WEAVING (wev'ing) is too necessary an art not to have existed in the early periods of the world.
It appears, indeed, to have in ali nations come into existence with the first dawnings of civiliza tion. The Egyptians had, as might be expected, already made considerable progress therein when the Israelites tarried among them ; and in this, as well as in many other arts of life, they became the instructors of that people.
(1) Materials. Textures of cotton and of flax were woven by them ; whence we read of the 'vestures of fine linen' with which Pharaoh ar rayed Joseph (Gen. xli :42) ; terms which show that the art of fabricating cloth had been success fully cultivated. Indeed Egypt was 'celebrated among the Hebrews for its manufacturing skill. Thus Isaiah (xix :9) speaks of 'them that work in fine flax, and them that weave net-works.' That these fabrics displayed taste as well as skill, may be inferred from Ezekiel xxvii :7, 'Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt.' So in Prov. vii :r6, 'I have decked my couch with coverings of tapes try, with fine linen of Egypt.' If, however, the Hebrews learnt the art of weaving in Egypt, they appear to have made progress therein from their own resources, even before they entered Palestine; for having before them the prospect of a national establishment in that land, they would naturally turn their attention to the arts of life, and had leisure, as well as occasion, during their sojourn of forty years in the wilderness, for practising those arts ; and certainly we cannot but under stand the words of Moses to imply that the skill spoken of in Exod. xxxv :35, sq., came from a He brew, and not a foreign impulse.
(2) By Whom Done. Among the Israelites, weaving, together with spinning, was for the most part in the hands of women (Prov. xxxi :13, rg) nor did persons of rank and distinction consider the occupation mean (Exod. xxxv :25; 2 Kings
xxiii :7). But as in Egypt males exclusively, so in Palestine men conjointly with women, wove (Exod. xxxv :35). From 1 Chron. iv :21, it may be inferred, that there was in Israel a class of master manufacturers. The loom, as was gener ally the case in the ancient world, was high, re quiring the weaver to stand at his employment.
Connected with the loom, are (r) the shuttle (Job vii :6) ; (2) the weaver's beam (r Sam. xvii: 7; 2 Sam. xxi :19) ; (3) a weaver's pin (Judg. xvi :14). The degree of skill to which the He brews attained, it is difficult to measure ; probably, as Egypt and Babylon already supplied the finer specimens of workmanship, the Hebrews would content themselves with a secondary degree of excellence ; but many passages conduce to prove that art presided over their weaving, as well as that the employment was very common (Lev. xiii: 48; Judg. xvi :13 ; Is. xxxviii :r2).
(3) Products of the Loom. The stuffs which they wove were of linen, flax, and wool. Among the later must be reckoned those of camels' and goats' hair, which were used by the poor for clothing, and for mourning (Exod. xxvi :7 ; xxxv : 6; Matt. iii :4). Garments woven in one piece throughout so as to need no making were held in high repute ; whence the Jews have a tradition that no needle was employed on the clothing of the high-priest, each piece of which was of one continuous texture. This notion throws light on the language used by John xix :23, 'the coat was without seam,'—words that are explained by those which follow, and which Wetstein regards as a gloss—'woven from the top throughout.' J. R. B.
WEB. See SPIDER; WEAVING.