Cultural unit blue in the Old Testament

Mony Almalech*

https://doi.org/10.1515/lass-2023-2001

Received March 22, 2022; accepted January 20, 2023

Abstract: The paper describes and ana lyzes th efullpresenceofblueintheOld

Testament – in Hebrew and translations. The i nterdisciplinary approach in-

cludes the treatment of color as a cultural unit according to of Eco’sidea,lexical

and contextual semantics, distinguishing visual and verbal color languages. The

interface between verbal and visual color la nguage is the prototype. Prototypes

are universal natura l visual objects – sky, sea, ﬁre, blood, the sun a t noon, all

plants,light,milk,snow,darkness,andcoal and have evolved into cultural units

(Eco 1996 [1 985]) in all cultures and languages. Basic Color Terms (BCT – blue),

Prototype Terms (PT – sky and sea), Rivals Terms of prototypes (RT – sapphire,

blue skins), Terms for Basic Features of the Prototypes (TBFP – breadth, inﬁnite ,

boundless) are examined. Translation is a criterion for semiotic value, cultural

and linguistic context. Norm of Test of Free Word-Associations is a source of

non-color (secondary) meanings of verbal colors. Test results allow us to ﬂesh

out the hidden links ‘prototype color─most typical f eature of the proto-

type─secondary meanings of color’ in text and visual culture. The secondary

cultural meanings of BCTs and RTs are speciﬁed in color compounds. The color

blue teh

elet is used in most cases in synergy (not in opposition) with the

other t hree colors in a tetrad: purple argamàn─ scarlet tolàat shanì─ linen shesh.

Analysis on the synergic relations is performed . The same applies to duads

blue-linen, blue-purple, blue skins-scarlet, blue skins-red skins. Color compounds

are e lements of the Priestly Code, therefore a hypothesis on compounds at se-

miotic axes is developed. The PT sky is involved in religious heritage. Themes as

Hebrew substitute shamàim for the Tetragrammaton, the Hierarchy of heavens

complete the areas of cultural unit blue in the Old Testament.

Keywords: color; compounds; cultural unit; duad; Hebrew; tetrad; Tetragrammaton

*Corresponding author: Mony Almalech, New Bulgarian University, Soﬁa, Bulgaria,

E-mail: [email protected]. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1382-2826

Lang. Semiot. Stud. 2023; 9(2): 185–223

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

1 Introduction

1.1 The method

The method is Linguo-semiotic. It includes the basic color terms (BCT blue, white,

black, red, etc.); the prototype terms (PT). According to Rosch (1972, 1973) and

Wierzbicka (1990), the prototypes of colors are light, darkness, sun at noon, ﬁre, blood,

sky, sea, all plants. The rival terms of prototype (RT linen, cherry, duckling, ruby,

sapphire, etc.), and terms for the basic features of the prototypes (TBFP clean, pure for

light; hot, warm for ﬁre; fresh for plants etc.).

BCT, PT, RT and TBFP are the verbal colors. They are part of a cultural unit, in the

sense of Eco (1996 [1985]). Cultural unit color includes verbal colors and visual colors

(Almalech 1996, 2011, 2021).

Important element of the method is the development of Berlin and Kay (B&K)

tradition for BCT (Berlin and Kay 1969; Kay and Maﬃ 1999), World Color Survey. The

visual part of their method are Munsell’ (2008 [1905]) color chips and color tree.

Translation as a criterion and semiotic value, Interlanguage symmetry, asymmetry

and dissymmetry. Biblical colors are a text within a text (Lotman 1994). Statistics

for diﬀerent color words have semantic and semiotic values. Some additional

approaches are given in Almalech 2017a, 2021.

The structuralist thinking and semiotics serve for a better understanding of the

object therefore their application has hermeneutical signiﬁcance.

Contrastive linguistics serves two signiﬁcant types of studies: 1. Identiﬁcation of

universal and unique phenomena (well-known structuralist and semiotic case); 2.

The survey of worldview woven into Hebrew, Bulgarian, and other Indo-European

languages according to the original terms and concepts of Humboldt (1971 [1836],

1999 [1836]), and (Underhill 2009).

1.2 Unique parameters of the cultural unit blue

The cultural unit blue has several unique parameters compared to other colors in the

Old Testament. Hebrew BCT for blue is תְכֵלֶת [teh

elet]. The term covers all shades of

blue – from light to dark blue in Biblical Hebrew. The frequency of תְכֵלֶת [teh

elet] is

the highest among all BCTs in the Old Testament. The total uses of תְכֵלֶת [teh

elet] are

50, Hartley (2011) points out 49. BCT blue is used within color compounds much more

often than alone. It is used alone, in groups of two, three (Ex 39:1), or of four colors.

1 Munsell’s Color theory (2008 [1905]) corresponds to Herring’s (1964 [1892]) idea for salient (foci)

colors.

186 Almalech

Since many of the uses (23 times) are together with three other colors in Sacred

synergy, they should be considered the tetrad color. God instructed Moses to use four

colors blue תְכֵלֶת [teh

elet], purple אַרְגָמָן [argamàn], scarlet תוֹלַעַתשָׁני [tolàat shanì],

and white as ﬁne linen שֵׁשׁ [shesh] for the clothes of the High Priest and the curtains

in the Tabernacle. The tetrad comprises three BCTs and one rival term to prototype

(RT linen). These instructions have the statute of commandments pertain to the

temple (Ex 25:3-4). The color tetrad is used also in 2Chr 2:6[H7]; 13[H14]; 3:14. The

books of Chronicles are a later text written in the post-exilic period as a synoptic to

the books of Samuel and Kings. Blue [teh

elet] and purple [argamàn] remain

unchanged while scarlet תוֹלַעַתשָׁני [tolàat shanì] and ﬁne linen שֵׁשׁ [shesh] have been

replaced for crimson כַּרמִיל [karmìl], and בּוּץ [butz] in 2Chr.

The tetrad synergy cannot be understood without the linguistic and cultural

aspects of all members of the compound: “four continuously reoccurring colors in

an important passage of the so-called Priestly Code in the Torah” (Scholem 1979–

1980:92).Blueandpurpleareobtainedfromthesamesourceusingthesame

technology:

The Royal Purple אַרְגָמָן [argamàn] and the Biblical (or Ritual) Blue תְכֵלֶת [teh

elet] were two of

the most important colors in the culture of ancient Israel. The Royal (or Tyrian) Purple was also

important in the cultures of non-Jewish civilizations. These two dyes were made from marine

snails and were important not only for the economy of maritime civilizations but had social,

religious and even political implications as well. (Spanier and Ron 1987: 9)

In Ancient Rome (Rupublic and Monarch periods), purple אַרְגָמָן [argamàn] became a

code for the aristocracy, patricians and the emperor. There is a vast scholarly

literature on the symbolism and technology of mining the biblical blue and purple.

They will be considered in color compounds. A special phenomenon is that during

the construction of the Second Temple in the 6th century BC, the prophet Ezekiel

abolished the color tetrad of the Priestly Code and replaced it with white linen (Eze

44:17). The color tetrad of blue, purple, scarlet, and ﬁne linen was ritually invisible in

the following centuries but evolved as the cornerstone of the symbolism of the

Priestly Code during Tabernacle and First Temple. The rich symbolism of color tetrad

remained an important element in interpretations of Judaism.

The Rival terms for the prototype (RT) are sapphire סַפִּיר [sapìr] and badgers’/

dolphins’ skins עֺרֺתתְחׇשׁםים [oròt tehashìm]. They are signiﬁcant in a diﬀerent

way. The sapphire סַפִּיר [sapìr] is an important element of the mystical Throne of

God (Ex 24:10; Eze 1; 10). The dark blue b adgers’ skins cover the tent of the

Tabernacle.

2 Bridgeman 1987; Elliott 2008; Guckelsberger 2013; Jensen 1963; Leadbetter 2003; Pliny the Elder

1855; Reese 2010; Reinhold 1970; Spanier (ed.) 1987; Stieglitz 1994; Ziderman 1986; 1990.

Cultural unit blue in the Old Testament

187

2 The basic color term (BCT) and the sacral color

tetrad synergy

According to Gesenius blue תְכֵלֶת [teh

elet] could be a derivate from two diﬀerent

Hebrew roots: Tav-Haf-Lamed תׇכַל [tahàl] obsol. root, prob. to shell, to peel and

Kaf-Haf-Lamed כּכל perfection, completeness, completion:

Teh

elet תְכֵלֶת [teh

elet] a shellﬁsh, specially one so called (helix ianthina, Linn.), i.e. a species

of mus cle found i n the M editerr anean sea, with a blue shell, from which is procu red the b lue

or cerulean purple. Hence for cerulean purple, violet, dark blue,Fr.bleu fonc

e; and also for

cloths, garments, yarn or thread,dyedwiththispurple;espec.ofthehangingsandother

cloths of the tabernacle, in which this color was combined with reddish purple, scarlet,and

gold, Ex 26:1 ; 27:16; 31 :36. cloth of blue, for covering the sacred table and other furniture.

Num 4 :6 ; 7:9. 11 :12 ; loops of blue, for connecting the hangings, Ex 26:4. 36:11. The same

mixture o f colors was employed in the ephod of the high priest, Ex 5:8; 15:28; 28:6-8; 39:2;

while his rob e was wholly of blue Ex 28:31; 39:22. See also Ex 6:23; 2 5:4-5; 26:4, 31; 28:33; 35;

36:8; 39:24; Num 4:6, seqq.; Eze. 23:6; 24; 2 7:7. Vulgate well render,LXXὐάκινθος, hyacinthina.

(Gesenius 1996: 11 30)

Gesenius’s opinion unites the semantics and technology of dye extraction:

תׇכַל [tahàl] obsol. root, prob. to shell, to peel, i.q. שׁכל II, whence sheh

elet שׁכלת a shel lﬁsh,

muscle.Hence תְכֵלֶת teh

elet;2.Kaf-Lamed-He כּלה possible und er t he me aning s of teh

elet

תְכֵלֶת (root Tav-Haf-Lamed תכל )isashellﬁsh, muscle, helix ianthina, i.e. a specie of muscle

found in the Mediterranean, adhering to the rocks, with a cerulean shell, from which the

blue or cerulean purple is procured. Hence for cerulean purple, violet, dark blue.[…] תכלית

[tahlìt] from root Kaf-Haf-Lamed כּלה1.completion, perfection, Ps 119:96. Others hope,

condence perfection, completeness;2.end, ext remity, Neh 3:21, Job 2 6:10. (Gesenius 1996:

1130).

According to Hartley, teh

elet is borrowed from Phoenician. He quotes Dietrich and

Lorenz (1964–1966) on pointing out similar words meaning blue or/and purple wool

in Semitic languages (Akkadian takiltu, Neo-Assyrian takiltu). The word teh

elet

occurs in both Qumran manuscripts and the Talmud (Hartley 2011: 185). Hartley

accepts that purple [argamàn] entered Hebrew and other Semitic languages from

Akkadian (Hartley 2011: 198–200).

The textual sematizations of תְכֵלֶת [teh

elet] are ‘sacral space’ and a sign for

‘wealth’ and ‘aristocracy’. These secondary meanings of teh

elet and argamàn are a

consequence of the diﬃculties in obtaining them from marine mollusk. The teh

elet

and argamàn fabrics and clothes were very expensive. “It took roughly 250,000

shellﬁsh to yield one ounce of dye” (Ball 2001: 225).

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Almalech

2.1 Individual uses

The individual uses of [teh

elet] are found in the descriptions of the Priestly Code:

“You shall make loops of blue on the outer edge of the last curtain in the ﬁrst set, and

likewise in the second set.” (Ex 26:4), It remains an enigma how the former slaves

could collect blue and purple fabrics worth more than gold in the midst of the Jewish

desert. All seven individual uses of BCT blue (Ex 22; 26:4; 28:28; 31; 36:11; 39:21) serve

the Priestly Code when the tabernacle is raised.

