Revealing Yeshua’ Colours

‘Revealing Yeshua’

Colours

Colour as an abstract idea is rarely spoken of, in the Scriptures. The most common word translated as colour actually means ‘eye, appearance or aspect’.

Leviticus 13:55 ‘And the priest shall look on the plague, after that it is washed: and, behold, if the plague have not changed his colour, and the plague be not spread; it is unclean; thou shalt burn it in the fire; it is fret inward, whether it be bare within or without.’

אֶת־עֵינוֹ The Hebrew word ‘eini’ translated as ‘the colour’ literally means ‘eye’.

Colour is often expressed in terms of comparison with some other material, often a metal or stone. Rather than specific colour names, a colour’s brightness or dimness, lightness or darkness, brilliance or sombreness is described. Shade rather than hue seems to be considered important.

Ezekiel 1:4 ‘and out of the midst thereof as it were glowing metal, out of the midst of the fire.’

Ezekiel 1:7 ‘And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf`s foot; and they sparkled like burnished brass.

Ezekiel 1:16 ‘The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto a beryl.’

Ezekiel 1:22 ‘the likeness of a firmament, like the terrible crystal to look upon.’

Ezekiel 1:27 ‘And I saw as it were glowing metal, as the appearance of fire within it round about.’

Ezekiel 10:9 ‘and the appearance of the wheels was like unto a beryl stone.’

Daniel 10:6 ‘ his body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as flaming torches, and his arms and his feet like unto burnished brass.’

The words describing gems as colourful as in Isaiah means antimony or stibium and probably refers to the dark background that was generally used to set off precious stones. Note the common translation as ‘fair colours’.

Isaiah 54:11 ‘O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with stibium (fair colours) and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

Numbers 11:7 ‘Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its colour like the color of bdellium.’

כְּעֵין הַבְּדֹלַח The Hebrew is written ‘like the eye of bdellium’

A few objects in the Bible are described as variegated or multi-coloured.

Proverbs 7:16 ‘I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry.’

Ezekiel 27:24 ‘These were thy merchants in all sorts of things …… and broidered work..’

Zechariah 6:2-3 ‘In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.

This general lack of colour terminology in the Bible may be as a result of God’s commandment not to make any graven images or idols. Their colour appreciation however came to the fore in the Temple.

References:

1. 
   Sheila Burke, Shalom Ministries
   
2. 
   Logos Bible Software 4