מְלֵחָה (me.le.chah)
me.le.chah
saltiness
H:N-FQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 3 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-F
Word Overview
The noun melēḥah denotes the quality of being salty, but in Scripture it carries a heavier weight than simple taste. It describes the condition of land rendered barren by salt, where no crops can grow. This imagery appears in passages like Psalm 107:33-34 and Jeremiah 17:6, where the word paints a picture of desolation and fruitlessness rather than just chemical composition.
Its root connects directly to melek, meaning "salt." While salt preserves food, excessive salt destroys soil. The biblical writers use this contrast to illustrate spiritual or national decline. When the land becomes melēḥah, it signifies a place cut off from life and blessing, unable to sustain its people.
Translators often render this as "barrenness" or "desolation" because the English word "saltiness" misses the theological sting. The focus is not on the mineral itself but on the resulting emptiness. This single term captures a profound warning: what was once fertile can become useless, mirroring the fate of those who turn away from God.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word melēḥah describes more than just a taste; it points to a landscape stripped of life. When the soil becomes too salty, it cannot hold water or support crops. This image serves as a stark reminder that spiritual vitality requires connection to God’s sustaining grace. Without that source, even the most fertile ground can turn into a barren waste.
Scripture uses this reality to warn against turning away from divine wisdom. A heart detached from God risks becoming like the salt land described in Jeremiah 17:6—dry, isolated, and unable to receive good things. Yet this warning is not meant to frighten us into despair. Instead, it invites us to examine where our roots are growing.
We find comfort in knowing that restoration is always possible. God’s grace can bring rain to the driest places and restore fertility where there was once only emptiness. By staying connected to Him, we ensure our lives remain fruitful and alive, reflecting the hope found in His faithful presence.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 3 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- saltiness1×
- into/ saltiness1×
- [the] saltiness1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- מְלֵחָ֖ה1×
- מְלֵֽחָה\׃1×
- לִ/מְלֵחָ֑ה1×
Key Verses
-
Psalms 107:34
and a fruitful land into a salt waste, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
This verse explicitly links the transformation of fertile land into a salt waste directly to human wickedness, showing how moral failure leads to spiritual desolation.
-
Jeremiah 17:6
For he will be like a bush in the desert, and will not see when good comes, but will inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, an uninhabited salt land.
Here the word describes the permanent dwelling place of one who trusts in man rather than God, illustrating the isolating nature of such a choice.
-
Job 39:6
whose home I have made the wilderness, and the salt land his dwelling place?
The text contrasts this harsh environment with human habitation, highlighting that even the wildest creatures find their place while those who reject God are left without home.