Silk

Silk appears twice in the English Bible, and both occurrences are textually debated. Proverbs 31:22 says the virtuous woman makes herself coverings of silk and purple (Hebrew shesh), though many modern translations render shesh as fine linen or byssus rather than silk, since true silk from China was rare and expensive in the ancient Near East and its availability in Solomonic Israel is uncertain. Ezekiel 16:10, 13 uses meshi, which is more commonly taken to mean silk or fine cloth; God dresses Jerusalem in fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth as a metaphor for covenantal blessing. Revelation 18:12 lists silk (sirikos) among the luxury goods of fallen Babylon, confirming that silk was known in the Greco-Roman world as a prized eastern import.