2.2 Color duads

2.2.1 Blue-white

The blue color has special force evidenced by one of the commandments formulated

at Num 15:38–39. The Israelites must “make tassels on the corners of the garments,

with a blue cord on each tassel” and to look at the blue cord to “remember all the

commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by

going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes”. This means at least two things. The

ﬁrst one is that blue-white unit at the tassels is mnemonic technic for remembering

all moral indicatives and legal of commandments, e.g. Honor your father and your

mother; You shall not murder; You shall not give false testimony against your

neighbor, etc. The second is white and blue tassels are the prototype of the ﬂag of the

state of Israel. The white in this duad comes from the garment of ﬁne linen.

2.2.2 Blue (teh

elet and badgers’s skins) – purple (argamàn)

Numbers 4:6-15 give instructions on how to pack the tabernacle when the camp is to

move. Two kinds of blue appear – the BCT teh

elet and RT badgers’s skins (in Orthodox

translations blue, hyacinthine LXX). They are in duad with purple: “ and they shall

take all the vessels of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put

them in a cloth of blue [teh

elet], and cover them with a covering of sealskin

[or tahàsh], and shall put them on the frame. And they shall take away the ashes from

the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon (Num 4:12-13).

2.2.3 Scarlet (tolàat shanì) – Blue (badgers’s skins)

This duad was used in Num 4:8:

Cultural unit blue in the Old Testament

189

And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet [tolàat shanì], and cover the same with a

covering of badgers’ skins [or tahàsh], and shall put in the staﬀs of it. (KJV)

and they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet [tolàat shanì], and cover the same with a

covering of sealskin [or tahàsh], and shall put in the staves thereof. (ASV)

и върху тях ще разпрострат червен [“red” tolàat shanì] плат, и него ще покрият с покрив

от язовски кожи [“badger’s skins” oròt tehashìm], и ще проврат върлините ѝ. (BUL1)

и да метнат върху тях багрен [“scarlet” tolàat shanì] плат, и да го покрият с покривало от

синя кожа [“blue skin” or tahàsh], и да проврат върлините. (BUL2)

Bulgarian orthodox translation follows Septuagint version for Hebrew [or tahàsh] as

синя кожа (“blue skins” BUL2) while the protestant version keeps to язовски кожи

(“badgers’ skins” BUL1). The duads of blue (teh

elet + badgers’s skins), purple

(argamàn) and scarlet (tolàat shanì) & blue (badger’s skins) are loaded with

secondary meanings ‘movement of the tabernacle’, ‘relocation of the tabernacle’. The

Blue-white duad is crucial for Jewish culture and religious heritage meaning

‘remembering the commandments’. This meaning is implanted into the ﬂag of the

modern state of Israel. All seven individual uses of blue teh

elet are situated in the

static position of the tabernacle when it is built.

2.3 The color tetrad – the Priestly Code and sacral four-color

synergism

The color tertad contains blue תְכֵלֶת [teh

elet], purple אַרְגָמָן [argamàn], scarlet

תוֹלַעַתשָׁני [tolàat shanì] and ﬁne linen שֵׁשׁ [shesh]. The four colors are together in the

Tabernacle and in the First Temple but for the Second Temple (after the VI

BC) they

were canceled by “the hand of the LORD” (Eze 40:13). Prophet Ezekiel announced the

cancelation of the four colors replacing them with the whiteness of the linen: “When

they enter the gates of the inner court, they are to wear linen clothes; they must not

wear any woolen garment while ministering at the gates of the inner court or inside

the temple. They are to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments

around their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them perspire.”

(: 44:17–18)

As mentioned above, the synergy in the tetrad cannot be understood without the

linguistic and cultural aspects of the other three members of the compound. Scholem

points out that blue תְכֵלֶת [teh

elet] and purple אַרְגָמָן [argamàn] “have the same

meaning” (Scholem 1979–1980: 67).

The word אַרְגָמָן [argamàn] is translated purple in English, πορφίρα [porfìra] in

Greek, and purpura in Latin. Gesenius accepts India origin of argamàn, from Sanskrit

190

Almalech

râgaman, râgavan, literally “tinged with red” where râga means “red ” (Gesenius

1996: 83–84). Hartley (2011: 200) mentioned the hypothesis of the Indo-European

origin of argamàn, without binding with Sanskrit, but rejects this view as less likely.

In the vast literature on the royal purple (purple of Tyre) it is widely accepted that

blue teh

elet and purple argàman are obtained from marine mollusk, Murex snails

(Jensen 1963). Guckelsberger (2013: 3–4) indicates several marine shellﬁsh families

for obtaining Tyrian or Royal Purple. Murex snails inhabits the waters of the Eastern

Mediterranean – present-day Lebanon, Cyprus, and Crete. The Hebrew word for

Cyprus (Elisa) accompanies argamàn in Eze 27:7 specifying the place of production of

that color.

In Biblical and Modern Hebrew, שֵׁשׁ [shesh] means Numeral six. Only for Biblical

Hebrew there are meanings ﬁne linen and white marble. In the Talmud, it is explained

that shesh is ﬂax, twisted six times (Soncino Babylonian Talmud 1935–1948: Yoma

35b). Scholars are unanimous that this term in OT is borrowed from ancient Egyptian.

Two other words for ﬂax appear before Shesh in the structure of the Old Testament

text. Moses held a symbolic chain 3BCTs + 1RT = 4 elements by introducing a loan

word for ﬁne linen meaning Hebrew six + BCTs for the other three tetrad colors.

Tolàat shanì is Hebrew noun phrase. Tolàat is a case form of the word worm

תוֹלֵעָה [toleà]. Gesenius (1996) believes that tolàat shanì is close to pink and is

extracted from a speciﬁc insect: “Kermez, Coccus Ilicis, which adheres with its eggs to

the twigs of a species of oak, and is related to the cochineal or coccus cadi

” (: 1093).

Miklosich (1852–1865: 1120) pointed out the same logic in forming the basic term red

in Slavic languages. Red is derived from the Pra-Slavic *čīrvlįenŭ, derived from the

word “worm”, root *čīrŭī, Old-Bulgarian чръвь [chruv]. The original terms of

Humboldt (1836 [1971], 1836 [1999]), Weltansicht (language as the capacity to coin

concepts) and the inner form of the word, are key for explaining international naming

through the technology for production. Jews and Slavs have the same inner form for

crimson, червен (“red”). If we try to rename the worm’s qualities in the ﬁeld of

symbolism in sacred space, the following semantic features are obtained: ‘softness’,

‘movement in tunnels’, and ‘spiral movement’ . We must attribute these semantic

features to the horizontal and vertical movement of God’s commandments

into human space. For shanì Gesenius distinguishes two roots that are homonyms,

Shin-Nun-He שׁנה root II, as Gesenius (1996) marked it, produces crimson, rose color,

crimson garments. Root I brings forth numeral: the second, second, secondary, of a

second rank or order (: 1093). The noun phrase occurs in two versions תוֹלַעַתשָׁני

[tolàat shanì] and שְׁנֵיתוֹלַעַת [shn

ei tolàat] meaning crimson color, and crimson cloth.

In Judaism, the transcendence of God cannot be presented in artifacts. Scholem

(1979–1980: 85–88) recalls the monotheistic doctrine of the unpictorial God and the

“colorful world of the Creation is diﬀerentiated in the Bible so decidedly from the

realm of the Creator”. However, Scholem points to three exceptions in the Old

Cultural unit blue in the Old Testament

191

Testament. These are the rainbow (Gen 9:12), the blue in the ritual fringes (tassels)

(Num 15:38), and “the four basic colors in the setting up of the tabernacle, and of the

priestly cult”. (Scholem 1979–1980: 88). Scholem deﬁnes the color tetrad “enigma”

and “cryptic”. Thus, the semiotic decoding color symbolism turns into hermeneutics

and theology.

Acording to Hartley, teh

elet is a loan word. The choice of Moses to use foreign

words is signiﬁcant. This is to indicate the special status of these colors as sacred and

for foreign words to serve easier committing to memory. Gesenius’s point of view for

Hebrew source of terminology gives other optics and inner forms as a Hebrew

worldview.

Brenner (1982) avoids root and etymology analysis of teh

elet, argamàn and tolàat

shanì and does not include them into her classiﬁcations. She postulates them as “they

are considered color terms of a unique type”. On the one hand, she placed them

below in the ﬁeld hierarchy of Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Terms, “because of

their restricted applicability and speciﬁc nature” (: 46). On the other hand, quite

rightly, she treats them as BCT “the primary, general nature of adòm”, of red (: 76).

Finally, “[…] because non-linguistic evidence suggests that their references may be

included in primary color terms […] these lexemes will be internally arranged under

the adòm […]. ” (Brenner 1982: 46). The Slavic and Hebrew worldviews (in terms of

Humboldt’s Weltansicht (language as the capacity to coin concepts) are identical for

the formation of a basic term of червен (“red”) and scarlet תוֹלַעַתשָׁני [tolàat shanì],

but are radically diﬀerent if we compare the inner form of Slavic red (червен) and

Hebrew red אָדֺם [adòm]. The term tolàat shanì is translated into Bulgarian with red

(червен), very rarely as vermilion (червячено червено “wormy red”) and never as

scarlet (ален).

From a symbolic point of view, the cance llation by prop het Ezekiel (4 4:17-18)

of the Mosaic c olor tetrad is signiﬁcant. Revocation refers to clothing in the

Second Temple (after the VI

BC), and the replacement with one, whit e-linen

color. Ezekiel used another type of white linen, phishtím, compared to shesh by

thetimeofMosesandbutz by Solomon. These changes of ﬂax terms is intentional

and symbolic. The linen in Moses’s Tabernacle is שֵׁשׁ [shesh], 2Chr 3:13-14 replaced

it with בּוּץ [butz], and Ezekiel used linen type- פִּשׁתִים [pishtìm]. The inner form of

the three terms is diﬀerent, and this is a sign of diﬀerent content that takes the

Hebrew language consciousness into di ﬀerent logical and theological paradigms.

2.3.1 Blue and the semiotic axes in the sacral space

Because of the high symbolic status of the Holy of Holies as an intermediate space

between the highest unreachable divine and lower, the world of humanity, we need

to harness all possible signiﬁcant structures. The Holy of Holies is a place where God

192

Almalech

dwells on the earth. Only the prophets and the High Priest can access the Holy of

Holies. The temple is a mediator between people and God. The purpose of the Temple

and the Holy of Holies is communication between people and God. “There, above the

cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet

with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.” (Ex 25:22 NIV)

We can identify the semiotic axis inside-outside of the horizontal in both

directions – from the outside inwards (inside), the Temple and back – from the

temple to outside. To be inside and outside the temple are two diﬀerent worlds. The

temple is a sacred space. Outside the temple is a profane space. The sacred space

diﬀers from every-day, profane space. The yard of the temple provides a smooth

transition among sacred and profane. Every sacred space is between the human and

divine levels. Thus, the temple has a vertical axis – God is above the temple, and the

profane is below the temple’s sacredness. A possible semiotic axis is the vertical

‘bottom-up’, from the earth to the sky, and vice versa. God descends from above

to deliver His orders at Holy of Holies –“over the ark of the Testimony” He meets

and communicates with Moses. Chosen people, the prophets and the high priest,

raised up (exalted) to receive God’s commandments. For laymen, this elevation is

inaccessible, even deadly. The chosen individuals spread the commandments of God

horizontally among laymen. An essential feature of the color tetrad is that it is a part

of the religious ritual. Color Tetrad is intended for use and inﬂuence on the laymen

through the sight of the priest’s clothes and temple interior. The Color Tetrad is

postulated verbally, allowing analyzing the verbal data for decoding the symbolic

unity of the color tetrad

2.3.2 Ritual symbolism and sacral four-color synergism

The method of the late Victor Turner is appropriate in decoding the ritual color

symbol as a syncretic intersection of social reality, of mystical-religious, and of

psychological-cognitive parameters of human beings. Three points of Turner’s

method of exploring the religious ritual are important for the approach. The ﬁrst one

is “that religion is not merely a toy of the race’s childhood, to be discarded at a nodal

point of scientiﬁc and technological development, but is really at the heart of the

human matter.” (Turner 1975: 31) The second one is that “the Freudian model could

not [hold] to my mind adequately account for the dramatic and performative aspects,

not only of rituals themselves but of the social and cultural processes in which these

were embedded.” (Turner 1975: 31). The third one is the eﬀect of the symbols on the

subconscious of the participants (Turner 1975: 175–176).

