Reference: Colour
Easton
The subject of colours holds an important place in the Scriptures.
White occurs as the translation of various Hebrew words. It is applied to milk (Ge 49:12), manna (Ex 16:31), snow (Isa 1:18), horses (Zec 1:8), raiment (Ec 9:8). Another Hebrew word so rendered is applied to marble (Es 1:6), and a cognate word to the lily (Song 2:16). A different term, meaning "dazzling," is applied to the countenance (Song 5:10).
This colour was an emblem of purity and innocence (Mr 16:5; Joh 20:12; Re 19:8,14), of joy (Ec 9:8), and also of victory (Zec 6:3; Re 6:2). The hangings of the tabernacle court (Ex 27:9; 38:9), the coats, mitres, bonnets, and breeches of the priests (Ex 39:27-28), and the dress of the high priest on the day of Atonement (Le 16:4,32), were white.
Black, applied to the hair (Le 13:31; Song 5:11), the complexion (Song 1:5), and to horses (Zec 6:2,6). The word rendered "brown" in Ge 30:32 (R.V., "black") means properly "scorched", i.e., the colour produced by the influence of the sun's rays. "Black" in Job 30:30 means dirty, blackened by sorrow and disease. The word is applied to a mourner's robes (Jer 8:21; 14:2), to a clouded sky (1Ki 18:45), to night (Mic 3:6; Jer 4:28), and to a brook rendered turbid by melted snow (Job 6:16). It is used as symbolical of evil in 6/2/type/ylt'>Zec 6:2,6; Re 6:5. It was the emblem of mourning, affliction, calamity (Jer 14:2; La 4:8; 5:10).
Red, applied to blood (2Ki 3; 22), a heifer (Nu 19:2), pottage of lentils (Ge 25:30), a horse (Zec 1:8), wine (Pr 23:31), the complexion (Ge 25:25; Song 5:10). This colour is symbolical of bloodshed (Zec 6:2; Re 6:4; 12:3).
Purple, a colour obtained from the secretion of a species of shell-fish (the Murex trunculus, Illustration: Murex Trunculus) which was found in the Mediterranean, and particularly on the coasts of Phoenicia and Asia Minor. The colouring matter in each separate shell-fish amounted to only a single drop, and hence the great value of this dye. Robes of this colour were worn by kings (Jg 8:26) and high officers (Es 8:15). They were also worn by the wealthy and luxurious (Jer 10:9; Eze 27:7; Lu 16:19; Re 17:4). With this colour was associated the idea of royalty and majesty (Jg 8:26; Song 3:10; 7:5; Da 5:7,16,29).
Blue. This colour was also procured from a species of shell-fish, the chelzon of the Hebrews, and the Helix ianthina of modern naturalists. The tint was emblematic of the sky, the deep dark hue of the Eastern sky. This colour was used in the same way as purple. The ribbon and fringe of the Hebrew dress were of this colour (Nu 15:38). The loops of the curtains (Ex 26:4), the lace of the high priest's breastplate, the robe of the ephod, and the lace on his mitre, were blue (Ex 28:28,31,37).
Scarlet, or Crimson. In Isa 1:18 a Hebrew word is used which denotes the worm or grub whence this dye was procured. In Ge 38:28,30, the word so rendered means "to shine," and expresses the brilliancy of the colour. The small parasitic insects from which this dye was obtained somewhat resembled the cochineal which is found in Eastern countries. It is called by naturalists Coccus ilics. The dye was procured from the female grub alone. The only natural object to which this colour is applied in Scripture is the lips, which are likened to a scarlet thread (Song 4:3). Scarlet robes were worn by the rich and luxurious (2Sa 1:24; Pr 31:21; Jer 4:30; Re 17:4). It was also the hue of the warrior's dress (Na 2:3; Isa 9:5). The Phoenicians excelled in the art of dyeing this colour (2Ch 2:7).
These four colours--white, purple, blue, and scarlet--were used in the textures of the tabernacle curtains (Ex 26:1,31,36), and also in the high priest's ephod, girdle, and breastplate (8/5/type/ylt'>Ex 28:5-6,8,15). Scarlet thread is mentioned in connection with the rites of cleansing the leper (Le 14:4,6,51) and of burning the red heifer (Nu 19:6). It was a crimson thread that Rahab was to bind on her window as a sign that she was to be saved alive (Jos 2:18; 6:25) when the city of Jericho was taken.
Vermilion, the red sulphuret of mercury, or cinnabar; a colour used for drawing the figures of idols on the walls of temples (Eze 23:14), or for decorating the walls and beams of houses (Jer 22:14).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
and the first cometh out all red as a hairy robe, and they call his name Esau;
and Esau saith unto Jacob, 'Let me eat, I pray thee, some of this red red thing, for I am weary;' therefore hath one called his name Edom Red;
I pass through all thy flock to-day to turn aside from thence every sheep speckled and spotted, and every brown sheep among the lambs, and speckled and spotted among the goats -- and it hath been my hire;
and it cometh to pass in her bearing, that one giveth out a hand, and the midwife taketh and bindeth on his hand a scarlet thread, saying, 'This hath come out first.'
and afterwards hath his brother come out, on whose hand is the scarlet thread, and he calleth his name Zarah.
