Reference: Purple
American
The famous and costly Tyrian purple, the royal color of the ancients, is said to have been discovered by the Tyrian Hercules, whose dog having by chance eaten a shellfish called Purpura, and returning to his master with his lips tinged with a purple color, occasioned the discovery of this precious dye. Purple, however, is much more ancient than this, since we find it mentioned by Moses in several places. Two kinds of purple are mentioned in the Old Testament:
1. Argamon, rendered in our version "purple," denoting a reddish purple obtained from a species of muscle or shellfish found on the coasts of the Mediterranean.
2. Techieleth, rendered in the English Bible "blue." This was a bluish or cerulean purple, likewise obtained from another species of shellfish. The "scarlet" or "crimson," for the two words denote essentially the same color, was produced from the coccus in sect, coccus ilicis. All these were sacred colors among the Jews; and the latter was used for the highpriest's ephod, and for veils, ribbons, and cloths, Ex 26:1,4,31,36; 28:31; Nu 4:6-12; 15:38.
The "purple" of the ancients seems to have included many different tints derived originally from the shellfish, and modified by various arts in which the Tyrians excelled. As each fish yielded but a few drops of coloring matter, the choicest purple bore a very high price. Purple robes were worn by the kings and first magistrates of ancient Rome, and Nero forbade their use by his subjects under pain of death. Our Savior was clothed with a royal robe of purple, in mockery of his title, "The King of the Jews" Joh 19:2,5. Compare also Jg 8:26; Es 8:15; Pr 31:22; Da 5:7; Lu 16:19. Moses used much wool dyed of a crimson and used much wool dyed of a crimson and purple color in the work of the tabernacle, and in the ornaments of the high priest, Ex 25:4; 26:1,31,36; 39:1; 2Ch 3:14. The Babylonians also clothed their idols in robes of a purple and azure color, Jer 10:9; Eze 23:15; 27:7,16.
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And blue and purple and red, and the best linen, and goats' hair;
And you are to make a House for me, with ten curtains of the best linen, blue and purple and red, worked with designs of winged ones by a good workman.
And you are to make a House for me, with ten curtains of the best linen, blue and purple and red, worked with designs of winged ones by a good workman.
And you are to put twists of blue cord on the edge of the outside curtain of the first group of five, and on the edge of the outside curtain of the second group of five;
And you are to make a veil of the best linen, blue and purple and red, worked with designs of winged ones by a good workman:
And you are to make a veil of the best linen, blue and purple and red, worked with designs of winged ones by a good workman:
And you are to make a curtain for the doorway of the Tent, of the best linen with needlework of blue and purple and red.
And you are to make a curtain for the doorway of the Tent, of the best linen with needlework of blue and purple and red.
The robe which goes with the ephod is to be made all of blue;
And from the needlework of blue and purple and red they made the robes used for the work of the holy place, and the holy robes for Aaron, as the Lord had given orders to Moses.
And putting over it the leather cover and over that a blue cloth; and putting its rods in place. And on the table of the holy bread they are to put a blue cloth, and on it all the vessels, the spoons and the basins and the cups; and the holy bread with them; read more. And over them they are to put a red cloth, covering it with a leather cover, and putting its rods in their places. And they are to take a blue cloth, covering with it the light-support with its lights and its instruments and its trays and all the oil vessels which are used for it: All these they are to put in a leather cover, and put it on the frame. On the gold altar they are to put a blue cloth, covering it with a leather cover; and they are to put its rods in their places. All the vessels which are used in the holy place they are to put in a blue cloth, covering them with a leather cover, and put them on the frame.
Say to the children of Israel that through all their generations they are to put on the edges of their robes an ornament of twisted threads, and in every ornament a blue cord;
The weight of the gold ear-rings which he got from them was one thousand, seven hundred shekels of gold; in addition to the moon-ornaments and jewels and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and the chains on their camels' necks.
And Mordecai went out from before the king, dressed in king-like robes of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold and clothing of purple and the best linen: and all the town of Shushan gave loud cries of joy.
She makes for herself cushions of needlework; her clothing is fair linen and purple.
Silver hammered into plates is sent from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the expert workman and of the hands of the gold-worker; blue and purple is their clothing, all the work of expert men.
With bands round their bodies and with head-dresses hanging round their heads, all of them looking like rulers, like the Babylonians, the land of whose birth is Chaldaea.
The best linen with needlework from Egypt was your sail, stretched out to be a flag for you; blue and purple from the sea-lands of Elishah gave you shade.
Edom did business with you because of the great number of things which you made; they gave emeralds, purple, and needlework, and the best linen and coral and rubies for your goods.
The king, crying out with a loud voice, said that the users of secret arts, the Chaldaeans, and the readers of signs, were to be sent for. The king made answer and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whoever is able to make out this writing, and make clear to me the sense of it, will be clothed in purple and have a chain of gold round his neck, and will be a ruler of high authority in the kingdom.
Now there was a certain man of great wealth, who was dressed in fair clothing of purple and delicate linen, and was shining and glad every day.
And the men of the army made a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him.
Then Jesus came out with the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, Here is the man!
Fausets
argan. Obtained by the Tyrians from the shell fish Murex purpura, and Murex conchylium. (Ex 25:4; 35:25; Jg 8:26; Pr 31:22).
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And blue and purple and red, and the best linen, and goats' hair;
And all the women who were expert with their hands, made cloth, and gave the work of their hands, blue and purple and red and the best linen.
The weight of the gold ear-rings which he got from them was one thousand, seven hundred shekels of gold; in addition to the moon-ornaments and jewels and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and the chains on their camels' necks.
She makes for herself cushions of needlework; her clothing is fair linen and purple.
