1 Samuel 21:9. The priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod.
It is customary to wrap in cloths all articles which are esteemed specially valuable or sacred. Sacred books are enclosed in rich cases of brocade silk or costly velvet. Harmer suggests that the simlah, “cloth,” in which the sword of Goliath was wrapped, may have been a part of some magnificent dress of David (Observations, vol. 2, p. 517).
Money was sometimes put aside in a similar way. The unfaithful servant laid up his lord’s money in a napkin, or handkerchief. See Luke 19:20.