The phrase covenant of salt (Hebrew: ברית מלח, romanized: bərîṯ melaḥ) appears twice in the Hebrew Bible:
In the Book of Numbers, God's priestly covenant with the Aaronic priesthood is said to be a covenant of salt. In the second book of Chronicles, God's covenant with the Davidic kings of Israel is also described as a covenant of salt. According to the New Oxford Annotated Bible, "of salt" most likely means that the covenant is "a perpetual covenant, because of the use of salt as a preservative".
The commandments regarding grain offerings in the Book of Leviticus state "every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt."
See also
References
- Numbers 18:19
- 2 Chronicles 13:5
- Marc Brettler; Carol Newsom; Pheme Perkins, eds. (1 March 2018). The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Oxford University Press. p. 370. ISBN 978-0-19-027606-5.
- Leviticus 2:13
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