Genesis 37:34

Plain English Version

So Jacob was really sad, because he thought that Joseph was dead. He was so sad that he tore his clothes. Then he put on some clothes made out of a rough cloth, called sack-cloth, and he cried. You see, in that culture, people sometimes tore their clothes and wore sack-cloth to show that they were sad. Jacob cried like that for lots of days.

Cross References

Genesis 37:29

Joseph’s brother Reuben was somewhere else, so he didn’t see his brothers sell Joseph to that Midian mob. He thought that Joseph was still in that hole in the ground. And Reuben wanted to save Joseph, so he went to that hole to get him out. But he saw that Joseph wasn’t in that hole any more, and he got really upset. He was so upset that he tore his clothes.

Genesis 42:38

But Jacob said, “No. I will not let Benjamin go with you mob to Egypt country. You know that I really loved Benjamin’s mother Rachel. We had 2 sons together, Joseph and Benjamin. Now Joseph is dead, and Benjamin is the only one left. If I let him go with you, he might get hurt, or he might die. You know, I am an old man. If you mob take Benjamin to Egypt country, and something bad happens to him, I will be so sad that I will die.”

Genesis 44:13

Then all those men got a big shock, and they thought, “Now Benjamin will have to stay in Egypt country and work for that man.” So they got really upset. They were so upset that they tore their clothes. Then they put their bags back on their donkeys, and they went back to the town where Joseph lived.

2 Samuel 1:11

David and his mob were really sad for Saul and Jonathan. They tore their clothes to show they were upset.

Acts 14:14

But somebody told Paul and Barnabas what those people wanted to do, and then Paul and Barnabas tore their clothes to show them they were upset, and they ran into the crowd of people, and they shouted,