert tanners and it is surprising how durable and long-lasting their products were. No doubt the most expert tanners were employed to manufacture the sturdy shields for the army (2 Sam 1:21; Isa 22:6). Once the term skin is used fig. in the OT when Job says, “I have escaped by the skin of my teeth” (Job 19:20), a phrase which to this day describes a narrow escape from danger or a predicament. See Tanner.

Bibliography A. Edersheim, Sketches of Jewish Social Life (1927), 182, 183; A. E. Bailey, Daily Life In Bible Times (1943), 143, 167; A. Klinck, Home Life in Bible Times (1959), 96, 97; W. S. McCullough in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (1962), III, 104; A. Van Deursen, Illustrated Dictionary of Bible Manners and Customs (1967), 46-48, 60-76, 112, 124.