Schaff's Bible Dictionary
REND. To rend the garments, or "tare" them, 2 Sam 13:31, was from the earliest period a sign of grief or penitence. Jacob and David did it on various occasions, and so did Joshua, Josh 7:6, and Hezekiah. 2 Kgs 19:1. The high priest was forbidden to rend his clothes, Lev 10:6; Lev 21:10, probably meaning his sacred garments. Perhaps those referred to in Matt 26:65 were such as were ordinarily worn, or merely judicial and not pontifical garments. Sometimes "rending" denoted anger or indignation mingled with sorrow.
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