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Bible Dictionaries
Flax
Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary
or פשתה , Exodus 9:31; Leviticus 13:47-48; Leviticus 13:52; Leviticus 13:59; Deuteronomy 22:11; Joshua 2:6; Judges 15:14; Proverbs 31:13; Isaiah 19:9; Isaiah 42:3; Isaiah 43:17; Jeremiah 13:1; Ezekiel 40:3; Ezekiel 44:17-18; Hosea 2:5; Hosea 2:9; λινον , Matthew 12:20; Revelation 15:6; a plant very common, and too well known to need a description. It is a vegetable upon which the industry of mankind has been exercised with the greatest success and utility. On passing a field of it, one is struck with astonishment when he considers that this apparently insignificant plant may, by the labour and ingenuity of man, be made to assume an entirely new form and appearance, and to contribute to pleasure and health, by furnishing us with agreeable and ornamental apparel. This word Mr. Parkhurst thinks is derived from the verb פשט , to strip, because the substance which we term flax is properly the bark or fibrous part of the vegetable, pilled or stripped off the stalks. From time immemorial Egypt was celebrated for the production or manufacture of flax. Wrought into garments, it constituted the principal dress of the inhabitants, and the priests never put on any other kind of clothing. The fine linen of Egypt is celebrated in all ancient authors, and its superior excellence mentioned in the sacred Scriptures. The manufacture of flax is still carried on in that country, and many writers take notice of it. Rabbi Benjamin Tudela mentions the manufactory at Damiata; and Egmont and Heyman describe the article as being of a beautiful colour, and so finely spun that the threads are hardly discernible.
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Watson, Richard. Entry for 'Flax'. Richard Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/wtd/f/flax.html. 1831-2.
