Pekudai: Seeing Red (Part 2/3)
Last week, we read Parshat Parah, the third of four special Torah portions read during the Purim-Pesach season. Because that special reading outlines the laws of the parah adumah (literally the “red heifer”), we began our three-part exploration of Hebrew and Aramaic words associated with the color “red” with of adom and its etymological cognates. In this second installment, we will examine other terms for “red” in Hebrew. Next week, we will close the discussion with Part III that focuses on Aramaic words for this color.
As part of the process of preparing a parah adumah to be used in purifying people, another red ingredient is needed — shni tola’at (Num. 19:6). That term refers to a wool cloth dyed red that is used as part of the rituals used in preparing a parah adumah. That same ingredient is also crucial to the ceremony for purifying a person or house afflicted by tzara’at (Lev. 14:4; 14:6; 14:49; 14:51-14:52). The same thing is also sometimes referred to as tola’at shani (Ex. 25:4; 26:1; 26:31; 26:26; 27:16; 28:5; 28:8; 28:15; 28:33; 35:6; 35:23; 35:25; 36:8; 36:35; 36:37; 38:18; 39:1–2, 39:5; 39:8; 39:24; 39:29, Num. 4:8), tola’at hashani (Ex. 28:5; 35:25; 35:35; 38:23; 39:3), or even just shani (Gen. 38:30, Josh. 2:18; 2:21, II Sam. 1:24, Isa. 1:18, Jer. 4:30, Song of Songs 4:3, Prov. 31:21) or just tola (Isa. 1:18, as well as Lam. 4:5 according to Ibn Ezra and Mahari Kara).
Regardless of the exact terminology used, the sort of “red” denoted by these phrases is understood to refer specifically to “crimson red” — that is, a deep, rich red with a slight bluish or purplish undertone. This understanding is made explicit by such Medieval exegetes as Rabbi Saadia Gaon, Ibn Ezra, Rabbi Avraham Maimuni (in their respective commentaries to Ex. 25:4), Raavad and Rash M’Shantz (in their commentaries to Torat Kohanim, Parashat Metzora), Radak (in his Sefer HaShorashim), and Meiri (to Prov. 32:21).
This type of red color derives from a dye extracted from a certain type of worm, as the Hebrew word for “worm” is tola’at (see Jerusalemic Talmud Kilayim 9:1 and Malbim to Isa. 1:18). Similarly, pseudo-Rashi (II Chron. 2:6) writes that the word carmil (and carmel according to Ibn Janach’s and Radak’s Sefer HaShorashim) refers to the same red-colored cloth as tola’at shani (i.e., “crimson”), and Rabbi Tedeschi-Ashkenazi sees this word as related to rimah, which is a type of worm just like tola’at.
In fact, the English word crimson derives from the Proto-Indo-European root kwrmi-, which means “worm” or “mite.” It comes to English by way of the Old Spanish cremesin, which itself comes from the Arabic qirmiz and ultimately from the Sanskrit krimija ("produced by a worm"), referring to a red dye made from scale insects (like kermes and cochineal). Even though Arabic is a Semitic language and Sanskrit is an Indo-European language, it seems that Arabic actually borrowed qirmiz from Farsi (gharmaz/germez), which is an Indo-European language like Sanskrit. Other related English words include is vermilion (which refers to a bright, vivid red with a slight orange tint), which derives from the Latin vermiculus ("little worm,", referring to the red dye made from the kermes insect) and carmine (a purplish-red color).
I used to think that the name of the world-famous Ghermezian family hinted to German-Ashkenazi origins from the town of Worms (sometimes spelled Germaiza). However, in light of what we’ve learned above, it makes more sense that this Persian family's surname comes from the Iranian word for "red." Although the truth is, that word itself is seemingly connected to “worms,” just not the German town with that name.
If we focus on the word shani/shni, we might notice that it derives from the Hebrew root SHIN-NUN-(YOD), which primarily gives us the word sheini (“two”). But what does shani as a “red dye” have to do with the number two? The Torah relates that when Tamar was giving birth to twins, the midwife tied a chut shani (“red string”) on the hand of the baby whose hand exited the womb first, but then the other twin ended up being born first, and the boy with the red string came out second (Gen. 38:28–38:30). Rabbi Yaakov Hibbert of Manchester conjectures based on the wording of the Ohr HaChaim (to Gen. 38:28) that perhaps crimson red relates to the number “two” because it was a string colored in that very color that was used to mark Zerach as the second son born to Judah and Tamar. I looked more into this question and found a different explanation that is presented both in Rabbi Moshe Tedeschi-Ashkenazi’s Otzar Nirdafim and Rabbi Shlomo Pappenheim’s Cheshek Shlomo. Those two rabbinic philologists explain that clothes dyed with this sort of coloring were often dyed twice in order to make sure that the color sticks more strongly, hence the connection between shani and sheini. [For more about the biliteral root SHIN-NUN, see “The Old Man and the See” (Nov. 2019) and “Showing Teeth” (April 2023).
