Reference: Ashes
American
To 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, Es 4:3; and by the king of Nineveh, Jon 3:6. The ashes of a red heifer were used in ceremonial purification, Nu 19.
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And, throughout every province, whithersoever the word of the king and his edict came, was great mourning to the Jews, and fasting and weeping, and lamentation, - sackcloth and ashes, were spread out for many.
And he took him a potsherd, to scrape himself therewith; he being seated in the midst of ashes.
And the word reached unto the king of Nineveh, so he arose from his throne, and laid aside his robe from off him, - and covered him with sackcloth, and sat on ashes.
Easton
The ashes of a red heifer burned entire (Nu 19:5) when sprinkled on the unclean made them ceremonially clean (Heb 9:13).
To cover the head with ashes was a token of self-abhorrence and humiliation (2Sa 13:19; Es 4:3; Jer 6:26, etc.).
To feed on ashes (Isa 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. Ho 12:1).
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and the heifer shall be burned up before his eyes, - her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung shall be burned up.
And Tamar put ashes upon her head, and, the long tunic that was upon her, she rent, - and put her hand upon her head, and went her way, crying out as she went.
And, throughout every province, whithersoever the word of the king and his edict came, was great mourning to the Jews, and fasting and weeping, and lamentation, - sackcloth and ashes, were spread out for many.
He is feeding on ashes, A deluded heart, hath turned him aside, - And he cannot deliver his own soul nor say, Is there not a falsehood in my right hand?
O daughter of my people Gird thee with sackcloth and roll thyself in ashes, - The mourning for an only son, make thou for thyself, Most bitter lamentation! For suddenly, shall the destroyer come upon us.
Ephraim, feedeth on wind, and pursueth the east wind, all the day, falsehood and force, doth he magnify, - and, a covenant with Assyria, would they solemnize, and, oil into Egypt, must be borne along.
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the profaned, halloweth unto the purity of the flesh,
Fausets
Sitting down in, or covering one's self with, is the symbol of mourning (Job 2:8; 42:6; Es 4:1; Isa 61:3; Mt 11:21). To eat asides expresses figuratively mourning is one's food, i.e. one's perpetual portion (Ps 102:9). "He feedeth on ashes," i.e., tries to feed his soul with what is at once humiliating and unsatisfying, on an idol which ought to have been reduced to ashes, like the rest of the tree of which it is made (Isa 44:20). The ashes of a red heifer burnt entire (Numbers 19), when sprinkled upon, purified ceremonially the unclean (Heb 9:13) but defiled the clean person.
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When, Mordecai, came to know all that had been done, Mordecai rent his garments, and put on sackcloth, and ashes, - and went forth into the midst of the city, and cried out with an outcry loud and bitter;
When, Mordecai, came to know all that had been done, Mordecai rent his garments, and put on sackcloth, and ashes, - and went forth into the midst of the city, and cried out with an outcry loud and bitter;
And he took him a potsherd, to scrape himself therewith; he being seated in the midst of ashes.
And he took him a potsherd, to scrape himself therewith; he being seated in the midst of ashes.
For this cause, I tremble and repent, on dust and ashes.
For this cause, I tremble and repent, on dust and ashes.
For, ashes - like bread, have I eaten, And, my drink - with my tears, have I mingled;
For, ashes - like bread, have I eaten, And, my drink - with my tears, have I mingled;
He is feeding on ashes, A deluded heart, hath turned him aside, - And he cannot deliver his own soul nor say, Is there not a falsehood in my right hand?
He is feeding on ashes, A deluded heart, hath turned him aside, - And he cannot deliver his own soul nor say, Is there not a falsehood in my right hand?
To appoint unto the mourners of Zion - To give unto them A chaplet instead of ashes, The oil of joy instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of the spirit of dejection, - So shall they be called The oaks of righteousness, The plantation of Yahweh: That he may get himself glory
To appoint unto the mourners of Zion - To give unto them A chaplet instead of ashes, The oil of joy instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of the spirit of dejection, - So shall they be called The oaks of righteousness, The plantation of Yahweh: That he may get himself glory
Alas for thee, Chorazin! Alas for thee, Bethsaida! Because, if, in Tyre and Zidon, had been done the works of power, which were done in you, of old, in sackcloth and ashes, had they repented.
