Have you ever heard the term, “not worth his/her salt?” That concept comes from the Latin word “salarium” from which we get the English word, salary. The “sal” of “salarium” actually means salt. A soldier in the Roman Empire might have actually have been paid in salt blocks due to the fact that it was a valuable commodity and could easily be traded or sold in any country or region’s market place.
In biblical times, salt was recognized as a necessity for life as referenced in the extra biblical writing, Ecclus 39:26:
“The principal things for the whole use of man’s life are water, fire, iron, and salt, flour of wheat, honey, milk, and the blood of the grape, and oil, and clothing.”
In Judaism, according to Leviticus 2:13, salt was a required additive to offerings and was spiritually symbolic within a covenant.
“Every grain offering of yours, moreover, you shall season with salt, so that the salt of the covenant of your God shall not be lacking from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.”
In the Middle East, when men ate together, they became friends – thus the Arabic expressions, “there is salt between us” or “he has eaten of my salt,” which means partaking of hospitality which cemented friendships. Since salt was valuable, needed as a preservative, and used to enhance taste, it became symbolic of an enduring covenant relationship.
Abimelech, a judge of Israel, sowed salt over his own capital city, Shechem, after quelling a revolt against him around 1050 BC (See Judges 9:35). We know historically, that this became a common practice in the Roman Empire as well. They also used this same sowing process to sterilize soil and keep vegetation from damaging their roadways.
Turning to the New Testament, we find salt used practically, as well as symbolically. In Matthew 5:13, Christ Jesus declares,
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”
It is clearly understood that sodium chloride is a stable compound that does not disintegrate … losing its “saltiness.” However, the common salt in Israel was primarily salt from the Dead Sea, aka Salt Sea, which was highly contaminated with other minerals. As a result, it would dissolve and could become (in the process of evaporation which was used to separate the salt from the water) a tasteless substance. These salts all diminished in flavor and/or usefulness over time. Therefore, this fact provides contextual understanding to Christ’s statement in this passage.
Here, our Lord is speaking to His followers and those gathered to hear Him teach, which is a Hebrew/Jewish audience. He also makes similar references in the other Synoptic Gospels (see Mark 9:50 and Luke 14:34). Jesus’ potential followers could/should have ultimately (as their faith developed) become like salt in that they would create a thirst in others for greater information and understanding … enhancing the taste. When one sees a unique individual, who possesses superior qualities in specific areas, one desires to discover why that person’s life is distinctly different from others in the world. It’s also possible that salt, as a preservative (a means and method familiar in that society – particularly among fishermen), means these individuals would/could/should serve as a preservative restraint against the evils in society. Whichever view is taken, the important and significant quality to denote in Christ’s teaching is that the salt must absolutely maintain its basic trait/characteristic. If, somehow it fails to be salty, then it has definitely lost its purpose for existence and should be discarded.
Is there a message here for believers in Christ’s 21st century church? While I, personally, use little salt on my food, and frankly don’t understand why some people ruin an excellent food’s taste by over-salting it, or even salting before tasting — in this case the more salt/saltiness the better! Shake it out.
Are you salty? Think about it, pray about it … then do something about it. Let’s all agree to be — worth our salt!
His & Yours, Because of GRACE (God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense)
PF