The ritual color symbol has its “logic” in the human psyche, but it has also its

philosophy in the secret religious-mystic notions and concepts. The next factor

forming the color symbol is the ritual’s role as social glue in the process of keeping

Cultural unit blue in the Old Testament

193

the social order. If we stay only at the mystic explanation of color symbolism, we

will make a huge mistake. We need to involve modern humanitarian knowledge

to understand color as a sign. A special place here is the non-arbitrariness of the

reduplication (Yelle 2012) and the Priestly Code constantly use reduplication. The

speciﬁed is a key to decoding of the visual colors (in folk wedding and funeral) and

the verbal biblical instructions for colors in the temple. Ritual and religious signs are

motivated, on the one hand by the Neo-Platonic type of mystical approach,

on the

other hand – by culturization and semanticizing of the prototypes of color (Almalech

2001, 2011, 2017b, 2021). This is not in contradiction to linguistic and structuralist

principle – the arbitrariness of the sign.

The motivation of the color sign is the prototype’s culturization and semanti-

cizing with human concepts and feelings in the rituals. Culturization and semanti-

cizing of prototypes lead to the idea that a color is a cultural unit (Almalech 2017b; Eco

1996 [1985]). The cultural unit ‘biblical color’ is overloaded with culture (both Jewish

and Christian), but also with the theory and practice of translation. The cultural unit

‘biblical color’ augments through diﬀerent types of words expressing color – BCT, PT,

RT, and BFPT. The sacral four-color synergism has three BCT (scarlet, blue, purple)

and one RT – ﬁne linen. In terms of Art Color Science (Munsell 2008 [1905]),

аrgamàn

cannot have visual prototypes because it belongs to the subtractive mixing of colors,

the CMY (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow), which are the result of the additive mixing of RGB

(Red, Green, Blue).

Sacral four-color synergism as Scholem pointed out, has cosmological inter-

pretation in the writings of Philo (De vita Mosis XVIII § 88) and Josephus (Antiquities

III, 6, 4 § 183): “[…] Philo and Josephus explain the four colors as allegories of the four

elements, that is, as purely cosmological. White stands for the earth on which ﬂax

grows [while], purple is [for] the sea or water because it is obtained from the blood of

the sea snail, tehelet is the air that appears in the blue of heaven, scarlet red is ﬁre.”

(Scholem 1979–1980: 94–95) Cosmological interpretation is an example of color

motivation. Philo has been inﬂuenced by the Hellenistic and Josephus from Roman-

Hellenistic notions. In Judaism, tehelet and argaman must be produced from the sea

depths, from a sea murex. In view of modern humanitarian science, blue corresponds

to the prototype sea and/or sky (Almalech 2021; Rosch 1972, 1973; Wierzbicka 1990).

3 Scholem (1972, 1974) assessed the philosophical Kabbalah as a mixture of original Jewish ideas and

Neo-Platonism.

4 Munsell’s Color measured color system, based on the three qualities Hue, Value and Chroma

includes the ideas of Hering (1964 [1892]). Salient is the term of Hering’s (1964 [1892]) color theory

corresponding to the prototype in the most popular modern Prototype theory (Rosch 1972, 1973) using

Hering’s ideas.

194 Almalech

The ﬁnal result (blue during the day and cerulean purple as at sunset) and the

method of production (from the depths of the sea) corresponds to the two Hebrew

roots proposed by Gesenius as the basis of the term blue תְכֵלֶת [teh

elet]: 1. Tav-Haf-

Lamed to shell, to peel, i.q. Shin-Haf-Lamed II, whence [sheh

elet] a shellﬁsh, muscle

helix ianthina. Hence [teh

elet]; 2. Kaf-Lamed-He possible under the meanings of

perfection, completeness, completion, tahlìt (: 1130). In this way, both perfection,

completeness, completion and the way of production are being realized. If we accept

Gesenius’ suggestion, it appears that Moses has introduced neologism in which a

prototype for blue and the result (the dye blue) are bound, and not a foreign word. In

the Old Testament times, no one has introduced another term for all the nuances of

the blue color. In Modern Hebrew, the word tech

elet means light-blue, and the BCT

for blue serves the biblical word כָּחֹל [kahòl]. The word signiﬁes the black color of

painted eyes (makeup) and it is hapax legomena (Ezekiel 23:40).

The analysis of the linguistic tissue – lexical and discursive – gives impressive

results. Translations and data on frequency also give valuable results as the inter-

lingual symmetry, asymmetry, and dissymmetry. Together, they provide a priceless

linguistic basis basis for further analysis and hypotheses.

2.3.3 Sacral context: historical, statistical and culture aspects

In terms of our methods of deciphering the signs of color in the sacred text, white is

marked with a rival term to prototype (RT), ﬁne linen , but not with BCT. This reminds

us of two things: one is diligently avoiding the use of BCT in the OT and the second is

the universal status of “the robe of light”, i.e. robe of linen, be the best tool to “achieve

respect among the gods” (Goodenough 1964: 165–176). The words of Tetrad are also

used elsewhere in the OT, usually for garments of aristocracy or for sacred purposes.

Swartz’s book The Signifying Creator (2012) practically does not use any semiotic

theories but almost all the multitude instances and analyses are from the Talmud, i.e.

Jewish religious interpretative thought. In the chapter Semiotics of garment he cites

Barthes (1983), to say then that the semiotic reﬂections on fashion do not refer to the

ritual clothing:

Of course, the garments of the priest in the ancient Temple are the very opposite of fashion. The

priestly vestments are presumably eternal and are meant for one person on earth at a time; only

the high priest may wear them as he performs the sacriﬁce in the Temple. At the same time, they

are worn every time that sacriﬁce is performed. They are ritual garments, and an important

feature of ritual is its repeatability, in contrast to the presumed newness of fashion. (Swartz

2012: 34)

Color Tetrad is only part of the whole colors’ symbolic presence in the Holy of

Holies and all over the Tabernacle. Color Tetrad is in the context of two types of gold,

Cultural unit blue in the Old Testament

195

‘pure gold’ (22 karats) and gold (18 and fewer karats) + silver and copper. Besides the

metals, the ingredients of the holy incense contain elements related to white, yellow,

and red – myrrh, aromatic gum, balm, spices, stacte, onycha, and galbanum. Over the

Holy of Holies, the tent of the Tabernacle comprises rams’ skins dyed red and blue of

the badgers/dolphins’ skins. The term for red on the tent is not a member of the sacral

tetrad, it is BCT אָדֺם [adòm], and the term for blue is RT (badgers/dolphins skins

עֹרֹתתְחָשׁים [oròt tehashìm]). Thus, the interior tetrad diﬀers (visually and linguis-

tically) from the red and blue skins of the Tabernacle exterior.

The structure of the temple, according to the commandments of God, comprises

an idea for concentricity. At the innermost point, the holiest place, there is a pure

gold, after that gold and silver in the hall, and in the outermost part, in the yard,

the metal is bronze/copper. This concentric structure symbolically represents the

horizontal path from the Divine to the yard of the temple, and profane outside

the yard. This is the semiotic axis from inside where the Divine is – out where

profane is. The relationship between the temple horizontal levels (from within to

outside in “concentric circles”) is marked twice – by metals and by the blue ﬁlaments

whether they are single or in compounds of three more colors in the sacral synergy.

Metals (pure gold, gold, silver, copper) and blue markings three veils separating the

innermost Holy Place (the Ark of the Testimony) (Ex 26:31-35) from the big hall and

entrance/door of the Tabernacle’s tent (Ex 36:36-37), to the outermost part of the

courtyard and gate (Ex 27:13-16).

The blue wool ﬁlaments provide the ﬂow of sacral energy from the epicenter of

the sacral through the great hall, through the yard to space outside the temple

complex. The blue color passes among the static surrounding of pure gold in the Ark

of Testimony, which gradually degrades (in terms of mysticism) to gold, to silver, and

to copper in the yard, i.e. the blue tehelet remains unchanged in contrast to the

symbolism of the metals. These structures are valid for Tabernacle and the First

Temple. For the Second Temple, there are no similar instructions in the vision of

Ezekiel to the restoration of the temple in Jerusalem. The Blue provides a connection

(visible and invisible) between the Holy of Holies and the yard of the temple. To these

concentric static structures of metals and sacred synergistic colors we have to add

the mobility of the synergy of the color tetrad of the high priest’s and the priest’s

clothes (Ex 28:5; 6; 8; 39:15; 27; 31; 33; 37).

The presented is hypothesis for symbolic meanings and functions of blue color in

the sacral space. The etymology and word formation are signiﬁcant in the semiotic

perspective. All dedicated and systematic researchers of the Hebrew text of the Old

Testament (Brenner 1982; Scholem 1979–1980) follow the authority of Gesenius

(1996). Hartley (2011) used sources published in the twentieth century, which diﬀers

from Gesenius. In Ex 26:31, LXX introduces ύάκινθον [hyacinth] for teh

elet

“blue”,

πορφύραν [porfuràn] for argamàn “purple”, κόκινον [kòkinon] for tolàat shani

196

Almalech

“scarlet”: καὶ αὐτοὶ λήμψονται τὸ χρυσίον καὶ τὴν πορφύραν καὶ τὸ κόκκινον καὶ τὴν

βύσσον. In Vulgate, hyacinthum (for teh

elet), purpuram (for argamàn) coccumque

(for tolàat shani) and byssum (for shesh). In English tolàat shanì is scarlet, which

corresponds to the Bulgarian алено (“scarlet”) but, tolàat shanì is systematicaly

translated червено [tcerv

eno] (“red”) into Bulgarian.

We can treat the enigma of the color tetrad as a code. An important goal is to

decode the age-old aberration of Biblical codes for Indo-European linguistic and

cultural space. Bible is also a media between God and humanity. “Eco (1965) uses the

term ‘aberrant decoding’ to refer to a text which has been decoded by means of a

diﬀerent code from that used to encode it (1965)” Chandler (2002: 186). Eco used

“aberrant decoding” on the occasion of current mass media. But the Bible is a

venerable, time-honored and inﬂuencing media – to shape culture and the way

of thinking. Aberration in the case of the Old Testament could come from both

inevitable interlingual asymmetry and dissymmetry, and doctrinal causes.

3 Prototype terms (PT)

The examination of PTs is motivated by the fact the prototypes (sky and sea) are not

used as a substitute for BCT in translation, i.e. there is no semio-osmosis between BCT

and PT unlike semio-osmosis between black and dark, green and freshness (TBFP),

see Almalech 2017a, 2018.

3.1 Sky, Heaven: [shamàim], [rakìa], [rekià shamàim], and

[shеhakìm]

Here we will examine at the Hebrew names of sky/heaven in the biblical text given

the possibility of the presence of blue. The non-color (secondary) meanings of sky and

sea are the norm for word associations: freedom, cleanliness, space, ﬂight in the norm

(Almalech 2001, 2011). The sky and the sea are statistically most clearly reﬂected as

prototypes: the sky and the sea are indicated by about 70% of respondents as a

response to the word stimulus BCT blue. With this frequency, they are the most

often indicated prototypes in the norm. At the center of the norm for free word-

associations,

non-color meanings present an universal meanings associated with

blue: freedom , cleanliness, space, ﬂight, dream, cheerful, tenderness, joy, tradition,

youth, volition, tranquility, carelessness, ease, spaciousness, vastness.

5 Kent-Rosanoﬀ (1910) test.

Cultural unit blue in the Old Testament

197

Genesis 1 describes the creation of the world. A few lexemes enclose the sky:

heaven, sky, ﬁrmament/expanse/dome for the Hebrew terms שׇׁמַיִם [shamàim], רׇקִיעַ

[rakìa], and רְקִיעַהַשׇׁמׇים [rekià ha-shamàim]. This raises the question ‘How many

skies are there in Genesis 1?’ Data for comparative analysis are drawn from the

classical translations: the 70 Jewish priests for the Septuagint (LXX), St. Jerome for the

Vulgate (VUL) St. Constantine-Cyril Philosopher for the Old Bulgarian, the numerous

contributors in King James Version for English (KJV), Martin Luther for German

(LUT). Other languages are involved for comparison.

