The Similitude of Shame and the Symbolism of Covering: A Comparative Analysis of Genesis 38:15, the Islamic Veil, and the Kaaba’s Black Cloth

 Journal Article for Submission

Title: The Similitude of Shame and the Symbolism of Covering: A Comparative Analysis of Genesis 38:15, the Islamic Veil, and the Kaaba’s Black Cloth
Author: Dr. Maxwell Shimba, Shimba Theological Institute, New York, NY

---

Abstract
This paper explores the theological and anthropological implications of covering in Abrahamic traditions, with a special focus on Genesis 38:15 and its symbolic connection to the Islamic practice of veiling and the draping of the Kaaba in a black cloth (Kiswah). Through a comparative exegetical approach, the study highlights how both traditions associate physical covering with shame, honor, and sacredness. It further scrutinizes the paradox in Islam where symbols associated with shame in the biblical context are institutionalized as marks of piety and sanctity, thereby examining the ideological transformation and religious reappropriation of symbols across religious traditions.

---

1. Introduction

The act of covering—be it of the body or of sacred spaces—has always held a profound place within Abrahamic religious thought. Genesis 38:15 presents a vivid narrative that associates the act of veiling with prostitution and deception, while in Islam, veiling is presented as a symbol of modesty and religious virtue. Simultaneously, the Kaaba, Islam’s most sacred site, is covered in black cloth, inviting comparison with the black veil often worn by Muslim women. This paper investigates the tension between the biblical understanding of covering as an act linked with shame and deception, and the Islamic reinterpretation of the same as an emblem of piety and sanctity.

---

2. Genesis 38:15 – Veiling and Prostitution

Genesis 38:15 states:

“When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot; because she had covered her face.” (KJV)

In this passage, Tamar, Judah's daughter-in-law, disguises herself as a prostitute by veiling herself, prompting Judah to mistake her identity. The text implies a cultural norm in which women who covered themselves—especially in public—could be identified with harlotry, at least under suspicious circumstances. The covering here is a tool of deception and sexual ambiguity, serving as a visual marker that confounds identity and invites sexual transaction.

This narrative reflects an early Near Eastern view that associates facial veiling with specific social roles—particularly harlotry. Thus, covering is not a neutral act but one imbued with societal expectations and moral connotations. The veil hides, protects, or manipulates identity, depending on context, and is not inherently virtuous.

---

3. The Islamic Veil and its Transformation of Symbolism

Contrary to the implications of Genesis 38:15, Islamic tradition elevates the practice of veiling to a religious command rooted in modesty (haya) and honor. The Quran prescribes covering for believing women in Surah An-Nur (24:31) and Surah Al-Ahzab (33:59), emphasizing that women should draw their garments over themselves to be recognized as respectable and to avoid harassment.

The black veil—niqab, hijab, or abaya—serves multiple religious and sociopolitical functions: identity affirmation, communal belonging, religious obedience, and social modesty. The theological inversion is striking: what was once a symbol of shame and sexual deception in Genesis is transformed into a religious obligation and badge of honor in Islam.

This transformation is not merely interpretive but ideological. The veil is reappropriated, stripped of its biblical associations with sin and deception, and vested with spiritual purity and obedience. The Islamic veil thus becomes a tool for counter-narrative: reclaiming what once represented disgrace as a form of sanctity and dignity.

---

4. The Kaaba and the Black Cloth: A Sacred Covering

The Kaaba in Mecca, Islam’s holiest site, is annually draped in a black silk cloth known as the Kiswah, inscribed with verses from the Quran in gold thread. This practice is considered an act of veneration, conferring sacredness and majesty upon the structure.

From a biblical perspective, the color black and the act of covering are often associated with mourning, concealment, or judgment (cf. Lamentations 4:8; Joel 2:6). In Islamic practice, however, the black cloth becomes an emblem of divine majesty and unity. Again, we witness a symbolic reversal: blackness and covering, which carry connotations of darkness, sin, or disgrace in biblical literature, are invested with honor and sacredness in Islam.

The theological irony cannot be overstated. A symbol of human shame and deception in Genesis—black covering—is now used to veil the house of Allah and the bodies of Muslim women alike.

---

5. The Similitude of Shame: Between Biblical Symbolism and Islamic Ritual

The covering in Genesis 38:15 was used deceptively and brought about moral scandal. In contrast, Islam institutionalizes the covering of both persons and places as acts of moral uprightness. However, this raises a critical theological and anthropological question: Does Islam merely invert symbols, or does it fundamentally misinterpret the moral universals embedded in earlier scriptures?

Islam, while claiming continuity with Judeo-Christian tradition, seems to recontextualize symbols without reconciling their original meanings. The veil, once a tool of prostitution and disguise, is turned into a sign of religious fidelity. The black cloth that may connote sin and obscurity now wraps the most sacred Islamic site.

This juxtaposition leads us to ask: Is Islam a continuation, distortion, or contradiction of the Abrahamic tradition it claims to uphold? The covering becomes a simulacrum—an image detached from its original reference—adopted and re-signified.

---

6. Conclusion: Symbolism and Sacred Misappropriation

The theological dissonance between Genesis 38:15 and Islamic covering practices reveals a deeper hermeneutical chasm. The veil, and the black cloth, once associated with concealment and moral ambiguity, are appropriated in Islam as sacred and pure.

This paper suggests that Islam does not preserve the original moral symbolism of covering but inverts it, transforming what was shameful into a religious obligation. The simulacrum of sanctity built upon inverted biblical symbols reflects Islam’s broader pattern of theological appropriation—adopting Judeo-Christian imagery while emptying it of its original moral context.

As such, the similitude of shame in both traditions is not merely symbolic, but evidential of a deeper theological divergence. What the Bible calls deception and shame, Islam calls modesty and sacredness. The question remains: can truth and falsehood be cloaked in the same garment?

---

Bibliography

• Holy Bible, King James Version. Genesis 38:15.

• The Quran. Surah An-Nur (24:31); Surah Al-Ahzab (33:59).

• Al-Faruqi, Ismail Raji. Islam and the Cultural Accommodation of Social Change. International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1980.

• El-Guindi, Fadwa. Veil: Modesty, Privacy and Resistance. Berg Publishers, 1999.

• Patai, Raphael. The Arab Mind. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1973.

• Biale, David. Eros and the Jews: From Biblical Israel to Contemporary America. University of California Press, 1992.

• Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Ideals and Realities of Islam. ABC International Group, 2000.

• Milgrom, Jacob. Leviticus: A Book of Ritual and Ethics. Fortress Press, 2004.

---