Hastings
Morish
A colour often mentioned with blue and scarlet in connection with the tabernacle. Ex 25:4, etc. Among the spoils taken from the Midianites under Gideon was "purple raiment that was on the kings," and it is used as a symbol of royalty. Jg 8:26. In derision the soldiers put a crown of thorns and a 'purple' robe on the Lord, as king of the Jews. Mr 15:17,20; Joh 19:2,5. The rich man in Lu 16:19 was clothed in purple; and papal Rome is seen as a woman clothed in purple and scarlet, royalty and splendour. Re 17:4; 18:12,16.
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And blue and purple and red, and the best linen, and goats' hair;
The weight of the gold ear-rings which he got from them was one thousand, seven hundred shekels of gold; in addition to the moon-ornaments and jewels and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and the chains on their camels' necks.
And they put a purple robe on him, and twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on him;
And when they had made sport of him, they took the purple robe off him and put his clothing on him. And they took him out to put him to death on the cross.
Now there was a certain man of great wealth, who was dressed in fair clothing of purple and delicate linen, and was shining and glad every day.
And the men of the army made a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him.
Then Jesus came out with the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, Here is the man!
And the woman was clothed in purple and bright red, with ornaments of gold and stones of great price and jewels; and in her hand was a gold cup full of evil things and her unclean desires;
Gold, and silver, and stones of great price, and jewels, and delicate linen, and robes of purple and silk and red; and perfumed wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of fair wood, and of brass, and iron, and stone;
Saying, Sorrow, sorrow for the great town, she who was clothed in delicate linen, and purple, and red; with ornaments of gold and stones of great price and jewels!
Watsons
PURPLE, ?????, Ex 25:4, &c; ???????, Mr 15:17,20; Lu 16:19; Joh 19:2,5; Re 17:4; 18:12,16. This is supposed to be the very precious colour extracted from the purpura or murex, a species of shell fish; and the same with the famous Tyrian dye, so costly, and so much celebrated in antiquity. The purple dye is called in 1 Macc. 4:23, "purple of the sea," or sea purple; it being the blood or juice of a turbinated shell fish, which the Jews call ?????. (See Scarlet.) Among the blessings pronounced by Moses upon the tribes of Israel, those of Zebulun and Issachar are, "They shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of the treasures hid in the sand," De 33:19. Jonathan Ben Uzziel explains the latter clause thus: "From the sand are produced looking glasses, and glass in general; the treasures, the method of finding and working which, was revealed to these tribes." Several ancient writers inform us, that there were havens in the coasts of the Zebulunites, in which the sand proper for making glass was found. The words of Tacitus are remarkable: "Et Belus amnis Judaico mari illabitur, circa ejus os lectae arenae admixto nitro in vitrum excoquuntur." "The river Belus falls into the Jewish sea, about whose mouth those sands mixed with nitre are collected, out of which glass is formed." But it seems much more natural to explain "the treasures hid in the sand," of those highly valuable murices and purpurae which were found on the sea coast, near the country of Zebulun and Issachar, and of which those tribes partook in common with their Heathen neighbours of Tyre, who rendered the curious dyes made from those shell fish so famous among the Romans by the names of Sarranum ostrum, Tyrii colores. In reference to the purple vestment, Lu 16:19, it may be observed that this was not appropriately a royal robe. In the earlier times it was the dress of any of high rank. Thus all the courtiers were styled by the historians purpurati. This colour is more properly crimson than purple; for the LXX, Josephus, and Philo, constantly use ???????? to express the Hebrew ?????, by which the Talmudists understood crimson; and that this Hebrew word expressed, not the Tyrian purple, but that brought to the city from another country, appears from Eze 27:7. The purple robe put on our Saviour, Joh 19:2,5, is explained by a Roman custom, the dressing of a person in the robes of state, as the investiture of office. Hence the robe brought by Herod's or the Roman soldiers, scoffingly, was as though it had been the pictae vestes usually sent by the Roman senate. In Ac 16:14, Lydia is said to be "a seller of purple." Mr. Harmer styles purple the most sublime of all earthly colours, having the gaudiness of red, of which it retains a shade, softened with the gravity of blue.
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And blue and purple and red, and the best linen, and goats' hair;
They will send out the word for the people to come to the mountain, taking there the offerings of righteousness: for the store of the seas will be theirs, and the secret wealth of the sand.
The best linen with needlework from Egypt was your sail, stretched out to be a flag for you; blue and purple from the sea-lands of Elishah gave you shade.
And they put a purple robe on him, and twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on him;
And when they had made sport of him, they took the purple robe off him and put his clothing on him. And they took him out to put him to death on the cross.
Now there was a certain man of great wealth, who was dressed in fair clothing of purple and delicate linen, and was shining and glad every day.
Now there was a certain man of great wealth, who was dressed in fair clothing of purple and delicate linen, and was shining and glad every day.
And the men of the army made a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him.
And the men of the army made a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him.
Then Jesus came out with the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, Here is the man!
Then Jesus came out with the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, Here is the man!
And a certain woman named Lydia, a trader in purple cloth of the town of Thyatira, and a God-fearing woman, gave ear to us: whose heart the Lord made open to give attention to the things which Paul was saying.
And the woman was clothed in purple and bright red, with ornaments of gold and stones of great price and jewels; and in her hand was a gold cup full of evil things and her unclean desires;
Gold, and silver, and stones of great price, and jewels, and delicate linen, and robes of purple and silk and red; and perfumed wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of fair wood, and of brass, and iron, and stone;
Saying, Sorrow, sorrow for the great town, she who was clothed in delicate linen, and purple, and red; with ornaments of gold and stones of great price and jewels!