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 in every province, wherever the king's command and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping and wailing. And many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
And he took a broken piece of pottery to scrape himself with. And he sat down among the ashes.
For word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne. And he laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in 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 he shall burn the heifer in his sight, her skin and her flesh and her blood with her dung, he shall burn.
And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the robe of many colors that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on, crying.
And in every province, wherever the king's command and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping and wailing. And many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside, so that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth, and wallow in ashes; make mourning for yourself, as for an only son, most bitter weeping; for the ravager shall suddenly come on us.
Ephraim feeds on wind and follows after the east wind. He daily multiplies lies and cruelty. And they make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.
For if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifies to the purifying 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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And Mordecai understood all that was done, and Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth with ashes and went out into the middle of the city, and cried with a loud and bitter cry.
And Mordecai understood all that was done, and Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth with ashes and went out into the middle of the city, and cried with a loud and bitter cry.
And he took a broken piece of pottery to scrape himself with. And he sat down among the ashes.
And he took a broken piece of pottery to scrape himself with. And he sat down among the ashes.
Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
For I have eaten ashes like bread, and have mixed my drink with weeping,
For I have eaten ashes like bread, and have mixed my drink with weeping,
He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside, so that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside, so that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
to appoint to those who mourn in Zion, to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the mantle of praise for the spirit of heaviness; so that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that He might be glorified.
to appoint to those who mourn in Zion, to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the mantle of praise for the spirit of heaviness; so that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that He might be glorified.
Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the powerful acts which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes!
Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the powerful acts which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes!
For if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh,
For if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifies to the purifying 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 answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak to Jehovah, who am but dust and ashes.
And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the robe of many colors that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on, crying.
And the prophet went and waited for the king by the wayside, and disguised himself with ashes on his face.
And he hurried and took the ashes away from his face. And the king of Israel saw that he was one of the prophets.
And in the twenty-fourth day of this month, the sons of Israel were gathered with fasting and with sackcloth, and with earth upon them.
And in the twenty-fourth day of this month, the sons of Israel were gathered with fasting and with sackcloth, and with earth upon them.
And he took a broken piece of pottery to scrape himself with. And he sat down among the ashes.
He has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes.
Hope put off makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
Do not go out into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear are on every side.
and shall cause their voice to be heard against you, and shall cry bitterly, and shall throw dust on their heads. They shall wallow themselves in the ashes.
For word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne. And he laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in 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 answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak to Jehovah, who am but dust and ashes.
And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the robe of many colors that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on, crying.
And Mordecai understood all that was done, and Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth with ashes and went out into the middle of the city, and cried with a loud and bitter cry.
And in every province, wherever the king's command and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping and wailing. And many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
He has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes.
For I have eaten ashes like bread, and have mixed my drink with weeping,
He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside, so that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
Is it such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast and a day pleasing to Jehovah?
O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth, and wallow in ashes; make mourning for yourself, as for an only son, most bitter weeping; for the ravager shall suddenly come on us.
He also broke my teeth with gravel; He has covered me in the ashes.
By the host of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trade, you have profaned your holy places; so I brought a fire from your midst; it shall devour you, and I will give you for ashes on the earth, before the eyes of all who see you.
For word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne. And he laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
And you shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day which I am preparing, says Jehovah of Hosts.
Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the powerful acts which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes!
Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which have been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented a long while ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
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 bulls and of goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifies to the purifying 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 answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak to Jehovah, who am but dust and ashes.
And for the unclean they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of cleansing for sin, and running water shall be put to it in a vessel.
Jehovah shall make the rain of your land powder and dust. It shall come down from the heavens on you until you are destroyed.
And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the robe of many colors that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on, crying.
And in every province, wherever the king's command and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping and wailing. And many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
And he took a broken piece of pottery to scrape himself with. And he sat down among the ashes.
For I have eaten ashes like bread, and have mixed my drink with weeping,
O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth, and wallow in ashes; make mourning for yourself, as for an only son, most bitter weeping; for the ravager shall suddenly come on us.
He also broke my teeth with gravel; He has covered me in the ashes.
For word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne. And he laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.