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Bible expressions we still use
The salt of the earth
Matthew 5 · the Sermon on the Mount
The words come from the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus, seated on a mountainside, tells his listeners, “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13). Salt was one of the most valued goods of the ancient world. In Israel it came mainly from the Dead Sea, which the Old Testament calls the Salt Sea; it flavored plain everyday food and kept fish and meat from spoiling, and sharing bread and salt at a meal bound people together. In the same verse Jesus asks what happens “if the salt loses its savor”. By one explanation, salt gathered by the Dead Sea was mixed with other minerals, and when damp washed the salt out, only a tasteless powder was left — fit only to be thrown out.
Today “the salt of the earth” describes ordinary people who are honest, kind and dependable, without show or airs: “Her parents are the salt of the earth.” It is praise for plain goodness, not for wealth or rank. Through translations of the Gospels the phrase lives on in many languages.
Key verses
When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain and sat down. His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them, saying:You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.Salt is good, but if the salt loses its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”Salt is good, but if the salt loses its savor, with what will it be seasoned? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile, and it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in the white of an egg?Sources
Adapted and shortened from the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers · CC BY-SA 4.0 — Sermon on the Mount*; Food and Food Preparation: Vegetables and Seasoning; Dead Sea; Covenant of Salt*
Adapted from Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary: articles chosen, shortened and retold in our own words (history, nature and daily life only) and, in languages other than English, machine-translated. The original work by Tyndale House Publishers is available for free at tyndaleopenresources.com.
