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Sacred Blue As is commanded in Numbers 15:38-39, this azure-
turquoise-indigo color which in Hebrew is called
Numbers 15: 38-39 (Techelet...or Tekhelet) is a string usually made of dyed
wool which is worn with 1 blue string out of every 4
"Speak to the Children of Israel and bid them that knotted strings on each corner of the tzitzit.
they make fringes on the corners of their garments
throughout their generations, and that they put upon At some point following the Roman exile of the
the fringe of each corner a thread of blue (tekhelet). Jews from the land of Israel, (between 200-600 C.E.)
And it shall be for you as a fringe, that you may look the industry that produced this dye collapsed. Th e
upon it and remember all the commandments of God, last known mention of techelet is in the Talmud, (the
and do them." (Numbers 15:38-39) Jewish rabbinical discussions). It is only from the
Talmud that any reference on how to obtain tekhelet
Why is it called Masonic Blue? may be found.

OK...so, what have we learned so far about what we Tekhelet Dye Restrictions: (100 BCE - 68 CE) –
call Masonic Blue? Roman Emperor Caesar (100-44 BCE) and Roman
Emperor Augustus (63 BCE -14 CE) began restricting
We have learned that the color blue has been a sacred the use of these beautiful, expensive and highly coveted
color over many millenniums: dyes to royalty and the governing classes.

Signifi es the color of Deity Emperor Nero (37-68 CE) issued a decree that only
Mentioned repeatedly in the Holy Books he, the emperor, had the exclusive right to wear blue
Worn by Jewish priests or purple garments.
Worn by royalty
Worn by many members of diverse religious groups Many other Popes, Kings, Emperors and royalty also
across the globe restricted the knowledge of how to correctly make the
Derives its name from the word "tekhelet", which is sacred blue dye and thereby kept the secret only for
Hebrew for "perfection" themselves. Th erefore, over the centuries, the Jewish
community lost the original knowledge as to which
And, ...most intriguingly...blue was deemed to be species of shellfi sh produced this dye to carry on the
a sacred color by even those who worshipped pagan tradition of the techelet (turquoise-colored) string.
Gods. Why is this so intriguing? It is intriguing
because they did not have the reference book that we Th erefore, over the last 1,300 years, upon the
currently have available to us...the Torah or the Bible loss of the ability of the Jewish people to fulfi ll this
from which to fi nd this knowledge. commandment; their tzitzit (tallit strings) have been
white.
How did THEY know that blue was a sacred color? Due to the unacceptability of wearing non-pure
Th is leads us to believe that blue was a sacred color techelet, the Jews have worn only plain white tassels
long before we have found any written documentation upon the corners of the High Priest's clothing, their
to prove it. Fascinating. prayer shawls, the tapestries in the Mishkan, (which
is the portable tabernacle or worship facility which
TECHELET FROM THE CHILAZON...A Th read of the Jews carried with them in Exodus) and upon the
Masonic Blue? laymen's clothing, (Tzitzit).

Techelet...From the Hebrew Bible: MASONIC BLUE...From A Snail?
Th e Hebrew Bible mentions a specifi c blue dye, called Now, let's take a look at the Holy Scripture from the
Tekhelet, (also spelled Techelet) for use in the priestly Judaic Holy Books...
garments as well as was incorporated in the layman's Today, there has been a rebirth of the techelet dye with
tzitzit, (the formal tassels or fringes of clothing, which a sea creature that has been identifi ed as the "Chilazon"
some believe refers to the azure-turquoise-indigo blue by Jewish religious scholars in Israel.
dye from a sea snail called a "Chilazon"). (also called
Hexaplex trunculus). Initially purple in color, when Th e Torah (Bamidbar [Numbers] 15:38) says,
the dye is allowed to be placed in the sun, it turns a "Th ey shall make for themselves Tzitzith (fringes) on
bright azure/ turquoise/ indigo color of blue. the corners of their garments for their generations and
they shall put in the Tzitzith of the corner a thread of
blue (Techelet)."
Montana Freemason Page 28 March/April 2021 Volume 97 No. 2