A potsherd is a fragment of broken pottery, often mentioned in the Bible as a symbol of destruction, humility, or suffering. In ancient times, pottery was a common household item, and its fragments, or potsherds, were frequently found in archaeological sites. These shards were sometimes repurposed for writing or other practical uses, but they also held significant metaphorical and symbolic meanings in biblical texts.

Biblical References:

1. Job's Suffering: One of the most poignant references to a potsherd is found in the Book of Job. After Job is afflicted with painful sores, he uses a potsherd to scrape himself while sitting among the ashes. This act underscores his intense physical and emotional suffering. The Berean Standard Bible states: "Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes" (Job 2:8). Here, the potsherd symbolizes Job's brokenness and the depth of his affliction.

2. Symbol of Destruction: In Isaiah, potsherds are used metaphorically to describe the fragility and brokenness of human pride and rebellion against God. Isaiah 30:14 illustrates this: "It will break in pieces like pottery, shattered so that no fragment can be found among its pieces to take coals from a hearth or scoop water from a cistern." This imagery conveys the totality of destruction that comes upon those who oppose God's will.

3. Human Frailty: The imagery of potsherds is also used to highlight human frailty and the Creator's sovereignty. In Isaiah 45:9 , the prophet declares: "Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker—one clay pot among many. Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?' Does your work say, 'He has no hands'?" This passage emphasizes the limited understanding and power of humans compared to God's omnipotence.

4. Psalmist's Lament: In Psalm 22, a messianic psalm that foreshadows the suffering of Christ, the psalmist uses the imagery of a potsherd to express deep anguish and physical distress. Psalm 22:15 reads: "My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; You lay me in the dust of death." The potsherd here symbolizes the psalmist's weakened state and impending mortality.

Cultural and Historical Context:

In the ancient Near East, pottery was an essential part of daily life, used for cooking, storage, and various other purposes. The abundance of pottery fragments in archaeological sites provides valuable insights into the daily lives and cultures of biblical times. Potsherds were often inscribed with writing, serving as a medium for communication and record-keeping, known as ostraca.

The biblical use of potsherds as symbols of brokenness and humility reflects the broader cultural understanding of pottery as both a practical and metaphorical element. The imagery of a potsherd, with its inherent fragility and commonness, serves as a powerful reminder of human limitations and the need for reliance on God's strength and wisdom.A "shred", i.e., anything severed, as a fragment of earthenware (Job 2:8; Proverbs 26:23; Isaiah 45:9). (n.) A piece or fragment of a broken pot.POTSHERD

pot'-shurd (cheres): A piece of earthenware (Job 2:8 Psalm 22:15 Isaiah 45:9). the Revised Version (British and American) renders the word in Proverbs 26:23, "an earthen vessel," and in Job 41:30 substitutes "sharp potsherds" for "sharp stones." Sirach 22:7 refers to the art of "gluing a potsherd (ostrakon) together."

See HARSITH; OSTRACA.

POTSHERD GATE

(Jeremiah 19:2).

See HARSITH.

2777. charsuth -- potsherd
... 2776, 2777. charsuth. 2778 . potsherd. Transliteration: charsuth Phonetic
Spelling: (khar-sooth') Short Definition: potsherd. Word ...
/hebrew/2777.htm - 6k

2789. cheres -- earthenware, earthen vessel, sherd, potsherd
... earthenware, earthen vessel, sherd, potsherd. Transliteration: cheres Phonetic Spelling:
(kheh'-res) Short Definition: earthenware. ... earthen, potsherd, stone. ...
/hebrew/2789.htm - 6k

2635. chasaph -- clay, potsherd
... 2634, 2635. chasaph. 2636 . clay, potsherd. Transliteration: chasaph
Phonetic Spelling: (khas-af') Short Definition: clay. Word ...
/hebrew/2635.htm - 6k

The Prediction of the Events which Happened to Christ when He was ...
... My strength is become dry like a potsherd; and my tongue has cleaved to my throat'
"foretold what would come to pass; for the statement, My hope from the ...
/.../chapter cii the prediction of the.htm

