crimson

Send me now therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide.

The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father.

And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.

The ministers of the grace of God have, by the Holy Spirit, spoken of repentance; and the Lord of all things has himself declared with an oath regarding it, “As I live, saith the Lord, I desire not the death of the sinner, but rather his repentance;” adding, moreover, this gracious declaration, “Repent, O house of Israel, of your iniquity. Say to the children of my people, Though your sins reach from earth to heaven, and though they be redder than scarlet, and blacker than sackcloth, yet if ye turn to me with your whole heart, and say, Father! I will listen to you, as to a holy people.” And in another place He speaks thus: “Wash you, and become clean; put away the wickedness of your souls from before mine eyes; cease from your evil ways, and learn to do well; seek out judgment, deliver the oppressed, judge the fatherless, and see that justice is done to the widow; and come, and let us reason together. He declares, Though your sins be like crimson, I will make them white as snow; though they be like scarlet, I will whiten them like wool. And if ye be willing and obey me, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye refuse, and will not hearken unto me, the sword shall devour you, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken these things.” Desiring, therefore, that all His beloved should be partakers of repentance, He has, by His almighty will, established [these declarations].

When, at the end of that year, Genun saw that they were being won over to him little by little, Satan entered into him, and taught him to make dyeing-stuffs for garments of divers patterns, and made him understand how to dye crimson and purple and what not.

And they brought him up with good food and gentle training and silken clothing, and purple and crimson. And he was seated upon couches of silk.

And a golden bedstead stood in the chamber looking toward the east; and the bed was laid with purple stuff interwoven with gold, the bed being woven of scarlet and crimson stuff and fine linen.

And Asenath hasted into her chamber where her robes lay and put on a fine linen robe made of crimson stuff and interwoven with gold, and girded herself with a golden girdle, and bracelets round her hands; and about her feet she put golden buskins, and round her neck she cast an ornament of great price and precious stones, which were embellished on all sides, having also the names of the gods of the Egyptians everywhere engraved on them, both on the bracelets and the stones; and she put also a tiara on her head and bound a diadem round her temples and covered her head with a mantle.

Lo! now I put off my royal robe of fine linen and of crimson stuff interwoven with gold and have put on a black tunic of mourning.

And the bees also were white like snow, and their wings as purple and crimson stuff and as scarlet; and they had also sharp stings and injured no man.

And when the children of Seth heard the noise, and uproar, and shouts of laughter in the camp of the children of Cain, about one hundred of them who were mighty men of war gathered together, and set their faces to go down to the camp of the children of Cain. When Y4Aréd heard their words and knew their intention, he became sorely afflicted, and he sent and called them to him, and said unto them, “ By the holy blood of Abel, I will have you swear that not one of you shall go down from this holy mountain. Remember ye the oaths which our fathers Seth, and Anésh, and Kainan, and Mahlalail made you to swear.” And Enoch also said unto them, “ Hearken, O ye children of Seth, no man who shall transgress the commandment of Yaréd, and [break] the oaths of our fathers, Into these Satan himself entered, and made the music which came from them. Gunnun made corn spirit, and established drinking booths, in which men assembled and drank and ate fruit.. Then Satan taught Gunnun to make weapons of war out of iron, and when men were drunk they killed each other with them. Next Satan taught men how to dye ‘their garments crimson and purple, and they arrayed themselves in gaudy attire, and began to race their horses. Little by little the children of Seth began to wish to join the sons of Cain, and when the devils had shown them a way down the mountain, one hundred of them went down to the plain, and were led astray by the women whose hands and feet were stained with bright colours and whose faces had tattoo marks on them. When the Sethites tried to return to the top of the mountain, the stones turned into coals of fire, and they could not pass over them. Company after company of the children of Seth went down to the plain, and at length only Yaréd and a few others remained on the mountain.

How do we know that if one [a woman] discharges semen on the third day she is unclean? Because it is said, “Be ready for the third day” (Exodus 19:15). How do we know that one who has been circumcised may be bathed on the third day [after circumcision] which falls on Shabbat? Because it is said, “And it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain” (Genesis 34:25). How do we know that a crimson-colored strap is tied to the head of the goat that is sent [to Azazel]? Because it is said, “If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).

He bound a thread of crimson wool on the head of the goat which was to be sent away, and he placed it at the gate where it was later to be sent away, and on the goat that was to be slaughtered [he placed a thread of crimson wool on its neck] at the place of the slaughtering. He came to his bull a second time, pressed his two hands upon it and made confession. And thus he would say: “Please, ‘Hashem’! I have done wrong, I have transgressed, I have sinned before You, I and my house and the sons of Aaron Your holy people. Please, ‘Hashem’! Forgive the wrongdoings, the transgressions, the sins which I have committed and transgressed and sinned before You, I and my house and the sons of Aaron Your holy people, as it is written in the torah of Moses Your servant: “For on this day shall atonement be made for you [to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the Lord”] (Leviticus 16:30). And they answered after him: “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever!”

He bound a thread of crimson wool on the head of the goat which was to be sent away, and he placed it at the gate where it was later to be sent away, and on the goat that was to be slaughtered [he placed a thread of crimson wool on its neck] at the place of the slaughtering. He came to his bull a second time, pressed his two hands upon it and made confession. And thus he would say: “Please, ‘Hashem’! I have done wrong, I have transgressed, I have sinned before You, I and my house and the sons of Aaron Your holy people. Please, ‘Hashem’! Forgive the wrongdoings, the transgressions, the sins which I have committed and transgressed and sinned before You, I and my house and the sons of Aaron Your holy people, as it is written in the torah of Moses Your servant: “For on this day shall atonement be made for you [to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the Lord”] (Leviticus 16:30). And they answered after him: “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever!”

