Napkin

Napkin (Greek soudarion, from Latin sudarium, a sweat-cloth) refers to a cloth wrapped around the head of a dead person for burial. Lazarus came out of his tomb "with his face bound about with a napkin" (John 11:44). The napkin that had been on Jesus' head was found rolled up separately from the burial cloths in the empty tomb (John 20:7) — a detail noted by John as significant. The same word appears in the parable of the talents for the cloth in which the unprofitable servant hid his one talent (Luke 19:20).