σποδός (spodos)
spodos
ashes
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 3 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The noun spodos refers simply to ashes, the fine grey residue left after burning. In the New Testament, it appears only three times, always in contexts where people wear sackcloth and dust their heads with this substance as a visible sign of deep mourning or repentance. This usage mirrors the Old Testament practice, where the Greek translation frequently used spodos for the Hebrew word eper.
Jesus employs this image powerfully in Matthew 11:21 and Luke 10:13 when denouncing Chorazin and Bethsaida. He declares that if the miracles performed there had occurred in Tyre and Sidon, those cities would have repented long ago, "sitting in sackcloth and ashes." The phrase captures a posture of humility and grief over sin, using the physical reality of burnt remains to symbolize brokenness before God.
While Hebrews 9:13 mentions the sprinkling of ashes from a heifer’s sacrifice for ceremonial cleansing, the emotional weight of spodos is most clearly seen in the Gospel accounts. It serves as a concrete marker of human frailty and contrition, grounding spiritual sorrow in tangible, everyday elements.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word spodos refers to the fine grey residue left after burning. In the New Testament, it appears only three times, always in contexts where people wear sackcloth and dust their heads with this substance as a visible sign of deep mourning or repentance. This usage mirrors the Old Testament practice, where the Greek translation frequently used spodos for the Hebrew word eper.
Jesus employs this image powerfully in Matthew 11:21 and Luke 10:13 when denouncing Chorazin and Bethsaida. He declares that if the miracles performed there had occurred in Tyre and Sidon, those cities would have repented long ago, "sitting in sackcloth and ashes." The phrase captures a posture of humility and grief over sin, using the physical reality of burnt remains to symbolize brokenness before God.
While Hebrews 9:13 mentions the sprinkling of ashes from a heifer’s sacrifice for ceremonial cleansing, the emotional weight of spodos is most clearly seen in the Gospel accounts. It serves as a concrete marker of human frailty and contrition, grounding spiritual sorrow in tangible, everyday elements.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 3 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- ashes2×
- [the] ashes1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- σποδῷ2×
- σποδὸς1×
Key Verses
-
Matthew 11:21
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Jesus uses this imagery to highlight the missed opportunity for repentance by Chorazin and Bethsaida compared to Tyre and Sidon.
-
Luke 10:13
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
This parallel account emphasizes the posture of sitting in sackcloth and ashes as a sign of deep mourning over sin.
-
Hebrews 9:13
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify to the cleanness of the flesh,
Here, ashes are used ritually for ceremonial cleansing, contrasting with their emotional use in the Gospels.