אַשְׁפֹּת (ash.pot)
ash.pot
Dung (Gate)
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 7 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Definition
Definition
Brown-Driver-Briggs
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word for 'dung' or 'ash heap' might seem unglamorous, yet Scripture uses it to describe the lowest possible state of human existence. It represents places of waste, shame, and abandonment where society casts aside what it considers useless. In ancient Jerusalem, gates named after such refuse marked the city's boundaries, reminding inhabitants that even their outer limits were defined by what was discarded.
However, this imagery serves a profound theological purpose: it highlights the magnitude of God’s grace. The same God who allows nothing to go unnoticed in His creation is the One who reaches down from these depths. He does not merely observe the poor and needy; He actively lifts them up, transforming their place of shame into a position of honor and dignity.
For your faith, this offers deep comfort. No matter how low you feel or how discarded you might seem by others, you are within reach of a God who specializes in restoration. Your current circumstances do not define your final destination. He can raise the humble from the dust and set them beside princes, proving that His power is most visible when it rescues what the world has left behind.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 7 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- the/ dung4×
- from/ [the] ash heap2×
- ash heaps1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- מֵֽ֝/אַשְׁפֹּ֗ת1×
- מֵֽ/אַשְׁפֹּת֙1×
- הָ/שֲׁפֽוֹת\׃1×
- הָ/אַשְׁפֹּֽת\׃1×
- הָ/אַשְׁפֹּ֑ת1×
- הָ/אַשְׁפּ֗וֹת1×
- אַשְׁפַּתּֽוֹת\׃\ \ס1×
Key Verses
-
I Samuel 2:8
He raises up the poor out of the dust. He lifts up the needy from the dunghill to make them sit with princes and inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are Yahweh’s. He has set the world on them.
This verse contrasts the 'dunghill' with the 'throne of glory,' illustrating God's power to elevate the lowest status to the highest honor.
-
Nehemiah 3:14
Malchijah the son of Rechab, the ruler of the district of Beth Haccherem, repaired the dung gate. He built it, and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars.
Here, Malchijah repairs this specific gate, showing that even areas associated with waste were part of the community's responsibility to restore Jerusalem's defenses.
-
Psalms 113:7
He raises up the poor out of the dust, and lifts up the needy from the ash heap,
The 'ash heap' is paired with 'dust' to emphasize the complete humility from which God lifts up the needy, reinforcing His care for the marginalized.