Isaiah 3:23 - Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

Bible Comments

The glassesi.e., the polished metal mirrors (as in Exodus 38:3; Job 37:18; 1 Corinthians 13:12; James 1:23), which the Eastern lady carried in her hand, that she might adjust her toilet. The LXX. rendering, “Laconian [Spartan] garments,” i.e., indecently transparent, is curious enough to deserve notice, as throwing light on the social life of Alexandria, if not of Israel.

The fine lineni.e., the chemise worn under the tunic next the skin. The Heb. sedîn, like the Greek σίνδων (Mark 14:51), seems to imply a commerce with India; so our muslin (mosul) and calico (calicut) bear record of their origin. In Sanscrit, sindhu is the term for fine linen.

The hoodsi.e., the turbans which completed the attire, and over which was thrown the “vail,” or gauze mantle. Jewish women, however, did not veil their faces after the manner of those of Turkey and Arabia. The prophet seems to have carried his eye upward from the feet to the head, as he catalogued with indignant scorn the long list of superfluities. We may compare the warnings of 1 Timothy 2:9; 1 Peter 3:3. It is noticeable that stockings and handkerchiefs do not seem to have been used by the women of Judah.

Isaiah 3:23

23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.