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Salt and Light

SALT A chemical compound composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl) used to preserve, purify, and season food. Overview Salt is one of the most common substances on the earth and cannot be destroyed by fire or time. Also known as “white gold,” it is one of the most significant substances in history, along with iron, gold, and wheat. In ancient societies it was a valuable social and economic commodity.

For example, 1 Maccabees records that, at times, taxes were imposed on salt (1 Maccabees 10:29; 11:35). In ancient Egypt it was a symbol of luxury, and Egyptians used it in the mummification of their dead and to preserve olives and fish. At one point in the history of the early Roman Empire, salt from the sea was brought inland and sold for slaves.

Salt has also served as a significant figurative symbol. Sharing salt was a symbol of friendship and hospitality, and ancient conflicts concluded with a meal consisting of bread and salt as a symbol of friendship (Aristotle, Eudemian Ethics 7.2.46; Cicero, Treatise of Friendship 19.67). One who violated the eating of salt was a traitor (Demosthenes, On the Embassy 191). Salt was also viewed as a divine gift (Plutarch, Symposium 5.10.2; Homer, Iliad 9.214).

Salt in the Ancient Near East Salt was a known commodity in the ancient Near East by at least 4000 bc. It was common enough in parts of the ancient Near East to become part of the names of geographical features, including those that marked the boundaries of Israel’s promised land, such as: • the “Salt Sea,” the name of the Dead Sea in the Pentateuch and Joshua (Gen 14:3; Num 34:3, 12; Deut 3:17; Josh 3:16; 12:3; 15:2, 5; 18:19); • the “Valley of Salt,” the site of two major battles (2 Sam 8:13; 2 Kgs 14:7; 1 Chr 18:12; 2 Chr 25:11); • the “City of Salt” (Josh 15:62).

Salt is found in abundance in the area surrounding the Dead Sea, which is the saltiest body of water in the world at over 25 percent salinity. Salt from this area can be mined from salt cliffs, gathered from the marshland, or harvested from evaporating salt water. However, Dead Sea salt was not of the highest quality, as it was mixed with other minerals (e.g., gypsum) and the outer layer could be tasteless. People of the biblical world could also import salt from the east. Salt in the Bible The biblical writings attest to various uses of salt and a variety of symbols associated with salt. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew term “salt” (מֶלַח, melach) occurs 22 times as a noun, four times as a verb, and four times as an adjective. There are also three instances of the noun in Aramaic. The stem of the Hebrew word for “salt” (מלח, mlch) is shared by all Semitic languages.

In the New Testament, the Greek term “salt” (ἅλας, halas) occurs seven times as a noun, twice as a verb, and once as an adjective. The English word “salt” is related to the Latin term meaning “the sea” (sale; Hehn, Salz, 19–25). Salt as a Symbol of Life In the biblical world, salt was associated with life due to its uses as a preservative, a purifying agent, and a seasoning. Many of the symbols attached to salt reflect its practical uses.

For example, because salt can delay the rotting or decaying process when rubbed into meat, it is a symbol of incorruptibility.

Salt was also a symbol of provision, and eating someone’s “bread and salt” left the eater obligated to the giver (Ezra 4:14).

