What does it mean to cover the heavens with sackcloth?

Thomas R. Valletta

“Sackcloth translates Hebrew saq (cf. Akkadian saqqu), dark fabric woven of thread spun from goat hair or camel hair. Haircloth was used for coarse items—tents, rugs, and sacks (Gen. 42:25; 2 Sam. 21:10; Isa. 58:5). Unrefined and inexpensive, its use as clothing denoted abasement or abjection (2 Ne. 13:24 // Isa. 3:24; Jer. 6:26; 48:37). Even the color of sackcloth bespoke deprivation (parallel with blackness in the dearth context of 2 Ne. 7:3 // Isa. 50:3)” (Largey, Book of Mormon Reference Companion, 692).

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