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Whats the difference between kasah (covering) and labash (covering)? And when we look to clothes then what's the difference between kesut and lebush? And what about beged (cloths) ? Please show me some examples from the Torah, and define them for me.

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J.Levi welcome to Mi.Yodeya - Hope you stick around and continue to contribute with your questions and answers. –  Gershon Gold Mar 5 '13 at 15:18
Related: judaism.stackexchange.com/q/35583 –  msh210 Feb 17 '14 at 19:28

2 Answers 2

Chosem Tachanus page 166 (by Abraham Bedersi) explains the following differences. The word Levush is the standard word for clothing. Beged is something which is not worn - for example U'beged Klayim Shaatnez. Kesus is used for something that covers over. Simla is something you lay upon. Meil is a valuable type of clothing which prestigious people wear.

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What about the regular term for Tallith Katan = Beged? –  Seth J Mar 5 '13 at 17:00
Shaatnez is for things you don't wear? –  Double AA Mar 5 '13 at 17:55
Shouldn't it be Chosem Tochnis? (Ezekiel 28:12) –  Double AA Apr 17 '13 at 6:32

Malbim has an entry in his "Ya'ir Or" about different words for clothing. I will summarize his opinion regarding the words you are asking about.

  • בגד: This is a general term that refers to all types of clothing. (E.g. Exod. 29:5, Judg. 14:13)
  • כסות: A garment that is not intended to be worn in the normal way, but rather to just cover up with. (E.g. Job 31:19)
  • לבוש: A garment that is not intended for everyday, every-person wear, but rather for special occasions or special people. (E.g. Esther 4:2, 6:8; Prov. 31:22)

Now for the verb forms, it's kind of the same idea:

  • לבש: To wear something in the conventional sense. (E.g. I Sam. 28:8, Num. 20:28)
  • כסה: To use something as a covering without necessarily wearing it normally. (Or, it seems, even when wearing normally, if the primary reason is to cover up one's nudity.) (E.g. I Sam 19:13, Ezek. 18:7)
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Not to hold you accountable for the Malbim, but aren't the Kohen's (special people and occassion) clothing called בגד? –  yEz Feb 17 '14 at 19:37

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