The ﬁrst appearance of one of the terms for the sky is in Gen 1:1. It is שׇׁמַיִם

[shamàim] always pluralia tantum.

All English translations use heaven. Septuagint’s

choice is οὐρανός [uranòs], and caelum in Vulgate.

Genesis 1:1

ἐν ἀρχῂἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸςτὸνοὐρανὸνκαὶ γῆν (LXX)

in principio creavit Deus caelum et terram (VUL)

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (KJV)

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (ASV)

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (NIV)

The second appearance of one of the terms for the sky is in Gen 1:6: רׇקִיעַ [rakìa].

The third appearance is in Gen 1:7, and it is the same as in Gen 1:6 רׇקִיעַ [rakìa]. In

Genesis 1:7, there are three uses of the term [rakìa]. English translations diﬀer:

ﬁrmament (KJV, ASV, RSV, NKJ, RWB, WEB), expanse (NIV, NIB, NAS, NAU, DBY). The

most interesting is NRS where the word dome is the choice. Septuagint’s choice is

στερέωμα [ster

eoma], and ﬁrmamentum in Vulgate.

Genesis 1:6

And God said, Let there be a ﬁrmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters

from the waters. (ASV)

καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεός γενηθήτω στερέωμα ἐν μέσῳ τοῡὔδατος καὶἒστω διαχρίζον ἀνὰ μέσον ὔδατος

καὶὔδατος καὶἐγένετο οὔτος (LXX)

dixit quoque Deus ﬁat ﬁrmamentum in medio aquarum et dividat aquas ab aquis (VUL)

TDOT (vol. 13: 647) gives the root Reish-Kuf-Ayn רקע a general meaning of “a thin,

narrow area” calling it a “cosmological term” and the verb “to stamp” (vol. 15: 209)

and ﬁnds many Semitic corresponding meanings. TWOT pointed out ‘spreading out’

or “stretching forth”. BDB (: 956) “an expansion of plates”, i.e. “broad plates, beaten

out”.

6 Nouns that are always in the plural.

198 Almalech

Piperov (1961–1962) is aware of the semantics of the word רׇקִיעַ [rakìa]:

[…] rakìa (Gen 1:8) is a word in the Hebrew language from the verb rakà: 1) extended surface

(solid), expanse, ﬁrmament 1a) expanse (ﬂat as a base, waters above) 1b1) considered by He-

brews as solid and supporting ‘waters’ above; 2. to hammer; to ﬂatten something with a

hammer; to make a thin metal ﬂat plate. Rakìa (ﬁrmament) is understood as the giant celestial

hemispherical lid that carried the celestial ocean and formed a vault above the Earth’s circle.

[…] It seems that rakìa would have been a cosmological, technical expression by which the

essence of the sky is pointed to something solid that spread over the earth, while shamaim was a

cultic expression adopted from the common people’s speech. (: 286)

The semantics of the root do not indicate an association with the blue color.

Genesis 1:8; 20 introduce the noun phrase רְקִיעַהַשׇׁמׇים [rekià ha-shamàim].

English translators use ﬁrmament heaven (KJV, NKJ, ASV, WEB, RWB, RSV), expanse

heaven/s (NAS, NAU, DBY), expanse sky (NIB, NIV). With the word dome in “God called

the dome Sky ”, NRS remains bound with the idea of a dome, which is good

retransmission of the Hebrew root of רׇקִיעַ [rakìa]. Septuagint, οὐρανòν στερέωμα

[uranòn ster

eoma] and Vulgate ﬁrmamentum and caelum.

Genesis 1:8

God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. (NRS)

καὶἐκάλεσεν ὁ θεός τὸ στερέωμα οὐρανόνκαὶ εἶδεν ὁ θεός ὃτι καλόνκαὶἐγένετο ἐσπέρα καὶ

ἐγένετο πρωίἡμέρα Δευτέρα (LXX)

vocavitque Deus ﬁrmamentum caelum et factum est vespere et mane dies secundus (VUL)

English translations has deﬁnitely distinguished between [shamàim], [rakìa] and

[rekià ha-shamàim] – albeit in a diﬀerent way. Where shamàim is used, all trans-

lations introduce the term heavens. For rakìa, English translations diﬀer: ﬁrmament

expanse and dome. For the noun phrase (verse 8) rekià ha-shamàim, see the quote

above.

The other languages keep to similar translation strategies.

In Gen 1:1; 8, שׇׁמַיִם [shamàim] is heaven or sky but the Hebrew text cause us to

make a diﬀerence between the diﬀerent kinds of shamàim. For the simple reason

that the term shamàim should be understood as diﬀerent things – once in verse 1 this

is shamàim-1, and for the verse 8 shamàim-2. Shamàim-1 is the ﬁrst thing that has

been created (Gen 1:1). Shamàim-2 is probably a better candidate for an association

with blue color, being closer to the physical heavens because shamàim-1 is rather

tagged the direction ‘up’ in the opposition ‘up-down’ after the Big-Bang as today we

call the beginning of the universe in physics. Shamàim-1 appears when “the earth

was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of

Cultural unit blue in the Old Testament

199

God was hovering over the waters” (verse 2), and the light is not yet created. In

Genesis 1, shammaim-1 signiﬁes up and down as space and directions, not color.

Piperov pointed to the etymology of shamàim: “The etymology of the Hebrew

name for heaven (shamàim) is still unclear for now. The explanations are given so far

that shamàim means a covering; height; a place for water, etc., can only be considered

as experiments and assumptions.” (Piperov 1961–1962: 285–286). Water in Hebrew is

מׇים [màim]. Water is always pluralia tantum, as well as the heavens presented by the

term שׇׁמַיִם [shamàim]. In Jewish culture, the word water encodes information about

the chemical formula of water – twice hydrogen and once oxygen – H

O or H-O-H =

מימ or מים . One of the possible etymologies of shamàim, marked by Piperov, is “a

place for water”. It is the clearest and most popular of all meanings of שׇׁמַיִם [sha-

màim], as Piperov emphasizes.

Lack of color association for the lexeme רׇקִיעַ [rakìa] (ﬁrst use in verse 6) is

conﬁrmed by the root semantics. This term refers to “chamfer”, “creating” as an

engineering activity rather than a color. Verbs and nouns of Kuf-Reish-Ayn רקע

suggest a similar semantics.

Piperov pointed to the complexity of the notions of sky in ancient Jewish writers:

[…] the sky is stretched out like a thin canvas stretched crosswise as a tent (Isa 40:20; 44:24, Jer

10:12; 51:12, Rev 12:1); it has openings (windows and doors) that can be opened and closed (Gen

7:11; 28:18; 2Ki 7:2, 19; Mal 3:10; 23); it is propped up on pillars that can be shaken (Job 26:11); lies

on the bases that are turbulent (2Sam 22:8); can be divided (Isa 63:19), etc. (: 286)

In Genesis 1-3, there is a vertical movement of Creation, where every cosmic concept

is ﬁrst named, and thereafter a more private concept referring to the earthly

dimension.

To the two above-mentioned meanings of shamàim can be added a third that

comes into use after Gen 1. This third meaning is a substitute for the Tetragrammaton

YHWH to avoid mention of the sacred name. In view of the chronology of occurrence

in Gen 1, the ﬁrst is shamaim-1, second is rakìa, third is the compound rekià-shamaim.

Shamaim-3 is the name of God (a substitute of the God’s proper name the Tetra-

grammaton) remains outside of the other languages in translations, since it is typi-

cally Hebrew only.

As a hypothesis, the extended semantics of the root Reish-Kuf-Ayn רקע can be

compared to the theory of relativity. If we look at the structure of time-space

in contemporary theoretical physics, we will be astonished to ﬁnd “unfolding” or

re-creating the whole word-forming paradigm of the root Reish-Kuf-Ayn רקע in

Einstein’s theory of relativity and space-time. In the word rakìa we can ﬁnd encoded

the idea for the structure of the universe in the process of the Creation, reminiscent

of the “elastic fabric”, but not an association or information about blue color.

200

Almalech

The discoveries of modern science, especially physics and chemistry, are some

times astonishing because it turns out that some of the latest achievements of natural

sciences are encoded in the word-forming structure of biblical and modern Hebrew.

3.2 The gift of Moses [shеhakìm]

Moses used the noun שְׁחַקִים [shеhakìm], translated as sky/skies in English, for the

ﬁrst time in the Old Testament in Deut 33:26. It is an introduction of the new lexeme

for heaven. Deut 31–34 are the personal message and blessing of Moses known as

“The Song of Moses”. It comes after the terms of the Creation from Gen 1 (shamàim,

rakìa, rekià shamàim). We must be very careful when we say that this is a new

lexeme because Biblical Hebrew is not the spoken Hebrew. We must assume that

שְׁחַקִים [shеhakìm] is a lexeme that has long been present in the language system, but

in the lexicon stocks of the Pentateuch it is indeed a new sky invented by Moses.

Deuteronomy 33:26

There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven [ שׇׁמַיִם ] in thy help, and

in his excellency on the sky [ שְׁחַקִים ]. (KJV)

There is none like unto God, O Jeshurun, Who rideth upon the heavens for thy help, And in his

excellency on the skies. (ASV)

οὐκ ἒστιν ᾣσπερ ὁ θεός τοῦἠγαπημένου ὁἐπιβαίνων ἐπὶ τὸν οὐρανόν βοηθός σου καὶὁμε-

γαλοπρεπὴςτοῦ στρεώματος (LXX)

non est alius ut Deus rectissimi ascensor caeli auxiliator tuus magniﬁcentia eius discurrunt

nubes (VUL)

The basic meaning of noun is dust, cloud שַׁחַק [shahàk]. Biblical Hebrew has few

diﬀerent terms for cloud: עָנָן [anàn], נְחִיל [nehìl], כֶּתֶם [k

etem], צֵל [tzel], עִרפּוּל

[irpùl], which means that Moses used a word for cloud, inserting new meaning – sky.

The שְׁחַקִים [shеhakìm] is plural, perhaps by analogy with shamaim. The root Shin-

Het-Kuf שׁחק is found a few books before Deuteronomy in Ex 30:36 as the verb beat

(Septuagint to break up, cut up). English translations are unanimous in the trans-

lation of שְׁחַקִים [shеhakìm] as heavens and skies for שׇׁמַיִם [shamàim] from the same

verse. Septuagint gives respectively οὐρανός [uranòs] for שׇׁמַיִם [shamàim], στερ-

έωμα

[ster

eoma] for שְׁחַקִים [shеhakìm]. Vulgate uses caeli for שׇׁמַיִם [shamàim] and

nubes (”clouds”) for שְׁחַקִים [shеhakìm]. After the ﬁrst use of [shеhakìm] (Deut 33:26)

it becomes usual term for heavens, skies Job 35:5; Ps 18:12, etc. The other meanings of

the noun, dust and cloud, are present in Job 38:37; 36:28. The lexeme שַׁחַק [shahàk]

Cultural unit blue in the Old Testament

201

can be seen as a gift from Moses to the Jews because it is used for the ﬁrst time by

Moses in Deut 33:26.

Where is the place of the “ new” sky on the vertical of the Creation? The paradigm

of the root Shin-Het-Kuf שׁחק gives us the answer to this question and its location in

the text: the fact of Moses’s ﬁrst use of this new term for heaven, and the later

clariﬁcation of the prophets. As usually, Gesenius (1996: 1051) is brilliantly accurate:

שַׁחַק [shahàk] I

1. to rub or beat in pieces, to pound ﬁne (Ex 30: 36); trop. of enemies, Ps 18: 43.

Also, to wear away as water stones Job 14:19.

