Ezekiel 43:24
You shall present them before the LORD, and the priests shall sprinkle salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering to the LORD.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
It's easy to overlook, but the "salt" sprinkled on the sacrifices here isn't just for flavor. In the ancient world, salt symbolized permanence and an unbreakable covenant, so adding it to the offerings meant these sacrifices, and the covenant they represented, were meant to last forever. This detail powerfully underscores the lasting nature of God's promises, even as the sacrifices themselves were temporary.
Ezekiel is detailing the specific instructions for offering sacrifices on the newly consecrated altar after the purification of the temple. These instructions involve presenting the animals before the LORD, and then the priests are to sprinkle them with salt before offering them as a burnt offering. This ritual emphasizes the completeness and purity of the sacrifice, a practice that would continue throughout the seven-day consecration period.
Why would salt be sprinkled on a burnt offering? It wasn't just for taste or preservation.
In the ancient world, salt symbolized something enduring and incorruptible. When sprinkled on sacrifices, it pointed to the lasting nature of the covenant between God and His people. It signified that the covenant was 'salted' – meant to be perpetual and unbreakable.
The law explicitly commanded its use (Leviticus 2:13), and tradition tells us it was readily available near the altar. This wasn't a small pinch; it was a significant addition to the sacrifice, emphasizing the enduring quality of God's promises and the relationship it signified.
Not all sacrifices were the same. What does the 'burnt offering' tell us about the heart God desires?
The burnt offering, or 'olah' in Hebrew, was unique. Unlike other sacrifices where parts were eaten by priests or the worshipper, the burnt offering was entirely consumed on the altar. It was a complete surrender, a total giving back to God.
When salt was added to this 'all-consuming' sacrifice, it amplified the message: this devotion to God, this covenant relationship, was meant to be complete and everlasting. It speaks of a commitment that leaves nothing held back, a life fully given over to Him.
Understand the original words
YHWH · Hebrew Proper Noun
The personal, covenantal name of God (YHWH), revealed to Israel as the Self-Existent One who keeps His promises and dwells in the midst of His people.
olah · Hebrew Noun
A sacrifice wholly consumed by fire, symbolizing the total dedication and surrender of the offerer to God, as well as an atonement that produces a 'pleasing aroma' to the Lord.
melach · Hebrew Noun
A substance often associated with the covenant, symbolizing preservation, purity, and permanence in one's relationship with God; it was required to be added to sacrifices to signify the 'covenant of salt.'
Ezekiel's vision of the salt sprinkled on sacrifices points to the enduring need for purity and the perpetual nature of God's covenant, even as he prophesies during the despair of exile, before the Second Temple's construction.
c. 597 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
King Jehoiachin and thousands of Judeans, including the prophet Ezekiel, are exiled to Babylon following a siege of Jerusalem. This marks the beginning of the Babylonian Captivity.
586 BC
Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple
The Babylonians, under Nebuchadnezzar, conquer Jerusalem, destroy the First Temple, and deport most of the remaining population. This event shatters the Israelite nation and its worship.
c. 571 BC— this verse
Ezekiel's Prophecies
Ezekiel receives visions, including the detailed plans for a new Temple and restored worship, during his exile in Babylon. These visions are meant to provide hope and a blueprint for future restoration.
538 BC
Cyrus' Decree and Return from Exile
Following the Persian conquest of Babylon, Cyrus the Great issues a decree allowing the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple.
This passage explicitly states the requirement to season all grain offerings with salt, connecting directly to the practice mentioned in Ezekiel and highlighting salt's essential role in sacrifices under the Law.
Jesus mentions salt and fire in relation to sacrifice, echoing the imagery in Ezekiel and suggesting a deeper spiritual meaning for salt in God's economy.
This verse speaks of 'a covenant of salt' concerning the priesthood and perpetual service, linking the idea of salt to covenant faithfulness and enduring offerings, as implied in Ezekiel.
Matthew 5:13Jesus calls his followers 'salt of the earth,' drawing a parallel between the preserving and seasoning quality of salt in sacrifices and the spiritual influence believers are meant to have in the world.
barnesEzekiel 43:24: "And thou shalt offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the LORD."
Salt is here added to the "burnt-offering" to express still more the idea of purification. In the second temple no sacrifice was complete without the use of salt, and the rabbis assert that there was a great heap of salt close to the altar, always ready for use, and that the inclined plane to the altar was kept covered with salt.…
ellicottEzekiel 43:24: "And thou shalt offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the LORD."
(24) Cast salt. —The word means throw or pour, indicating a more copious use of salt than the seasoning ordained by the law ( Leviticus 2:13 ).
It's easy to overlook, but the "salt" sprinkled on the sacrifices here isn't just for flavor. In the ancient world, salt symbolized permanence and an unbreakable covenant, so adding it to the offerings meant these sacrifices, and the covenant they represented, were meant to last forever. This detail powerfully underscores the lasting nature of God's promises, even as the sacrifices themselves were temporary.
Ezekiel is detailing the specific instructions for offering sacrifices on the newly consecrated altar after the purification of the temple. These instructions involve presenting the animals before the LORD, and then the priests are to sprinkle them with salt before offering them as a burnt offering. This ritual emphasizes the completeness and purity of the sacrifice, a practice that would continue throughout the seven-day consecration period.
Ezekiel is detailing the specific instructions for offering sacrifices on the newly consecrated altar after the purification of the temple. These instructions involve presenting the animals before the LORD, and then the priests are to sprinkle them with salt before offering them as a burnt offering. This ritual emphasizes the completeness and purity of the sacrifice, a practice that would continue throughout the seven-day consecration period.
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Ask a follow-up
Ask Sola things like:
Live chat about Ezekiel 43:24 is available in the Sola app.
516 BC
Dedication of the Second Temple
The Second Temple is completed and dedicated in Jerusalem, marking the restoration of sacrificial worship, though it differs significantly from Solomon's Temple and Ezekiel's vision.
"You shall present them before the LORD, and the priests shall sprinkle salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering to the LORD." — It's easy to overlook, but the "salt" sprinkled on the sacrifices here isn't just for flavor. In the ancient world, salt symbolized permanence and an unbreakable covenant, so adding it to the offerin…