What did he do? He divided the thread of crimson wool, and tied one half to the rock, the other half between its horns, and pushed it from behind, and it went rolling down and before it had reached half its way down hill it had broken into limbs. He came back and sat down under the last booth until it grew dark. And from when are his clothes unclean? From the moment he has gone outside the walls of Jerusalem. Rabbi Shimon says: from the moment he pushes it into Zuk.

They said to the high priest: the goat has reached the wilderness. And how did they know that the goat had reached the wilderness? They used to set up scouts and they would wave scarves, and they would know that the goat had reached the wilderness. Rabbi Judah said: but did they not have a great sign? From Jerusalem to Bet Hidudo was three mils. They could walk a mil, return the mil, then wait the time it takes to walk a mil, and thus know that the goat had reached the wilderness. Rabbi Ishmael said: but did they not have another sign! A thread of crimson wool was tied to the door of the Temple, and when the goat reached the wilderness the thread turned white, as it is written, “Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).

[A piece of cloth] three [handbreadths] square that was torn: if he put it on a chair, and his skin touches the chair, it is pure; And if not, it remains impure. [A piece of cloth] three [fingerbreadths] square one thread of which was worn away, or in which a knot was found, or in which two threads ran alongside each other, is pure. [A piece of cloth] three [fingerbreadths] square that was thrown on the rubbish heap becomes pure. If he brought it back, it it becomes susceptible to uncleanness. Throwing it away always renders it pure and taking it back renders it susceptible to uncleanness, except when it is of purple or fine crimson. Rabbi Eliezer says: a patch of new cloth is also subject to the same law. Rabbi Shimon says: all these materials become pure; they were mentioned only in connection with the return of lost property.

Rebbi Zeïra said: It is written (Lev. 16:4) “He shall wear a garment of holy bad,” growing singly. But wool also grows in single strands. It is explained in tradition (Ez. 44:17): “There should be no wool on them when they officiate inside the inner doors.” Therefore, on the outside wool may be on them. From where that they may wear kilaim? As it says (Ex. 39:28): “The cap of byssus, the hat-turbans of byssus, the cloth trousers of spun byssus, and the belt of spun byssus, blue, purple, and crimson.” And it is written (Ez. 44:18): “Linen turbans shall be on their heads, linen trousers shall be on their hips, they shall not belt with sweat.” You infer “byssus” from “byssus”, “byssus” from “turbans”, “turbans” from “turbans”. Just as crimson is made from a living being, so the rest is made from a living being. Just as wool cannot have an epithet so linen cannot have an epithet.

Rebbi Zeïra said: It is written (Lev. 16:4) “He shall wear a garment of holy bad,” growing singly. But wool also grows in single strands. It is explained in tradition (Ez. 44:17): “There should be no wool on them when they officiate inside the inner doors.” Therefore, on the outside wool may be on them. From where that they may wear kilaim? As it says (Ex. 39:28): “The cap of byssus, the hat-turbans of byssus, the cloth trousers of spun byssus, and the belt of spun byssus, blue, purple, and crimson.” And it is written (Ez. 44:18): “Linen turbans shall be on their heads, linen trousers shall be on their hips, they shall not belt with sweat.” You infer “byssus” from “byssus”, “byssus” from “turbans”, “turbans” from “turbans”. Just as crimson is made from a living being, so the rest is made from a living being. Just as wool cannot have an epithet so linen cannot have an epithet.

MISHNAH: From where that one who loses semen on the third day is impure? For it is said, be prepared for three days, do not touch a woman. From where that one washes a baby on the third day if it falls on a Sabbath? For it is said, it was on the third day when they hurt. From where that one ties a crimson band to the head of the scapegoat? For it is said, if your sins were like scarlet they will be snow white, etc.

MISHNAH: They told the High Priest that the he-goat arrived in the desert. And from where did they know that the he-goat arrived in the desert? They had overseers posted who waved sheets and they knew that the he-goat had arrived in the desert. Rebbi Jehudah said, did they not have an important sign? There are three mil from Jerusalem to Bet Horon; they were walking one mil, returning one mil, and waiting for another mil; then they knew that the he-goat had arrived in the desert. Rebbi Ismael said, did they not have another sign? A shiny strip was tied to the door of the Temple hall; when the he-goat arrived in the desert it turned white, as it is said, if your sins were like crimson they will be white like snow.

“The green like leeks.” Rebbi Ze`ira asked before Rebbi Immi: Leek-colored or like leek-colored? He told him, leek-colored. What is the deepest ירק? Rebbi Eleazar said, like wax and like the flower of the qarmal tree; Symmachos says, like a peacock’s wings. What is the deepest red? That is deep crimson. And here, he says so? Rebbi Phineas said, there is a difference there because it says, deepest green.

It was stated: “Abba Shaul said, a human is created from his navel; from there is spreads its roots in all directions. It was stated: One sees his two eyes like two fly-blows, his two nose holes like two fly-blows, his mouth opened like a barley grain. One sees his two hands like two fly-blows, his navel like a fly-blow, his genital like a fly blow and if she is female, her genital spanned like a barley grain.” It was stated: Rebbi Jonathan says, one sees his two arms like two threads of crimson wool and his other limbs like compressed unformed material; he has not yet developed hands and feet. On that it is explained in the Bible: “My unformed body was seen by Your eyes, in Your ledger they are all written down, the days bundled before one of them was.”