Psalm XXII.
... 16. "My strength dried up as a potsherd" (ver.15). My strength dried up by My Passion;
not as hay, but a potsherd, which is made stronger by fire. ...
/.../augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/psalm xxii.htm

Satan Considering the Saints
... and he who was rich and happy was poor and wretched, filled with disease from head
to foot, and fain to scrape himself with a miserable potsherd, to gain a ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 11 1865/satan considering the saints.htm

The Beginning, Increase, and End of the Divine Life
... His beginning was small: he was brought down to poverty, to the potsherd and to
the dunghill; he had many graves, but no children; he had had many losses, he ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 6 1860/the beginning increase and end.htm

"Am Ia Sea, or a Whale?"
... These moans came from him when his skin was broken and had become loathsome and
he sat upon a dunghill and scraped himself with a potsherd. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 37 1891/am i a sea or.htm

Indwelling Sin
... and upright: he had said, "My righteousness I will hold fast, and I will not let
it go;" and notwithstanding he did scrape his body with a potsherd, and his ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 2 1856/indwelling sin.htm

Feasting on the Sacrifice
... of crucifixion, so as that the whole reads liker history than prophecy, in 'All
My bones are out of joint; My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and My ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture j/feasting on the sacrifice.htm

Lo! the Evil one Reproached Death
... rejoice."19. The fire will come that shall strip off thee thy very skin:
as by the potsherd thou didst strip the skin of Job."20. D ...
/.../ephraim/hymns and homilies of ephraim the syrian/hymn lv lo the evil.htm

Predictions of Christ in Ps. xxii.
... My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue has cleaved to my
throat; and Thou hast brought me into the dust of death. ...
/.../chapter xcviii predictions of christ in.htm

The Eternity and Unchangeableness of God.
... is more majesty in this simple style than in all others; but a "natural man" cannot
behold it, for it is "spiritually discerned." "Let the potsherd," saith he ...
/.../binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/lecture viii the eternity and.htm

Potsherd (6 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary. (n.) A piece or fragment of a broken pot. Int. Standard
Bible Encyclopedia. POTSHERD. pot ... OSTRACA. POTSHERD GATE. ...
/p/potsherd.htm - 9k

Ostraca
... os'-tra-ka: The word ostracon ("potsherd," Hebrew cheres) occurs in Job 2:8
(Septuagint), kai elaben ostrakon, "and he took him a potsherd." Earthen vessels ...
/o/ostraca.htm - 10k

Potsherds (2 Occurrences)
... (WEB JPS ASV DBY NAS RSV NIV). Isaiah 45:9 Woe unto him that striveth with his
Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. ...
/p/potsherds.htm - 7k

Sherd (1 Occurrence)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (n.) A fragment; -- now used only in composition, as in
potsherd. See Shard. Int. ... shurd. See POTSHERD. Multi-Version Concordance ...
/s/sherd.htm - 7k

Pots (30 Occurrences)

/p/pots.htm - 15k

Jaws (12 Occurrences)
... (WEB ASV DBY). Psalms 22:15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue
cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. ...
/j/jaws.htm - 10k

Layest (10 Occurrences)
... (DBY). Psalms 22:15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; And my tongue cleaveth
to my jaws; And thou hast brought me into the dust of death. (See JPS). ...
/l/layest.htm - 9k

Fashioneth (5 Occurrences)
... (KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS). Isaiah 45:9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. ...
/f/fashioneth.htm - 8k

Fashioned (22 Occurrences)
... nothing? (WEB JPS ASV NAS). Isaiah 45:9 Woe unto him that striveth with his
Maker! a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall ...
/f/fashioned.htm - 13k

Framer (7 Occurrences)
... Isaiah 45:9 Wo 'to' him who is striving with his Former, (A potsherd with potsherds
of the ground!) Doth clay say to its Framer, 'What dost thou?' And thy work ...
/f/framer.htm - 8k

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