Topical Bible: Symbols and Similitudes: Salt

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Salt holds significant symbolic and practical importance throughout the Bible, serving as a metaphor for various spiritual truths and covenantal relationships. Its presence in Scripture underscores its value in ancient times, both as a preservative and as a symbol of purity, loyalty, and divine covenant.

Preservation and Purity

Salt's primary function as a preservative in the ancient world is reflected in its biblical symbolism. In a spiritual context, salt represents the preservation of holiness and purity among God's people. Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount highlights this aspect: "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, with what will it be salted? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men" (Matthew 5:13). Here, believers are called to maintain their distinctiveness and moral integrity in a world prone to decay and corruption.

Covenantal Significance

Salt also symbolizes the enduring nature of God's covenants. In the Old Testament, salt was used in sacrificial offerings, signifying the perpetual and unbreakable nature of the covenant between God and His people. Leviticus 2:13 instructs, "And you shall season with salt every grain offering you present. You must not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offering; you are to add salt to each of your offerings" . This "salt of the covenant" underscores the faithfulness and permanence of God's promises.

Symbol of Wisdom and Speech

In the New Testament, salt is associated with wisdom and gracious speech. The Apostle Paul exhorts believers in Colossians 4:6, "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone" . Here, salt symbolizes the wisdom and discernment that should characterize the words of those who follow Christ, ensuring that their communication is edifying and impactful.

Judgment and Desolation

Conversely, salt can also symbolize judgment and desolation. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is marked by Lot's wife turning into a pillar of salt as a consequence of her disobedience (Genesis 19:26). Additionally, the imagery of a "salt land" in Jeremiah 17:6 conveys barrenness and divine judgment: "He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives" .

Healing and Restoration

Salt is also associated with healing and restoration. In 2 Kings 2:20-22, the prophet Elisha uses salt to purify the waters of Jericho, demonstrating God's power to cleanse and restore: "Then he went out to the spring of water, threw the salt into it, and said, 'This is what the LORD says: I have healed this water. No longer will it cause death or unfruitfulness.' And the waters have remained pure to this day, according to the word spoken by Elisha" .

In summary, salt in the Bible serves as a multifaceted symbol, representing preservation, covenant faithfulness, wisdom, judgment, and healing. Its varied uses and meanings reflect the depth and richness of biblical teaching, calling believers to embody the qualities of salt in their spiritual lives.

Nave's Topical Index

Numbers 18:19
All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, have I given you, and your sons and your daughters with you, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD to you and to your seed with you.
Nave's Topical Index

Library

The Comfort of the Milk
... on Augustin's forehead, and the symbolic salt placed between ... from their littleness
one of those similitudes which He, with His fondness for symbols, favoured ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bertrand/saint augustin/iii the comfort of the.htm

Introduction.
... "Ye are the salt of the ... facility which admits into the number almost all similitudes
indiscriminately ... his tribe, to the language of dramatic symbols rather than ...
//christianbookshelf.org/arnot/the parables of our lord/introduction.htm

Of the Five Sacraments, Falsely So Called. Their Spuriousness ...
... receive the patena with the host, as symbols of the ... therefore, is without savour;
it wants salt, that is ... All the parables and similitudes in Scripture will be ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 19 of the five.htm