Description and usage
The handkerchief was a small, rectangular piece of cloth used for wiping perspiration from the face. It was also sometimes tied around the forehead by workmen to keep the sweat from running into the eyes and face.
Translation
For all of the above references, translators may use a generic word or phrase, such as “piece of cloth.” Some languages will have a special word for a cloth for wiping the face. This may be used in LUK 19:20 and ACT 19:12.
JHN 11:44; JHN 20:7: The Greek word soudarion in these verses refers to cloths used to cover or wrap the face of a person who was being buried. This may have been done especially in the case of poor people. Some societies may have a special word for such a piece of cloth or other material. JHN 11:44 says Lazarus had his hands and feet bound with “strips of linen cloth” (keiria in Greek). The length and width of these cloth strips is not known. NIV provides a good model for translation with “strips of linen.”
See also the discussion on the Hebrew word sdinim in ISA 3:23 under Jewelry, ornaments.