2. to expand by rubbing or beating, to stretch out. Hence שָׁחַק no. II

שָׁחַק [shahàk] II

1. Poetic word dust, ﬁne dust, so called from rubbing, trending, Isa 40:15.

2. Rarely sing. שַׁחַק [shahàk] Ps 89:7; 38. Often plur. שְׁחַקִים [shеhakìm] sky, the

heavens, so called from their expanse, like רׇקִיעַ [rakìa]. A thin cloud, Prov

8:28. As the seat of God and the angels, Ps 89:7; 38; 68; 35. Often parallel with

שׇׁמַיִם [shamàim], Deut 33:26; Job 35:5; Ps 36:6; 57:11; 108:5; Jer 51:9. But

שַׁחַק

[shahàk] and שְׁחַקִים [shеhakìm] denote the sky or heavens both as serene or

clouded; e.g. as serene Job 37:18 Hast thou with him spread out the sky

[shеhakìm], which is ﬁrm, and, as a molten looking glass? Or as covered with

clouds, Job 37:21; whence descend the rain and dew, Job 36:28; Prov 3:20; also

the manna Ps 78:23 compare Isa 45:8; and whence the thunder is heard, Ps

77:18. עָבֵישְׁחַקִים [av

ei shеhakìm] clouds of the heavens Ps 18:12; 2Sam 22:12.

Also, put for the clouds themselves Job 38:37, parall. נִבְלֵישׇׁמַיִם [nivl

ei sha-

màim] bottles of the heavens.

The noun pharse עָבֵישְׁחַקִים [av

ei shеhakìm] means darkness of clouds as Gesenius

(1996: 738) pointed out at the article for עׇב [av], Ex 19:9; Ps 18:12. He pointed on the

same page data on the regular use of עׇב

[av] meaning cloud. Gesenius adds the

obsolete root Ayn-Vet-Vet עבב meaning to cover. It is one more example of inten-

tionality and the knot of meanings that intertwine in the Biblical Hebrew worldview,

where עָבֵישְׁחַקִים [av

ei shеhakìm] has the semantic features of ﬁrmament רׇקִיעַ

[rakìa]. The diﬀerence is that עָבֵישְׁחַקִים [av

ei shеhakìm] probably comprises color

association, dark clouds.

The various meanings of the paradigm of the verb שַׁחַק [shahàk] contain the

overall style and structure of the Deuteronomy: if the monotheism is not honored,

the Jews will be “beaten in pieces”, “crushed”, “pulverized” . The gift of Moses שְׁחַקִים

[shеhakìm] is a term for the sky that has no color association but the engineering

content of creation. The phrase [av

ei shе

hakìm] is an exception, but the color as-

sociation was not for blue color, but for dark clouds.

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3.3 Hierarchy of the heavens

The problem of association with the blue color of diﬀerent names for heaven

naturally led us to the question of the place in the hierarchy of the Creation of

these diﬀerent types of heaven. Here I will not use the mystical (the book of Enoch,

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite) meditations, nor the folklore presets, e.g. the

Jewish Agada. The topics and opinion of Talmud are reviewed in detail by Rappoport

(1995 vol. 1: 19–23). The basis of the analysis is the biblical text and linguistic facts.

Prophet Jeremiah give his answer to where in the hierarchy are the “skies”

שְׁחַקִים [shеhakìm] as a species of heaven:

Jeremiah 51:9 [LXX 28:9]

We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into

his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto heaven [shamàim], and is lifted up even to the

skies [shehakìm] (ASV)

We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed; let us leave her and each go to his own

land, for her judgment reaches to the skies [shamàim], it rises as high as the clouds [shehakìm].

(NIB)

Wir wollten Babel heilen; aber es wollte nicht geheilt werden. So laßt es fahren und laßt uns ein

jeder in sein Land ziehen! Denn seine Strafe reicht bis an den Himmel [„sky“ shamaìm], und

langt hinauf bis an die Wolken [„clouds” shehakìm] (LUT)

Most of the English versions translate שְׁחַקִים [shеhakìm] with skies, only NIV and

NIB follow VUL (nubes “clouds” but also a “cover”) with clouds. Septuagint stands on

an entirely diﬀerent position translating [shehakìm] with star, constellation ᾂστρον

[àstron], i.e. higher than the blue sky of earth. Regardless of the translations, Jer 51:9

situates shehakìm above the blue heaven/sky shamàim-2. This reaﬃrms Gesenius’s

(see above) view that this type of heavens is of the rakìa type.

All terms for sky and heaven should have one additional meaning for the earth’s

blue sky, which is diﬀerent from the words used for the Creation of the world.

Hypothesis:

1. Shamàim-1 (Gen 1:1), the highest sky is meaning directions above-below, heaven,

οὐρανòς [uranòs], caelum. No color.

2. Rakìa (Gen 1:6) marks the structure of the universe, ﬁrmament, στερέωμα

[ster

eoma] meaning solid body, foundation, caelum “1. mainstay; basis 2.

а) bulwark; support b) general proof.” (Войнов и Милев 1990: 265). No color.

3. Rekìa shamàim (Gen 1:8) ﬁrmament heaven, expanse sky, dome sky, οὐρανòν

στερέωμα [uranòn ster

eoma]: ﬁrmamentum and caelum.

No color.

4. Shamàim-2 (Gen 1:9), this is not the telluric blue sky but the appearance of colors

in the Big Bang Creation level. Interestingly, the Zohar’s meditation on the

creation of non-telluric colors corresponds to the scientiﬁc cosmological model

of the Big Bang:

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203

Within the most hidden recess a dark ﬂame issued from the mystery of Eyn sof, the Inﬁnite, like

a fog forming in unformed – enclosed in the ring of that sphere, neither white nor black, neither

red, nor green, of no color whatsoever. Only after this ﬂame began to assume size and

dimension, did it produce radiant colors. From the innermost center of the ﬂame sprang forth a

well out of which colors issued and spread upon everything beneath, hidden in mysterious

hiddenness of Eyn sof [“without end”,Inﬁnite]. (Barnstone ed. 1984: 707)

5. Shamàim-3 (Gen 14–15) is the telluric blue sky. Bible informs that the sun and the

moon (“two great lights”,) are presented after shamàim, rakìa, and shamàim

rakìa.

6. Shehakim appears last (Deut 33:26) meaning dust, cloud, sky, the heavens, “so

called from their expanse, like rakìa”. Often it a serene or clouded sky. Jer 51:9

pointed the shamàim, the blue sky of the earth, below the stars shehakim. For

telluric sky shamàim – Blue; for shehakim – no color.

7. Shamaim as a substitute of the God’s proper name, the Tetragrammaton YHWH

is out of this Hierarchy of the heavens. It is higher than anything created and

transcendental. No color.

3.4 Summary

All terms in Gen 1 should not be associated with the blue color because the light

available to the human anatomy appears after verses 14–15 when “God made two

great lights – the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the

night. He also made the stars.” (v. 16). On the other hand, the prototype sky is of the

highest incidence compared to other prototypes in the Free Word-Association Norm.

This means that at the appearance of the prototype sky even in Gen 1, there is inertia

to associate the cosmic sky, ﬁrmament with the blue color.

It is diﬃcult to judge what kind of metaphor is due to this stability, given that

“metaphor is not just a decorative aspect of language, but a basic schema that people

conceptualize the world and their own activities” (Gibbs 2008a: 3), whether it is

related to the conceptual metaphor or to primary or complex metaphors (Gibbs

2008a: 6). The most frequent association to BCT blue is the abstract concept of

freedom in the Norm for Free Word-Associations. Visual experience from childhood

links the blue sky with qualities such as inﬁnitely, wide. Language and culture

supplement notions as abstract systems inherent to the social person. The test of Free

Word-Associations reveals our linguistic consciousness and unconsciousness. Test

results allow us to ﬂesh out the hidden relations ‘prototype-salient color-most typical

feature of the prototype-secondary meanings of color in text and visual culture’.

All kinds of metaphors contribute to our understanding of abstract concepts and

to the giant Bible cultural area, where blue skies are many things. Hebrew worldview

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uses conceptual metaphors presented both by diﬀerent terms for sky and by their

root semantics. Hebrew readers develop and use a conscious and subconscious

linguistic knowledge of these metaphors through the extended semantics of the roots

of the various sky terms. Lakoﬀ conﬁrms this view: “[…] conceptual metaphors

are part of the cognitive unconscious and are learned and used automatically

without awareness.” (2008: 25). He emphasizes the linguistic aspects of this system of

metaphors “grounded via correlations in embodied experience”, and system “exists

physically in our brains” (Lakoﬀ 2008: 24). As Gibbs reminds “conceptual metaphors

may be best characterized as extended structure-mappings between domains”

(Gibbs 2008b: 7).

Behind every metaphor is a comparison and ﬁnding similarity. The general

metaphor is an intellectual mechanism inverse to the opposition which is a contrast.

The inﬁnity and height of Heaven are suitable for the divine, so the basic feature of

the prototype (TBFP) is an understandable symbol of the divine and even a substitute.

TWOT in BW indicates the theological aspects of the shamàim, related both to

meanings ‘above ’, and ‘high’ of Gen 1:1-8 and to the qualities available to our

perceptions as ‘inﬁnite’ and blue:

Heaven is […] the abode of God (Deut 26:15; 1Ki 8:30), and it is from there that he reaches down to

do his will on earth. As the heavens are inﬁnitely high above the earth, so are God’s thoughts and

ways inﬁnitely above man’s ability to comprehend (Isa 55:8-9). […] Isa (57:15) states that though

God dwells in the high and lofty place, he will also dwell with those of a contrite and humble

spirit. The heavens tell of the glory of God (Ps 19:1[H2]) […] Though the heavens are his throne,

they will one day vanish like smoke (Isa 51:6) and be rolled up like a scroll (Isa 34:4). (TWOT

in BW)

No one of the Hebrew words for sky/heaven provokes a straight association with

blue. Given the high recognizability of the sky as a prototype in the test for free

words-associations, the sky is loaded with metaphors and symbolism on the low-high

axis. Heaven is the territory of the highest gods in many cultures. In Judaism,

low-high axis is in symbiosis with water màim-shamàim derivative link leading to the

substitute (shamàim) of the proper name of the God, the Tetragrammaton. The

hierarchy of heavens is a topic of interest to Jews and non-Jews. About shеhakìm

there are diﬀerent opinions regarding the hierarchy of the heavens. Another layer is

Moses’ relationship with the Israelites and the introduction of a sky that lacks water

at the expense of sand (shеhakìm) producing dark (sandy) clouds [av

ei shеhakìm] in

climate conditions of the Middle East.

The interpretative aspect of the translations of the Hebrew terms reveals the

relativism Greek and Latin terms οὐρανòς [uranòs] and caelum insert Greek and

Roman mythology gods of sky in the Bible. Interpreters are forced to translate the

Hebrew cosmological term rakìa with the Greek στερέωμα [ster

eoma] (from στερεός

Cultural unit blue in the Old Testament

205

[stereòs]) and ﬁrmamentum “ﬁrm, solid”. This gives emphasis to the Hebrew inner

form of the term rakìa as a, usually translated as the ﬁrmament. These metaphors

of the night and day sky present the Basic Features of the prototype (BFPT) for

blue – inﬁnity, expanse, vastness, boundless, and the Hebrew substitute for God’s

name YHWH, shamàim.

Inner forms of Hebrew words for skies are in opposition: שׇׁמַיִם [shamàim] is

associated with liquids, water מׇים [màim], while רׇקִיעַ [rakìa] ﬁrmament. The שְׁחַקִים

[shеhakìm] is related to both the solids שָׁחַק [shahàk] I dust and the basic feature of

the prototype (TBFP) שָׁחַק [shahàk] II to expand by rubbing or beating, to stretch out.

4 Rival terms for the prototypes (RT): badgers’

skins [oròt tehashìm], and sapphire [sapìr]

4.1 Badgers’ skins participate in color duad on the exterior of

the Tabernacle

At the tent of the Tabernacle badgers’ skins עֹרֹתתְחָשׁים [oròt tehashìm] are located

over the dyed red ram ’s skins מְאָדָמִים [meadamìm], Ex 26:14:

You shall make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red and a covering of porpoise skins

above. (NAU)

And you shall make for the tent a covering of tanned rams’ skins and goatskins. (RSV)

You shall make for the tent a covering of tanned rams’ skins and an outer covering of ﬁne

leather. (NRS)

You shall also make a covering of ram skins dyed red for the tent, and a covering of badger skins

above that. (NKJ)

Badgers’ skins are translated diﬀerently as far as the word תַחַשׁ [tahàsh] has no clear

meaning. The diﬀerences aﬀect not only the type of skin but also the color of the skin.

