Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Salting the earth, or sowing with salt, is the ritual of spreading salt on the sites of cities razed by conquerors. [1] [2] It originated as a curse on re-inhabitation in the ancient Near East and became a well-established folkloric motif in the Middle Ages. [3] The best-known example is the salting of Shechem as narrated in the Biblical Book ...
The Roman Rite of the Catholic Church also mentions use of blessed salt. [11] The 1962 Rituale Romanum includes salt as component in three rites: Baptism: Before the candidates enter the church or baptistry, salt is blessed with an exorcism, and a pinch can be put in the mouth of the candidates. [12] However, in modern practice this can be skipped.
Logically, one of the first economic measures taken was the abolition of the gabelle. In 1806, Napoleon reinstated the monopoly, but applied it uniformly across all of France. Additionally, tax categories were established based on the intended use of the salt, so that the salt used for food paid a higher rate than that used for livestock or ...
Salt was extremely important in the time period when Matthew was written, and ancient communities knew that salt was a requirement of life. [14] It was most used as a preservative; this use was important enough that salt was sometimes even used as currency, from which the word salary originates. [15]
In the Middle East, salt was used to seal an agreement ceremonially, and the ancient Hebrews made a "covenant of salt" with God and sprinkled salt on their offerings to show their trust in him. [17] An ancient practice in time of war was salting the earth : scattering salt around in a defeated city to symbolically prevent plant growth.
Salt is an essential nutrient, and has long held an important place in religion and culture. For example, it is mentioned in the Bible dozens of times, including as a covenant of salt. Bread is a staple food, leavened or unleavened. It is usually made of wheat, but other grains can be used.
An ounce of salt could once be traded for an ounce of gold. Now, the idea is laughable, with the cost of gold reaching over $2,000 per ounce while 26 ounces of salt is valued at just $1.
A pillar of salt named "Lot's wife" is located near the Dead Sea at Mount Sodom in Israel. [4] A second one is shown to tourists across the Dead Sea, in Jordan, not far from the ruins of the Byzantine Monastery of St Lot. [5] The Talmud states that a blessing should be said at the place where the pillar of salt is.