Flax, from which linen is made, was grown in the Holy Land from earliest times, and is often mentioned in the Bible. The Gezer calendar, a small limestone tablet probably from the ninth century BC, describes March as the month of flax harvest, after the late spring sowing and before the barley harvest which was celebrated after Passover. Different types of linen cloth are mentioned; the finest was imported from the Nile delta in Egypt, while a coarser fabric was woven in Palestine. King Solomon imported fine linen yarn and horses from Egypt [1 Kings 10.28], and there was a Judaean family linen business in Bethashbea, listed in ancient records [1 Chronicles 4.21]

Wearing white for eternity: the garment of angels in traditional Christian art

The plague of hail ruined the flax in Egypt [Exodus 9.31] and when Joshua was preparing to attack Jericho, Rahab hid the spies under the flax stalks on her roof. The prophet Hosea warned the people that the riches of the land - corn, wine oil and flax - came from the Lord and not from the gods of Canaan [Hosea 2.9]. Spinning flax and weaving linen cloth was one of the characteristics of the good wife [Exodus 35.25; Proverbs 31.13, 24], and there were strict rules about not mixing linen with other fibres if the cloth was to be used for ordinary clothing. [Deuteronomy 22.11]. The Hebrew word for linen thread was also used for lamp wicks, showing that these too were made of linen [Isaiah 42.3; 43.17].

Fine linen was a luxury fabric. When Pharaoh appointed Joseph to high office in Egypt, he gave him garments of fine linen [Genesis 41.42], and the greatest disaster that the prophet Isaiah could imagine for Egypt was Nile drying up and causing the fishermen and the flax workers to despair [Isaiah 19.9]. Samson offered thirty linen garments in his wager with the Philistines - they must have been valuable [Judges 14.12] - and Isaiah described the finery of the rich women of his time- including garments of linen [Isaiah 3.23]. The prophet Ezekiel described the wealthy state of Tyre as a beautiful ship and said the sails were made of fine embroidered linen. Tyre had an important linen trade with Edom [Ezekiel 27.7, 16]. Fine linen was also used in Persia, in the furnishings of the palace, [Esther 1.6], and when Ezekiel described how generously the Lord had treated his people and honoured them, he compared them to a lady who had been clothed in fine linen [Ezekiel 16.10,13]. It was a rich man clothed in linen whom Jesus condemned for neglecting the poor [Luke 16.19], and in the Revelation, St John described all the fine linen as one of the luxuries which the wicked city had imported [Revelation 18.12].

Linen also had an important role in the tabernacle which Moses built, and in Solomon's temple in Jerusalem. Linen was woven together with wool to make the great curtain which screened the ark in the holy of holies [ Exodus 26.31], and this mixed fabric was also used for the outer vestment of the high priest [ Exodus 28.6]. This mixture of fibres and colours symbolised the creation, although there were two explanations for the symbolism of the linen threads. One said that it represented the earth, because it grew as a plant in the earth, the other said it represented heaven because it was not made from the fleece of an animal that would die.

Linen was also the fabric worn by angels and so it came to be a symbol of the resurrection and of eternal life, joining the angels. It was the garment of glory, and so fine linen cloth was used for shrouds [Luke 23.52]. The prophets had visions of angels whom they described as men clothed in linen [Ezekiel 9.2; 10.2; Daniel 10.5, 12.6], and this is why the high priest was clothed only in linen when he entered the holy of holies in the temple. Like the angels, he was entering the presence of God [Leviticus 16.4]. Ezekiel, who was himself a priest, gives a practical reason for choosing linen; it did not make the priests sweat when performing their duties in the temple [Ezekiel 44.17-18]

The angels at Jesus' tomb on Easter morning were men in dazzling garments [Luke 24.4], that is, angels dressed in white linen. St John saw the saints in heaven dressed in white, which would have been their garments of glory [Revelation 7.9], and he saw the seven archangels emerging from the holy of holies clad in pure bright linen [Revelation 15.6]. When he saw the King of Kings riding out from heaven with his army of saints, they too were wearing fine white linen, the symbol of purity [Revelation 19.14]. When the Bride appeared in heaven, prepared for the marriage to the Lamb, she wore fine linen, bright and pure, which symbolised the righteous deeds of the saints [Revelation 19.7-8].