Sub Categories Agriculture Altars Animals Anointing Aqueducts Baking Banks Banquets and Feasts Barrenness Beds Beggars Betrothal Blood Avenging Bracelets and Anklets Bread Burial Camels Caravans Carpenters Cats Cattle Chariots Children Circumcision Cisterns Cities and Villages City Gates City Towers City Walls Clay Clothing Cornerstone Currency Daily Living Dairy Products Death Divorce Dogs Donkeys Doors Dowry Earrings Eating Customs Education Family Farming Fasting Feasts and Festivals Fig Trees Figurative Language Fishing Floors Food and Cooking Fringes Fruits Furniture Girdles Goads Goats Grain Grain Farming Granaries Hair Styles Harvesting Headdress Herod's Temple Horses Hospitality Household Festivities Houses - Common Houses - Wealthy Hunting Idols Inns Jewelry Lamps Locusts Mangers Mantles Market Places Marriage Customs Masons Meat Men's Clothing Men's Hair Merchants Metal Workers Mills and Millstones Moneychangers Mourning & Wailing Mules Music Musical Instruments Necklaces Noserings Occupations Old Age Olive Trees Olives and Olive Oil Ovens Oxen Phylacteries Physicians Ploughing Polygamy Pools Potters Praise and Worship Prayer Prayer Shawl Property Customs Raids Rains Rams Horn Religious Customs Robes Roofs Sackloth and Ashes Sacrifices Sandals Sea Travel Seals Sheaves Sheep Shepherds Ships Sickles Sickness Signet Rings Slaves Spices Springs & Fountains Staffs Streets Swaddling Clothes Synagogues Tanners Tax Collectors Taxes Tentmakers Tents Thieves and Robbers Threshing Tombs Torah Scrolls Trade Routes Travel Tunic Upper Rooms Vegetables Veils Vineyards Washing Hands Watchtower Water Supply Weaving Wells Windows Wine and Winemaking Winepress Winnowing Fan Women Women's Clothing Women's Hair Yokes Back to Categories May 19    Scripture Manners & Customs: Sackloth and Ashes Sackloth and Ashes in ancient Bible times Ashes in Easton's Bible Dictionary The ashes of a red heifer burned entire (Num. 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 (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). http://www.bible-history.com/eastons/A/Ashes/ Ashes in Fausset's Bible Dictionary Sitting down in, or covering one's self with, is the symbol of mourning (Job 2:8; Job 42:6; Esther 4:1; Isaiah 61:3; Matthew 11:21). To eat asides expresses figuratively mourning is one's food, i.e. one's perpetual portion (Psalm 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 (Isaiah 44:20). The ashes of a red heifer burnt entire (Numbers 19), when sprinkled upon, purified ceremonially the unclean (Hebrews 9:13) but defiled the clean person. http://www.bible-history.com/faussets/A/Ashes/ Ashes in Naves Topical Bible Uses of, in purification Nu 19:9,10,17; Heb 9:13 -A symbol of mourning 2Sa 13:19; Es 4:1,3 -Sitting in Job 2:8 -Repenting in Job 42:6; Da 9:3; Jon 3:6; Mt 11:21; Lu 10:13 -Disguises in 1Ki 20:38,41 http://www.bible-history.com/naves/A/ASHES/ Ashes in Smiths Bible Dictionary 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, Heb 9:13 but of polluting the clean. [SACRIFICE] Ashes about the person, especially on the head, were used as a sign of sorrow. [MOURNING] http://www.bible-history.com/smiths/A/Ashes/ Ashes in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE ash'-iz: Among the ancient Hebrews #and other Orientals, to sprinkle with or sit in ashes was a mark or token of grief, humiliation, or penitence. Ashes on the head was one of the ordinary signs of mourning for the dead, as when "Tamar put ashes on her head .... and went on crying" (2 Sam 13:19 the King James Version), and of national humiliation, as when the children of Israel were assembled under Nehemiah "with fasting, and with sackcloth, and earth (ashes) upon them" (Neh 9:1), and when the people of Nineveh repented in sackcloth and ashes at the preaching of Jonah (Jon 3:5,6; compare 1 Macc 3:47). The afflicted or penitent often sat in ashes (compare Job 2:8; 42:6: "I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes"), or even wallowed in ashes, as Jeremiah exhorted sinning Israel to do: "O daughter of my people .... wallow thyself in ashes" (Jer 6:26), or as Ezekiel in his lamentation for Tyre pictures her mariners as doing, crying bitterly and `casting up dust upon their heads' and `wallowing themselves in the ashes' (in their weeping for her whose head was lifted up and become corrupted because of her beauty), "in bitterness of soul with bitter mourning" (Ezek 27:30,31). However, these and various other modes of expressing grief, repentance, and humiliation among the Hebrews, such as rending the garments, tearing the hair and the like, were not of Divine appointment, but were simply the natural outbursts of the impassioned oriental temperament, and are still customary among eastern peoples. Figurative: The term "ashes" is often used to signify worthlessness, insignificance or evanescence (Gen 18:27; Job 30:19). "Proverbs of ashes," for instance, in Job 13:12, is Job's equivalent, says one writer, for our modern "rot." For the ritual use of the ashes of the Red Heifer by the priests, see RED HEIFER. http://www.bible-history.com/isbe/A/ASHES/ Ashes Scripture - 2 Kings 23:4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel. http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/2+Kings/23/ Ashes Scripture - Esther 4:1 When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/Esther/4/ Ashes Scripture - Exodus 27:3 And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make [of] brass. http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/Exodus/27/ Ashes Scripture - Ezekiel 28:18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/Ezekiel/28/ Ashes Scripture - Isaiah 58:5 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 as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes [under him]? