Learning to Love Leviticus and the Ban on Mixed-Fibre Clothing

Jul 8, 2018 by

by Guy Brandon, Jubilee Centre:

We’re starting a new series for Engage Magazine on the laws found in Leviticus. Variously considered to be irrelevant, outrageous or just plain weird, Christians often struggle to make sense of the Levitical laws. Guy Brandon starts the series with a fresh look at the ban on mixed-fibre clothing.

‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.’ (Leviticus 19:19)

‘Thou shalt not wear polycotton trousers, for this is an abomination.’ (author’s paraphrase)

The continuing relevance of plenty of Old Testament texts is disputed, but if there was ever a verse that Christians ignore, it’s this one. The ban on mixed-fibre clothes is discarded out of hand, without a second (or even first) thought. Whatever significance it might have had at the time – and that might seem far from clear – it has zero impact on the lives of most Christians today. Advertise the fact that you do it and you’ll probably get more than a few odd looks.

But there it is, in the Bible, so it must have been important at one point. And if it was important, then how do we know it’s not still important, unless we understand why it was there in the first place? Have we been sinning all along without knowing it? This is a text with both religious and sartorial implications.

Three decrees of separation

To quote the line in the context of the whole verse: ‘Keep my decrees. Do not mate different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.’ The second decree is ignored as frequently as the third, while the first we might view with puzzlement. Why would you want to breed different types of animals together – the success of which tends to be patchy at best, if the sad example of the geep is anything to go by? This decree recalls those of Leviticus 20:15-16, which are also concerned with unorthodox forms of animal husbandry.

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