The word “red” often describes the natural color of objects in the Bible. These include:
skin (Genesis 25:25),
stew (Genesis 25:30),
eyes (Genesis 49:12),
a cow used for sacrifice (Numbers 19:2),
water (2 Kings 3:22),
the face of a person who is weeping (Job 16:16),
wine (Proverbs 23:31),
the eyes of a person who drinks wine (Proverbs 23:29),
clothing (Isaiah 63:2),
a shield (Nahum 2:3), and
horses (Zechariah 1:8; 6:2).
In Genesis 49:12, the Hebrew word translated as “red” may instead mean “sparkling” or “dark.” The word is also used figuratively of sin (Isaiah 1:18).
A reddish color could also be a sign of disease or damage. It could appear:
on clothing affected by disease (Leviticus 13:49),
on spots on the skin (Leviticus 13:19, 24, 42–43), or
or on fungus growing on the wall of a house (Leviticus 14:37).
The Red Sea is often mentioned in the Old Testament (Exodus 10:19; 15:4). However, the Hebrew name means “Sea of Reeds.” In the New Testament, the Greek name includes the word “red” (Acts 7:36; Hebrews 11:29). In the New Testament, “red” is used to describe the color of:
the sky (Matthew 16:2–3),
a horse (Revelation 6:4), and
a dragon (Revelation 12:3).