robe
me.il denotes an outer garment, including a priestly robe, personal clothing, and imagery of clothing someone with a quality.
The term most often denotes a tangible outer garment worn, given, removed, torn, or made; it also names the robe associated with the ephod in priestly instructions. Several verses use the garment image figuratively, describing righteousness, vengeance, zeal, or shame as clothing.
Senses in use
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Personal outer garment · dominant
Singular and plural noun forms refer to clothing worn or handled by people: in 1 Samuel 18:4 the APB renders Jonathan as stripping off the garment upon him and giving it to David, while in Ezra 9:3 it renders Ezra as tearing his garment and robe. In 1 Samuel 15:27 the garment has a hem that Saul grasps and tears, and in Ezekiel 26:16 the plural construct form occurs as rulers remove their robes.
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Priestly robe associated with the ephod · common
In the clothing instructions, construct singular forms identify the garment in relation to the ephod: Exodus 28:31 has it made entirely blue, and Exodus 29:5 places it among the garments put on Aaron. The absolute singular form in Exodus 39:23 is described with a central opening and a hem so that it would not tear; Exodus 39:24 places colored pomegranates on that hem.
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Figurative garment image · occasional
The noun is used in comparisons that portray qualities as clothing. In Job 29:14 the APB renders justice as the speaker's robe and turban; in Isaiah 61:10 it renders being covered with a robe of righteousness, and in Psalm 109:29 shame is wrapped around opponents like a robe.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB usually presents the term as “robe,” both for personal clothing and for the garment of the ephod. In figurative clauses it also uses “cloak” in Isaiah 59:17; That variation does not establish a separate lexical meaning.