Below is the text of an article I wrote for Ariel Magazine – A Review of Arts and Letters in Israel, published in 1991 (vol 85-86) which relates the important role that weaving played in biblical times.
WEAVING AND THE BIBLE
By Sylvia Feinstein
The oldest piece of woven fabric found in the world, which dates back to biblical times, was uncovered in the ancient tel of Jericho, in a stratum from the third millennium BCE. It is a fragment of closely woven wool with about twenty threads to the square centimeter. Evidence of spinning and weaving having actually taken place in ancient times comes to us indirectly – through finds of spinning wheels and loom weights, which appear in ever growing numbers in the archaeological excavations of ancient cities and villages of the region, from the fourth millennium onwards. To this we may add whatever information can be gathered from ancient texts, of which the most reliable is, of course, the Bible itself, supported by our knowledge of monuments and antiquities of the ancient Near East.
In the forty years during which the Jewish people lived in the desert, they built the Holy Tabernacle. As described in the Book of Exodus, it was a sanctuary in the shape of a tent, measuring 30 cubits length by ten cubits width, made of precious fabrics and divided into two parts by a veil.
“Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue and purple, and scarlet stuff, with cherubim skillfully worked shall you make them.” (Exodus, 26:1)
The veil and curtains of the tabernacle were of tapestry work. The features differed on both sides; the image of a lion was on one side, that of an eagle on the other, and was interwoven with gold thread. The Bible refers to this technique with the shazar (“the work of skillful workmen”, Exodus 26:1, 39:2-3)
The Old Testament describes the tapestries that decorated the tabernacle and their weaving techniques, materials and dyes, which are similar to the ones in the most widespread use nowadays. The most common material for weaving since ancient times was sheeps’ wool. It seems that only white wool was used, and the work “wool” itself became s synonym for whiteness: “
“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18)
Even with the introduction of other materials, of which the most important was flax, wool has, to this day remained the principal raw material for textile production. Flax is referred to in the Bible as mainly being imported from Egypt, either in the form of raw material or finished linen. (Isaiah 19:9) The finished cloth – linen – was used only for special purposes such as the making of priestly garments and royal apparel. Especially fine linen – the “twined linen,” probably richly brocaded, mentioned in Exodus 26:1 was used for the tabernacle.
Even though wool was plentiful and linen comparatively rare, it was strictly forbidden to wear a garment woven of a mixture of the two fibers. Cotton, a rare and costly material, was occasionally brought form India. It is mentioned only once in the Bible by its Indian name – Karpas – a luxurious material at the court of the great King Ahasuerus of Persia. “There were white cotton curtains and blue hangings caught up with cords of find linen and purple to silver rings.” (Esther 1:6).
Silk is mentioned only twice in the Bible (Ezekiel 16:10 and Ezekiel 16:13) but the etymology of the words in question is doubtful and they may refer to materials other tan silk.
Methods of manufacturing textiles did not change much from the times of the patriarchs, through the Roman period up to comparatively recent days. Finds of spindles dating back to the fourth millennium BCE and repeated through the centuries prove the early development of this technique.
In certain cases it seems that especially strong yarn was spun – “A threefold cord is not quickly broken “ (Ecclesiastes 4:12), appears to refer to a reinforced yarn. The yarn was first washed, and then bleached; afterwards it was dried and finally dyed. The different dyes used were mainly obtained from plants.
The weaving was done on looms. A vivid description of such a loom is to be found in the story of Samson and Delilah:
“And he said to her – “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and make it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man. So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web. And she made them tight with the pin, and said to him ‘ The Philistines are upon you Samson.’ But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pin, the loom and the web” (Judges 1:13-14)
There is another reference to the loom in I Samuel 17:7, “And the shaft of his spear was like a weavers beam”
Ancient Egyptian paintings from c2000 BCE show scenes of spinning and weaving, giving us testimony of looms which are similar to ones that have been used up to the present, by Bedouin and Indian nomadic peoples. Being themselves a nomadic people, the Children of Israel used textiles for covering floors (carpets) and beds (blankets): “I have decked my couch with coverings, colored spreads of Egyptian linen” (Proverbs 7:16). Tapestries were also used for covering the walls, which actually had a functional use in protection from damp and draughts.
When the Children of Israel ceased to be nomads and established themselves in Canaan, they began to build in stone, and as a stone took on decorative purposes, they began to develop the use of mosaics. From this point floor tiles often fulfilled the function of the carpet, copying in stone their beautiful motifs and wall mosaics took on the function of tapestries.