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Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei 5772/March 23, 2012
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Lectures on the weekly Torah reading by the faculty of Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel. A project of the Faculty of Jewish Studies, Paul and Helene Shulman Basic Jewish Studies Center, and the Office of the Campus Rabbi. Published on the Internet under the sponsorship of Bar-Ilan University's International Center for Jewish Identity. Prepared for Internet Publication by the Computer Center Staff at Bar-Ilan University.
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Zekhariah Dori[1]
Purple Dye – Its Derivation and Use
Argaman in Hebrew, argamanna in Akkadian, argevan-argina in Aramaic and arjiwan in Arabic refers to a shade of purple. In general, coloris perceived by the eye becausean object absorbs certain wavelengths in the visible range of the light spectrum while reflecting others as a result of its chemical composition. One can see light refracted into its various colors in the rainbow that appears on a rainy but sunlit day. One can also distinguish colors from secondary sources:
Dyes that occur in the inanimate world: these includein various materials, such as copper sulfate which is blue, iron oxides which are red or yellow, sulphurwhich is yellow and lead sulfide, of which kohl,[2] a powder used to paint the eyes,[3] is comprised.
Dyes derived fromplants: these include a red dye derived from rubia tinctorum, and indigo, a blue dye, from Isatis tinctoria and Indigofera tinctoria. Yellow dyes are derived from crocuses, saffron, walnut shells and pomegranate peels.
Dyes from the animal world:these can come from insects, as in the case of crimson[4] is derived from insects and various Coccoidea, or from mollusks, as in the shades of blue[5] and purple. The biblical crimson, blue and purple were derived only from the animal world, as we read in the Talmud, "Just as the crimson worm is something that has life, so too, anything that has the breath of life" (Jerusalem Talmud, Kilaim 9.1).
The ancients defined colors metaphorically. Many expressions appear in Song of Songs describing the beloved and the lover in color metaphors: "His lips are like lilies" (Song 5:13); "Your lips are like a crimson thread" (Song 4:3); "His locks are curled and black as a raven" (Song 5:11); as well as "The locks of your head are like purple" (Song 7:6). Midrash Ha-Gadol says: "Blue refers to the sinews, purple to the flesh, and the crimson worm is the blood" (on Ex. 25:3). And Enoch says: "There appeared to me two extremely large men…the look of their legs like purple" (Enoch, vol. 2, ch. 1, 4-5). Biblical sources either were not familiar with or simply did not mention many of the different hues known to us today, such as what we call blue. The word tzeva (rendered here as dye or color) appears only once in Scripture, in Judges, along with the expression "spoil of dyed cloths" (Judges 5:30).
The 2nd-century historian Julius Pollux[6]cites a Greek legend about the discovery of the first purple dye. Melqart, the god of Tyre, went out for a walk with his dog along the shore near his city. Suddenly the dog bit a shell, and mucus stuck to his mouth. He wiped his dog's mouth with his handkerchief, and it turned a brilliant red. He realized that it was not blood and that the mucus of the snail could be used to dye fabric. A coin from the city of Tyre dating to the third century shows a dog biting a snail, apparently a reflection of this story.
Archaeological findings from the areas where purple dye was produced reveal three kinds of mollusks in the Mediterranean Sea and in various other maritime parts of the world that were good for this purpose. The different types are:
1. Thais haemastoma (Purpura haemastoma), which is found at a depth of onemeter beneath the sea. This shell has a large opening and its color is red, hence its name.
2. (Murextrunculus)Phyllonotustrunculus, which abounds close to the seashore at a depth of several meters beneath the sea.
3. (Murex brandaris) Bolinus brandaris – a snail found at a depth of several tens of meters beneath the sea, identified by the long point on its shell.
Descriptions of how purple dye was derived from mollusks appear in Vetruvius[7] and Pliny,[8] as well as in Jewish sources: "Yogvim (husbandmen)—thisrefers to those who catch snails from the promontory of Type as far as Haifa (Shabbat 16a); "Our Rabbi taught: he who catches a purple-fish (hillazon or snail) and crushes it is not liablebut for one [sin-offering]…he crushed it when [already] dead" (Shabbat 75a). Similarly, in Tractate Megillah 6a:
Zebulun said to the Holy One, blessed be He: Lord of the Universe, to my brothers You gave fields and vineyards, and to me You gave hills and valleys…He said to him: They all have need of you on account of the snail, as it is said, "and the hidden hoards of the sand" (Deut. 33:19). Rabbi Joseph taught: hoards refers to snails.
From these sources we learn that the snails from which purple dye was obtainedcould be found in the territory of Zebulun, and the dye was extracted from them by crushing.
Purple snail hunting
Generally snailswere caught by putting out wicker baskets containing bait, and sometimes they were transferred to pools of water and raised like fish in a pond. Snailsare caught in the summer months, after they have mated, laid their eggs and hatched their eggs in the spring.
