Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Chronicles 2:7

"Now therefore send me a man skilful to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that knoweth how to grave [all manner of] gravings, [to be] with the skilful men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide." — 2 Chronicles 2:7 (ASV)

See the notes on 1 Kings 5:6 and 1 Kings 7:13.

Purple... — Purple, crimson, and blue were needed for the temple hangings, which, in this and other respects, were made according to the pattern of the tabernacle (Exodus 26:1, and following). Hiram's skill in working with these materials was likely his knowledge of the best methods for dyeing cloth. The Phoenicians, off whose coast the murex snail was commonly taken, were famous as purple dyers from a very ancient time.

Crimson — The word translated "crimson," כרמיל (karmı̂yl), is unique to the books of Chronicles and is probably of Persian origin. The famous red dye of Persia and India, known to the Greeks as kokkos and to the Romans as coccum, is obtained from an insect. Whether the "scarlet" (שׁני, shânı̂y) of Exodus (see Exodus 25:4 and following) is the same or a different red cannot be determined with certainty.