salt

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

(sea product). Abundant in Palestine. Used with food and sacrificial offerings (Job 6:6⁶Can that which is unsavory be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg? (Job 6:6); Lev. 2:13¹³And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. (Leviticus 2:13); Num. 18:19¹⁹All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord unto thee and to thy seed with thee. (Numbers 18:19); Mark 9:49⁴⁹For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. (Mark 9:49)). Monument of divine displeasure (Gen. 19:26²⁶But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:26)); token of indissoluble alliance (Lev. 2:13¹³And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. (Leviticus 2:13); Num. 18:19¹⁹All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord unto thee and to thy seed with thee. (Numbers 18:19); 2 Chron. 13:5⁵Ought ye not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? (2 Chronicles 13:5)); used to rub new-born children (Ezek. 16:4⁴And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. (Ezekiel 16:4)); type of maintenance (Ezra 4:14¹⁴Now because we have maintenance from the king's palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore have we sent and certified the king; (Ezra 4:14) marg.); emblem of sterility (Judg. 9:45⁴⁵And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt. (Judges 9:45); Jer. 17:6⁶For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. (Jeremiah 17:6)); a manure (Luke 14:35³⁵It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Luke 14:35)); emblem of holy life and conversation (Matt. 5:13¹³Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. (Matthew 5:13); Mark 9:50⁵⁰Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another. (Mark 9:50); Col. 4:6⁶Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. (Colossians 4:6)).

Concise Bible Dictionary:

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Salt from the Dead Sea

This well-known and valuable condiment is found in abundance near the Dead Sea. In scripture salt is used as symbolical of moral savor and thus of a preservative. Every oblation of the meat offering was to be seasoned with salt (Lev. 2:13¹³And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. (Leviticus 2:13)). The heave offerings given to the priest are called “a covenant of salt” (Num. 18:19¹⁹All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord unto thee and to thy seed with thee. (Numbers 18:19)).

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Salt by the Dead Sea

Christians are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost its savor, it is of no use whatever (Matt. 5:13¹³Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. (Matthew 5:13); Mark 9:50⁵⁰Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another. (Mark 9:50); Luke 14:34-35³⁴Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? ³⁵It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Luke 14:34‑35)). It is typical of freshness and savor in a Christian, his heart being maintained in the sense of grace, the loss of which nothing else can supply.

The Christian’s speech should be with grace, seasoned with salt (Col. 4:6⁶Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. (Colossians 4:6)), not characterized by asperity, nor lacking unction, and yet morally wholesome in its character. “Everyone shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt” (Mark 9:49⁴⁹For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. (Mark 9:49)). God puts all to the proof, but with the saint it is the dross that is consumed. Every sacrifice being salted with salt refers to the preservation of that which is set apart for God from corruption and impurity.

To “eat the salt” of their masters, is used by the Persians and Hindoos to imply that they are fed by their employers. This idea is found in Ezra 4:14¹⁴Now because we have maintenance from the king's palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore have we sent and certified the king; (Ezra 4:14), where the opposers of the Jews say, “We eat the salt of the palace,” as the passage is more literally translated: see margin. With reference to an infant being “salted” (Ezek. 16:4⁴And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. (Ezekiel 16:4)), Galen records that this was done to render the skin tighter and firmer.

Strong’s Dictionary of Greek Words:

Number:

233 (find all occurrences in KJV Bible)

Greek:

ἁλίζω

Transliteration:

halizo

Phonic:

hal-id’-zo

Meaning:

from 251; to salt

KJV Usage:

salt