Flax (Linum usitatissimum) is one of several plants of this genus. One type is widely grown both for the linseed oil from its seeds and the fine textile fibers from its stems. Flax is the oldest known textile fiber. Cloth woven from flax is called linen. Cotton appears only once in the Bible (Esther 1:6). There is no mention of any other fiber plant being grown in Egypt or Israel and the surrounding areas in biblical times. For this reason, experts think linen was the material used to make clothes other than woolen ones.
People also used linen for household items such as:
towels (John 13:4–5),
napkins (11:44),
belts and undergarments (Isaiah 3:23; Mark 14:51),
nets (Isaiah 19:8–9), and
measuring lines (Ezekiel 40:3).
The priests serving in the temple had to wear only linen clothes. The Jews were strictly forbidden to use cloth made of a mixture of wool and flax (Leviticus 19:19; Deuteronomy 22:11).
People in biblical times used at least three kinds of linen, and each kind had particular uses. The Bible mentions ordinary linen of the coarsest texture in Leviticus 6:10, Ezekiel 9:2, Daniel 10:5, and Revelation 15:6. It mentions a second type of linen of better quality in Exodus 26:1 and 39:27. A third type of linen of the finest texture and high cost appears in 1 Chronicles 15:27, Esther 8:15, and Revelation 19:8.
The common flax plant grows from 0.3 to 1.2 meters (1 to 4 feet) tall. It has a simple, slender, wirelike stem and many small, pale, lance-shaped green leaves. The failure of the flax crop is listed as one of God's punishments (Hosea 2:9). Jewish women made linen from flax fibers as a household industry (Proverbs 31:13, 19). They made everything from ordinary clothing to the robes and aprons worn by priests and temple attendants. People also used linen for wicks in lamps (Isaiah 42:3).