Tekhelet

Common card · No. 233665

Tekhelet (Hebrew: תְּכֵלֶת təḵēleṯ) is a blue dye that historically held great significance in ancient Mediterranean civilizations. It is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and is accordingly commonplace in Jewish culture, wherein it features prominently to color the fringes (called tzitzit) of several Jewish religious garments, such as the tallit. The dye was similarly used in the clothing of the High Priest of Israel and in tapestries in the Tabernacle. Biblical texts do not specify the source or production method of tekhelet. Rabbinic literature, however, records that it was produced from a marine animal: ḥillāzon (חלזון). The practical knowledge of tekhelet production was lost over time, resulting in the omission of the dye from tzitzit. The ḥillāzon has been identified in contemporary times as Hexaplex trunculus.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Staff of Ptil Tekhelet, CC BY 3.0