'Heap' in the Bible

Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a mound [of stones], and they ate [a ceremonial meal together] there on the mound [of stones].

Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha (stone monument of testimony in Aramaic), but Jacob called it Galeed.

Laban said, “This mound [of stones] is a witness [a reminder of the oath taken] today between you and me.” Therefore he [also] called the name Galeed,

Laban said to Jacob, “Look at this mound [of stones] and look at this pillar which I have set up between you and me.

This mound is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass by this mound to harm you, and that you will not pass by this mound and this pillar to harm me.

“With the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up,The flowing waters stood up like a mound;The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.

Then you shall collect all its spoil (plunder) into the middle of its open square and burn the city and set fire to the spoil as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It shall be a ruin forever. It shall not be built again.

‘I will heap misfortunes on them;I will use My arrows on them.

When the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, [come to] rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing down from above will be cut off, and they will stand in one mass [of water].”

the waters which were flowing down from above stopped and rose up in one mass a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan. Those [waters] flowing downward toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed [the river] opposite Jericho.

Then they piled up over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor (Disaster) to this day.

So Joshua burned Ai and made it a rubbish heap forever, a desolation until this day.

He hanged [the body of] the king of Ai on a tree [leaving it there] until evening; at sunset Joshua gave a command and they took the body down from the tree and dumped it at the entrance of the city gate, and piled a great heap of stones over it that stands to this day.

When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was happy, he went to lie down at the end of the stack of grain. Then Ruth came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down.

“He raises up the poor from the dust,He lifts up the needy from the ash heapTo make them sit with nobles,And inherit a seat of honor and glory;For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,And He set the land on them.

As soon as the boy was gone, David got up from the south side [beside the mound of stones] and fell on his face to the ground [in submission and respect], and bowed three times. Then they kissed one another and wept together, but David wept more.

They took [down the body of] Absalom and threw him into a deep pit in the forest and set up a huge mound of stones over him. Then all Israel fled, everyone to his own tent.

This house (temple) will become a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by will be appalled and sneer and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this house?’

“His [godless] roots are wrapped around a pile of rocks,And he gazes at a house of stones.

“However, does not one falling in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand?Or in his disaster [will he not] therefore cry out for help?

“But the godless in heart store up anger [at the divine discipline];They do not cry [to Him] for help when He binds them [with cords of affliction].

He divided the [Red] Sea and allowed them to pass through it,And He made the waters stand up like [water behind] a dam.

He raises the poor out of the dustAnd lifts the needy from the ash heap,

For in doing so, you will heap coals of fire upon his head,And the Lord will reward you.

“Your navel is a round gobletWhich never lacks mixed wine.Your belly is like a heap of wheatSurrounded with lilies.

When a man takes hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying,“You have a robe, you shall be our judge and ruler,And this pile of ruins will be under your control,”

The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Damascus [capital of Aram (Syria), and Israel’s defense against Assyria].“Listen carefully, Damascus will cease to be a cityAnd will become a fallen ruin.

In the day that you plant it you carefully fence it in,And in the morning you bring your seed to blossom;Yet [promising as it is] the harvest will be a heap [of ruins that passes away]In the day of sickness and incurable pain.

For You have made a city into a heap [of trash],A fortified city into a ruin;A palace of foreigners is no longer a city,It will never be rebuilt.

“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,“When I will cause an alarm of war to be heardAgainst Rabbah of the Ammonites;And it [along with the high ground on which it stands] will become a desolate heap,And its villages will be set on fire.Then will Israel take possession of his possessors,”Says the Lord.

“Heap on wood, kindle the fire,Boil the meat well [done]And mix in the spices,And let the bones be burned.

“And I will scatter your flesh on the mountainsAnd fill the valleys with your debris [your corpses and their worms].

Therefore I [the Lord] shall make Samaria a heap of ruins [and of stones and arable land] in the open country,A place for planting vineyards;And I will pour her stones down into the ravineAnd lay bare her foundations.

“They make fun of kingsAnd rulers are a laughing matter to them.They ridicule every strongholdAnd heap up rubble [for earth mounds] and capture it.

You have trampled on the sea with Your horses,On the surge of many waters.

from that time when one came to a grain heap expecting twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty measures, there would be only twenty.