In the Bible, the color scarlet and the image of a scarlet thread have great symbolic meaning. Scarlet often represents sin, sacrifice, and redemption. A scarlet thread is used in a few key Biblical narratives to foreshadow God’s plan of salvation that would come through the sacrifice of Christ. Let’s explore some of the key passages that mention a scarlet thread and what they teach us.
Rahab’s Scarlet Cord
One of the most well-known references to a scarlet thread is found in Joshua 2, in the story of Rahab the prostitute. When Joshua sent two spies into the city of Jericho, Rahab hid them and helped them escape safely. In return, the spies told Rahab to hang a scarlet cord out of her window so that her household would be spared when the Israelites came to conquer Jericho (Joshua 2:18). The scarlet cord represented salvation for Rahab and her family. Just as the cord was a sign that would preserve their lives, the blood of Christ redeems sinners and allows them to be passed over in God’s judgment.
Rahab was a Canaanite – an outsider and a sinner – yet her faith in the God of Israel brought her redemption. As Hebrews 11:31 says, “By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.” The scarlet cord was a symbol of her faith in the coming Messiah. Just as the cord brought salvation to her house, Christ’s blood brings salvation to all who trust in Him (Romans 10:9-10).
The Scarlet Cord in Childbirth
Another reference to a scarlet thread is found in Genesis 38, in the account of the birth of Tamar’s twins Perez and Zerah. When Zerah’s hand emerged first from the womb, the midwife tied a scarlet thread around his wrist. However, Perez was actually born first. Scholars see the scarlet cord tied to Zerah’s wrist as foreshadowing the line of Judah, from whom the Messiah would eventually come. The scarlet thread on the wrist represents the redemptive work of Christ, bringing salvation through the line of Judah.
The color scarlet also connects this episode to the broader theme of redemption through blood sacrifice. The miraculous birth of these twins is another example in Genesis of God’s providential work to bring about His plans for redemption (cf. Genesis 3:15, 12:3, 22:18). Out of brokenness and immorality, God brought forth the messianic line.
Scarlet Wool in the Tabernacle
Scarlet cloth is featured prominently throughout the Old Testament tabernacle and temple. Exodus 25:4 instructs the Israelites to gather “blue and purple and scarlet yarns” along with fine linen to construct the tabernacle. Later, Exodus 26:1 describes making ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns, with cherubim skillfully worked into them. Scarlet yarn was also used for the veil to the Most Holy Place (Exodus 26:31).
In the temple, 2 Chronicles 2:7 and 2 Chronicles 2:14 describe “purple and scarlet yarn” used for the entrance to the temple. The imagery connects back to the Garden of Eden, which also had a veil or covering at its entrance (Genesis 3:24). The tabernacle and temple used colors like scarlet and purple to symbolize the beauty of paradise restored through sacrifice. The scarlet represents the blood of atonement that would allow man to once again dwell in God’s presence.
The Beast in Scarlet
In the book of Revelation, the apostle John describes a vision of a scarlet beast in Revelation 17:3-4: “And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.”
Here, scarlet represents the splendor, luxury, and bloodthirstiness of the great prostitute Babylon. The use of scarlet, purple, gold, and jewels parallels the colors of the tabernacle, showing how Babylon had corrupted what they symbolized. Like many things in Revelation, the scarlet beast deliberately echoes redemptive imagery from the Old Testament – the scarlet wool and linen in the tabernacle, the scarlet cord, and the scarlet thread on Zerah’s wrist. But it twists them to represent idolatry, immorality, and the extravagance of a godless empire built on blood money.
So in Revelation, John draws on these symbolic meanings of scarlet – blood, sacrifice, sin, redemption – to paint a vivid contrast between God’s kingdom and the corrupt kingdoms of this world. The scarlet beast represents the brutal power of an idolatrous empire, while the Lamb’s blood represents the pure, self-sacrificing nature of Christ (Revelation 5:9).
Scarlet Robes and Christ’s Passion
When Jesus was on trial before Pontius Pilate, the Roman soldiers mockingly dressed Him in scarlet robes to pretend He was a king (Matthew 27:28). Their intention was to ridicule and shame Him, but the scarlet robe in fact symbolized the truth – Jesus was the true King who would redeem the world through the blood of His sacrifice. The soldiers unwittingly clothed Jesus in garments that were fitting for the Messiah, the one whose blood could atone for sins.
Isaiah 63 makes an explicit connection between the color red and Christ’s sacrifice: “Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? ‘It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.’ Why is your apparel red, and your garments like his who treads in the winepress? ‘I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me (Isaiah 63:1-3).
Jesus trod the winepress of God’s wrath alone, staining His garments crimson as He shed His blood to redeem sinners. The scarlet robe placed on Him by the soldiers evokes this same imagery of blood sacrifice and connects back to the Old Testament symbolism of scarlet as redemption through blood.
Scarlet Sins Becoming White
The book of Isaiah uses scarlet as a metaphor for sins, describing sins being made white through forgiveness: “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” (Isaiah 1:18).
Wool was used along with linen to make the white curtains of the tabernacle, pointing towards purity and righteousness. Though our sins are as scarlet before a holy God, Christ’s blood makes them white as snow or wool. What was once a symbol of judgment is now a symbol of mercy.
The Blood of the Lamb
Peter describes redemption through “the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:19). In the Passover, the blood of the lamb painted on the doorposts of the Israelites caused the angel of death to “pass over” those homes and spare their firstborn. This symbolized God’s redemption of his people from slavery (Exodus 12:1-28).
The Gospels present Jesus as the Passover Lamb whose blood redeems from sin and death (John 1:29, 1 Corinthians 5:7). His blood fulfills what the Passover prefigured. Christ’s blood secures eternal life for all who trust in Him, causing judgment to “pass over” them.
Signifying Salvation for All People
In the Bible, scarlet represents the universality of sin – it stains all people, no matter their status or nationality. But it also signifies the power of Christ’s sacrifice to redeem all who believe – it is not just for the Jews, but for the Rahabs and Ruths, outsiders and outcasts. Jesus shed His blood not just for Israel, but for people “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).
So in Scripture, the scarlet thread ultimately symbolizes God’s plan of redemption to save people from all nations through the atoning blood of His Son. It represents the wondrous truth that Jesus’ sacrifice is sufficient to cleanse all scarlet sins, making them as white as snow.