26 Rev. Isaac Herzog 07i 



be confounded with the colour of the sea. Lastly they, like a 

 gi'eat many pelagic animals, abound for some years to an 

 enormous extent, whereas in the preceding period they had been 

 rare or even extremely rare. 



Mention may also be made of the fact that the dye-secretion 

 of Janthina is fairly abundant in quantity : in J. prolong ata the 

 secretion, in fact, amounts to an ounce. This tends to corroborate 

 the identification with the tekelet species ; for while in the 

 classical authors the extreme expensiveness of purple is attributed 

 to the minuteness of the purpurigenic matter in the animal, in the 

 Talmud the preciousness of tekelet is ascribed solely to the rare 

 appearance of the species. 



Pending further research which, let us hope, will one day be 

 undertaken along the Palestinian and Syrian coasts by specialists 

 from the future Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the suggested 

 identification with Janthina pallida and J. prolongata is, I 

 venture to say, deserving of serious examination. 



The Process of Dyeing. 

 No other material but wool was admissible for tekelet, 



argaman, and tolat shani (scarlet) of a sacerdotal and ritual 

 character, and for the tekelet of the fringes. 



In Greek and Ijatin authors iropfjivpa, Purpura and their 

 derivatives stand for woollen or silken stuff dyed with purple 

 pigment. Silk purple was probably not unknown in Phoenicia 

 and Palestine, but in the Temple its use was excluded by 

 tradition. There can be but little doubt that purple dyeing in 

 its early stages was confined to wool. Silk purple being a later 

 extension of the industry, naturally failed to gain admission into 

 the sanctuary or the ritual. 



The wool was dyed in its raw state, the spinning, weaving, 

 &c., forming subsequent processes. This is apparent from certain 

 stray allusions in the Talmud, and is also corroborated by classical 

 authority in regard to the manufacture of purple. (Compare also 



