himation · cloak, clothes

What it means

himation (ἱμάτιον) is a Greek word of the Bible that means “cloak, clothes”.

Cloak, the outer garment; in the plural, clothes.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. The garment worn over the tunic.
2. Everything one has on.

From Abbott-Smith (1922) · Thayer (1889)

Word study

Cloak: the outer garment, worn over the tunic (χιτών); in the plural, clothing in general. Of the same group is ἱματίζω (‘clothe’).

• The cloak set against the tunic Matthew 5:40Luke 6:29
• Touching the fringe of his cloak Matthew 9:20Mark 5:28
• Cloaks spread out or thrown aside Luke 19:35Mark 10:50Acts 7:58
• Dividing his garments; tearing one’s garments John 19:23Matthew 26:65
• Radiant clothes; growing old “like a garment” Mark 9:3Hebrews 1:11

Historical and cultural background

John distinguishes Jesus’ garments, which the soldiers divided into four parts, from the tunic, which was seamless and was assigned by lot (John 19:23-24).

How we translate it

“Cloak” 15 times and “cloaks” 7 when it is the concrete outer garment; “clothes” 14 and “clothing” 2 when the word names what one wears in general; “garments” 13 and “garment” 7 in passages of mourning, of dividing, or of imagery; “robe” 2. In the saying of Matthew 5:40, χιτών / ἱμάτιον = ‘tunic’ / ‘cloak’.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• cloak ×15
• clothes ×14
• garments ×13
• cloaks ×7
• garment ×7
• clothing ×2
• robe ×2

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Matthew×13
• Mark×12
• Luke×10
• John×6
• Acts×8
• Hebrews×2
• James×1
• 1 Peter×1
• Revelation×7

• Matthew 5:40

  And to the one who wants to go to court with you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak too.

• Matthew 9:16

  And no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear results.

• Matthew 9:20

  And look, a woman who had been suffering from bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak;

• Matthew 9:21

  for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will get well.”

• Matthew 14:36

  and they were begging him that they might only touch the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were made well.

• Matthew 17:2

  And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as the light.

• Matthew 21:7

  they brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.

• Matthew 21:8

  And most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road.

• Matthew 24:18

  and let the one in the field not turn back to take his cloak.

• Matthew 26:65

  Then the high priest tore his garments, saying, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.

• Matthew 27:31

  And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak and put his own clothes on him, and they led him away to crucify him.

• Matthew 27:35

  And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots,

• Mark 2:21

  No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.

• Mark 5:27

  having heard about Jesus, came in the crowd from behind and touched his cloak;

• Mark 5:28

  for she was saying, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.”

• Mark 5:30

  And at once Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and was saying, “Who touched my garments?”

• Mark 6:56

  And wherever he went, into villages or into towns or into the countryside, they were laying the sick in the marketplaces, and begging him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched him were made well.

• Mark 9:3

  and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them like that.

• Mark 10:50

  And he, throwing off his cloak, sprang up and came to Jesus.

• Mark 11:7

  And they bring the colt to Jesus and throw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.

• Mark 11:8

  And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.

• Mark 13:16

  and let the one in the field not turn back to take his cloak.

• Mark 15:20

  And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple and put his own clothes on him. And they lead him out to crucify him.

• Mark 15:24

  And they crucify him and divide his garments, casting lots for them, to see who would take what.

• Luke 5:36

  And he was also telling a parable to them: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise, he will tear the new too, and the patch from the new will not match the old.

• Luke 6:29

  To the one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from the one who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.

• Luke 7:25

  But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Look, those who live in splendid clothing and luxury are in royal palaces.

• Luke 8:27

  And when he stepped out onto the land, a certain man from the town who had demons met him; and for a long time he had not worn clothing, and he was not living in a house but in the tombs.

• Luke 8:44

  came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately her flow of blood stopped.

• Luke 19:35

  And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.

• Luke 19:36

  And as he was going along, they were spreading their cloaks on the road.

• Luke 22:36

  And he said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise also a bag; and let the one who does not have one sell his cloak and buy a sword.

• Luke 23:34

  And Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And dividing his garments, they cast lots.

• John 13:4

  gets up from supper and lays aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, he tied it around himself.

• John 13:12

  So when he had washed their feet and taken his outer garments and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you?

• John 19:2

  And the soldiers, having twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and they threw a purple robe around him,

• John 19:5

  So Jesus came outside, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And he says to them, “Look, the man!”

• John 19:23

  So the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, a part for each soldier, and the tunic. Now the tunic was seamless, woven from the top throughout.

• John 19:24

  So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but let us cast lots for it to see whose it will be,” so that the Scripture might be fulfilled that says, “They divided my garments among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.” So the soldiers did these things.

• Acts 7:58

  And throwing him out of the city, they were stoning him. And the witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man called Saul.

And 20 more times.