The purple-producing mollusks all have a shell made of calcium and hypobranchial glands that secrete a fluid which, when it comes into contact with the air, oxidizes and takes on a purple color. When the gland is removed the snail dies. A certain snail living on the shores of America can be stimulated to secrete the dye without the snail being killed.
Chemical structure
The Viennese professor, Dr. Friedlander,analyzed the purple dye from snails in the beginning of the 20th century. He discovered that the chemical structure of the fluid secreted by the gland is a four-ring carbon-based compound, the two central rings being doubly bonded to two carbon atoms. This structure contains two nitrogen atoms, two oxygen, and two bromine atoms, one in each ring (except for the central one). Indigo dye differs in that it contains hydrogen instead of bromine, and therefore the purple is called 6,6'-dibromoindigo. Sometimes the fluid in the snails contains only one bromine atom, resulting in colors ranging from purple to indigo. When the substance is exposed to air oxidation occurs, forming two hydroxyl groups which cause the purple color to appear.
There is nothing coincidental about the colors tekhelet (blue) and argaman (purple) appearing as a pair in Scripture,[9] since both are derived from the same source: mollusks. Their chemical structure is also similar, with the possibility of a transition from one color to the other. But shani (crimson) comes from the crimson worm, an insect, and the quality of this dye depends on the concentration of the material and the quality of its production.
Deriving the dye
After catching the snails and breaking their shells the glands are removed.Since the substance in them is not soluble in water, it is soaked in an alkaline reducing solution(opposite of oxidation). Fiber or fabric is placed in the colorless solution. The fluid from the gland combines with the fiber or fabric.When the fabric is exposed to oxygen in the air oxidation takes place, creating the purple color. Ancient epigraphical sources, archaeological findings and modern laboratory research all attest to this method of producing the color.
Archaeological findings
Discoveries include broken shells, fragments of dishes in which purple color has been preserved, dyed fabrics and remains of manufacturing installations. Most of the findings come from the shores of ancient Phoenicia[10]and Israel, primarily from Acre, Tel Kabri, Shikmona, Tyre, Caesarea, Apollonia,[11] Tel Mor and around Ashdod.
Purple garments
Wool fiber takes well to purple dye. Fabrics dyed purple were expensive and hence were not possessed by the common folk but were the garb of priests, kings, Roman emperors and leaders of the Church. Argaman refers to wool that is dyed red (Midrash ha-Gadol, Exodus 25.1).
In Scripture, purple is mentioned in the series of colors: "blue, purple and crimson" (Ex. 25:4). The screen for the entrance of the Tabernacle and the curtain in the Temple were dyed with these three colors. Purple is also mentioned in connection with the garments of the high priest—the ephod, the breastpiece, and the robe. A thread of gold was added to some of these fabrics.
Fabric dyed exclusively purple was used to cover the altar in the Tabernacle, as we read: "They shall remove the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it" (Num. 4:13). Purple was deliberately chosen for covering the altar since it "is like fire" (Midrash ha-Gadol, loc. cit.). According to the sources cited here, argaman has a color similar to that of fire and blood.
As we said, purple is the color of kings.[12] The Book of Maccabees says that Ptolemy, ruler of Egypt, dressed Jonathan the Hasmonean in such a garment: "The king…gave orders for Jonathan to be divested of the garment he wore and robed in purple" (I Maccabees 10:62). In contrast, being divested of stature is marked by removing the purple garment: "In a burning fury, he immediately stripped Andronicus of the purple, tore off his clothes" (II Maccabees 4:38).
Purple garments were considered valuable booty from battle: after Gideon's victory over Zebah and Tzalmunna he demanded of his soldiers that they turn over the booty, which included "golden earrings…in addition to the crescents and the pendants and the purple robes worn by the kings of Midian" (Judges 8:26). Even Judas Maccabaeus plundered the camp of Gorgias that lay in the valley, "and there they got much gold and silver, violet and purple stuffs, and great riches" (I Maccabees 4:23).
Translated by Rachel Rowen
1
[1] Zekhariah Dori is a Doctoral Student in the Department of Jewish History.
[2] As we read of Jezebel: "She painted her eyes with kohl" (II Kings 9:30).
[3] Zekhariah Dori, Ha-Pukh ve-haKofer—Ha-Kuhol ve-ha-Hineh, Jerusalem 1982.
[4] Zehkariah Dori, Tola`at ha-Shani, Kermiz ve-Kermil, Jerusalem 1996.
[5] Menahem Borstein, Ha-Tekhelet, Jerusalem 1988.
[6] Pollux, J., Onomasticon, 1:45-48.
[7]Vitruvius, On Architecture VII 13.1-3.
[8]Pliny the Elder, Natural History IX.60-65.
[9]Blue and purple are grouped together by the cantillation signs, separately from crimson, because the former two are derived from snails, the latter from insects.
[10]The seashore from Type to Sidon and northward.
[11]Apollonia is also called Arsuf.
[12]While the woman of valor in Proverbs 31 is not a queen, nevertheless she is described as wearing fine linen and purple: "Her clothing is linen and purple" (v. 22).