THIS PARASHAH DESCRIBES the priestly vestments: the ephod and breastpiece of gold, blue, purple, and crimson yarns of fine twisted linen, the pure blue woven robe with its pomegranates of blue, purple, and twisted crimson yarns on the hem, the tunics of fine linen woven work to be worn by Aaron and his sons, their headdress and decorated turbans of fine linen, and their sashes of fine embroidered blue, purple, and crimson linen yarns. Besides the priests’ vestments, the text also mentions the hangings and curtains used to decorate the Tabernacle and to separate the rooms.
Producing textiles like these required a series of steps—carding, spinning, dyeing, and weaving the cotton, linen, or wool—tasks typically performed by women in the ancient Near East. Graves of women and girls often include weaving equipment such as bobbins and loom weights, whereas men’s and boy’s graves lack such equipment. Likewise, 4000-year-old graves of women in Turkmenia include specialized knives similar to those used by carpet weavers who live there today. An ancient Egyptian wooden model of a weaver’s house shows women at work weaving, spinning, and winding the yarns. A relief found at Susa, dated to circa 1000 B. C.E., shows a woman sitting on a stool as she spins.
The objects described in this parashah were for use in the Tabernacle and later in the Jerusalem Temple. What kind of staff maintained those facilities? Consider that Mesopotamian and Egyptian temples were large estates that employed thousands of workers. Female workers associated with these large temples cared for the sick and served as midwives, cooks and pastry chefs, menial cleaners, and janitors, as well as spinners and weavers.
According to Exodus, women performed the skilled work involved in preparing the yarn and weaving the fabrics for the Tabernacle (35:25–26). Although women are not mentioned explicitly in this parashah, archeological evidence and biblical references to women spinning and weaving (Proverbs 31:19; II Kings 23:7; compare Isaiah 19:9) allow us to reconstruct the vital role that Exodus presumes that women played in the construction of the Tabernacle and its elaborate objects.
—Lisbeth S. Fried