Red are eyes with wine, And white are teeth with milk!
and the house of Israel call its name Manna, and it is as coriander seed, white; and its taste is as a cake with honey.
And thou dost make the tabernacle: ten curtains of twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet; with cherubs, work of a designer, thou dost make them;
'And thou hast made loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain, at the end in the joining; and so thou makest in the edge of the outermost curtain, in the joining of the second.
And thou hast made a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, work of a designer; he maketh it with cherubs;
'And thou hast made a covering for the opening of the tent, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, work of an embroiderer;
And thou hast made the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward, hangings for the court of twined linen, a hundred by the cubit is the length for the one side,
'And they take the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, and the linen, and have made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, work of a designer;
And the girdle of his ephod which is on him, according to its work, is of the same, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen.
'And thou hast made a breastplate of judgment, work of a designer; according to the work of the ephod thou dost make it; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen thou dost make it;
and they bind the breastplate by its rings unto the rings of the ephod with a ribbon of blue, to be above the girdle of the ephod, and the breastplate is not loosed from the ephod.
'And thou hast made the upper robe of the ephod completely of blue,
and thou hast put it on a blue ribbon, and it hath been on the mitre -- over-against the front of the mitre it is;
And he maketh the court; at the south side southward, the hangings of the court of twined linen, a hundred by the cubit,
And they make the coats of linen, work of a weaver, for Aaron and for his sons, and the mitre of linen, and the beautiful bonnets of linen, and the linen trousers, of twined linen,
And when the priest seeth the plague of the scall, and lo, its appearance is not deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, then hath the priest shut up him who hath the plague of the scall seven days.
and the priest hath commanded, and he hath taken for him who is to be cleansed, two clean living birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop.
as to the living bird, he taketh it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and hath dipped them and the living bird in the blood of the slaughtered bird, over the running water,
and he hath taken the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and hath dipped them in the blood of the slaughtered bird, and in the running water, and hath sprinkled upon the house seven times.
a holy linen coat he putteth on, and linen trousers are on his flesh, and with a linen girdle he girdeth himself, and with a linen mitre he wrappeth himself up; they are holy garments; and he hath bathed with water his flesh, and hath put them on.
'And the priest whom he doth anoint, and whose hand he doth consecrate to act as priest instead of his father, hath made atonement, and hath put on the linen garments, the holy garments;
'Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, and they have made for themselves fringes on the skirts of their garments, to their generations, and they have put on the fringe of the skirt a ribbon of blue,
This is a statute of the law which Jehovah hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the sons of Israel, and they bring unto thee a red cow, a perfect one, in which there is no blemish, on which no yoke hath gone up;
and the priest hath taken cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and hath cast unto the midst of the burning of the cow;
lo, we are coming into the land, this line of scarlet thread thou dost bind to the window by which thou hast caused us to go down, and thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all the house of thy father thou dost gather unto thee, to the house;
and Rahab the harlot, and the house of her father, and all whom she hath, hath Joshua kept alive; and she dwelleth in the midst of Israel unto this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
and the weight of the rings of gold which he asked is a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold, apart from the round ornaments, and the drops, and the purple garments, which are on the kings of Midian, and apart from the chains which are on the necks of their camels,
and the weight of the rings of gold which he asked is a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold, apart from the round ornaments, and the drops, and the purple garments, which are on the kings of Midian, and apart from the chains which are on the necks of their camels,
Daughters of Israel! for Saul weep ye, Who is clothing you in scarlet with delights. Who is lifting up ornaments of gold on your clothing.
And it cometh to pass, in the meantime, that the heavens have become black -- thick clouds and wind -- and the shower is great; and Ahab rideth, and goeth to Jezreel,
And now, send to me a wise man to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and knowing to grave gravings with the wise men who are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father prepared;
white linen, white cotton, and blue, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple on rings of silver, and pillars of marble, couches of gold, and of silver, on a pavement of smaragdus, and white marble, and mother-of-pearl, and black marble --
And Mordecai went out from before the king, in royal clothing of blue and white, and a great crown of gold, and a garment of fine linen and purple, and the city of Shushan hath rejoiced and been glad;
My skin hath been black upon me, And my bone hath burned from heat,
See not wine when it showeth itself red, When it giveth in the cup its colour, It goeth up and down through the upright.
She is not afraid of her household from snow, For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
At all times let thy garments be white, and let not perfume be lacking on thy head.
At all times let thy garments be white, and let not perfume be lacking on thy head.
Dark am I, and comely, daughters of Jerusalem, As tents of Kedar, as curtains of Solomon.
My beloved is mine, and I am his, Who is delighting among the lilies,
Its pillars he made of silver, Its bottom of gold, its seat of purple, Its midst lined with love, By the daughters of Jerusalem.
