Cloth (Production)

The production of fabric for clothing was generally the task of women. In Proverbs 31:19 it is said of the “strong woman”, “She spins her own thread and weaves her own cloth.” Women made the cloth primarily for use in their own home, but occasionally they also sold some, as we are told in Proverbs 31:24.

Spinning and weaving were mostly done at home. But 2 Kings 23:7 tells us that there were women in the Temple who had to make clothing for the statues of the goddess Ashera.

There were also men who wove and worked on cloth, for example, cloth for the decoration of the tabernacle. Spinning was seen as women’s work.