white
a symbol of purity (2 Chronicles 5:12; Psalm 51:7; Isaiah 1:18; Rev. 3:18; 7:14)
Our Lord, at his transfiguration, appeared in raiment “white as the light” (Matthew 17:2, etc.).
“White” occurs as the translation of various Hebrew words.
- milk (Genesis 49:12)
- manna (Exodus 16:31)
- snow (Isaiah 1:18)
- horses (Zechariah 1:8)
- raiment (Eccl. 9:8)
- Another Hebrew word so rendered is applied to marble (Esther 1:6), and a cognate word to the lily (Song of Songs 2:16).
- A different term, meaning “dazzling,” is applied to the countenance (Song of Songs 5:10).
White was an emblem of purity and innocence (Mark 16:5; John 20:12; Rev. 19:8, 14), of joy (Eccl. 9:8), and also of victory (Zechariah 6:3; Rev. 6:2).
The hangings of the tabernacle court (Exodus 27:9; 38:9), the coats, mitres, bonnets, and breeches of the priests (Exodus 39:27-28), and the dress of the high priest on the day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:4, 32), were white.
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