In some cases scarlet wool threads were woven together with threads of other colors; elsewhere a purely scarlet fabric was required. In addition, scarlet-dyed yarn was thrown as an adjunct into the burning ashes of the Red heifer, and was used as an adjunct in the purification ritual of lepers who had been healed. The English word for the biblical "scarlet" (, etc.) is a literal translation from the Septuagint ( = kókkinon, meaning "scarlet"). The original Hebrew text (tola'at shani) translates to "scarlet worm", indicating that the scarlet color is derived from an animal, a requirement which was formalized in the Jerusalem Talmud (Kila'im 9:1 [32a]). This animal was known in the Roman world as grani coccum = "the grain of the scarlet yarn." While production of the crimson or scarlet dye from the kermes scale insect had, traditionally, been an art preserved with medieval dyers, the practice seemed to have been lost for many centuries. Late exponents of Jewish law were baffled by the Tosefta's ruling that tola'at shani (scarlet colored ritual wool) may only be made from the tola'at (worm-like aphid) which lives in the mountainous regions. The dye's crimson or scarlet-orange tinge is alluded to in an early rabbinic source, Pesikta Rabbati, where tola'at shani is said to be "neither red, nor green," but of an intermediate color. Biblical exegete Saadia Gaon (882–942) wrote that the scarlet colored fabric was qirmiz (), derived from the kermes insect and which produced a color ranging from Venetian scarlet to crimson. According to Saadia, the dye was applied to silk yarns. A rare 10th-century Arabic document was retrieved by Zohar Amar, from which he was able to reproduce the dye extract, using antique methods. Dye production Out of the four kermes scale insects tested in Israel, the wingless female Kermes echinatus with her unhatched eggs still in her body yielded the brightest red colorant. The scale insect is first dried and ground to a powder. The dyestuff is then placed in a pot of water and cooked on a low heat, which turns the water red. The water is then strained and is ready for use. Those familiar with the dyeing technique have noted that before inserting the fabric into the bath containing the dye solution, the fabric is first dipped into a bath of dissolved alum, which, when added to the dye solution, gives to the fabric its