פשתה, Exod. ix, 31; Lev. xiii, 47, 48, 52, 59; Deut. xxii, 11;
Joshua ii, 6; Judg. xv, 14; Prov. xxxi, 13; Isaiah xix, 9; xlii, 3;
xliii, 17; Jer. xiii, 1; Ezek. xl, 3; xliv, 17, 18; Hosea ii, 5, 9;
λῖνον Matt. xii, 20; Rev. xv, 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.
Joshua ii, 6; Judg. xv, 14; Prov. xxxi, 13; Isaiah xix, 9; xlii, 3;
xliii, 17; Jer. xiii, 1; Ezek. xl, 3; xliv, 17, 18; Hosea ii, 5, 9;
λῖνον Matt. xii, 20; Rev. xv, 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.