What Do Different Colors Symbolize in the Bible?

Here are a few examples of the colors used in the Bible. This is by no means an exhaustive list.

1. Red

Isaiah 1:18 - "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."

2. White

Revelation 7:14 - "I said to him, 'Sir, you know.' And he said to me, 'These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'"

3. Purple

Acts 16:14 - "One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul."

4. Blue

Exodus 25:4 - "Blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats' hair."

5. Green

Psalm 23:2 - "He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters."

6. Gold

Exodus 25:11 - "You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it."

7. Black

Isaiah 50:3 – “I clothe the heavens with blackness and make sackcloth their covering.”

8. Silver

Proverbs 25:11 - "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver."

9. Bronze

Exodus 27:2 - "And you shall make horns for it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze."

10. Rainbow

Revelation 4:3 - "And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald."

As you can see, colors abound in the Scriptures. But do these hold any symbolic meaning?

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Before directly answering this question, a word of caution should be given. While there may be some level of insight gained or helped from understanding a poetic or symbolic meaning of a color, it is not essential to the faith. It is mostly speculative. I’ve been greatly influenced by this wise caution from John Calvin:

“Is it not evidence of stubbornness rather than of diligence to raise strife over the time and order in which [angels] were created. … Not to take too long, let us remember here, as in all religious doctrine, that we ought to hold to one rule of modesty and sobriety: not to speak, or guess, or even to seek to know, concerning obscure matters anything except what has been imparted to us by God’s Word. Furthermore, in the reading of Scripture we ought ceaselessly to endeavor to seek out and meditate upon those things which make for edification. Let us not indulge in curiosity or in the investigation of unprofitable things. And because the Lord willed to instruct us, not in fruitless questions, but in sound godliness, in the fear of his name, in true trust, and in the duties of holiness, let us be satisfied with this knowledge. For this reason, if we would be duly wise, we must leave those empty speculations which idle men have taught apart from God’s word concerning the nature, orders, and number of angels. I know that many persons more greedily seize upon and take more delight in them than in such things as have been put to daily use. But, if we are not ashamed of being Christ’s disciples, let us not be ashamed to follow that method which he has prescribed. Thus it will come to pass that, content with his teaching, we shall not only abandon, but also abhor those utterly empty speculations from which he calls us back.” (John Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.4)

Having offered this caution, what might we discern from the Scriptures about the symbolism of various colors?

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One of the more obvious places where color holds a symbolic meaning is between white/black or light/darkness. White (and we aren’t talking peach skin color here) is often symbolic for purity. And black (again not skin color) carries the symbolism of that which is marred and ravaged by sin. Black/darkness is also symbolic of mourning and lament.

In Isaiah 1:18 we also see red as a symbol of sin that is contrasted with the purity of white. Red is connected with the life blood of people and animals (Genesis 9:4-6) as well as fiery passion. Because of the blood of Christ, this color also has become a color of redemption.

Many of the associations which we have with colors today were also held in biblical times. Often, they are more poetic than carrying some hidden meaning. Green is often used as a symbol of life and vigor. Grass, trees, etc. come to life with a vibrant green in the spring. As with green, so also purple carried some of the same associations we have today. Purple is the color of royalty and majesty. As such it is often associated with YHWH. And shades of blue/purple were woven into the priestly garments.

The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary gives us a helpful summary and explanation of how colors can be used symbolically in the Scriptures:

“At times a writer may use color in a symbolic sense to convey theological truth about the subject of his writing. Color designations have general symbolic significance. For instance, white may be symbolic of purity or joy; black may symbolize judgment or decay; red may symbolize sin or life-blood; and purple may be symbolic of luxury and elegance. Color symbolism became for the writers of apocalyptic literature (Daniel, Revelation) an appropriate tool for expressing various truths in hidden language. In their writings one may find white representative of conquest or victory, black representative of famine or pestilence, red representative of wartime bloodshed, paleness (literally ‘greenish-gray’) representative of death, and purple representative of royalty.”

We can also learn about the significance of color in how the church uses color in its liturgical seasons (both now and in days past).

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I’ll confess that I come from an SBC background. As such we don’t exactly follow a liturgical calendar. But as the years have gone by and my circle of friends has expanded, my interaction with seasons and colors within the church calendar has expanded. Color plays a significant role in providing the context of worship. Here are a few of these.

• In January, during the season of Epiphany, you’ll likely see the church decorated in Green
• During Lent (usually February-March) the color purple is prominent.
• In some churches the color changes to Red for the week immediately before Easter.
• For Easter the colors are white and/or gold
• Pentecost, because of the association of fire, give red the prominence during May-June
• At this point, because it is considered an ordinary time, the color moves back to green until the season of Advent.
• In early December, for Advent, the color is blue and purple.
• Once again during Christmas the birth of Christ is represented with white and/or gold

Conclusion

Colors are all throughout the Bible. They do carry some level of symbolic meaning, but not such that should be pressed too far. Colors can be emotive and carry associations with them. For this reason, the colors of a liturgical calendar can hold powerful reminders of the biblical truths which they represent.

Source
James Sexton, “Colors,” ed. Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 317.

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