For עֹרֹתתְחָשׁים [oròt tehashìm] in Ex 25:5 English versions diﬀer: badgers’ skins (KJV

and NKJ), sea cows (NIV), sealskins (ASV), porpoise skins (NAS and NAU), goatskins

(RSV), ﬁ ne leather (NRS), violet skins (DRA), peaux de dauphins (TOB). Bulgarian

Synodal version (BUL2) prefers сини кожи (“blue skins”), the Protestant versions

(BUL 1, BUL3, BUL4) язовешки кожи or делфинова кожа (“badgers’ skins” or

“dolphin’s skin”). Russian RST кожи синие (“blue skins”). Orthodox translations

follow Septuagint’s choice ὑακίνθι hyacinthine for oròt tehashìm. Vulgate prefers

pelles ianthinas (“sealskins”). German LUT avoids color term – Dachsfelle (“badgers’

skins

”) as Spanish pieles ﬁnas (“ﬁne skins”), and NRS; French LSG and TOB – peaux de

dauphin (“dolphin skins”), Italian NRV – pelli di delﬁno (“dolphin skins”).

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From now on, I will use blue skins because I accept that the Jewish priests who

translated the text into Greek, three centuries BC, are closest to the real vision of

עוֹרתָחַש [or tahàsh] pl. עֹרֹתתְחָשׁים [oròt tehashìm]. The analysis of sacral color

synergy at the Tabernacle continues with rival term (RT) blue skins עֹרֹתתְחָשׁים [oròt

tehashìm].

4.1.1 Blue skins in the context of duads and tetrads. Hypotheses about color

synergies and semiotic axes

We can understand and decode the synergy of color combinations if we use diﬀerent

methods. Linguistic facts (lexical and contextual) and alphabetic writing have a

mixed nature – pure linguistic and cultural. Next to them are the prototypes – light,

darkness, sea and sky, ﬁre and blood, the sun at noon, and all the plants. Moreover,

Judaism and Islam are cultures prohibiting images where the numbers, geometry,

and stereometry have a strong symbolic presence. The ones with signiﬁcance are the

myths associated with the lives of the prophets, kings, and Jewish heroes, e.g. number

four is to Moses for forty years in the wilderness, forty days on the Mount Sinai, four

colors of Priestly Code.

Homan (2002) expresses that Tabernacle is a replica of the tent temples of

polytheistic peoples and cultures surrounding Israel.examines Tabernacle’s tent as a

Middle East temple. He mentions the problem with the exact meaning of תְחָשׁים

[tehashìm]. He found most of the hypotheses of Encyclopaedia Biblica (1952–1982 vol.

8: 520–521) attractive in which the skins עֹרֹתתְחָשׁים [oròt tehashìm] and dyed red

ְאָדָמִים [meadamìm] refer to the natural color of the leather. Homan oﬀers yellow,

orange and/or red as color to substantiate his thesis that, “this colors may correspond

to various solar aspects of Yahweh” (Homan 2002: 155 –156). Homan’s idea for the

solar aspect of Yahweh, expressed by the yellow/red color of תַחַשׁ [tahàsh] is irrel-

evant to the Jewish monotheistic doctrine of One God, transcendental and incog-

nizable. Homan’s assumption is in complete dissonance with the color decision of the

Septuagint (hyacinthine “blue”), as well as to color duads and triads, which wrap the

elements of the Tabernacle when it is in motion.

Numbers 4:5-14; 5:9-12 lists several color duads for diﬀerent parts of Taber-

nacle: תְכֵלֶת [teh

elet] ( “blue” ὑακίνθινον) + עוֹרתַחַשׁ [or tahàsh “blue/hyacinth

skin” δέρμα ὑακίνθινον]v.6; אַרְגָמָן (“purple cloth”, ὁλοπόρφυρο) + עוֹ

רתַחַשׁ

(“blue/hyacinth skin” δέρμα ὑακίνθινον)verses13–14. The triad תְכֵלֶת [teh

elet]

(“blue” ὑακίνθινον) + תוֹלַעַתשָׁני [tolàat shanì “scarlet cloth”, κόκκινον] + עוֹרתַחַשׁ

(“blue/hyacinth skin” δέρμα ὑακίνθινον)verses7–8. The statistics show the

importance of תַחַשׁ [tahàsh] for t he packaged ta bernacl e when in the proce ss of

relocation. When the camp is arranged to move forward, the vessels, the golden

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207

altar, all the instruments of ministry, the censers, the ﬂeshhooks, the shovels, and

the basins, all the vessels of the altar, the curtains of the tabernacle, its covering,

the hanging for the door of the tabernacle – all must b e wrapped and covering of

badgers’ skin (Exo 25:5; 26:14; 35:7; 36:19; 39:14; Num 4:6; 8; 10–12; 14; 25; Eze 16:10).

Theblueskinsarecombinedinthepackingwithfewothermaterialsandtheir

colors: blue תְכֵלֶת [teh

elet], scarlet תוֹלַעַתשָׁני [tolàat shanì], purple אַרְגָמָן [arga-

màn], and while עוֹרתָחַש [or tahàsh]. R emarkably, the coverings of the Tabernacle

instruments play an apotropaic role because the Levites who bear the holy luggage

‘shall n ot touch any holy thing, lest they die’ (Num 4:15).

When people and the tabernacle are in motion, red type-adòm is missing

from the leather and textiles of the packed-in tabernacle. Dyed red skins are not

prescribed here. Obviously, these color duads have their signiﬁcant importance.

Much more likely, blue or violet is to serve monotheistic doctrine than yellow or red,

which express “various solar aspects of Yahweh”.

Interestingly and adequately is the assumption that red-adòm on Tabernacle

roof keeps it apotropaic power and meaning because inside the tent there are people

and sacred artifacts – they should be preserved from the power of the Devine energy,

which can kill people who are not ready or if they touch the Tabernacle. In the

packaged Tabernacle, there are only sacred artifacts, which need color symbolic

wrapping. At a minimum, the choice of animal and color is indicative. Blue skins

cover red skins on the tent. This is a normative prescription without analog, six times

in Exodus, starting at 25:5, seven uses at Num 4:5-14 “when the camp is to move” the

order is blue above red-adòm. Eze 16:10 used the noun phrase once. A total, of

fourteen times in OT.

A few characteristics of the tent of the Tabernacle are important:

– The color duad is above and over the four colors synergies, and it is in vertical

dimension towards the Holy of Holies.

– The constituents of the skin roof participated neither in material nor in terms of

color into sacral four colors synergies.

– The color duad on the roof is an important element of the vertical context of the

four colors synergies.

– The explanation of this relative opposition and at the same time, a unity of colors

is a mediator function of the entire facility of the Tabernacle.

– The color duad at the roof is absent from the First and Second Temples.

In Tabernacle, the semiotic axis ‘inside–outside’ is on the horizontal and vertical

dimensions. In the middle is the Holy of Holies, towards which are the possible

movements. The axis ‘inside–outside’ means out of the Holy of Holies, be it to

the people, or be it to God. If the direction is toward the people, the direction is

horizontal, and if it is directed toward God is vertical. If God descends messages or

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orders to people, the direction is ‘from outside human level–towards inside human

level’. In the vertical from God to the Holy of Holies or ‘top–down’. In Judaism, this

direction is called ‘Maasei Bereshit (Acts of Creation). If people strive to achieve God,

the direction is ‘inside human level–towards outside of human level’’ in vertical. In

Judaism, this direction is called, Maasei Merkabakh (Lord’s Chariot), in which man

rises upwards.

Metals with a characteristic color mark the horizontal earth level. The center is

the Holy of Holies where the gold is pure and this is the most inside. Gold and silver

are in the great hall outside the center. The most outside from the center – in the

courtyard of the tent ‒ the metal is copper. Judaism assumes that all metals are

degraded gold.

In the exterior, vertical level marks the relationship ‘man–God’, ‘connecting the

earth with the divine dimensions’, and color signiﬁer of the relation is the colored

skins duad which is above the color tetrad. In the interior, under the tent, the vertical

axis is advocated by the ‘red worm’ תוֹלַעַתשָׁני [tolàat shanì]. Assuming the etymology

of the word reﬂects the connection to the worm-like creature living on and in the

ground. On the other hand, the manner of movement of the worms symbolizes the

shape of the channels connecting the Divine level with the earth. Therefore, it seems

the symbolism of [tolàat shanì] is in both directions vertical – both ‘descending from

above to downwards’ of God’s presence on earth, and ‘raising from downwards to

upward human’s supplications/prays.

Bokser (1963) highlighted the sky as an abode of gods. Moreover, he precisely

indicates the connection of blue with the two prototypes (sea and sky) in Jewish

tradition – Biblical, Talmudic, and Kabbalistic. Through detailed analyses of Jewish

tradition, Bokser precedes the Theory of prototypes with more than a decade in an

in-depth article.

Bokser reaﬃrmed my hypothesis –

prototypes enter the culture and acquire

diﬀerent meanings in rituals – folk, polytheistic, monotheistic – where there is

Norma, code, repeatability, and consistency. A valuable instance is the red bridal veil,

ﬂammeum, which remain unchangeable for thousands of years – from Ancient Rome

to Balkan brides in nineteenth century (Almalech 1996), contemporary (rural)

Chinese and India brides. There is a hypothesis that the ﬁrst use for white bridal veil

was presented by Anna Duchess of Brittany, queen consort of France (1477–1514).

Anne’s marriage (1491) to King Charles VIII of France was not an association which

brings to her enough power and positive feelings. She preferred to continue to rule in

Brittany, rather than giving up the title for the title of Queen of France. Mythology

says that to protest that Anna wore a white dress and white veil because she knew

that white is not the favorite color of the King. Mythology also says she wore white at

her third marriage ceremony on 8 January 1499. Wearing white was a new precedent

for brides worldwide. It took centuries to transform a single royal act where white is

Cultural unit blue in the Old Testament

209

a symbol of ‘ hate’ and ‘disobedience’ to mass practice until white accommodate its

universal meanings –‘physical and spirit pureness’, ‘virginity’ for brides

In Judaism, and not only, there is also ‘a closer association of the color blue with

the deity’, i.e. blue = ‘divine’ + ‘above’:

Apart from its intrinsic aesthetic appeal as a color, blue carries an added interest; it resembles

the color of the sea and the sky. In all cultures of antiquity, the sky is conceived as the special

abode of the deity, and this led to a closer association of the color blue with the deity. (Bokser

1963: 1)

In Talmud

Rabbi Meir’s statement is: “Why was the color blue singled out from all other colors? Because

blue resembles the sea and the sea resembles the sky and the sky resembles the throne of divine

glory.” Rabbi Meir oﬀers as text-proof the passages in Exodus and Ezekiel where God’s throne

and the ground below His throne are described as resembling the “sapphire.” (Bokser 1963: 3)

Both types of blue – עוֹרתָחַשׁ [or tahàsh] and תְכֵלֶת [teh

elet] – by virtue of their

relationship with the prototypes – sea and sky – bring subliminal techniques to the

inﬁnity of God. It is because an inﬁnity of sky and sea is their fundamental feature,

besides the color blue. Another signiﬁcant attribute of sky and sea (i.e. of blue color),

culturally, semiotically, symbolically and semantically, is that the prototypes of blue

give the concept and idea of ‘above’ and ‘below.’

