In Numbers 18:19, God says the holy contributions made by the people of Israel belong to Aaron and his descendants forever, as a "covenant of salt". I've never seen this term before. What does it mean?
asked Mar 30, 2015 at 13:39 617 2 2 gold badges 6 6 silver badges 12 12 bronze badgesThe term covenant of salt is found three times in the Old Testament:
First occurrence
Leviticus 2:13 `And 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.'[NKJV]
Notice here that the offerings were to be seasoned with salt, which is identified as the salt of the covenant.
Second occurrence
Numbers 18:19 "All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; it is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD with you and your descendants with you."[NKJV]
This verse is in reference to establishment of the Aaronic Priesthood.
third occurrence
2 Chronicles 13:5 "Should you not know that the LORD God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, by a covenant of salt?"
This verse is in reference to the establishment of Davidic dynasty.
One commentator notes that the origin of the phraseology is unknown 1 , however many reliable sources believe the relevance lies in the functions of salt in a covenant meal.
For example we read:
Covenant of Salt.
Biblical phrase for a two-way agreement, the inviolability of which was symbolized by salt. A Middle Eastern saying, “There is bread and salt between us,” meant that a relationship had been confirmed by sharing a meal. Salt symbolized the life and enduring nature of the alliance. In the OT salt appears in the relationship between God and Israel (Lv 2:13). As a purifying agent and preservative in the cereal offering, salt symbolized the indissoluble nature of the covenant between God and Israel. [Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (p. 538). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.]
Covenant of salt
As salt was regarded as a necessary ingredient of the daily food, and so of all sacrifices offered to Yahweh (Lev 2:13), it became an easy step to the very close connection between salt and covenant-making. When men ate together they became friends. Cf. the Arabic expressions, "There is salt between us"; "He has eaten of my salt," which means partaking of hospitality which cemented friendship; cf. "eat the salt of the palace" (Ezra 4:14). Covenants were generally confirmed by sacrificial meals and salt was always present. Since, too, salt is a preservative, it would easily become symbolic of an enduring covenant. So offerings to Yahweh were to be by a statute forever, "a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord" (Num 18:19). David received his kingdom for-ever from the Lord by a "covenant of salt" (2 Chron 13:5). In the light of these conceptions the remark of Our Lord becomes the more significant: "Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another" [from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, revised edition, Copyright © 1979 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.]
Others have suggested that:
The term "covenant of salt" is indicative of the everlasting nature of the relationship between the children of salt, and their Elohim Yahweh. When we hear the term salt, the understanding is that the things Yahweh addresses are eternal, enduring, never changing, and abiding forever. All salt covenants then are eternal, and eternally binding on the sons and daughters of Yisrael, regardless where they are to be found, and regardless of whether a physical temple stands on Mt. Moriyah or not. [source]
I am not convinced the term can be limited to that because:
1) The covenants that God makes with man are perpetual, see for example Gen 17:7, 2 Sam 23:5 so it seems redundant to use salt to specify the perpetual nature of the covenant.
2) The salt of the covenant was used to season all the sacrifices, many of which were eaten by the priests and those offering them. The priest ate of the grain offering, the peace offering, the sin offering and the trespass offering, and the peace offering was eaten by those offering it as well 2 .
The people participated in the sacrifices by the eating of them as well as the offering of them, and those sacrifices were seasoned with salt; hence I favour the emphasis provided by the Baker encyclopedia of the Bible and the Standard Bible Encyclopedia mentioned above, as one commentator notes, "It is a common phrase among Oriental people, who consider the eating of salt a pledge of fidelity, binding them in a covenant of friendship." 3
The phrase doesn't just emphasis the perpetual nature of the covenant but also the friendly nature of it as well.
1 NAC. Cole, R. D. (2000). Numbers (Vol. 3B, p. 290). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
2 Details of these offerings can be found in the following passages: :Burnt offering - Lev 1; 6:8-13; 8:18-21; 16:24 :Grain Offering - Lev 2; 6:14-23 :Peace Offering - Lev 3; 7:11-34 :Sin offering - Lev 4; 5:1-13; 6:24-30; 8:14-17; 16:3-22 :Trespass offering - Lev 5:14-19; 6:1-7; 7:1-6
3 Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, pp. 108–109). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.