Jump to: Smith's • ATS • ISBE • Easton's • Webster's • Concordance • Thesaurus • Greek • Hebrew • Library • Subtopics • Terms Topical Encyclopedia In the biblical context, ashes hold significant symbolic meaning, often representing themes of mourning, repentance, and humility. Throughout the Scriptures, ashes are frequently associated with expressions of deep sorrow and contrition before God.Mourning and Grief: Ashes are commonly used in the Bible as a symbol of mourning and grief. In the Old Testament, individuals would sit in ashes or sprinkle them upon their heads as a public display of their sorrow. For instance, in the book of Job, after experiencing profound personal loss, Job "sat among the ashes" (Job 2:8) as a sign of his deep mourning. Similarly, in Esther 4:1, when Mordecai learned of the decree to destroy the Jews, he "tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly" . Repentance and Humility: Ashes also symbolize repentance and humility before God. In the book of Jonah, the people of Nineveh, upon hearing Jonah's message of impending judgment, proclaimed a fast and "put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least" (Jonah 3:5). The king of Nineveh himself "rose from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes" (Jonah 3:6) as an act of repentance. This use of ashes signifies a turning away from sin and a humble acknowledgment of one's need for God's mercy. Ritual Purity and Cleansing: In the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament, ashes also play a role in rituals of purification. Numbers 19 describes the use of the ashes of a red heifer in the water of cleansing, which was used to purify those who had become ceremonially unclean through contact with a dead body. This ritual underscores the concept of ashes as a means of purification and restoration to a state of holiness. Symbol of Destruction and Judgment: Ashes can also represent destruction and judgment. In Genesis 18:27, Abraham, interceding for Sodom, acknowledges his own mortality and insignificance by saying, "I am but dust and ashes" . This acknowledgment reflects the transient nature of human life and the ultimate judgment that awaits all creation. New Testament References: In the New Testament, the imagery of ashes continues to convey themes of repentance and humility. Jesus references the practice in Matthew 11:21, saying, "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes" . This statement highlights the expectation of genuine repentance in response to divine revelation. Overall, ashes in the Bible serve as a powerful symbol of human frailty, the need for repentance, and the hope of purification and redemption through God's grace. Smith's Bible Dictionary AshesThe ashes on the altar of burnt offering were gathered into a cavity in its surface. The ashes of a red heifer burnt entire, according to regulations prescribed in Numb. 19, had the ceremonial efficacy of purifying the unclean, (Hebrews 9:13) but of polluting the clean. [SACRIFICE] Ashes about the person, especially on the head, were used as a sign of sorrow. [MOURNING] ATS Bible Dictionary AshesTo repent in sackcloth and ashes, or to lie down among ashes, was an external sign of self-affliction for sin, or of grief under misfortune. We find it adopted by Job, Job 2:8; by many Jews when in great fear, Esther 4:3; and by the king of Nineveh, Jonah 3:6. The ashes of a red heifer were used in ceremonial purification, Numbers 19:1-22. Easton's Bible Dictionary The ashes of a red heifer burned entire (Numbers 19:5) when sprinkled on the unclean made them ceremonially clean (Hebrews 9:13).To cover the head with ashes was a token of self-abhorrence and humiliation (2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:3; Jeremiah 6:26, etc.). To feed on ashes (Isaiah 44:20), means to seek that which will prove to be vain and unsatisfactory, and hence it denotes the unsatisfactory nature of idol-worship. (Comp. Hosea 12:1). Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary 1. (n. pl.) The earthy or mineral particles of combustible substances remaining after combustion, as of wood or coal.2. (n. pl.) Specifically: The remains of the human body when burnt, or when returned to dust by natural decay. 