Alas for thee, Chorazin! Alas for thee, Bethsaida! Because, if, in Tyre and Zidon, had been done the works of power, which were done in you, of old, in sackcloth and ashes, had they repented.
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the profaned, halloweth unto the purity of the flesh,
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the profaned, halloweth unto the purity of the flesh,
Hastings
Ashes on the head formed one of the ordinary tokens of mourning for the dead (see Mourning Customs as of private (2Sa 13:19) and national humiliation (Ne 9:1,1Ma 3:47). The penitent and the afflicted might also sit (Job 2:8; Jon 3:6) or even wallow in ashes (Jer 6:25; Eze 27:30). In 1Ki 20:38,41 we must, with RV, read 'Headband' (wh. see) for 'ashes.'
In a figurative sense the term 'ashes' is often used to signify evanescence, worthlessness, insignificance (Ge 18:27; Job 30:19). 'Proverbs of ashes' (Pr 13:12 RV) is Job's equivalent for the modern 'rot.' For the use of ashes in the priestly ritual see Red Heifer.
A. R. S. Kennedy.
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And Abraham responded and said, - Behold I pray thee I have ventured to speak unto My Lord, though I am dust and ashes:
And Tamar put ashes upon her head, and, the long tunic that was upon her, she rent, - and put her hand upon her head, and went her way, crying out as she went.
Then the prophet departed, and waited for the king, by the way, - and disguised himself with his turban over his eyes.
Then hastened he, and removed the turban from over his eyes, - and the king of Israel knew him, that, of the prophets, was, he.
Now, on the twenty-fourth day of this month, were the sons of Israel gathered together, with fasting and with sackcloth, having earth upon them.
Now, on the twenty-fourth day of this month, were the sons of Israel gathered together, with fasting and with sackcloth, having earth upon them.
And he took him a potsherd, to scrape himself therewith; he being seated in the midst of ashes.
Hope deferred, sickeneth the heart, - but, a tree of life, is desire fulfilled.
Do not go out into the field, And in the road, do not walk,-Because a sword, hath the foe, - Terror round about!
And make loud lament over thee, with their voice, And make biter outcry,- And shall lift up dust on their heads, In ashes, shall roll themselves;
And the word reached unto the king of Nineveh, so he arose from his throne, and laid aside his robe from off him, - and covered him with sackcloth, and sat on ashes.
Morish
Ashes, mostly from burnt wood, were used as a sign of sorrow or mourning, either put on the head, 2Sa 13:19, or on the body with sackcloth, Es 4:1; Jer 6:26; La 3:16; Mt 11:21; Lu 10:13; or strewn on a couch on which to lie, Es 4:3; Isa 58:5; Jon 3:6. To eat ashes expresses great sorrow, Ps 102:9; and to be reduced to them is a figure of complete destruction, Eze 28:18; Mal 4:3; to feed on them tells of the vanities with which the soul may be occupied. Isa 44:20. 'Dust and ashes' was the figure Abraham used of himself before Jehovah, Ge 18:27; and Job said he had become like them by the hand of God. Job 30:19. For the ashes of the Red Heifer see HEIFER.
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And Abraham responded and said, - Behold I pray thee I have ventured to speak unto My Lord, though I am dust and ashes:
And Tamar put ashes upon her head, and, the long tunic that was upon her, she rent, - and put her hand upon her head, and went her way, crying out as she went.
When, Mordecai, came to know all that had been done, Mordecai rent his garments, and put on sackcloth, and ashes, - and went forth into the midst of the city, and cried out with an outcry loud and bitter;
And, throughout every province, whithersoever the word of the king and his edict came, was great mourning to the Jews, and fasting and weeping, and lamentation, - sackcloth and ashes, were spread out for many.
For, ashes - like bread, have I eaten, And, my drink - with my tears, have I mingled;
He is feeding on ashes, A deluded heart, hath turned him aside, - And he cannot deliver his own soul nor say, Is there not a falsehood in my right hand?
Like this, shall the fast be that I choose, A day for the son of earth to humble his soul? Is it to bow down as a rush his head, And sackcloth and ashes, to spread out? Is it, this, thou wilt call a fast, Or a day of acceptance with Yahweh?
