Scarlet

A color much prized by the ancients, Ex 25:4 26:1,31,36. It is assigned as a merit of Saul, that he clothed the daughters of Israel in scarlet, 2Sa 1:24. So the diligent and virtuous woman is said to clothe her household in scarlet, Pr 31:21. The depth and strength of the color are alluded to in Isa 1:18; and it is used as a symbol of profligacy in Re 17:3,4. This color was obtained from the Coccus Ilicis of Linnaeus, a small insect found on the leaves of a species of oak, the Quercus Cocciferus, in Spain and the countries on the eastern part of the Mediterranean, which was used by the ancients for dyeing a beautiful crimson or deep scarlet color, and was supposed by them to be the berry of a plant or tree. It is the Kermez of the Materia Medica. As a dye it has been superseded in modern times by the cochineal insect, Coccus Cactus, which gives a more brilliant but less durable color. SeePURPLE.