Cloak

The cloak appears in the UPDV New Testament in two scenes — one literal, one figurative. The literal scene is a personal request from Paul; the figurative scene warns that Christian freedom can be abused as a covering for evil.

Paul's cloak left at Troas

Writing under arrest, Paul asks Timothy to bring him items he had to leave behind on a previous trip: "The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, bring when you come, and the books, especially the parchments" (2Ti 4:13). The cloak sits in the same line as Paul's books and parchments — a small inventory of personal property he wants delivered to him.

Freedom abused as a covering

The figurative use turns the cloak into an image of what Christian liberty must not become. Peter exhorts believers to live "as free, and not using your⁺ freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as slaves of God" (1Pe 2:16). Freedom, in this register, is not raw license; treating it as a garment that hides evil contradicts the slavery-to-God identity that grounds it.