Bible Dictionary
SELVEDGE
The selvedge was the outer edge of the tabernacle curtains where the loops were attached. The curtains were joined at their edges by loops and clasps over the sanctuary boards.
Definition
The selvedge is the outer edge of a curtain. In the tabernacle description it denotes the edge of the curtains where the loops were attached for joining the two sets of curtains.
Biblical Usage
The term occurs in the instructions and construction of the tabernacle curtains in Exodus 26 and 36. Five curtains formed each set, and the sets were coupled at the center by loops and clasps.
Historical Background
The word means “self-edge.” The ten curtains overhung the sanctuary boards; fifty blue loops on one side were connected by clasps with fifty loops on the other.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>sel'-vej (qatsah): The word occurs only in the description of the tabernacle (Ex 26:4; 36:11). It has reference to the ten curtains which overhung the boards of the sanctuary. Five of these formed one set and five another. These were "coupled" at the center by 50 loops of blue connected by "clasps" (which see) with 50 others on the opposite side. The "selvedge" (self-edge) is the extremity of the curtain in which the loops were.</p>