O daughter of my people Gird thee with sackcloth and roll thyself in ashes, - The mourning for an only son, make thou for thyself, Most bitter lamentation! For suddenly, shall the destroyer come upon us.
Owing to the abounding of thine iniquities. In the perversity of thy traffic, Thou didst profane thy sanctuaries, Therefore brought I forth fire out of thy midst. the same devoured thee, And I turned thee to ashes on the ground, Before the eyes of all beholding thee:
And the word reached unto the king of Nineveh, so he arose from his throne, and laid aside his robe from off him, - and covered him with sackcloth, and sat on ashes.
And ye shall tread down the lawless, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet, - in the day when I am working with effect, saith Yahweh of hosts.
Alas for thee, Chorazin! Alas for thee, Bethsaida! Because, if, in Tyre and Zidon, had been done the works of power, which were done in you, of old, in sackcloth and ashes, had they repented.
Alas for thee, Chorazin! Alas for thee, Bethsaida! Because, if, in Tyre and Zidon, had been done the works of power which have been down in you, of old, in sackcloth and ashes sitting, they would have repented.
Smith
Ashes.
The 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,
but of polluting the clean. [SACRIFICE]
See Sacrifice
Ashes about the person, especially on the head, were used as a sign of sorrow. [MOURNING]
See Mourning
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For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the profaned, halloweth unto the purity of the flesh,
Watsons
ASHES. Several religious ceremonies, and some symbolical ones, anciently depended upon the use of ashes. To repent in sackcloth and ashes, or, as an external sign of self-affliction for sin, or of suffering under some misfortune, to sit in ashes, are expressions common in Scripture. "I am but dust and ashes," exclaims Abraham before the Lord, Ge 18:27; indicating a deep sense of his own meanness in comparison with God. God threatens to shower down dust and ashes on the lands instead of rain, De 28:24; thereby to make them barren instead of blessing them, to dry them up instead of watering them. Tamar, after the injury she had received from Amnon, covered her head with ashes, 2Sa 13:19. The Psalmist, in great sorrow, says poetically, he had "eaten ashes as it were bread, Ps 102:9; that is, he sat on ashes, he threw ashes on his head; and his food, his bread, was sprinkled with the ashes wherewith he was himself covered. So Jeremiah introduces Jerusalem saying, "The Lord hath covered me with ashes," La 3:16. Sitting on ashes, or lying down among ashes, was a token of extreme grief. We find it adopted by Job 2:8; by many Jews when in great fear, Es 4:3; and by the king of Nineveh, Jon 3:6. He arose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. This token of affliction is illustrated by Homer's description of old Laertes. grieving for the absence of his son, "Sleeping in the apartment where the slaves slept, in the ashes, near the fire." Compare Jer 6:26, "Daughter of my people, wallow thyself in ashes." There was a sort of ley and lustral water, made with the ashes of the heifer sacrificed on the great, day of expiation; these ashes, were distributed to the people, and used in purifications, by sprinkling, to such as had touched a dead body, or had been present at funerals, Nu 19:17.
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And Abraham responded and said, - Behold I pray thee I have ventured to speak unto My Lord, though I am dust and ashes:
And they shall take, for him that is un-clean, of the ashes of the burning of the sin-bearer, - and living water shall be put thereon in a vessel,
Yahweh will cause the rain of thy land to he powder and dust, - out of the heavens, shall it come down upon thee, until thou he destroyed.
And Tamar put ashes upon her head, and, the long tunic that was upon her, she rent, - and put her hand upon her head, and went her way, crying out as she went.
And, throughout every province, whithersoever the word of the king and his edict came, was great mourning to the Jews, and fasting and weeping, and lamentation, - sackcloth and ashes, were spread out for many.
And he took him a potsherd, to scrape himself therewith; he being seated in the midst of ashes.
For, ashes - like bread, have I eaten, And, my drink - with my tears, have I mingled;
O daughter of my people Gird thee with sackcloth and roll thyself in ashes, - The mourning for an only son, make thou for thyself, Most bitter lamentation! For suddenly, shall the destroyer come upon us.
And the word reached unto the king of Nineveh, so he arose from his throne, and laid aside his robe from off him, - and covered him with sackcloth, and sat on ashes.