Categories
Ancient Documents
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Greece
Ancient Israel
Ancient Near East
Ancient Other
Ancient Persia
Ancient Rome
Archaeology
Bible Animals
Bible Books
Bible Cities
Bible History
Bible Names A-G
Bible Names H-M
Bible Names N-Z
Bible Searches
Biblical Archaeology
Childrens Resources
Church History
Evolution & Science
Illustrated History
Images & Art
Intertestamental
Jesus
Languages
Manners & Customs
Maps & Geography
Messianic Prophecies
Museums
Mythology & Beliefs
People - Ancient Egypt
People - Ancient Greece
People - Ancient Near East
People - Ancient Rome
Rabbinical Works
Sites - Egypt
Sites - Israel
Sites - Jerusalem
Societies & Studies
Study Tools
Timelines & Charts
Weapons & Warfare
World History
May 26 Scripture
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
|
SOAP sop (borith; the King James Version sope): Borith is a derivative of bor, "purity," hence, something which cleanses or makes pure. Soap in the modern sense, as referring to a salt of a fatty acid, for example, that produced by treating olive oil with caustic soda, was probably unknown in Old Testament times. Even today there are districts in the interior of Syria where soap is never used. Cooking utensils, clothes, even the body are cleansed with ashes. The ashes of the household fires are carefully saved for this purpose. The cleansing material referred to in Jer 2:22 (compare Septuagint at the place, where borith is rendered by poia = "grass") and Mal 3:2 was probably the vegetable lye called in Arabic el qali (the origin of English alkali). This material, which is a mixture of crude sodium and potassium carbonates, is sold in the market in the form of grayish lumps. It is produced by burning the desert plants and adding enough water to the ashes to agglomerate them. Before the discovery of Leblanc's process large quantities of qali were exported from Syria to Europe. For washing clothes the women sprinkle the powdered qali over the wet garments and then place them on a flat stone and pound them with a wooden paddle. For washing the body, oil is first smeared over the skin and then qali rubbed on and the whole slimy mixture rinsed off with water. Qali was also used in ancient times as a flux in refining precious metals (compare Mal 3:2). At the present time many Syrian soap-makers prefer the qali to the imported caustic soda for soap-making. In Susanna (verse 17) is a curious reference to "washing balls" (smegmata). James A. Patch |
Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. "Definition for 'SOAP'". "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia". bible-history.com - ISBE; 1915.
Copyright Information
© International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Home
Bible History Online Home
Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
Online Bible (KJV)
Naves Topical Bible
Smith's Bible Dictionary
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
Hitchcock's Bible Dictionary