EMBROIDERY. Decoration on cloth by means of ornamental needlework. Embroidered work, chiefly using geometric patterns and stylized motifs, is well attested in sculptured and painted scenes from the ancient world. Several Heb. words refer to embroidery and related skills. מַעֲשֵׂ֖ה רֹקֵֽם (“work of the embroiderer,” Exod 26:36) and רִקְמָ֤ה (“embroidery,” Ezek 27:16) are generally taken as referring to embroidered goods. Reasons for this conclusion are the following: Embroidery is well attested in the background cultures of the OT, and may be expected to appear in Heb. crafts also. The expressions denoting the raw materials used by the embroiderer (i.e. “blue and purple and scarlet stuff and fine twined linen,” Exod 26:36) can refer to thread and yarn suitable for embroidery since they can refer to products of spinning (35:25). It should be noted, however, that some of these terms occur in contexts where they could be taken as denoting woven cloth as well as spun thread; e.g. “blue,” תְּכֵֽלֶת (39:22). Exodus 35:35 distinguishes between the “embroiderer” and the weaver. Also, רִקְמָ֑ה as a term for the varied sheen of eagle’s feathers (Ezek 17:3) recalls the multicolored brilliance of detailed decorative needlework (cf. also the “colored stones,” רִקְמָ֗ה, 1 Chron 29:2). The cumulative effect of these considerations confirms the interpretation of the two terms under discussion as denoting embroidery.

Other terms, however, lack decisive attestation. For example, the precise meanings of שָׁבַץ, H8687, (Exod 28:39, RSV “weave in checker work,” KJV “embroider”) and תַּשְׁבֵּ֖ץ (Exod 28:4, RSV “checker work,” KJV “broidered”) remain unclear (see Filigree for discussion of other words derived from חֹשֵׁב [H3110], מַעֲשֵׂ֖ה, שָׁבַץ [H8687]). Exod 26:31, RSV “skilled work,” KJV “cunning work” refers to the Tabernacle hangings decorated with cherubim and to some of the priestly garments (28:6). It has been suggested that “skilled work” refers to more original designs (HDB) in contrast to the stereotyped, geometric patterns of typical “embroidery.” On the other hand, some of the rabbis—perhaps with no more real evidence—thought that “skilled work” referred to decorative weaving in which the design showed on both sides (Jew Enc). It has also been suggested that the “pomegranates” (רִמּﯴנ֒, H8232, Exod 39:24) on the hem of the high priest’s garment were appliqué work (NBD). It is equally possible that they were hanging ornaments of a braided or plaited sort that, like the golden bells, hung from the hem. The meanings of these terms remain unclear for lack of decisive or even reasonably clear attestation.

In the OT, embroidery symbolizes luxury and lucrative commerce (Ps 45:14; Ezek 27:16). As early as the Songs of Deborah and Barak, embroidered goods were prized as spoils of war (Judg 5:30). Most of the references to embroidered goods in the OT are to the Tabernacle, with the priestly garments. The curtain for the gate of the court and the curtain for the door of the Tabernacle were both embroidered (Exod 27:16; 26:36), whereas other hangings were of “skilled work” (26:1, 31). The high priest’s girdle was embroidered (28:39), and other garments were “checker work” (28:4) or “skilled work” (28:15).

Bibliography G. M. Mackie, “Embroidery,” HDB (1901); E. G. Hirsch, “Embroidery,” JewEnc (1901); H. F. Lutz, Textiles and Costumes among the Peoples of the Ancient Near East (1923); M. S. and J. L. Miller, Encyclopedia of Bible Life (1944), 353-355; G. I. Emmerson, “Embroidery,” NBD (1962).