Bible Dictionaries
Scarlet

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A color much prized by the ancients, Exodus 25:4 26:1,31,36 . It is assigned as a merit of Saul, that he clothed the daughters of Israel in scarlet, 2 Samuel 1:24 . So the diligent and virtuous woman is said to clothe her household in scarlet, Proverbs 31:21 . The depth and strength of the color are alluded to in Isaiah 1:18; and it is used as a symbol of profligacy in Revelation 17:3,4 . This color was obtained from the Coccus Ilicis of Linnaeus, a small insect found on the leaves of a species of oak, the Quercus Cocciferus, in Spain and the countries on the eastern part of the Mediterranean, which was used by the ancients for dyeing a beautiful crimson or deep scarlet color, and was supposed by them to be the berry of a plant or tree. It is the Kermez of the Materia Medica. As a dye it has been superseded in modern times by the cochineal insect, Coccus Cactus, which gives a more brilliant but less durable color. See PURPLE .

Bibliography Information
Rand, W. W. Entry for 'Scarlet'. American Tract Society Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​ats/​s/scarlet.html. 1859.