Seder 76: Leviticus 2:13---the Symbolism of Salt

"You shall season all your grain offerings with salt," we read in Leviticus 2:13. "You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt."

Why was salt so important in the sacrificial system outlined in the book of Leviticus?  In a study of this question, Sharon Rimon notes that Maimonides, the great medieval Jewish theologian and philosopher, proposed that this was one more way to set the Israelites apart from their neighbors.  Since other nations used leavening and honey in their sacrifices but not salt, he said, God had the Israelites do it the other way around.  But is this correct?  I'm skeptical of this proposal, doubting that Maimonides had much access to data on sacrifices in the Ancient Near East.

It might be more fruitful here to think about the uses and imagery of salt in the Bible, which is what Rimon goes on to do in her article.  She notes that in one set of scriptures, salt imagery is associated with barrenness, destruction, and judgment, especially the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah  (Dt 29:22; Zeph 2:9; Jer. 17:6).  In a place "sowed with salt" (Judges 9:45), nothing will grow.  

In one fascinating example Elisha cleanses some water by using salt, which usually makes water undrinkable (2 Ki 2:19-22).  This accentuates the miraculous nature of Elisha's work---only God can cleanse water with something that would normally spoil it for drinking.

Rimon suggests that if we think of the way that salt can "negate life," one meaning of sacrifices for sin results .  The salt could remind the worshipper that he deserves to experience judgment (e.g., be turned into a pillar of salt) but is being spared because of God's mercy.

On the other hand, salt enhances the flavor of food (Job 6:6).  This provides one reason for salt to be included in sacrifices.  Just as we would not want to give bland, unsalted food to a human king, so we can show respect for God by including salt in a sacrifice and in effect "salting his food." 

Moreover, salt is lasting and preserves food from spoiling.  So the "salt of the covenant" (Lev 2:13) emphasizes God's faithfulness and the lasting nature of God's covenant.  In addition, making a sacrifice enhances and preserves one's life and one's relationship with God.  

Rimon points out that salt is a substance which can both destroy and preserve.  Similarly, God is a God of both judgment and mercy, and the Mosaic covenant includes both blessings and curses.  Including salt in a sacrifice acknowledges the sovereignty of God, the fact that he is the one who both preserves and destroys.

Seder 76: Mark 9:49 and Lev 2---"Salted with Fire"

An enigmatic saying of Jesus is recorded in Mark 9:49:  "For everyone will be salted with fire."

This is a striking image.  Imagine a salt shaker being shaken over your head and fire coming out of it.

Mark 9:49 has always raised questions.  One indication of this is that sometime in the early centuries of Christianity, someone added a clause to the verse: "and every sacrifice will be salted with salt."  This extra clause is not in the oldest manuscripts of Mark, so modern translations like the NRSV and ESV relegate it to a footnote.  We do not necessarily have to remove the clause from translations that include it, like the KJV.  After all, God may have inspired the addition. 

The additional clause points the way to one possible interpretation of Jesus's saying, making reference to Leviticus 2, which describes Israel's grain offerings.  A grain offering included fine flour mixed with oil and (for the uncooked ones) frankincense.  Salt was also included, as we read in verse 13:  

"You shall season all your grain offerings with salt.  You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt."

A portion (including all of the frankincense, which is not edible) was burned on the altar.  The rest was  used in providing bread for the priests.  

So grain offerings involved both salt and fire.  

The Hebrew word for a grain offering is mincha, a word that more broadly refers to a tribute or gift showing reverence or submission---for example, a gift brought to a king.  The present that Jacob prepared for Esau at the time of their reunion (Gen 32:13) was a mincha.  One presenting this kind of offering showed dependence upon and loyalty to God, acknowledging him as king. 

The salt in the grain offering is called "the salt of the covenant" in Lev 2:13.  Salt symbolized permanence--see Num 18:19.  When you made a grain offering, you were pledging a lasting commitment to the covenant.  

The part of the offering that was burned was called the memorial portion.  It asked God to remember the covenant, to take action on the offeror's behalf.  Prayers would have accompanied the offering, perhaps a prayer like Psalm 86.  

Salt was also used in other offerings.  In animal sacrifices at the Temple, salt was put into a carcass to soak out the blood.  The salt had a purifying effect.  On the purity of salt, see Ex 30:35, which refers to the special incense for the tabernacle as "an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy."

Let's get back to Mark 9:49.  In one reading of this verse, "everyone" refers to all of Jesus' disciples.  They are salted, implying that they are sacrifices.  This is a familiar New Testament motif.  Think of Rom 12:1, where Paul calls upon Christians to be "living sacrifices."  Another example is Ephesians 5:2, which refers to Jesus' death as "a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" and calls upon Christians to imitate him.  This was one of Jesus' messages to his disciples in this part of the Gospel of Mark:

Mark 8:34-35:  "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it."

We can think of each disciple as a mincha---a gift to the King, dependent upon and loyal to God.  So each disciple is precious, as Jesus expressed in Mark 9:42.  

How does the fire fit in?  It could be the fire of the Holy Spirit.  At Pentecost the Spirit came upon the disciples in "tongues as of fire" (Acts 2:3).  Salt enhances the flavor of meat and purifies a carcass.  The Spirit sets us apart and dedicates us to God.  The salting with fire could mean receiving the fire of the Spirit.  

The fire could also be the fire of suffering and persecution, which can be seen as having a purifying effect (see 1 Peter 1:6-7; 4:12-16).  Mark 9:49 could be about the nature of discipleship, which can  involve suffering for Jesus ' sake.  We're purified with the fire of the Spirit and the fire of suffering.  We're sacrifices dedicated to God.  

There is another entirely different interpretation of Mark 9:49 based on the fact that in Hebrew, to "salt" something can mean to completely destroy it.  Judges 9:45 gives one example.  When Abimelech attacked Shechem, "he captured the city and killed the people who were in it, and he razed the city and sowed it with salt."  Sowing a city with salt was a symbolic action signifying that nothing was to grow from that soil again.  

This kind of interpretation of Mark 9:49 fits well with the preceding verses in Mark 9.  Verses 43-48 give a warning that one should not let a recurring sin prevent one from entrance into the kingdom of God.  In this reading, "everyone" in verse 49 would mean everyone who is thrown into the fires of hell, and being "salted with fire" would mean being completely destroyed in hell.  

This interpretation is discussed in articles by Weston W. Fields (see Grace Theological Journal 6 (1985), pp 299-304).

These two different interpretations of Mark 9:49 both emphasize the importance of how we respond to Jesus.  Will we be totally committed to him and be salted by the purifying fire of the Spirit and suffering?  Or will we reject him and be salted by the fire of destruction?  Those are our options.