Isaías 3:23

The glasses — i.e., the polished metal mirrors (as in Êxodo 38:3; Jó 37:18; 1 Coríntios 13:12; Tiago 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 linen — i.e., the chemise worn under the tunic next the skin. The Heb. sedîn, like the Greek σίνδων (Marcos 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 hoods — i.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 Timóteo 2:9; 1 Pedro 3:3. It is noticeable that stockings and handkerchiefs do not seem to have been used by the women of Judah.