Wool

Wool (Hebrew tsemer) was the primary textile fibre of ancient Israel, obtained by shearing sheep and used to make clothing, blankets, and trade goods. Sheep-shearing was an occasion for celebration (1 Samuel 25:2–4; 2 Samuel 13:23). The Levitical law prohibited mixing wool and linen in the same garment (Deuteronomy 22:11; Leviticus 19:19) — a prohibition whose rationale is debated but may be connected to priestly garments or the boundary-keeping symbolism of the law. Naaman offered among his gifts of gratitude to Elisha ten changes of clothing — costly items in the ancient world (2 Kings 5:5). Proverbs 31:13 credits the capable wife with seeking wool and flax and working willingly with her hands. Isaiah 1:18 uses snow-white wool as a metaphor for the completeness of divine cleansing: "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." The vision of the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7:9 describes his garment as white as snow and the hair of his head as pure wool.