The term מְאָדָמִים [meadamìm] names the color of covering of the tent of

the Tabernacle. It is required to be of rams’ skins dyed red. The word מְאָדָמִים

[meadamìm] is an element of the derivational chain red אֲדֺם [adòm] − man אֲדַם

[adàm] – ground אֲדַמָה [adamà] – blood דַם [dam]

– Adam אֲדַם [adàm] – Edom אֱדֺם

[edòm]. Adòm is the most common basic term for red color. There is no indication of

the technology by which this focal color is obtained. The nuance is of the prototypical

red of the blood. The term is the same in Modern Hebrew. In the context of the ‘roof of

the tent of the Tabernacle’ obviously red color type-adòm מְאָדָמִים [meadamìm]

functions with the ‘apotropaic’, ‘preserve-reproduction’ meaning (well known from

the folk tradition, see Almalech 1996), and as a color signal for something we should

be careful. Here the apotropaic function is transformed to ‘preserve and build up

again’ meaning. In the chronology of the biblical text this is a new meaning for red

אֲדֺם [adòm], because a whole series of narratives prior to the book of Exodus – the

Garden of Eden, fratricide (Cain and Abel), the giving up his birthright by Esau-Edom

to Jacob-Israel – red אֲדֺם [adòm] is a marker of ‘earth sinful’, ‘irrational’, ‘murder’.

4.1.2 Summary

The white from linen-shesh remains inside the temple only, i.e. it has a static element

that builds relationships ‘six—white marble’, ‘4–6’ as ‘perfection’, worthy only of

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the Holy of Holies. Shesh and all color Tetrad are retained in the First Temple.

The only change is the replacement of six-[shesh]-ﬂax with round-[butz]-ﬂax. The

entire Tetrad is withdrawn from the Second Temple. This change eliminated

the communication channels on semiotic axis, based on the symbolic semantics of

color tetrad in the Second Temple.

It is no longer a surprise that the period of the Second Temple is considered of the

lowest morally. Ezra (2:63) and Nehemiah indicate that after returning from exile

there are no priests ministering the oracle stones Urim and Thummim: “The

governor, therefore, ordered them not to eat any of the most sacred food until there

should be a priest ministering with the Urim and Thummim.” (Neh 7:65 NIV)

The historical context reaﬃrms the high symbolic status of the color Duad and

Tetrad in Taberancle.

Semiotic hypothesis about the sacred status of the Tabernacle colors and First and

Second Temples gives an idea of a millennial model of the perpetual motion. The model

of the perpetual motion is highly marked by the presence or absence of blue color.

This model is an attempt to reveal how the sacral level is engineered in its most

sacred point – the Holy of Holies – and the function of the sacred space as a

connection between the unachievable, unattainable, abstract God and the human

level.

The aim of the semiotic hypotheses is to achieve a better understanding of

possible implicit structures and elements that stand for both the sacral level in the

Bible and the potential impact (consciously and subconsciously) the two-dimensional

text has on reader/listener.

4.2 The Pure Sapphire and the Throne of the Lord

We must add the presence of mega-light blue to the mega-light presences – white and

red – in the description of the Throne of the Lord, coming from the sapphire that was

mentioned only in three places in the Old Testament – Ex 24:10; Eze 1, 10. The place of

blue light in the Old Testament is too speciﬁc. It is important because sapphire is an

essential element and code for one of the most mystical objects – the Throne of the

Lord, also called the Chariot of the Lord. Blue light is associated with sapphire, both in

word and in color vision.

The “deﬁnitions” of the sapphire of the Throne of the Lord are in Ex 24:10

(“pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself”, “a paved work of sapphire stone,

and as it were the very heaven for clearness”), and in Ezekiel, 1:26; 10:1 (“the likeness

of a throne, as a sapphire stone”). In Ex 24, we witness 74 people (“Moses, Aaron,

Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel”) saw the God of Israel, “and under

His feet appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself”. This

Cultural unit blue in the Old Testament

211

episode is important because earlier only Moses was called to Mount Sinai to receive

the stone tablets with the law and commandments.

Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel saw the God of

Israel, and under his feet, there is a sapphire ﬂoor: “Then went up Moses, and Aaron,

Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. And they saw the God of Israel;

and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone and as it were

the very heaven for clearness.” (Ex 24:9-10 ASV)

In Ezekiel, the Sapphire of the Throne of the Lord is part of the prophetic vision,

which describes the Chariot of the Lord in many details. The description is in the ﬁrst

and the tenth chapters. It is a canonical mystical part in the Old Testament. The vision

includes many mystical elements: the archangel of Ophnaim (“wheels”), the living

creatures, the throne, and ‘the awesome crystal, stretched out over’ the heads of the

living creatures. In 1:26, it appears that the above the ‘awesome crystal ’ there is

throne which is ‘as the appearance of a sapphire stone ’.

Ezekiel 1:22

The likeness of the ﬁrmament above the heads of the living creatures was like the color of an

awesome crystal, stretched out over their heads. (ASV)

And the likeness of the ﬁrmament upon the heads of the living creature {was} as the color of the

terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above. (WEB)

Ezekiel 1:26

And above the ﬁrmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the

appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the

appearance of a man upon it above. (ASV)

And above the ﬁrmament that {was} over their heads {was} the likeness of a throne, as the

appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne {was} the likeness as

the appearance of a man above upon it. (WEB)

In chapter ten, the prophet conﬁrms that the throne is like a sapphire (Eze 10:1) but

not the pavement ‘under His feet’ (Exo 10:24): “Then I looked, and behold, in the

ﬁrmament that was over the head of the cherubim there appeared above them as it

were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.” (Eze 10:1 ASV).

In the ﬁrst chapter, the ﬁrmament is above the heads of the living creatures, and in

the tenth, the ﬁrmament is above the head of the cherubim. Ezekiel uses the word

ﬁrmament רׇקִיעַ [rakìa] both in chapters one and ten. As mentioned above, [rakìa] is

the ﬁrst ‘cosmological term’ for the sky in the Bible connected by derivative links

with ‘to stamp’, ‘spreading out’ or ‘stretching forth’, ‘an expansion of plates’, i.e.

‘broad plates, beaten out’. In Exodus 24:10, the word is heavens שׇׁמַיִם [shamàim]

connected with water מׇים [màim]. For Ex 24:10 some English translations prefer sky

(NIV, NIB, NAS, NAU) but more frequently use heaven (KJV, NKJ, ASV, RSV, NRS, WEB,

RWB). An interesting detail is the term “clearness” which deﬁnes the sky in Ex 24:10.

212

Almalech

The Hebrew word used is one of ‘ritual purity’ טָהוֹר [tahòr], used for the gold in the

Holy of Holies. In other words, the prototype of blue color, the sky, is deﬁned as a

ritual clean blue.

The word sapphire is at the heart of the Kabbalistic term Sephira. The idea is that

the primordial substance Sephiroth refract and radiate light at the same time. It is

incorrect to derive the term Sephirah from the Greek word sphere though it is done

often.

4.2.1 The paradigm of the Sapphire, root Sameh-Pe-Reish ספּר /Sameh-Fe-Reish

ספר

Most of the encyclopedias claim the word סַפִּר [sapìr] is a loan word from Sanskrit.

“The stone owes its name to the Sanskrit çanipriya.” (ISBE). However, Neither

Gesenius (1996: 730), neither Hartley (2011) nor Clines (1993–2011) comment on the

etymology of the word סַפִּר [sapìr]. The semantics of the root suggests several ho-

mophonic roots, well developed in diﬀerent declensions. According to Gesenius

(1996: 731–733), it includes meanings to count, to number, number (mispàr), to

scratch, to scrape, to shave, to write, to scratch, or grave in letters, which all come

from the idea of cutting in, graving, writer, scribe (sof

er), the art of writing and

reading, a book (s

efer), writing, a bill of purchase or sale to recount ((lispòr), to

narrate (lispòr), to tell, to declare.

Even if the word sapphire is borrowed from Sanskrit, it is integrated into the

Jewish culture of writing and worldview and becomes part of the root Sameh-Pe-

Reish ספּר . The sound [s] is not written with the letter Sin שׂ but with the letter Sameh

ס. It is not with letter Sin שׂ because the word could ﬁts the paradigm of the word

shofar (root Shin-Fe-Reish שׁפר ) which is one of the roots through which light is

signiﬁed in the text of the Old Testament.

Does the root of Sameh-Pe-Reish

ספּר emit light? Obviously, with the presence of

the word sapphire in its paradigm, we must unconditionally and unequivocally

understand that books (sfarìm) must emit spiritual light, that they must not be word-

fornication but kind of mathematics that should radiate spiritual light. And the light

indicated by the Shin-Fe-Reish שׁפר root is just another kind of light arranged closer

to the laws of propagation of sound than light. The light indicated by the Shin-Fe-

Reish שׁפר is spiritual, but it has two basic features, diﬀerent from the type of light of

blue sapphire Sameh-Pe-Reish ספּר . Shofar light comes ‘from God to man’ as a

commandment, secondly, it is consistent with human space and with the sound

wave, not with the light waveform of matter. With the sound of the ritual horn – the

shofar – the wall of ancient Jericho was demolished and the polytheism located on

Earth was defeated. The light coming from the shofar is sound working most rapidly

in the human dimension and the conditions of the Earth. The light emitted by the

Cultural unit blue in the Old Testament

213

sapphire is another type of light. It can only illuminate a person who walks his own,

diﬃcult, morally elevated path, up to God. In this case, the direction that ﬁnally leads

to the blue light of the sapphire is ‘from man to God’, i.e. bottom-up.

Blue light is accessible to very few, ritually pure, moral people. Shin-Fe-Reish-

type light is a sound wave that is heard by both humans and the Lord. Therefore, the

shofar is played as a sign o f t he beginning and the end of Shabbat and religious

holidays. The blue light, named by Sameh-Pe-Reish ספּר , indicates that one must

make a serious eﬀort to attain ritual purity to be admitted to the Mystical Mega-

Blue, s ituated in the ideal, and in the Divine. The aﬃliation of the blue light of the

sapphire from the Throne of the Lord to the ideal, is that the divine can be decoded

from the unfolded epithet deﬁnitio n in Ez e 1:22: “as the color of the terrible crystal,

stretched forth over their heads above.” The word terrible leads to the idea of

belonging to the ideal, which with its power is dangerous and scary for ord inary

people.

It is unnecessary to indicate the full semantic scope and dimensions of words

from ספּר root. What is important here is to emphasize that mathematical activity,

the word number and the word book, the written storage of the mathematical ac-

tivities are from the same linguistic, mental, semantic, semiotic, and cultural ﬁelds.

In Jewish culture, writing and books are mathematics – this is the simple conclusion

that the Hebrew worldview imposes on us. Moreover, in the case of the root of

Sameh-Pe-Reish ספּר /Sameh-Fe-Reish ספר meanings encompass a huge semantic

perimeter.

4.2.2 The reference of sapphire in the Old Testament

Most Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias claim that this word does not mean

what we today refer to as sapphire – a solid and transparent gem – but a soft,

water-soluble, opaque semi-precious stone called the lapis lazuli with the modern

name lazurite.

Among the biblical encyclopedias and dictionaries, there is only one source, the

Fausset Dictionary, which states the opposite: “The Hebrew lapis lazuli is transparent

and suited for engraving; probably our sapphire.” Despite the popular opinion that

the Hebrew word סַפִּר [sapìr] refers to soft, semi-precious and opaque stone, I think

that the text indicates a transparent sapphire. This is not the real ancient sapphire,

but a prophetic image of a transparent blue gemstone. My opinion is based on Ex

24:10 deﬁnition of sapphire: “heaven in his clearness”

(KJV, WEB), the very heaven

for clearness (ASV, RSV, NRS, RWB), clear as the sky itself (NIV, NIB, NAS, NAU), the

very heavens in its clarity (NKJ). Septuagint used the word καθαριότης [kathariòtes]

meaning cleanliness, purity. The Hebrew word טָהוֹר [tahòr] translated pure or clear.

It calls the ‘ritual purity’ but also indicates transparency. The lapis lazuli is opaque.

214

Almalech

The best specimens, from ancient times to the present, are obtained in the regions of

Afghanistan and Pakistan. The stone is also mined in China. The prophet used טָהוֹר

[tahòr] for clear, clean, pure among eight other root options that Hebrew has in its

system to signify clear, pure, and clean.

