Significance of the Coat of Many Colors in the Bible
The "coat of many colors" given to Joseph by his father Israel (Jacob) is a significant garment in the biblical narrative of Genesis 37 [5]. This coat symbolized Israel's special affection for Joseph, who was the son of his old age [5]. The Hebrew phrase for "coat of many colors" is ketonet passim, which some interpretations suggest means an embroidered coat, possibly with different colored strips or parts [9].
The special nature of this garment immediately provoked jealousy among Joseph's brothers [6]. When Joseph came to them in Dothan, they stripped him of this distinctive coat as part of their plot against him [6]. They then dipped the coat in goat's blood and presented it to their father, leading him to believe that Joseph had been torn apart by a wild beast [1, 7]. This act of deception highlights the brothers' animosity and their desire to conceal their wrongdoing [7].
In a broader biblical context, colors often carry symbolic meaning. White, for instance, is frequently associated with purity, innocence, and joy [2]. Purple and blue were costly dyes derived from shellfish, making them royal colors [3, 4]. Scarlet and crimson, obtained from an insect, are also mentioned [3]. The high priest's vestments, for example, incorporated various colors, each with symbolic significance, such as blue for the air and purple for the sea [4, 8]. While the specific symbolic meaning of each color in Joseph's coat is not explicitly detailed, the garment itself clearly marked Joseph as favored and set apart, contributing to the dramatic tension and subsequent events in the Genesis narrative.
Sources
- Genesis “They took the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, “We have found this. Examine it, now, whether it is your son’s coat or not.” -- Genesis 37:32”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Colour — The subject of colours holds an important place in the Scriptures. White occurs as the translation of various Hebrew words. It is applied to milk (Gen. 49:12), manna (Ex. 16:31), snow (Isa. 1:18), horses (Zech. 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 (Cant. 2:16). A different term, meaning "dazzling," is applied to the countenance (Cant. 5:10). This colour 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 (Z”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Colors — The terms relative to color, occurring in the Bible, may be arranged in two classes, the first including those applied to the description of natural objects, the second those artificial mixtures which were employed in dyeing or painting. The purple and the blue were derived from a small shellfish found in the Mediterranean, and were very costly, and hence they were the royal colors. Red, both scarlet and crimson, was derived from an insect resembling the cochineal. The natural colors noticed in the Bible are white, black, red, yellow and green. The only funda”
- Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, CHAPTER 7, section 6: the candlesticks, they referred to the course of the planets, of which that is the number. The veils, too, which were composed of four things, they declared the four elements; for the fine linen was proper to signify the earth, because the flax grows out of the earth; the purple signified the sea, because that color is dyed by the blood of a sea shell-fish; the blue is fit to signify the air; and the scarlet will naturally be an indication of fire. Now the vestment of the high priest being made of linen, signified the earth; the ”
- Genesis “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a coat of many colors. -- Genesis 37:3”
- Genesis “When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him; -- Genesis 37:23”
- Genesis (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Genesis 37:31: I. Joseph would soon be missed, great enquiry would be made for him, and therefore his brethren have a further design, to make the world believe that Joseph was torn in pieces by a wild beast; and this they did, 1. To clear themselves, that they might not be suspected to have done him any mischief. Note, We have all learned of Adam to cover our transgression, Job 31:33. When the devil has taught men to commit one sin, he then teaches them to conceal it with another, theft and murder with lying and perjury; but he that covers his sin shall not prosper long. Josep”
- Exodus (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Exodus 28:30: And thou shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. This was a different garment from the ephod, was longer than that, and was under it, and of different materials: that was made of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine linen; this only of linen, and wholly of a blue colour, without any curious figures upon it, as were on that: in Exo 39:22, it is said to be of woven work; it was woven from top to bottom, and had no seam in it: so Josephus says (b),"the coat did not consist of two parts, nor was it sewed upon the shoulder, nor on the side, but was one long piece o”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Rationalist)) “Abraham Ibn Ezra on Genesis 37:3: A COAT OF MANY COLORS. Ketonet passim means an embroidered coat. 10 Vat. Ebr . 38 reads: a coat made of embroidered parts. Some texts omit embroidered coat . According to I.E. passim means parts. The coat was made up of embroidered parts (strips) each of which was of a different color (Filwarg). For an alternate interpretation see Cherez.”