smooth camel hair. More common for the very poor would have been clothing made of goat hair. However, in the Old Testament, in Zachariah 13:4 it is written: “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive", so one can safely assume a garment of hair was the clothing of a prophet in Judaic tradition. In modern times, the Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers' Institute states that "camel hair garments are worn by native desert travelers to protect them from the heat". John the Baptist's diet has been the centre of much discussion. For many years, the (akrides) was interpreted as referring not to locusts, the insect, but rather to the seed pods of the carob tree. But the Greek word is not used this way, and this notion is generally rejected today. Locusts are mentioned 22 other times in the Bible and all other mentions quite clearly refer to the insect. Locusts are still commonly eaten in Arabia. Eaten either raw or roasted they are quite nutritious and a source of many vitamins. While most insects were considered unclean under Mosaic law, specifically states that locusts are permitted. Portraying John the Baptist as eating seed pods rather than insects is possibly due to squeamishness about having such a revered figure eating insects and also a belief that a true ascetic should be completely vegetarian. What is meant by honey is also disputed. While bee honey was a common food in the area at the time, Jones believes that it refers to the tree gum from the tamarisk tree, a tasteless but nutritious liquid, rather than the honey made by bees. Commentary from the Church Fathers Pseudo-Chrysostom: Having said that he is the voice of one crying in the desert, the Evangelist well adds, John had his clothing of camel's hair; thus showing what his life was; for he indeed testified of Christ, but his life testified of himself. No one is fit to be another's witness till he has first been his own. Hilary of Poitiers: For the preaching of John no place more suitable, no clothing more useful, no food more fitted. Jerome: His raiment of camel's hair, not of wool—the one the mark of austerity in dress, the other of a delicate luxury. Pseudo-Chrysostom: It becomes the servants of God