As a thread of scarlet are thy lips, And thy speech is comely, As the work of the pomegranate is thy temple behind thy veil,
My beloved is clear and ruddy, Conspicuous above a myriad! His head is pure gold -- fine gold, His locks flowing, dark as a raven,
Thy head upon thee as Carmel, And the locks of thy head as purple, The king is bound with the flowings!
Come, I pray you, and we reason, saith Jehovah, If your sins are as scarlet, as snow they shall be white, If they are red as crimson, as wool they shall be!
Come, I pray you, and we reason, saith Jehovah, If your sins are as scarlet, as snow they shall be white, If they are red as crimson, as wool they shall be!
For every battle of a warrior is with rushing, and raiment rolled in blood, And it hath been for burning -- fuel of fire.
For this doth the land mourn, And black have been the heavens above, because I have spoken -- I have purposed, And I have not repented, Nor do I turn back from it.
And thou, O spoiled one, what dost thou? For thou puttest on scarlet, For thou adornest thyself with ornaments of gold. For thou rendest with pain thine eyes, In vain thou dost make thyself fair, Kicked against thee have doting ones, Thy life they do seek.
For a breach of the daughter of my people have I been broken, I have been black, astonishment hath seized me.
Spread-out silver from Tarshish is brought, And gold from Uphaz, Work of an artisan, and of the hands of a refiner, Blue and purple is their clothing, Work of the skilful -- all of them.
Mourned hath Judah, and her gates have languished, They have mourned to the earth, And the cry of Jerusalem hath gone up.
Mourned hath Judah, and her gates have languished, They have mourned to the earth, And the cry of Jerusalem hath gone up.
Who is saying, 'I build for myself a large house, And airy upper chambers,' And he hath cut out for himself its windows, Ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.
Darker than blackness hath been their visage, They have not been known in out-places, Cleaved hath their skin unto their bone, It hath withered -- it hath been as wood.
Our skin as an oven hath been burning, Because of the raging of the famine.
And she doth add unto her whoredoms, And she seeth graved men on the wall, Pictures of Chaldeans, graved with red lead,
Of fine linen with embroidery from Egypt hath been thy sail, To be to thee for an ensign, Of blue and purple from isles of Elishah hath been thy covering.
Call doth the king mightily, to bring up the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. Answered hath the king, and said to the wise men of Babylon, that, 'Any man who doth read this writing, and its interpretation doth shew me, purple he putteth on, and a bracelet of gold is on his neck, and third in the kingdom he doth rule.'
and I -- I have heard of thee, that thou art able to give interpretations, and to loose knots: now, lo -- thou art able to read the writing, and its interpretation to cause me to know -- purple thou dost put on, and a bracelet of gold is on thy neck, and third in the kingdom thou dost rule.'
Then hath Belshazzar said, and they have clothed Daniel with purple, and a bracelet of gold is on his neck, and they have proclaimed concerning him that he is the third ruler in the kingdom.
Therefore a night ye have without vision, And darkness ye have without divination, And gone in hath the sun on the prophets, And black over them hath been the day.
The shield of his mighty ones is become red, Men of might are in scarlet, With fiery torches is the chariot in a day of his preparation, And the firs have been caused to tremble.
I have seen by night, and lo, one riding on a red horse, and he is standing between the myrtles that are in the shade, and behind him are horses, red, bay, and white.
I have seen by night, and lo, one riding on a red horse, and he is standing between the myrtles that are in the shade, and behind him are horses, red, bay, and white.
In the first chariot are red horses, and in the second chariot brown horses,
In the first chariot are red horses, and in the second chariot brown horses,
In the first chariot are red horses, and in the second chariot brown horses, and in the third chariot white horses, and in the fourth chariot strong grisled horses.
The brown horses that are therein, are coming forth unto the land of the north; and the white have come forth unto their hinder part; and the grisled have come forth unto the land of the south;
The brown horses that are therein, are coming forth unto the land of the north; and the white have come forth unto their hinder part; and the grisled have come forth unto the land of the south;
and having entered into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right hand, arrayed in a long white robe, and they were amazed.
And -- a certain man was rich, and was clothed in purple and fine linen, making merry sumptuously every day,
one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been laid.
and I saw, and lo, a white horse, and he who is sitting upon it is having a bow, and there was given to him a crown, and he went forth overcoming, and that he may overcome.
and there went forth another horse -- red, and to him who is sitting upon it, there was given to him to take the peace from the land, and that one another they may slay, and there was given to him a great sword. And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, 'Come and behold!' and I saw, and lo, a black horse, and he who is sitting upon it is having a balance in his hand,
And there was seen another sign in the heaven, and, lo, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his head seven diadems,
and the woman was arrayed with purple and scarlet-colour, and gilded with gold, and precious stone, and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and uncleanness of her whoredom,
and the woman was arrayed with purple and scarlet-colour, and gilded with gold, and precious stone, and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and uncleanness of her whoredom,
and there was given to her that she may be arrayed with fine linen, pure and shining, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.'
And the armies in the heaven were following him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen -- white and pure;