Famous Footwear

God has blessed us with some beautiful weather. While I was sitting on the floor in my closet trying to find a matching pair of sandals, a thought crossed my mind. What would Jesus do? We don’t have photographs of what the footwear was in His time, but the Bible does tell us what people wore during that time. Wow! Even the Bible gives us Fashion Advice!

* A common way to confirm a business deal in ancient times was to pluck off your shoe and give it to the person you were making a deal with. Jonathan went a step further. After making a covenant with David, he took off his robe, tunic, sword, bow and belt and handed them over, too! (Samuel 18:4)

Here’s a few facts I found.


• While most people wore sandals, only the wealthy could afford shoes. Shoes were made from soft leather while sandals were made from hard leather or camel hide and tied with a leather strap or "thong". Occasionally, sandals had hard soles made from wood, cane, or palm-tree bark. Some of the sandals women wore had two straps instead of one.

• John the Baptist didn’t consider himself worthy to even carry Jesus’ sandals. (Matthew 3:11.)

• Footwear was not worn in temples or holy ground. It was always removed when entering a home.

• On a long journey, footwear was often removed and carried over the shoulder until arriving in the next town. Most travelers had at least two pairs of footwear.

• Because of the dusty roads, feet were often dirty. Slaves washed the feet of guests. Jesus shocked his disciples by washing their feet before the Passover. (John 13:3-11.)

• It was customary to remove footwear when mourning a death.

• Being barefoot in a town was a sign of poverty.

Image by Tori Arrington. This is taken at a replica museum in Israel. The sandals were part of an exhibit with a replicated cross portraying Jesus' crucifixion.


Most Expensive Shoes - For his self-coronation on December 4, 1977, Emperor Bokassa of Central African Empire (now Republic) commissioned pearl-studded shoes from the House of Berluti in Paris, France; costing $85,000 USD.

I think I'll stick to sandals from Payless.


Walk in Peace, my friends.