Encyclopedia entry
Ashes
The ashes of a red heifer burned entire (Num. 19:5) when sprinkled on the unclean made them ceremonially clean (Heb. 9:13).
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To cover the head with ashes was a token of self-abhorrence and humiliation (2 Sam. 13:19; Esther 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. Hos. 12:1).
Also from Smith's (1884) +−
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, (Hebrews 9:13) but of polluting the clean. [Sacrifice] Ashes about the person, especially on the head, were used as a sign of sorrow. [Mourning]
In the Bible
44
Verses where Ashes is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- 1 Kings 13:3
That day the man of God gave a sign, saying, “The LORD has spoken this sign: ‘Surely the altar will be split apart, and the ashes upon it will be poured out.’”
- 1 Kings 13:5
And the altar was split apart, and the ashes poured out, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
- 1 Kings 20:38
and the prophet went and waited on the road for the king, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.
- 1 Kings 20:41
Then the prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.
- 2 Kings 23:4
Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests second in rank, and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the host of heaven. And he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.
- 2 Peter 2:6
if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly;
+38 more verses naming Ashes.
Scripture on Ashes
38
See all 38 +−
- 2 Samuel 131 Kings 131 Kings 20Isaiah 44Jeremiah 6Genesis 18Exodus 27Leviticus 1Leviticus 4Numbers 42 Samuel 232 Kings 23Job 2Job 13Job 30Job 42Psalms 102Psalms 147Isaiah 33Isaiah 58Isaiah 61Jeremiah 25Jeremiah 31Lamentations 3Ezekiel 27Ezekiel 28Daniel 9Hosea 12Jonah 3Malachi 4Matthew 11Luke 102 Peter 2
Entries that reference Ashes
1
Voices on Ashes
24
Surfaced by name match — accuracy varies by title clarity.
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Sources · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.