What does "Colors" mean in the Bible?
The art of coloring cloth seems to have attained to great perfection among the Jews, though it did not originate with them, but with their idolatrous neighbors, the Phoenicians and Egyptians, the former supplying the dyes, the latter the mode of applying them. Colors appears in 4 verses across 2 books of the Bible.
What does the Bible say about Colors?
COL'ORS . Gen 37:3. The art of coloring cloth seems to have attained to great perfection among the Jews, though it did not originate with them, but with their idolatrous neighbors, the Phoenicians and Egyptians, the former supplying the dyes, the latter the mode of applying them. Four artificial colors are spoken of in the Bible. Purple, which was derived from a shell-fish native to the Mediterranean Sea. The coloring-matter was found in a small vessel in the fish, and the rest of the fish was useless. Purple was the royal and noble color, indicative of wealth and station. Jud 8:26; Esth 8:15; Luke 16:19; Rev 17:4. Blue, produced from a similar source, used in the same way, and for the same purposes. Ex 25:4; Esth 1:6. Scarlet, and crimson appear to express the same color. "The dye was produced from an insect somewhat resembling the cochineal, which is found in considerable quantities in Armenia and other Eastern countries" -Smith. The three colors above mentioned, together with white, were employed in the tabernacle curtains and in the vestments of the priests. Vermilion was used in fresco-painting, Eze 23:14, for coloring the idols themselves, and for decorating the walls; and beams of houses. Jer 22:14. The natural colors noticed in the Bible are white, black, red, yellow, and green, yet only three colors are sharply defined, white, black, and red. To show the vagueness of the use of the others, the tint green (translated "yellow" in the A.V.) is applied in the Hebrew to gold, Ps 68:13, and to the leprous spot. Lev 13:49.
Definition text: Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible · 1898. Public domain.
Compiled by Protos: the verse list on this page. Where one name belongs to more than one person or place, each of them gets a separate entry.
What is the Hebrew word for Colors?
Where does Colors appear in the Bible?
Colors is referenced in 4 verses across 2 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.
- 2 Samuel 13:18
- Genesis 37:3
- Genesis 37:23
- Genesis 37:32
What else appears in these passages?
These turn up in the same passages as Colors.
Common questions
How many times does the Bible mention Colors?
Colors appears in 4 verses across 2 books, most often in Genesis, which accounts for 3 of them.
Which books of the Bible mention Colors?
Genesis, 2 Samuel.
Where can I read every verse about Colors?
This page lists 4 of them. Protos carries all 4, and opens this entry on the verse you are reading rather than in a separate tab.
