Original Word: מֶלַח
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: melach
Pronunciation: meh'-lakh
Phonetic Spelling: (meh'-lakh)
KJV: salt((-pit))
NASB: salt
Word Origin: [from H4414 (מָלַח - To salt)]

1. (properly) powder, i.e. (specifically) salt (as easily pulverized and dissolved

saltpit

From malach; properly, powder, i.e. (specifically) salt (as easily pulverized and dissolved -- salt((-pit)).

see HEBREW malach

Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
salt
NASB Translation
salt (27).

II. מֶ֫לַח noun masculine salt (Late Hebrew id.; Arabic ; Aramaic , מִלְחָא); — ׳מ absolute Genesis 19:26 +; construct Leviticus 2:13; — salt for seasoning food Job 6:6; offering Leviticus 2:13 (3 t. in verse) compare Ezekiel 43:24; בְּרִית מֶ֫לַח Numbers 18:19; 2Chronicles 13:5 (compare Leviticus 2:13 see Di); used in purifying waters 2 Kings 2:20,21; strewn on site of devoted city Judges 9:45 compare Zephaniah 2:9 (׳מִכְרֵהמֿ) Deuteronomy 29:22 ("" גָּפְרִית); produced in marshes reserved for purpose Ezekiel 47:11; pillar of salt ׳נְצִיב מ Genesis 19:26; usually in combination הַמֶּלַח יָם (ֿׅ Genesis 14:3 (עֶ֫מֶק הַשִּׂדִּים), Numbers 34:3,12; Deuteronomy 3:17 ("" יָם הָעֲתָבָה), Joshua 3:16; Joshua 12:3; Joshua 15:2,5; Joshua 18:19; also ׳גֵיאמֿ 2 Samuel 8:13; 2 Kings 14:7 Qr, Psalm 60:2 (title), ׳גֵּיא הַמּ 1 Chronicles 18:12; 2Chronicles 25:11; 2 Kings 14:7 Kt.

Overview

The Hebrew noun מֶלַח (melach) appears roughly twenty-eight times in the Old Testament and is consistently rendered “salt.” In Scripture it is both a commonplace commodity and a potent theological symbol that communicates preservation, covenant loyalty, judgment, and healing.

Natural Occurrence and Geography

• The Salt Sea (the Dead Sea) frames the southeastern border of the Promised Land (Genesis 14:3; Numbers 34:3, 12; Deuteronomy 3:17; Joshua 3:16; 12:3; 15:2, 5; 18:19). Its very name reminds the reader that Israel’s inheritance was bounded by a body of water whose mineral richness could sustain life only indirectly.
• Barren “salt land” serves as shorthand for desolation (Deuteronomy 29:23; Jeremiah 17:6; Psalms 107:34). By contrast, when the river of life flows from the future temple, Ezekiel notes that certain marshes will be “left for salt” (Ezekiel 47:11), preserving its beneficial extraction while the rest of the area is healed.
• The Valley of Salt, south of the Dead Sea, became a decisive battlefield where David, Amaziah, and Joab each gained great victories over Edom (2 Samuel 8:13; 2 Kings 14:7; 1 Chronicles 18:12; 2 Chronicles 25:11; the superscription of Psalms 60). The recurring triumph in that sterile place illustrates how God can bring victory out of barrenness.

Culinary and Domestic Use

• Job 6:6 alludes to the ordinary table use of salt: “Is tasteless food eaten without salt…?”.
• Newborns in the Ancient Near East were rubbed with salt for cleansing and hardening of the skin; Ezekiel 16:4 recalls Israel’s abandonment by picturing an infant left unsalted and unattended.
• Salt was among the standard supplies for the restored temple. The Persian decrees instruct that the priests be given “wheat, salt, wine, and oil” without delay (Ezra 6:9; 7:22), evidence of its accepted role in worship and daily life.

