Tires

Tires were head-ornaments, turbans, or decorative headdresses (Hebrew pe'er, meaning "beauty" or "ornament of the head"). In Ezekiel 24:17, God instructs the prophet not to remove his tire (headdress) or cover his lips in mourning upon the death of his wife, as a sign-act to Israel: just as Ezekiel would not openly mourn, so the people would be too stunned by the fall of the temple — "the desire of your eyes" — to perform traditional mourning rites (Ezek. 24:23).

Tires also appear in Isaiah's catalogue of women's finery (Isa. 3:18) and are associated with bridegroom adornment (Isa. 61:10). The word reflects the importance of head-covering as a marker of status, dignity, and festive occasion in ancient Israelite culture. Removing the headdress was a mark of grief or humiliation, making Ezekiel's instruction to keep his tire a deliberately counter-intuitive sign of coming judgment.