Ashes

How Nave’s arranged it

• Uses of, in purificationNumbers 19:9Numbers 19:10Numbers 19:17Hebrews 9:13
• A symbol of mourning2 Samuel 13:19Esther 4:1Esther 4:3
• Sitting inJob 2:8
• Repenting inJob 42:6Daniel 9:3Jonah 3:6Matthew 11:21Luke 10:13
• Disguises in1 Kings 20:381 Kings 20:41

The passages, in Bible order (15)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 15 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. Numbers 19:9

   Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to gather up the ashes of the heifer and store them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept by the congregation of Israel for preparing the water of purification; this is for purification from sin.

   ›Commentary on Numbers 19:92 voices

   “For a water - Or, to the water, that is, to be put to the water, or mixed with it. Of separation - Appointed for the cleansing of them that are in a state of separation, who for their uncleanness are separated from the congregation. It is a purification for sin - Hebrew. a sin, that is, an offering for sin, or rather a mean for expiation or cleansing of sin.

   “And again: "The water of sprinkling is a purification." Whence it appears that the sprinkling also of water prevails equally with the washing of salvation; and that when this is done in the Church, where the faith both of receiver and giver is sound, all things hold and may be consummated and perfected by the majesty of the Lord and by the truth of faith.

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2. Numbers 19:10

   The man who has gathered up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he will be ceremonially unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute for the Israelites and for the foreigner residing among them.

   ›Commentary on Numbers 19:101 voice

   “He that gathered the ashes became equally unclean with the others. For the defilement of the people, previously transferred to the heifer, was regarded as concentrated in the ashes.

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3. Numbers 19:17

   For the purification of the unclean person, take some of the ashes of the burnt sin offering, put them in a jar, and pour fresh water over them.

   ›Commentary on Numbers 19:171 voice

   “To afford the necessary supply of the cleansing mixture, the Jewish writers say that a red heifer was sacrificed every year, and that the ashes, mingled with the sprinkling ingredients, were distributed through all the cities and towns of Israel.

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4. 2 Samuel 13:19

   And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore her robe. And putting her hand on her head, she went away crying bitterly.

   ›Commentary on 2 Samuel 13:191 voice

   “And Tamar put ashes on her head,.... In token of sorrow and distress; see Jos 7:6, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her; signifying that her virginity was rent from her in a forcible manner, or that she was ravished: and laid her hand on her head; through grief and shame; see Jer 2:37, and went on crying; from Amnon's house to her brother Absalom's, as one abused and injured.

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5. 1 Kings 20:38

   and the prophet went and waited on the road for the king, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.

   ›Commentary on 1 Kings 20:381 voice

   “Disguised himself with ashes upon his face - It does not immediately appear how putting ashes upon his face could disguise him. Instead of אפר apher, dust, Houbigant conjectures that it should be אפד aphad, a fillet or bandage. It is only the corner of the last letter which makes the difference; for the ד daleth and ר resh are nearly the same, only the shoulder of the former is square, the latter round.

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6. 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.

   ›Commentary on 1 Kings 20:412 voices

   “And he hasted, and took away the ashes from his face,.... Took off the linen cloth from his eyes, unveiled or unmasked himself: and the king of Israel discerned him, that he was of the prophets; he knew him again, having seen him once or twice before; otherwise there could be nothing in his face that could discover him to be a prophet, rather he was to be known by his habit.

   “In the course of these events Ahab's indulgence toward a man who was notoriously impious and an open and arrogant despiser of divine majesty fully deserved to be condemned, just as Saul's clemency toward the king of the Amalekites was reproached with good reason by …

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7. Esther 4:1

   When Mordecai learned of all that had happened, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.

   ›Commentary on Esther 4:11 voice

   “Mordecai rent his clothes - He gave every demonstration of the most poignant and oppressive grief. Nor did he hide this from the city; and the Greek says that he uttered these words aloud: Αιρεται εθνος μηδεν ηδικηκος, A people are going to be destroyed, who have done no evil!

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8. Esther 4:3

   In every province to which the king’s command and edict came, there was great mourning among the Jews. They fasted, wept, and lamented, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

   ›Commentary on Esther 4:31 voice

   “Fasting, and weeping, and wailing - How astonishing, that in all this there is not the slightest intimation given of praying to God!