3. (n. pl.) The color of ashes; deathlike paleness. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia ASHESash'-iz: Among the ancient Hebrews and other Orientals, to sprinkle with or sit in ashes was a mark or token of grief, humiliation, or penitence. Ashes on the head was one of the ordinary signs of mourning for the dead, as when "Tamar put ashes on her head. and went on crying" (2 Samuel 13:19 the King James Version), and of national humiliation, as when the children of Israel were assembled under Nehemiah "with fasting, and with sackcloth, and earth (ashes) upon them" (Nehemiah 9:1), and when the people of Nineveh repented in sackcloth and ashes at the preaching of Jonah (Jonah 3:5, 6; compare 1 Maccabees 3:47). The afflicted or penitent often sat in ashes (compare Job 2:8; Job 42:6: "I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes"), or even wallowed in ashes, as Jeremiah exhorted sinning Israel to do: "O daughter of my people. wallow thyself in ashes" (Jeremiah 6:26), or as Ezekiel in his lamentation for Tyre pictures her mariners as doing, crying bitterly and `casting up dust upon their heads' and `wallowing themselves in the ashes' (in their weeping for her whose head was lifted up and become corrupted because of her beauty), "in bitterness of soul with bitter mourning" (Ezekiel 27:30, 31). However, these and various other modes of expressing grief, repentance, and humiliation among the Hebrews, such as rending the garments, tearing the hair and the like, were not of Divine appointment, but were simply the natural outbursts of the impassioned oriental temperament, and are still customary among eastern peoples. Greek 5077. tephroo -- to burn to ashes ... to burn to ashes. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: tephroo Phonetic Spelling: (tef-ro'-o) Short Definition: I reduce to ashes Definition: I reduce to ashes ... //strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5077.htm - 6k 4700. spodos -- ashes Strong's Hebrew 665. epher -- ashes... 664, 665. epher. 666 . ashes. Transliteration: epher Phonetic Spelling: (ay'-fer) Short Definition: ashes. Word Origin from an unused ... /hebrew/665.htm - 5k 1880. deshen -- fatness, ashes of fat 1878. dashen -- to be fat, grow fat 6368. piach -- soot 6083. aphar -- dry earth, dust 666. apher -- a covering, bandage Library Feeding on Ashes Beauty for Ashes Whether the Ashes from which the Human Body Will be Restored have ... Whether all Will Rise Again from Ashes? Whether the Ashes of the Human Body must Needs, by the ... M. Luther. The Martyrs' Ashes. The Preaching of Nature. Access into Grace Of Two Degrees of Perfection with which this Commandment May be ... St. Ambrose Gives Additional Rules Concerning Repentance, and ... Thesaurus Ashes (44 Occurrences)... Easton's Bible Dictionary The ashes of a red heifer burned entire (Numbers 19:5) when sprinkled on the unclean made them ceremonially clean (Hebrews 9:13). ... /a/ashes.htm - 24k Leach (1 Occurrence) Ash (4 Occurrences) Soap (4 Occurrences) Ceremonially (38 Occurrences) Red (124 Occurrences) Sackcloth (47 Occurrences) Wallow (5 Occurrences) Reduced (16 Occurrences) Sprinkling (48 Occurrences) Resources What is the meaning of sackcloth and ashes? | GotQuestions.orgWhat does it mean that Job repented in dust and ashes? | GotQuestions.org What is the significance of a red heifer in the Bible? Is a red heifer a sign of the end times? | GotQuestions.org Ashes: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus Concordance Ashes (44 Occurrences)Matthew 11:21 Luke 10:13 Hebrews 9:13 2 Peter 2:6 Genesis 18:27 Exodus 9:8 Exodus 9:10 Exodus 27:3 Leviticus 1:16 Leviticus 4:12 Leviticus 6:10 Leviticus 6:11 Numbers 4:13 Numbers 19:9 Numbers 19:10 Numbers 19:17 Deuteronomy 28:24 2 Samuel 13:19 1 Kings 13:3 1 Kings 13:5 1 Kings 20:38 1 Kings 20:41 2 Kings 23:4 Esther 4:1 Esther 4:3 Job 2:8 Job 13:12 Job 30:19 Job 42:6 Psalms 20:3 Psalms 102:9 Psalms 147:16 Isaiah 44:20 Isaiah 58:5 Isaiah 61:3 Jeremiah 6:26 Jeremiah 25:34 Jeremiah 31:40 Lamentations 3:16 Ezekiel 27:30 Ezekiel 28:18 Daniel 9:3 Jonah 3:6 Malachi 4:3 Subtopics Ashes: Uses of, in Purification Related Terms |
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