Aramaic word · H711

אַרְגְּוָן

'argevana'

purple

This is purple cloth, wool dyed with the very expensive dye of the murex sea snail. The color ran from deep crimson to violet and was the standard mark of royalty and high office across the Near East and Mediterranean. It is the Aramaic form of Hebrew 'argāmān and Akkadian argamannu.

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

purple, red-purple

Aramaic of ar.ge.van (אַרְגְּוָן "purple" H0710)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Daniel 5:16

Range of meaning

This is purple cloth, wool dyed with the very expensive dye of the murex sea snail. The color ran from deep crimson to violet and was the standard mark of royalty and high office across the Near East and Mediterranean. It is the Aramaic form of Hebrew 'argāmān and Akkadian argamannu.

Against the English

BSB, WEB, NIV, ESV and NASB all say 'purple.' KJV says 'scarlet,' which in Hebrew usage is a different dye (tola'at shani, from an insect). KJV's choice blurs the specific royal sense. And 'purple' to a modern reader is just a color, not a rank.

How it drifted

Synthetic dyes made purple cheap in the 19th century. Today the color carries none of the 'only kings and their highest officials wear this' weight it had in antiquity.

Used elsewhere in the period

Mordecai leaves the Persian king's presence in a mantle of purple ('argāmān, Esther 8:15). 1 Maccabees 10:20, 62 and 14:43–44 treat wearing purple as a protected sign of authority granted by a king. Purple-dyed wool is valued in Assyrian tribute lists. Theodotion and the Vulgate both have 'purple' (porphyra, purpura).

Where it appears

Daniel · 3

  1. Daniel 5:7 אַרְגְּוָנָ֣א <the> purple

    The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers, and diviners to be brought in, and he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and tells me its interpretation will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

    Here: 'The purple', with the article: the known purple robe of royal favour, dyed with costly murex-shell dye. It marked the wearer as belonging to the king's circle.

  2. Daniel 5:16 אַרְגְּוָנָ֣א <the> purple

    But I have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Therefore, if you can read this inscription and give me its interpretation, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

    Here: 'The purple,' meaning a garment dyed with costly red-purple dye from sea snails. It marked royal or high official rank and was a uniform of honor, not a fashion choice.

  3. Daniel 5:29 אַרְגְּוָנָ֔א <the> purple

    Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a gold chain around his neck, and proclaimed him the third highest ruler in the kingdom.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.