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/Isaiah/58/ Ashes Scripture - Jeremiah 6:26 O daughter of my people, gird [thee] with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, [as for] an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/Jeremiah/6/ Ashes Scripture - Job 13:12 Your remembrances [are] like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay. http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/Job/13/ Ashes Scripture - Leviticus 6:10 And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/Leviticus/6/ Ashes Scripture - Luke 10:13 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/Luke/10/ Ashes Scripture - Numbers 19:9 And a man [that is] clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay [them] up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it [is] a purification for sin. http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/Numbers/19/ Death Customs of Expression EXPRESSIONS OF SORROW AND COMFORT Since Orientals are so very demonstrative and emotional, it is difficult for those not acquainted with their customs to appreciate their method of expressing their sorrow, and their attempts to be comforted. In times of grief and sorrow, sackcloth is worn, and they often rend their garments in order to let people know how deep is their grief (II Samuel 3:31). The beating of the breast is another method of expressing sorrow (Luke 23:48). Tears flow freely at such times and are considered to be a definite means of bringing comfort to sorrowing hearts (John 11:33). [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands] http://www.baptistbiblebelievers.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=z%2b2W9daK2Ac%3d&tabid=232&mid=762 Sackcloth in Easton's Bible Dictionary cloth made of black goats' hair, coarse, rough, and thick, used for sacks, and also worn by mourners (Gen. 37:34; 42:25; 2 Sam. 3:31; Esther 4:1, 2; Ps. 30:11, etc.), and as a sign of repentance (Matt. 11:21). It was put upon animals by the people of Nineveh (Jonah 3:8). http://www.bible-history.com/eastons/S/Sackcloth/ Sackcloth in Fausset's Bible Dictionary Of coarse, dark goat's hair. Used for sacks, also for close fitting raiment in mourning; secured by a girdle (Genesis 42:25; 1 Kings 21:27; 2 Samuel 3:31). http://www.bible-history.com/faussets/S/Sackcloth/ Sackcloth in Naves Topical Bible A symbol of mourning 1Ki 20:31,32; Job 16:15; Isa 15:3; Jer 4:8; 6:26; 49:3; La 2:10; Eze 7:18; Da 9:3; Joe 1:8 -Worn by Jacob when it was reported to him that Joseph had been devoured by wild animals Ge 37:34 -Animals covered with, at a time of national mourning Jon 3:8 http://www.bible-history.com/naves/S/SACKCLOTH/ Sackcloth in Smiths Bible Dictionary cloth used in making sacks or bags, a coarse fabric, of a dark color, made of goat's hair, Isa 50:3; Re 6:12 end resembling the eilicium of the Romans. It, was used also for making the rough garments used by mourners, which were in extreme cases worn next the skin. 1Ki 21:27; 2Ki 6:30; Job 16:15; Isa 32:11 http://www.bible-history.com/smiths/S/Sackcloth/ Sackcloth Scripture - 1 Chronicles 21:16 And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders [of Israel, who were] clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/1+Chronicles/21/ Sackcloth Scripture - 1 Kings 20:31 And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel [are] merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life. http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/1+Kings/20/ Sackcloth Scripture - Amos 8:10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only [son], and the end thereof as a bitter day. http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/Amos/8/ Sackcloth Scripture - Esther 4:2 And came even before the king's gate: for none [might] enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/Esther/4/ Sackcloth Scripture - Isaiah 58:5 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 as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes [under him]? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/Isaiah/58/ Sackcloth Scripture - Jeremiah 6:26 O daughter of my people, gird [thee] with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, [as for] an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/Jeremiah/6/ Sackcloth Scripture - Joel 1:13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/Joel/1/ Sackcloth Scripture - Lamentations 2:10 The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, [and] keep silence: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground. http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/Lamentations/2/ Sackcloth Scripture - Luke 10:13 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/Luke/10/ Sackcloth Scripture - Psalms 30:11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; http://www.bible-history.com/kjv/Psalms/30/ If you notice a broken link or any error PLEASE report it by clicking HERE © 1995-2013 Bible History Online