Biblical sandals ( he, סנדלים תנ"כיים, ''sandalim tanakhim''), also called Tanakhi sandals and Khugistic sandals ( he, סנדלים חוגיסטיים, ''sandalim ḥugistim''), are sandals consisting of a sole with two leather straps that pass across the top of the

foot The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

, and one around the

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

. The leather is usually brown or black. The term is widely used by manufacturers in Israel.

History

The source of Biblical sandals is ancient. They appear in wall paintings found in archaeological digs dating the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

in the Levant and were not very different from those used in Rome and Egypt. Reminders of such sandals were found at Masada and the Cave of Letters. In ancient times those sandals were made of non-processed leather and dry grass, and had strings or ropes made of simple, cheap materials. Though, sometimes golden or silver beads and even gems were added. In modern times, Biblical sandals are a symbol of Zionism. Israeli pioneer settlers and Israeli born Jews used them to show the return to the clothing worn by the ancestors, and fit the climate. The harsh economic situation of the Zionists before the establishment of Israel, and of the Israelis in the 1940s to the 1960s, including the period of

austerity in Israel Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...

, made those low-cost sandals a part of the proud-poor countryside or

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

. The style contrasted with the more ostentatious attire of the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

inhabitants who were European-influenced. Later, the city inhabitants started wearing these sandals too, especially after their popularization by Nimrod in Tel Aviv. Modern manufacturers known for making Biblical sandals include Nimrod, Jerusalem Sandals, Shoresh, and

Teva Naot Teva Naot ( he, טבע נאות) is an Israeli shoe and sandal manufacturer based at Kibbutz Neot Mordechai. History Naot, which opened in 1942, started out as a small kibbutz factory producing work boots. Currently, it employs 160 workers and d ...

. The sandals are also sometimes worn by members of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, while the Knesset is in session. An exhibit on Biblical sandals and Israeli culture was opened at the

Eretz Israel Museum The Eretz Israel Museum (also known as Muza) is a historical and archeological museum in the Ramat Aviv neighborhood of Tel Aviv, Israel. Eretz Israel Museum, established in 1953, has a large display of archaeological, anthropological and his ...

in July 2018.

References

{{Footwear, state=collapsed Israeli fashion Middle Eastern clothing Sandals Folk footwear 1940s fashion 1950s fashion 1960s fashion 1970s fashion

History

See also

References