Lention is a linen cloth or towel — appearing twice in the NT, both in John 13:4-5, where Jesus wraps a lention around his waist and uses it to dry the disciples' feet after washing them. The word is a Latin loanword (linteum), reflecting the cosmopolitan vocabulary of first-century Greek.
The lention in John 13 is one of the most powerful acted parables in the Gospels. Jesus — knowing He was 'from God and going to God' (13:3) — sets aside his outer garment, takes a towel, and performs the work of the lowest household slave. Peter's shocked objection ('You shall never wash my feet!') and Jesus's response ('Unless I wash you, you have no part with me') expose the inversion of all human honor systems: the greatest becomes the servant of all. The towel becomes a symbol of incarnational servant leadership. The Christological hymn of Philippians 2:6-8 ('made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant') and Jesus's teaching in Mark 10:45 ('the Son of Man came to serve') all interpret the theology of the lention.