Mantle

Mantle in the Old Testament translates several Hebrew words for outer garments. The addereth (large outer garment, cloak) appears most significantly as Elijah's mantle, which he cast upon Elisha as a call to prophetic service (1 Kings 19:19) and which Elisha used after Elijah's ascension to part the Jordan River — a sign that the spirit of Elijah had come upon him (2 Kings 2:8, 13–14). This prophetic mantle became a symbol of authority and the Spirit's empowerment passed from one servant to another. The mantle also covered Elijah when he stood at the entrance of the cave on Horeb (1 Kings 19:13), and a mantle identified Elijah in Ahaziah's messengers' description of the man they had seen (2 Kings 1:8).

A different garment word appears in Genesis 25:25 for Esau's hairy appearance and in 1 Samuel 28:14 for Samuel's distinctive garb that the witch of Endor described when Saul inquired of the dead — identifying the figure as Samuel by the garment's appearance. The mantle thus functions in Scripture both as a practical outer garment and as a symbolic token of identity, prophetic authority, and divine commission.