Speaking of Tamar’s son Zerach, Rashbam and Chizkuni (to Gen. 38:30) explain that his name actually means “red,” and alludes to the red string tied to his hand as he was being born. In general, the Biblical Hebrew root ZAYIN-REISH-CHET from which Zerach seemingly derives actually refers to the act of “shining/lighting” and is most often associated with the sun. But sometimes that verb can be used to specifically refer to something "shining red." For example, when King Uzziah illegally offered the ketoret in the Temple (instead of allowing the Kohanim to do so, as prescribed by the Torah), the Bible reports that "tzara'at shined on his forehead" (II Chron. 26:19). Now since tzar’at is often manifest as a reddish skin discoloration, Rashbam explains that “shining” and “red” are connected, leading him to support his claim that Zerach means “red.” Chizkuni and Rashbam also cite II Kgs. 3:22 as another prooftext to this effect.
Isaiah refers to Hashem taking revenge on Edom in the future, and expresses that idea as though Hashem had become dirtied from carrying out a bloodbath on that wretched nation. He is described as being bloodied from that battle, with Isiaah rhetorically asking, "Who is this who comes from Edom? / [The one with] soiled clothes from Bazra... why are your garments red [adom] / and your clothes like one who tramps in the winepress?” (Isa. 63:1–2). The adjective for “soiled” used in that passage is chamutz. Menachem Ibn Saruk (in his Machberet Menachem), Rabbi Yonah Ibn Janach (Sefer HaShorashim), and Radak (in his Sefer HaShorashim and in his comments to Isa. 63:1) all write that chamutz means “red,” with Radak noting that this meaning can be gleaned from the context in which it appears (because that is the color of something stained in blood or wine).
In this sense, the word chamutz — which is a hapax legomenon — seems to have nothing to do with the other Hebrew words derived from the triliteral root CHET-MEM-TZADI (which could mean “leavened,” “vinegar,” “anger,” or “stealing”). It is probably because of this that Rabbi Moshe Tedeschi-Ashkenazi writes that chamutz actually represents a metathesized form of the root MEM-CHET-TZADI (“stab,” “smite,” “lacerate”), as the act represented by that verb can result in something becoming “reddened” by blood. Indeed, Radak even agrees that timchatz (in Ps. 68:24), which uses the consonants MEM-CHET-TZADI in that order, also refers to become “reddened.”
When mentioning “red horses,” Zecharia uses a different adjective to denote their redness — amutzim (Zech. 6:3). Ibn Janach and Radak write that amutzim and chamutzim refer to the same thing, seeing as how the guttural letters ALEPH and CHET are often interchangeable. Radak adds that although Zecharia also refers to horses that are adumim (Zech. 6:2), chamutz/amutz differs from adom in that it is not as strong of a red color. Rabbi Moshe Tedeschi-Ashkenazi clarifies that the shade of red denoted by amutz resembles the color of a chestnut (what we might call “burgundy”).
He also suggests that the root ALEPH-MEM-TZADI in the sense of “strength” (ometz/amatz) might be derived from this meaning, as when girding one’s strength, the red blood inside one’s body begins to “boil” in the red parts of one’s innards (I’m not sure what this means). Similarly, Rabbi Pappenheim traces the word amutzim to the biliteral root MEM-TZADI, which he defines as “sucking/squeezing.” Other derivatives of this root include mitz (“juice”), metzitzah (“sucking”), and ometz (“power” in the sense that using that force requires mustering one’s energies and “squeezing” out every last bit). In the same sense, he writes that red horses are described as amutzim because they exert so much effort that their blood rises to the surface of their skin, as if being “squeezed out,” and this causes even their hairs to be red-colored.