Ezekiel 1:22 calls the ﬁrmament “terrible crystal”. The awesome crystal is a

deﬁnition of the prototype of blue color – the sky, the heaven, the ﬁrmament. In the

phrase terrible crystal, the Hebrew word that corresponds to “crystal” is ice קֶרַח

erah]. The ice possesses ‘transparency’. In Hebrew, the standard word for crystal is

another – גַבִישׁ [gavìsh]. Often the context requires the translation of the Hebrew

word קֶרַח [k

erah] with ice, not with crystal, e.g. Job 37:10, Job 38:29, Job 6:16 “ Which

are dark because of the ice קֶרַח [k

erah], and into which the snow vanishes.” The three

uses of ice from Job indicate his brilliant knowledge of Hebrew and poetically

motivated use of many Aramaic words, in parallel with their Hebrew conformity.

The fourth use of this type is in Ps 147:7: “He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can

stand before his cold?” Sometimes the word glass זְכוֹכִית [zhohìt] is also used in a

context requiring crystal translation. Again, this is the brilliant and poetic Job 28:17:

“The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels

of ﬁne gold {jewels …: or, vessels of}.”

Thus, the sapphire at Moses is clear. The claims that the word ס

ַפִּר [sapìr] means

the opaque semi-precious lapis lazuli, collide with the word from the ascent of

Mount Sinai (Ex 24:10), as well as the scary crystal of the Ezekiel vision. To this, we

should remember that Ex 24:10 and Eze 1; 10 to be interpreted as typical mystical

terminology, i.e. to describe something that is not an object in three-dimensional

human space, but rather a description of meditative images, expressed in human

words, that approximately tell what is seen at the ideal level.

The very essence of the Divine presupposes both the permeation of light and

the comparison with the sky. These elements of sapphire (Ex 24:10) and the space

of the crystal of Eze 1:22 are grounds for considering the blue light in the theme of

Old Test ament Light. Moreover, in the twelfth century, the Jewish rationalist

RAMBAM (Moses ben Maimon) suggested that sapphire was white precisely

because of these peculiarities of the comparisons in Ex 24:10 and Eze 1. RAMBAM’s

point of view follows Aristotle’s on transparency and clarity. Scholem (1979)

rightly objected that Clarity and Transparency are not a color but a property of

materials.

The conclusion is that in the Throne of the Lord, sapphire is transparent and

with scattered light. Therefore, we can talk about blue light. It can be called mystical

mega-light blue. The blue [teh

elet] cord on each tassel of the priest’s garment is

considered a transformation of the sapphire in The Torah command (Num 15:38-40)

to meditate on the blue [teh

elet] cord.

Cultural unit blue in the Old Testament

215

5 Terms for the basic features of the prototypes

(TBFP)

The basic features of the sky and sea are ‘space’, ‘expanse’, ‘breadth’, ‘inﬁnite’,

‘boundless’. These prototype features are explicit in the Norm of Free Word

Associations (Almalech 2011). These qualities explain the various semanticizings of

blue in Judaism. Metaphorizing the sky is a key religious space by conceptual, primary,

and complex metaphors as “extended structure-mappings between domains” (Gibbs

2008b: 7). Thus, the word heaven [shamàim] became a substitute for the Tetragram-

maton YHWH. Blue heaven/skies are many things, e.g. in the philosophical Kabbalah,

the name of God before creation began is Ein Sof,(“endlessly”“inﬁnite”) understood as

an adverb. The adverbial semantics express the understanding that all that is known

about Him is that He will act endlessly (Ein Sof).

6 Conclusions

The cultural unit blue participates in diﬀerent layers and levels of the Old Testament

interlaced in diﬀerent cultural areas of the heritage.

The basic color term [teh

elet] is the most frequent BCT among the BCTs for any

color.

The abounding and opulent symbolism of blue color is supported by the

frequency – Biblical most incidence BCT is the blue [teh

elet].

It is prohibited to produce the blue [teh

elet] from land objects – it should be

taken from a marine mollusk, i.e. from the sea depth.

BCT blue teh

elet participates in symbolism of the Priestly Code.

The blue thread is an important element of the blue-white duad in ritual fringes.

The mighty symbolism is the reason why the ﬂag of the modern state of Israel is

blue-white duad.

In some medieval contemplations, blue was conceived as a symbol of the

spiritual in man, and white as a symbol of the corporeal. Bokser reminds this

opinion:

Rabbi Aaron Halevi, in his Sefer ha-Hinuh (XIII

c.) regards the white and the blue of the fringe

as symbolizing the body and the soul. The white symbolizes the body which was created from

the primordial substance beneath the divine throne, a substance which […] is described in the

Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer as snowy white. The blue, Rabbi Aaron Halevi continues, by the familiar

chain of associations, stands for the divine throne and therefore represents the soul. The author

adds that the supremacy of the soul over the body is expressed in placing the thread of blue over

the white threads of the fringe. (Bokser 1963: 7–8)

216 Almalech

Unlike metals, blue תְכֵלֶת [teh

elet] is located in all horizontal spaces of the taber-

nacle – from the Holy of Holies, through the Great Hall to the courtyard. Being

positioned at all horizontal points of the temple complex, blue תְכֵלֶת [teh

elet] carry

semantics ‘from downwards to upwards’ because it is made from the blood of a

creature inhabiting the deep sea. The same applies to Tyre (Royal) purple אַרְגָמָן

[argamàn] produced from the same marine mollusk, murex snails. Thus, Jewish BCT

blue [teh

elet] has a function in the horizontal of the sacred space, remaining

genetically and symbolically related to the vertical. It is therefore not surprising that

the blue [teh

elet] develops semantics based on the Tabernacle commandments and

semantics in the later books of the Old Testament. We should not forget either the

disappearance of this color at the beginning of our era, nor the throne of the Lord

which is “as the sky, as transparent sapphire”, and the blue fringes on the clothes

of the Jews as a transformation of this sapphire for compliance with the God’s

commandments, and ultimately – the way of man to God, i.e. ‘from downwards to

upwards’. To enable this to happen, it was preceded by a descent of God into the blue

ritual fringes, i.e. a ‘descend from upwards to downwards’.

The temple is a sacred space. It is a mediator between the Divine, which is in

heaven, and the profane, which is outside the temple in horizontal space relative to

the temple. Color Tetrad serves the mediator function of the Holy of Holies, i.e.

communication between God and humanity.

PT sky/heavens is expressed with few words. No one of the Hebrew words for sky

provokes straight association with blue. Terms for sky serve low-high axis in

symbiosis with water màim-shamàim. One of the terms for sky (shamàim)is

substitute of the proper name of God, YHWH. Rakìa is as a cosmological term usualy

translated as ﬁrmament. The diﬀerent inner forms of shamàim, rakìa, shehakim,

rekìa shamàim, av

ei shеhakìm

(“clouds of the heavens”) give birth to the theme of

hierarchy of heavens. The other prototype, the sea, is never used as a carrier of the

color blue.

RT, blue skins (badger’s skins) and sapphire, have high symbolical presence in the

Bible. Blue skins cover the tent of tabernacle. Sapphire is an element of the Throne of

God. The blue color is involved in the most mystical elements in the Old Testament:

the Throne of God (sapphire); the key role of BCT blue (teh

elet) in the sacral color

tetrads, triads, and duads; the blue at the ritual fringes is a commandment to obey

the law in Jewish behavior; the obligation to produce blue dye from, a marine

mollusk but never from land objects; one of PTs (shamàim) is a substitute of the

Tetragrammaton.

Color as a cultural unit comprises visual and verbal color languages. The biblical

verbal color language has some unique features for blue. A basic feature of the

structure of the Old Testament’s color language is the opposition between colors,

e.g. red-white (Isa 1:18), darkness-light (hundreds of uses) with secondary meaning

Cultural unit blue in the Old Testament

217

‘evil-good’. Cultural unit blue shows an ability to appear in synergic color compounds

(duads, triads, tetrads) but not in opposition. We can say, Blue is the most commu-

nicative color in the Old Testament.

BCT teh

elet and RT blue/badger’s skins (or tahàsh) describe fabrics at the Priestly

Code of the Tabernacle. BCT, PT RT, and TBFP are lingual terms connecting the verbal

with the visual blue provoking fast association with the cultural set of meanings. The

interdisciplinary approach reveiled the relation between thought, language, and

culture.

Although the blue fringes and the tetrad disappeared thousands of years ago,

they remain in the attention of modern scholars, ancient historians, and theologians

in Judaism and Christianity (Philo’s De specialibus legibus, De vita Mosis, Josephus’

Antiquitates Judaicae, books 1–5, Pliny the Elder’s Natural history, book 9, ch. 60, St.

Jerome’s Letter to Fabiola, Bede VII-VII c. On the Tabernacle).

Abbreviations

Biblical dictionaries and encyclopedias

BDB Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, Charles Briggs. 1995 [1891–1905]. Hebrew and English Lexicon of

the Old Testament. Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson Publishers.

BW BibleWorks. Software of Biblical exegesis and research. Copyright BibleWorks, LLC.

Hermeneutika, Big Fork, Montana; P.O. Box 6158 Norfolk, Virginia.

EB Encyclopaedia Biblica. 1950–1982. “ תחשׁ ” in Encyclopaedia Biblica, vol. 8, 520–521. Museum of

Jewish Antiquities, Mosad Bialik, Universita ha-Ivrit be Yeruhalayim: Text in Hebrew.

ISBE International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. 5 vol. set, 1939. [1915]. James Orr (general ed.).

Eerdmans Publishing Co; 1915. Chicago: Howard-Severance Co.

TDOT Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. 15 vol. set. 1975–2015. G. Johannes Botterweck,

Heinz-Josef Fabry & Helmer Ringgren (eds). Translators: David Green, Douglas Scott. Grand

Rapids: Eerdmans.

TWOT The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament by Laird Harris, Gleason Archer, Bruce Waltke.

Illinois: Moody Press. 1980 [2003].

Bibles

ASV American Standard Version 1901

BUL1 Bulgarian Protestant Version 1940, 1995, 2005

BUL2 Bulgarian Orthodox Version 1925, 1991

BUL3 Protestant “Veren” edition, 2000

BUL4 Protestant 1873 with newer versions 1914; 1924

DBY The Darby Bible 1884/1890

DRA The Douay-Rheims 1899. Very literal translation of the Latin Vulgate.

KJV King James Bible. 1769 [1988–1997]. Retrieved from http://biblehub.com/interlinear

218 Almalech

LSG The French Louis Segond Version 1910 [1988–1997]

LUT Revidierte Lutherbibel 1984

LXX Septuagint. Retrieved from http://biblehub.com/interlinear/

NAB The New American Bible 1991

NAS New American Standard Bible. Retrieved from http://biblehub.com/interlinear/

NAU New American Standard Bible 1995

NIB New International Version UK 1983

NIV New International Version 1984 (US)

NKJ New King James Version 1982

NRV La Sacra Biblia Nuova Riveduta 1994

NT New Testament

NRS New Revised Standard Version 1989

RSV Revised Standard Version 1952/1971

RVA Reina-Valera Actualizada 1989

RWB Revised Webster 1833/1995

OT Old Testament

RST Russian Synodal Text of the Bible 1917 [1996]

TOB Topical Bible

VUL Latin Vulgate

WEB The Webster Bible 1833

WTT Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia 1990

Books from the Bible

Deut Deuteronomy

Ex Exodus

Eze Ezekiel

Gen Genesis

Isa Isaiah

Jer Jeremiah

Mal Malachi

Neh Nehemiah

Num Numbers

Ps Psalm

Zech Zechariah

Zep Zephaniah

1Ki 1Kings

2Chr 2Chronicles

2Ki 2Kings

2Sam 2Samuel

Languages

Bul. Bulgarian

Cze. Czech

Pol. Polish

Rus. Russian

Cultural unit blue in the Old Testament

219

Colors

BCT basic color terms

B&K Berlin&Kay

PT prototype terms

RT rival terms of the prototype

TBFP Terms for the Basic Feature of the Prototypes

General

espec. especially

i.e. that is

i.e. in other words

i.q. thе same as

obsol. obsolete (root)

prob. probably

seqq. the following (ones)

trop. words that represent, realize a ﬁgurative meaning

v. verse

Periodicals, reference works and serials

JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

LSS Language and Semiotic Studies

PMLA Proceedings of the Modern Language Association of America

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