Occurrences in the Bible
The word "vermilion" is recorded twice in the King James Bible translation. It is derived from the Hebrew word shashar (Strong's Concordance #H8350), used only twice in the Old Testament, which means a reddish or a piercing red ochre color. Vermilion is the least mentioned color found in Scripture.
Background
The HTML hex color for Vermilion is #E34234. This vibrant, warm reddish-orange color is also known as cinnabar.
The Bible does not state how the color vermilion it mentions was created. The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown commentary speculates it was derived by combining sulphur and quicksilver. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia states it may have been created using an oxide of iron.
Secular history, however, informs us that vermilion was generally made from the mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide) that is toxic. After the cinnabar was mined and crushed, it produced a bright red powder that was used to create this pigment.
Biblical Symbolism
The Bible's two mentions of vermilion show that it symbolized wealth, illicit riches, and the pursuit of foolishness instead of God. The first example involves the prophet Jeremiah and Jehoiakim, the puppet king of Judah.
When Egypt's Neco came to Jerusalem from Megiddo, in 609 B.C., he deposed Judah's king Jehoahaz and took him as prisoner. Neco then placed Jehoiakim, another son of Josiah, on Judah's throne. Jehoahaz was then taken to Egypt as a captive where he would die, as predicted by Jeremiah.
For thus saith the Lord touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more: But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more. (Jeremiah 22:11 - 12, KJV, see also 2Kings 23:33 - 34).
It is in the backdrop of these events that Jehoiakim began to rule. He did not take to heart Jeremiah's warning that Judah's ruling family repent of their many sins and do what is right in the sight of God (Jeremiah 22:1 - 9). He, instead, became an evil ruler who indulged in lavish displays of wealth that included using vermilion. God warned the king of his foolish behavior.
"Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness and his upper rooms without justice; who uses his neighbor's service without pay, and he gives him naught for his work;
"Who says, 'I will build myself a great house and spacious rooms' - and cuts out windows for himself, and puts in a cedar ceiling, and paints it with vermilion. (shashar) (Jeremiah 22:13 - 14, HBFV).
God's judgment on Jehoiakim was that the vain ruler would die an ignominious and violent death. His body would be treated like those of deceased donkeys, dragged off and thrown outside Jerusalem's walls with no one mourning his demise (Jeremiah 22:18 - 19). He ruled for only eleven years, dying in 598 B.C. at the age of 36.
Our second example of vermilion in the Bible comes from the prophet Ezekiel. The Kingdom of Israel (northern ten tribes) had, for many years, attempted to curry favor with Assyria instead of relying on God. As early as 841 B.C. King Jehu of Israel began to pay tribute money to Assyria (The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, pages 103 - 104).
Referred to as Samaria and Oholah in Ezekiel 23, Israel's reliance on a pagan nation for protection cost her dearly. God allowed his people to go with their "lover" through the punishment of captivity in 723 B.C. (verses 5 - 10).
The Kingdom of Judah (called Jerusalem and Oholibah), even though she saw what happened to Israel, did not repent of their sins. She not only pursued an intimate relationship with Assyria, she also turned to Babylon for help. Judah's lusting for Babylon's assistance and military might, as seen by soldiers engraved on a wall with vermilion, is delineated in Ezekiel 23.
"And she (Judah) increased her whoredoms. And she saw men carved on the wall which were images of the Chaldeans engraved with vermilion, girded with belts on their loins, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like captains, like the sons of Babylon in Chaldea, the land of their birth.
"And as soon as she saw them she lusted after them with her eyes, and sent messengers to them into Chaldea." (Ezekiel 23:14 - 16, HBFV).
Judah's ultimate punishment, like that of Israel, was to be given over to her "lover" in the form of destruction and captivity at the hands of Babylon.
More Info on Vermilion
Quantities of cinnabar, from which vermilion can be derived, are known to exist in countries such as China, the United States, Spain (which for many years hosted the largest cinnabar mine in the world), Germany, Peru, Egypt and Italy.
Cinnabar is a toxic mercury sulfide mineral which means it is detrimental to humans. Its poisonous effect on ancient humans was revealed in a 1996 discovery of 5,000-year-old bones in Portugal. The bones showed mercury poisoning had occurred that was attributable to the mineral (Earliest Evidence of Mercury Poisoning in Humans). Early man used the vermilion colored powder for decorating chambers and figurines.
The most accepted color for ordinary garments among the Old Testament's earliest Israelites was white. In later times, purple, scarlet, and vermilion dyes were extensively used for such clothing, as well as black, red, yellow, and green.
In medieval times, when the principal use of sealing wax was for attaching the impression of seals to official documents, the composition used consisted of a mixture of Venice turpentine, beeswax and coloring of vermilion.
God commanded ancient Israel to tithe on their herds and flocks (Leviticus 27:32 - 33). Shepherds would cause their sheep or calves to pass under a rod that, according to Jewish tradition, had its end dipped in vermilion or red ochre. Every tenth animal that went under the rod was touched by it to designate that it was for the Eternal (Adam Clarke's Commentary).
One of the challenges for those creating a Bible translation is deciding what color is referenced in the Hebrew text. According to the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, the only real color terms found in the Old Testament are white, red and green. All others listed (black, blue, gray, etc.) require a determination be made based on context, the object being referenced, and so on.
Vermilion, for example, appears twice (Jeremiah 22, Ezekiel 23) in the KJV, ASV, JPS, RV, HCSB and other versions of Scripture. It appears only once in the NASB and YLT. This color does not appear at all in the NIV, CEV, GNB and God's Word translations.