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9. Job 2:8

   And Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes.

   ›Commentary on Job 2:82 voices

   “Nor with his own hands or fingers, which were also ulcerous, and so unfit for that use; but with potsherds, either because they were next at hand, and ready for his present use; or in token of his deep humiliation under God's hand, which made him decline all things that favoured of tenderness and delicacy. Hebrew. in dust or ashes, as mourners used to do.

   “ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION. And he took him a potsherd to scrape the humour withal. For what is the potsherd in the hand of the Lord, but the flesh which He took of the clay of our nature? For the potsherd receives firmness by fire. And the Flesh of our Lord was rendered stronger by His Passion, in so far as dying by infirmity, He arose from death void of infirmity. And hence too it is rightly delivered by the Prophet, My strength is dried up like a potsherd.

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10. Job 42:6

    Therefore I retract my words, and I repent in dust and ashes.”

    ›Commentary on Job 42:62 voices

    “I abhor myself - Compared with thine, my strength is weakness; my wisdom, folly; and my righteousness, impurity. “I loathe myself when thee I see; And into nothing fall.” Repent - I am deeply distressed on account of the imaginations of my heart, the words of my tongue, and the acts of my life. I roll myself in the dust, and sprinkle ashes upon my head.

    “Wherefore I reproach myself. 6. For the less a person sees himself, the less is he displeased with himself; and the more he discerns the light of greater grace, the more blameworthy does he acknowledge himself to be. For when he is elevated within, by all that he is, he endeavours to agree with that standard which he beholds above him. And because human weakness still impedes him, he perceives that he differs therefrom in no slight degree, and every thing within him is burdensome, which does not agree with that inward standard.

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11. Daniel 9:3

    So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

    ›Commentary on Daniel 9:32 voices

    “Nor is it merely a change of nature, or aversion of perils or obliteration of sins but likewise the recognition of mysteries that fasts will merit from God. Look at Daniel's example.… In the first year of King Darius, when, after careful and repeated meditation on the times predicted by Jeremiah, he set his face to God in fasts and sackcloth and ashes. An angel was sent to him and immediately stated this had been the cause of the divine honor; he said, "I came to show you, wretched as you are," namely, because he had been fasting.

    “And I set my face unto the Lord God - Probably the meaning is, that he turned his face toward Jerusalem, the place where God had dwelt; the place of his holy abode on earth. See the notes at Dan 6:10. The language, however, would not be inappropriate to denote prayer without such a supposition. We turn to one whom we address, and so prayer may be described by “setting the face toward God.” The essential idea here is, that he engaged in a set and formal prayer; he engaged in earnest devotion.

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12. Jonah 3:6

    When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

    ›Commentary on Jonah 3:61 voice

    “Word came unto the king - This, some think, was Pul; others, Sardanapalus his son, king of Assyria, who flourished in the reign of Jeroboam the Second: but it seems more probable that the monarch here alluded to was a king of Assyria contemporary with Joash, king of Judah. It was by the decree of the king that the fast was instituted, and became general.

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13. Matthew 11:21

    “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

    ›Commentary on Matthew 11:212 voices

    “In this word Wo, these towns of Galilee are mourned for by the Saviour, that after so many signs and mighty works, they had not done penitence. And to these are preferred Tyre and Sidon, cities given up to idolatry and vices; For if the mighty works which have been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have long ago done penitence in sackcloth and ashes. We ask where it is written that the Lord did wonders in Corozaim and Bethsaida?

    “Woe to thee, Chorazin - That is, miserable art thou. For these are not curses or imprecations, as has been commonly supposed; but a solemn, compassionate declaration of the misery they were bringing on themselves.

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14. Luke 10:13

    Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

    ›Commentary on Luke 10:131 voice

    “He also teaches that those who judged that the gospel should not be followed should be subjected to a harsher punishment than those who thought that the law should be dissolved.

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15. Hebrews 9:13

    For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean,

    ›Commentary on Hebrews 9:131 voice

    “For if the blood of bulls and of goats - Referring still to the great day of atonement, when the offering made was the sacrifice of a bullock and a goat. And the ashes of an heifer - For an account of this, see Num 19:2-

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