Another word for “red” — seruk — is used when Zecharia saw a different vision that includes red horses. He describes them as susim adumim serukim (Zech. 1:8). Likewise, sorek refers to a type of high-quality “red grape” (Gen. 49:11, Isa. 5:2; 16:8, Jer. 2:21). This word is actually similar to Zerach because it seems to be cognate with the Arabic sharaqa ("shining brightly”) and Persian sorkh (“red/scarlet”), which again show a connection between “shining” and “red.” Although Radak (to Zech. 1:8 and in his Sefer HaShorashim) sees the word serukim as meaning “colorful” in a generic sense (without stating what color), Malbim (to Zech. 1:8) actually explains that serukim means “pink” or “light red.”
Sorek is also used twice in the Bible as a proper noun in a place-name: When Samson is said to have fallen in love with Delilah, she is described as a woman in Nachal Sorek (Jud. 16:4), which is a valley between Ashkelon and Gaza. One of the kings of Edom is known as Samlah of Masreikah (Gen. 36:36; I Chron. 1:47), with the place name Masreikah seemingly derived from sorek (which would make it semantically related to the name Edom itself, as both mean “red”).
In Mishnaic Hebrew, sarak refers to “red paint/rouge” often used by women as a cosmetic (see Ketubot 17a, Sanhedrin 14a). Elsewhere, the word sarak is actually spelled with a SAMECH, rather than a SIN (see Shabbat 95a, Moed Katan 9b).
Rabbi Yosef Noach Wilkover notes that sikra — a dye of red ink/dye mentioned in the Mishnah (Shabbat 12:4, Gittin 2:3, Bechorot 9:7, Middot 3:1) — is a metathesized form of sarak, with the same consonants simply changing places. He also connects these words with the Biblical Hebrew root SIN-KUF-REISH (“leering”), a hapax legomenon that only occurs once in the Bible, when describing promiscuous women (Isa. 3:16). The way he seems to explain it, it refers to those women adorning themselves with red cosmetics (“blush”) to become more attention-grabbing. This triliteral root appears as in the phrase sikur ayin (“scanning/wandering of the eye”) and the more modern term sakranut (“curiosity”).
Another Hebrew word related to “red” is chum. That word appears only four times in the Bible, all in the context of the “redness/brownness” of sheep when Jacob was shepherding Laban’s flock (Gen. 30:32–33, 30:35, 30:40). Rabbi Moshe Tedeschi-Ashkenazi explains that chum refers to a specific shade of “red” that is closer to black (“dark red,” although in some later sources it seems to refers to what we now call “brown” or “bordeaux”). He explains that the name of this color is related to the word chom (“heat”) because it reflects the color of an oven as it begins to heat up (see Shadal to Gen. 30:32 who writes that chum and shachum are homogenous terms).
Another word that refers to becoming “red” is chachlilei. This term appears twice in the Bible, both time in reference to the “reddening” of one’s eyes due to heavy drinking (Gen. 49:12, Prov. 23:29). Rabbi Moshe Tedeschi-Ashkenazi explains that chachlilei is not a general word for “red,” but rather refers specifically to the reddening of the white part of the eye that serves as the “crown” in surrounding the iris. Accordingly, he explains the word chachlilei as derived from the word kalil (“crown”) by simply ignoring the initial CHET. [For more about the word kalil, see “A Crown is a Crown”(July 2016). It should be noted that others, like Nachmanides (to Gen. 49:12), connect this word to kachol as discussed in “the True Blue” (Mar. 2019).]
Another possible word for “red” is tzachar. When the prophet Ezekiel lists various commodities said to be exported from Damascus, he mentions tzachar wool (Ezek. 27:18). In the past, we discussed the word tzachar as a cognate of tzachor, meaning “white” (see “White is Light,” Dec. 2023). But another approach sees tzachar as related to "red." For example, David J. A. Clines' A Dictionary of Classical Hebrew defines tzachar as “reddish-grey colour.” In fact, Rabbi Ernest Klein writes that the Hebrew root TZADI-CHET-REISH is related to its Arabic cognate asharu (meaning, "yellowish-reddish land") that is the etymon of the name Sahara (like in the “Sahara desert”). There is even a version of Rashi (to Brachot 31b, as printed in the Vilna Shas) that claims that tzachor means “red” and Marcus Jastrow’s dictionary also defines tzachor as “glistening” and “light reddish.”
In a previous essay, we mentioned the idea that ketem refers to “reddish gold,” I refer to “Where’s the Gold?” (May 2020), so we won’t rehash that discussion here.
To be continued…