Other practical uses of salt attested in the ancient world include: • purifying agent—ancient peoples rubbed babies with salt at birth (Ezek 16:4), and the prophet Elisha used salt to purify a polluted spring (2 Kgs 2:19–22); • seasoning for food (Job 6:6–7; compare Isa 30:24)—tasteless salt was worthless and thrown out (Matt 5:13; Luke 14:34); • fertilizer (Latham, Religious Symbolism, 204); • facilitator for the burning of dung. Likely reflecting these varied uses for salt, Sirach 39:26 depicts salt as one of the necessities of life. Salt as a Symbol for Death Despite salt’s practical uses, too much salt can lead to death. For example, land that has too high of a salt content, such as salt flats, marshes, or pits, is typically incapable of producing good crops and thus unproductive and uninhabitable. Victorious armies in ancient times would sometimes use salt to render land infertile (Judg 9:45; Zeph 2:9; compare Deut 29:23). Fensham describes this fate as “the greatest catastrophe” of the ancient Near East (Fensham, “Salt as Curse,” 50; compare Strack and Billerbeck, Kommentar, 1:234–35). The Bible picks up on the destructive properties of salt in its associations of salt with barrenness, judgment, and disobedience. For example: • Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt for her disobedience and became a monument to God’s wrath (Gen 19:26). • Deuteronomy associates disobedience with salted land (e.g., Deut 29:16–28; see also Psa 107:34). • Wisdom literature and the Prophets use terms like “salt” and “salty” synonymously with “barren” (Job 39:6; Jer 17:6; Zeph 2:9). • Jeremiah contrasts those who have been blessed in the covenant with the cursed, who inhabit a salt land (Jer 17:6–8). • Ezekiel prophesies that in the age to come, the water of the Dead Sea will be made fresh even though its swamps will remain salty (Ezek 47:9, 11). • James associates fresh water with blessing and salt water with cursing (Jas 3:9–12; compare Ezek 47:7–9). • Wisdom of Solomon sees the salty area around the Dead Sea as evidence of human impurity and sin (Wisdom 10:7). It is possible that the association of salt with judgment for disobedience might also symbolize ritual cleansing, a break from the past, and the opportunity to move forward (compare 2 Kgs 2:20–21). Salt and the Sacrifices The “salt of the covenant” was an added element in several of the sacrifices (Ezek 43:24; e.g., the grain offering, Lev 2:13; compare Josephus, Antiquities 3.9.1; Jubilees 21:11; Testament of Levi 9:14) and an ingredient in the incense offered in the tabernacle. It served as a symbol of purity (Exod 30:35; compare Col 4:6; Sirach 49:1; compare Homer, Iliad ix.214). Salt was one of the temple supplies the people were instructed to provide the priests (Ezra 6:9; 7:22). Jewish believers still dip the weekly Sabbath bread in salt. Salt and the Covenant Scripture refers to God’s covenant as a “covenant of salt,” reflecting salt’s unique place in the covenant. Wenham suggests that salt may symbolize the covenant itself (Wenham, Leviticus, 71), while Darlington states that salt is a “covenantal concept” (Darlington, “The Salt of the Earth,” 716). The phrase “covenant of salt” is usually understood to refer to the perpetual obligation of the covenant, perhaps due to the concept of loyalty to the provider of salt (Num 18:19; 2 Chr 13:5; Kurlansky, Salt, 7). The salt of the covenant is necessary for life (compare Tractate Sopherim 15:8, Strack and Billerbeck, Kommentar, 1:235; 2:23). It is also a sign of stability (compare 1 Esdras 6:30; Letter of Jeremiah 6:28; Jubilees 21:11). The use of salt in Scripture to describe the covenant mixes themes of blessing and curse, judgment, and salvation (Minear, “The Salt of the Earth,” 37). Salt and Discipleship Several New Testament passages connect salt with discipleship, including: • Jesus calls His disciples to be the “salt of the earth,” perhaps referring to salt’s preserving or flavoring properties (Matt 5:13; Mark 9:49–50; Luke 14:34–35). • Jesus calls His disciples to have salt within themselves and to live at peace, perhaps referring to God’s word and the effect it was to have on their lives (Mark 9:50; compare Heb 4:12, Strack and Billerbeck, Kommentar, 2:23). • Paul admonishes the Colossians to season their speech with salt (Col 4:6). Darlington argues that the association of salt with the people of God reminds them that their discipleship and its effect on the world carries with it a strong covenantal context (Darlington, “The Salt of the Earth,” 731). It also serves as a reminder of the final judgment, when “everyone will be salted with fire” (Mark 9:49 ESV).

II, R. G. R. (2016). Salt. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, L. Wentz, E. Ritzema, & W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Lexham Press.