Some people have used Deuteronomy 22:5 to suggest that women can’t wear pants, because it is considered “men’s clothing.” Is that correct? Are they men’s clothing? Also, can Deut 22:5 even be applied to non-Jews outside of Israel? Should Gentiles also put tassels on their clothing to remember the law, as Deut 22:12 says?
Deuteronomy 22:5 (KJV) The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are an abomination unto the Lord thy God.
Deuteronomy 22:5 (NLT) “A woman must not put on men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing. Anyone who does this is detestable in the sight of the Lord your God.
The first thing we must recognize is that some of the laws in the Torah were explicitly for the Jews. Any laws given under the conditions of living in the land of Israel (property laws and civil laws) or dealing with ritual purity (bodily fluids and illnesses) do not apply to any Gentiles at all. Only moral laws dealing with ethical behavior, like stealing, sexual sin, and murder, apply to Gentiles. In that same chapter, one will find laws about how to build a house or how to plant crops.
Examples of Culturally Specific Laws:
Deut 22:8 (NLT) When you build a new house, you must build a railing around the edge of its flat roof. That way you will not be considered guilty of murder if someone falls from the roof.
This law doesn’t apply in Western cultures where roofs are slanted; therefore, it is unique to the culture of Israel. Also in the same chapter, the Israelites were given specific rules regarding the manufacture of clothing, such as not mixing fabrics (Deut 22:11) and adding tassels to them (Deut 22:12).
Deut 22:11 “You must not wear clothing made of wool and linen woven together.12 “You must put four tassels on the hem of the cloak with which you cover yourself—on the front, back, and sides.
The prohibitions on crossbreeding kinds, mixing of seeds in the vineyard, and the mixing of fabrics in clothing in Deut 22:9-11 (as well as Lev 19:19) are possibly connected to Canaanite pagan rituals where they mix animals, plants, and fabrics as a worship act towards their fertility gods. This is according to the book, “Think Christianly: Looking at the Intersection of Faith and Culture” by Jonathan Morrow. The fabric mixing could also be a practical issue, as cotton keeps one cool in the summer and wool is used for keeping one warm in the winter. In Ezekiel 44:17-18, the priests are forbidden from wearing wool while serving in the temple because it will cause them to sweat. This lends to the idea that there may have been health concerns with mixing fabrics based on the climate conditions.
The tassels on the clothing were to remind Israelites of the law. This is in an ancient society where the majority of people outside of one tribe (the Levites) were illiterate. The Levites would read the Torah aloud, and the tassels served as visual reminders to help them observe the laws they had just heard read aloud. We gain more insight into the purpose of the tassels in Numbers 15:37-41.
Numbers 15:37 Then the Lord said to Moses, 38 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: Throughout the generations to come you must make tassels for the hems of your clothing and attach them with a blue cord. 39 When you see the tassels, you will remember and obey all the commands of the Lord instead of following your own desires and defiling yourselves, as you are prone to do. 40 The tassels will help you remember that you must obey all my commands and be holy to your God. 41 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt that I might be your God. I am the Lord your God!”
Notice it says, “Throughout the generations to come”, meaning it applies to Israel’s generations, not any Gentile living outside of Israel. Some customs, such as celebrating Passover (Num 9:9-12), couldn’t be practiced by Jews outside of Israel because they required access to the Temple. Civil and land laws are specific to the Israelites living in Israel, and some laws require an active Temple or Tabernacle to be followed correctly. Remember, it’s only moral laws that non-Jews outside of Israel need to concern themselves with.
On the topic of Pants specifically:
Are there any Egyptian hieroglyphs or Greek vase paintings depicting people wearing pants? Not likely, especially if it is from the BC era in those regions. Men wore tunics or skirts, just like women in the Bible. The Bible focuses on the Ancient Near East, Mediterranean Europe, and North Africa. People had to gird their loins by wrapping and tying their clothing up when trying to run, work, or fight. Pants weren’t worn in the Levant and Mediterranean in the BC era, so the Israelites didn’t use them. The clothing people wore varied across different periods, cultures, and continents. In some cultures, men wore tunics and women wore pants (to protect their virginity). Most Islamic traditions prohibit women from showing their legs, and pants are common for women in the Islamic communities, as well as the Sikh community, for the same reason. Those ideals were rooted in the cultures of the Middle East, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia, even before the advent of Christianity and Islam.
