Soap

The word thus translated in the Auth. Version is in Hebrew borith. It occurs in two passages of Scripture—first, in Jer 2:22, ’For though thou wash thee with niter, and take thee much soap (borith), yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God;’ and again, in Mal 3:2, ’But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap (borith).’ From neither of these passages does it distinctly appear whether the substance referred to by the name of borith was obtained from the mineral or from the vegetable kingdom. But it is evident that it was possessed of cleansing properties.

In the above passage of Jeremiah we have neter (niter) and borith (soap) indicated as being both employed for washing, or possessed of some cleansing properties; and yet, from occurring in the same passage, they must have differed in some respects. The niter is, without doubt, the natural carbonate of soda; and as this is alluded to in one member of the sentence, it becomes probable that the artificial carbonates may be alluded to in the other, as both were in early times employed by Asiatic nations for the purposes of washing.

Hence it is probable that the ashes of plants, called boruk and boreh by Asiatic nations, may be alluded to under the name of borith, as there is no proof that soap is intended, though it may have been known to the same people at very early periods. Still less is it probable that borax is meant, as has been supposed by some authors, apparently from the mere similarity of name.

Mal 3:2, Hebrew, borith, the cleanser; in Jer 2:22 distinguished from nitre, which see. It is well known that the ancient used certain vegetables and their ashes for the purpose of cleansing linen, etc. The ashes of seashore plants contain carbonate of potash. Combined with oil or fat the alkalies produced soap; but it is not known in what forms the Jews used them.\par

Soap. The Hebrew term, borith, is a general term for any substance of cleansing qualities. As, however, it appears in Jer 2:22, in contradistinction to nether, which undoubtedly means "natron" or mineral alkali, it is fair to infer that borith refers to vegetable alkali, or some kind of potash, which forms one of the usual ingredients in our soap.

Numerous plants capable of yielding alkalies, exist in Palestine, and the surrounding countries; we may notice one named, hubeibeh, (the Salsola kali of botanists), found near the Dead Sea, the ashes of which are called el-kuli, from their strong alkaline properties.

borit. (See FULLER.) Jer 2:22. Vegetable alkali or potash. Many plants yielding alkalies exist in Palestine and around: hubeibet (Salsola kali) with glass-like leaves near the Dead Sea; ajram near Sinai, pounded for use as soap; the gilloo or soap plant of Egypt; and the heaths near Joppa. The Saponaria offcinalis and Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum. (Job 9:30; Isa 1:25). Hebrew for "purely" "as alkali (purifies)."

SOAP (bôrîth) occurs in EV [Note: English Version.] (AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘sope’) only in Jer 2:22 (washing of the person) and Mal 3:2 (operations of the fuller). Properly bôrîth denotes simply ‘that which cleanses.’ The cognate word bôr is commonly rendered ‘cleanness,’ but in Job 9:30, Isa 1:25 RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] gives ‘lye.’ Soap in the modern sense of the word was unknown in OT times, and we do not know what precisely is referred to by bôrîth. As in Jer 2:22 nether (AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘nitre’ [wh. see]), a mineral alkali, is set in antithesis to bôrîth, it is supposed that the latter was some kind of vegetable alkali which, mixed with oil, would serve the purposes of soap. This may be confirmed by the fact that in Jer 2:22 and Mal 3:2 LXX [Note: Septuagint.] renders bôrîth by poia = ‘grass.’

J. C. Lambert.

sōp (בּרית, bōrı̄th; the King James Version sope): Bōrı̄th is a derivative of בּר, bōr, “purity,” hence, something which cleanses or makes pure. Soap in the modern sense, as referring to a salt of a fatty acid, for example, that produced by treating olive oil with caustic soda, was probably unknown in Old Testament times. Even today there are districts in the interior of Syria where soap is never used. Cooking utensils, clothes, even the body are cleansed with ashes. The ashes of the household fires are carefully saved for this purpose. The cleansing material referred to in Jer 2:22 (compare Septuagint at the place, where bōrı̄th is rendered by ποία, poia = “grass”) and Mal 3:2 was probably the vegetable lye called in Arabic el ḳali (the origin of English alkali). This material, which is a mixture of crude sodium and potassium carbonates, is sold in the market in the form of grayish lumps. It is produced by burning the desert plants and adding enough water to the ashes to agglomerate them. Before the discovery of Leblanc’s process large quantities of ḳali were exported from Syria to Europe.

For washing clothes the women sprinkle the powdered ḳali over the wet garments and then place them on a flat stone and pound them with a wooden paddle. For washing the body, oil is first smeared over the skin and then ḳali rubbed on and the whole slimy mixture rinsed off with water. Ḳali was also used in ancient times as a flux in refining precious metals (compare Mal 3:2). At the present time many Syrian soap-makers prefer the ḳali to the imported caustic soda for soap-making.

In Susanna (verse 17) is a curious reference to “washing balls” (smḗgmata).

Jer 2:22 (b) By this we understand the human schemes, efforts and plans that men use to get rid of their sins. Soap is a human invention for cleansing purposes. So various religious groups have ways and means which they offer to the public as remedies for the sins of men. These are compared to soap.

Mal 3:2 (b) This emblem represents the thoroughness and effectiveness of the judgments of GOD.