Black

Black in the biblical world functioned both as a literal color description and as a symbol carrying primarily negative or somber associations. In its literal uses, black describes the color of human hair (as opposed to white or gray, which indicated age or leprosy), the dark of night, the raven's plumage, the color of horses in prophetic visions, and the darkening of skin from famine or disease. Jeremiah laments that Zion's Nazirites—once purer than snow and whiter than milk—are now blacker than soot, their appearance unrecognized in the streets.

Symbolically, black is associated with mourning, disaster, and divine judgment. The sky turning black represents storm and judgment, as in Elijah's vision of the coming rain cloud black as ink. The black horse of Revelation 6:5 is associated with famine and scarcity. Job describes his skin as black and falling from his body in his affliction. In Proverbs 7:9, black describes the darkness of night in which the adulteress ensnares the young man—a moral darkness matching the physical. The Song of Solomon stands as an exception: the beloved describes herself as black but beautiful, her color the result of sun exposure rather than shame, and her beauty is affirmed without qualification by her lover.