Covenant of Salt

• Leviticus 2:13 commands, “You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You must not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking…”. The salt placed on every offering became a tangible reminder that sacrifice was rooted in covenant fidelity.
• The priestly support described in Numbers 18:19 is guaranteed “an everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD,” underscoring the enduring, preservative nature of God’s pledge.
• Similarly, Abijah cites the covenant of salt to defend David’s dynasty: “The LORD… has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt” (2 Chronicles 13:5). Because salt resists corruption, it became a fitting emblem of the permanence of divine promises.

Salt in Sacrificial Worship

• Besides grain offerings (Leviticus 2:13), Ezekiel’s temple vision directs that burnt offerings be presented and “the priests shall sprinkle salt on them” (Ezekiel 43:24). Salt, therefore, accompanies both bloodless and blood sacrifices, signifying purity and dedication.
• By requiring salt, God weds the ordinary to the sacred; a humble mineral is invested with liturgical weight, teaching worshippers that every facet of creation may serve holy ends.

Salt as Agent of Judgment and Desolation

• Lot’s wife “became a pillar of salt” when she looked back on the doomed cities (Genesis 19:26). Her transformation immortalizes the peril of lingering affection for a condemned world.
• Abimelech razed Shechem and “sowed it with salt” (Judges 9:45) as a curse, ensuring the land’s infertility.
• Prophets warn that persistent sin will convert fruitful ground into “a burning waste of salt and sulfur” (Deuteronomy 29:23) or “salt pits, a perpetual waste” (Zephaniah 2:9). The corrosive power of salt, if misapplied, becomes emblematic of irreversible ruin.

Salt as Instrument of Healing and Preservation

• In response to Jericho’s water crisis, Elisha threw salt into the spring and proclaimed, “Thus says the LORD: I have healed this water” (2 Kings 2:21). Here salt, normally associated with sterility, becomes an agent of restoration when wielded by divine command.
• The paradox accentuates a recurring biblical principle: what ordinarily destroys can, by God’s word, preserve and give life.

Military Context: Valley of Salt

• Victories in an environment so inhospitable that nothing grows demonstrate that deliverance does not depend upon favorable terrain but on the LORD of hosts. Each battle in the Valley of Salt thus reinforces the broader covenant theme: God’s power is perfected where human resources are absent.

Prophetic Imagery and Eschatological Hope

• Ezekiel’s temple vision leaves certain marshes untouched “for salt” (Ezekiel 47:11), confirming that the future order still includes practical provision for human necessity.
• The continuing presence of salt in the Messianic age signals that redemption embraces, rather than eradicates, material reality.

Practical Ministry Applications

• The link between salt and covenant urges believers to keep their commitments fresh and incorruptible.
• Salt’s dual capacity to destroy and to heal invites sober self-examination: do our words and deeds purify and preserve, or do they corrode?
• In ministry settings, the example of Elisha encourages the creative use of ordinary means under God’s direction to address communal needs.
• The victories won in the Valley of Salt remind leaders that apparent barrenness is no hindrance to divine deliverance.

By tracing מֶלַח through the Old Testament, one sees an everyday substance pressed into service as a profound theological teaching tool—one that points to God’s faithfulness, the seriousness of sin, and the hope of restoration for His covenant people.

בַּמֶּ֣לַח במלח הַמֶּ֑לַח הַמֶּ֔לַח הַמֶּ֖לַח הַמֶּ֙לַח֙ הַמֶּֽלַח׃ המלח המלח׃ וָמֶלַח֮ ומלח לְמֶ֥לַח למלח מֶ֑לַח מֶ֔לַח מֶ֙לַח֙ מֶ֚לַח מֶ֥לַח מֶ֨לַח מֶֽלַח׃ מלח מלח׃ bam·me·laḥ bamMelach bammelaḥ ham·me·laḥ hamMelach hammelaḥ lə·me·laḥ leMelach ləmelaḥ me·laḥ Melach melaḥ vameLach wā·me·laḥ wāmelaḥInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts