Cooking: Salt for the Dunghill

Matthew 5:11-13: Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Luke 14:34-35:Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.

Some alternate translations of Matthew 5:13a, italics mine:
ESV: You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?
RSV: You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?
The Amplified Bible: You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its strength, its quality), how can its saltiness be restored?

I think the RSV renders it the clearest via use of the semi-colon.

This is from Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, by Bruce J. Malina nad Richard L. Rohrbaugh, published in 2003 by Augsburg Fortress, page 41:

“The ‘earth’ is an outdoor, earthen oven (Job 28:5, Ps 12:6) found near the house. The ideal householder had a house fronted by a walled courtyard that contained (1) an earthen oven with (2) a double stove, (3) a millstone for grinding, (4) a dung heap, along with (5) chickens and (6) cattle. The earthen oven used the dung as fuel. The dung heap was salted, and salt plates were used as a catalyst to make the dung burn. Salt loses its saltiness when the exhausted plates no longer serve to facilitate burning. Unlike Matthew, Luke specifies that salt without saltiness is ‘fit neither for the earth nor the dunghill; men throw it away’ (Luke 14:34-35).”

A series of first-century houses in Capernaum. Each family had 1-2 rooms bordering a central courtyard used by multiple families, often relatives.

It’s certainly true the ovens were ‘earthen’ – they were made of clay. However, so were a great many things – plates, cups, stoves, jugs, probably toys, storage chests, tables, etc. It was cheap and widely used. Nobody would hear ‘earthen’ and associate it with an oven.

In regard to his quote in Luke, the NIV renders it this way: Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.

I definitely don’t think the soil actually meant clay, which actually meant an oven. Furthermore, in that explanation the earth and the dunghill wind up being the same thing – the salted dunghill burning in the earthen oven – and Jesus specifies it as two different places – “the earth nor the dunghill.” Anyone who’s used a pooper-scooper might speculate that they salted dung to keep the flies away.

Beyond that, Matthew specifically relates its lack of saltiness to the taste, which wouldn’t fit in this slant. Perhaps they are two different analogies; Jesus taught in many places and he may have altered his sayings somewhat. As for Luke’s mention of the ‘earth’ – they salted soil to prevent crops from growing. You can see this in Jeremiah 48:9 - “Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste; her towns will become desolate, with no one to live in them.” My NIV Archaeological Study Bible note says, “Salt was scattered over the land to render the soil unproductive and barren.” You can see Wikipedia on ‘salting the earth’ for more on this, e.g. “The Assyrians are described in ancient records as salting the capitals of neighboring countries which repeatedly rebelled against paying them tribute—including Mitanni in c. 1290 BC, and centuries later, Elam in c. 640 BC.” Also, from the same source and for the same reason, “In Portugal, salt was poured onto the land owned by a convicted traitor.”

I also found a tip online about using salt to ward away ants; perhaps they used it as a pesticide as well.