Crimson

Crimson in the Bible refers to a deep red dye derived from the crushed dried bodies of scale insects (Coccus ilicis or Kermes) that lived on certain oak trees in the ancient Mediterranean world. The Hebrew terms include karmil and shani (scarlet). Crimson and scarlet were used extensively in the tabernacle furnishings and the high priest's vestments (Exodus 25–28), prized for their richness and durability. The dye was one of the most valuable commodities in ancient textile trade.

Isaiah 1:18 uses crimson and scarlet as the paradigmatic image of sin's depth in God's sight — though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool — with the promise of complete cleansing the theological counterpoint to the seemingly indelible stain. The scarlet thread in Rahab's window (Joshua 2:18–21), the scarlet cord of the Song of Solomon (4:3), and the scarlet robe placed on Jesus at his mocking (Matthew 27:28) all carry the complex associations of crimson in the biblical imagination — from luxury and honor to sin and shame.