The oldest known pair of pants was discovered in Turpan, Xinjiang, in western China, dating back to the 10th and 13th centuries BC. Some archaeologists suggest that pants were worn in ancient Siberia even before that. Pants have also been found among ancient Nomadic tribes in Europe, dating back up to 3,000 years ago. It was believed that they were primarily for horseback riding. The Greeks scoffed at pants worn by Persians, Armenians, and others as being ridiculous, using the word “thulakos” or “sack” as a slang term for the loose trousers of Persians and other people of the East. Even the ancient Romans considered them barbaric compared to the tunics and togas they wore. In Western culture, pants weren’t adopted until around the 3rd century AD, in the Late Antiquity period of Ancient Rome.
Meanwhile, in the far east and northernmost parts of Europe, men and women wore pants long before the rest of Europe caught on. Then, in the Middle Ages, European men adopted pants, and women were expected to keep wearing dresses. It wasn’t until the late 19th century and later that women would wear pants.
Some groups, including the Amish, Hutterites, some Mennonites, some Baptists, a few Church of Christ groups, and most Orthodox Jews, believe that women should not wear trousers. The Bible doesn’t mention pants, so Deut 22:5 is based on the distinction between what men wore and what women wore, as well as the purpose of that clothing. Men in ancient Israel didn’t wear pants. Instead, they wore tunics and such. Interestingly enough, men wore women’s clothing in Europe during the early Middle Ages when performing on stage, because women weren’t allowed to perform at the time. So men could dress as Mother Mary in a play about the crucifixion, but women couldn’t wear pants? Do you see the hypocrisy in this?
I believe the context of the verse is based on intentions to deceive and commit sexual sin sexually. This principle rejects men who dress like women to have sex with a man as if he is a woman, and vice versa (transsexuality). This would be sinful, especially if the intentions are to seduce or deceive, because same-sex intercourse is forbidden (Lev 18:22, Lev 20:13). Paul also mentions the length of men’s hair being limited to short lengths in 1 Cor 11:14-15. This, too, must be considered in the context of culture and history. Corinth was a city known for its sexual immorality, which is why Paul wrote three chapters in 1 Corinthians on the subject (1 Cor 5-7). In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Paul presents a list of vices, and on the list, it mentions effeminate men. This implies some men dressed as women to seduce men for same-sex intercourse, which is an illicit sex practice in the Bible. Therefore, if a man has long hair for seducing men, it would be sinful. This reason is why men and women are told not to cross-dress in Deut 22:5. It was not about wearing specific kinds of clothing, such as pants, but rather about the intent behind wearing a particular outfit. Outside of that, clothes are clothes.
Definitions of modesty are more culturally based than people realize. The New Testament emphasizes modesty within a spiritual framework, rather than prescribing specific attire. Both Paul (1 Timothy 2:9-10) and Peter (1 Peter 3:3) advise women to apply the concept of modesty to their motivations, focusing on inner beauty rather than drawing attention with overly flashy attire. In other words, if a woman is wearing clothes to seduce men or to shame poorer women, then she is in sin. Otherwise, clothes are clothes as long as they cover the naked body parts. Common sense should tell people what is and isn’t appropriate.
Some argue that “girding up the loins” represents pants and was something that only men did, so women shouldn’t wear pants because they never “girded their loins”. Girding one’s loins was a practice performed when someone needed to engage in physically intense labor, run from danger, or perform other strenuous tasks. The implication is that only men would have needed to gird their loins. However, this is historically inaccurate and biblically unworkable. Proverbs 31 talks about the virtuous woman, and the KJV mentions that she “girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms”. Other translations say she “throws herself into her work”; this implies that women did perform laborious tasks that required physical effort, and a virtuous woman is a diligent worker. In Luke 12:35, Jesus (talking to everyone) says to be like servants awaiting their master and have your “loins girded” in preparation for his return. This was more of an analogy, a reference to a physical action that they were all familiar with and capable of. Likewise, Ephesians 6:14 uses a reference to military armor as an analogy for the spiritual attributes that believers possess, instructing them to “your loins girt about with truth.” 1 Peter 1:13 says to “gird the loins” with focus, as a reference to mental concentration on a task.
Resources:
An article on the subject:
“If a woman is not to have an article of clothing made for her to wear that was originally made for men, such as pants, then that should pertain to ALL clothing. This should then apply to t-shirts, which were originally made for GIs in WWII, and even more so if you are to take that this scripture is making specific references to garments of war. This rule should also apply to other articles of clothing originally made for men such as baseball caps, team jerseys, work boots, and certain styles of coats and jackets.”
Read More
Distinguishing the different kinds of Old Testament Laws
First Pants Worn By Horse Riders
Time- History of Pants
Wiki – Trousers