4416. melach

Lexical Summary

melach: salt

Original Word: מְלַח
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: mlach
Pronunciation: meh'-lakh
Phonetic Spelling: (mel-akh')
KJV: + maintenance, salt
NASB: salt
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) from H441 (אַלוּף אַלּוּף - Chief)5]

1. salt

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

maintenance, salt

(Aramaic) from mlach; salt -- + maintenance, salt.

see HEBREW mlach

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
(Aramaic) corresponding to melach
Definition
salt
NASB Translation
salt (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

מְלַח noun masculine salt (see Biblical Hebrew); — ׳מ absolute Ezra 6:9; Ezra 7:22 (both for sacrifices), construct Ezra 4:14.

Topical Lexicon

Definition and Scope

מְלַח (melach) in Ezra is an Aramaic term for common table salt, but in Scripture the concept of “salt” consistently carries economic, ritual, and symbolic weight. Though מְלַח itself appears only in Ezra’s Aramaic chapters, it participates in the broader biblical theology of salt that stretches from Genesis to Revelation.

Occurrences in Ezra

• Ezra 4:14 records the enemies of Judah writing to Artaxerxes that they “eat the salt of the palace,” an idiom for enjoying the king’s provisions and therefore owing him loyalty.
• Ezra 6:9 enumerates the provisions that Darius commanded be supplied for daily sacrifices: “Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil… must be given to them daily without fail”.
• Ezra 7:22 repeats the same authorization under Artaxerxes, including “up to one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without limit”, underscoring the king’s generosity toward the restored Temple.

These three verses link salt to covenant loyalty (4:14) and to Temple worship (6:9; 7:22).

Historical and Cultural Setting

In the Persian period salt was a state-controlled commodity. Accepting a ruler’s salt was tantamount to entering a covenant of fidelity. At the same time, Temple liturgy required salt for every grain offering (Leviticus 2:13) and for seasoning burnt offerings (Ezekiel 43:24). Thus the decrees of Ezra not only met dietary needs but also reinstated proper sacrificial worship according to Mosaic law.

Ritual and Theological Significance

1. Purity and Preservation: Salt’s antiseptic qualities made it a fitting emblem of purification. “Season all your grain offerings with salt” (Leviticus 2:13) indicates that nothing offered to God should be corrupt or decaying.
2. Covenant Permanence: Salt is stable and resists decay, so a “covenant of salt” (Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5) speaks of enduring faithfulness. The Ezra decrees echo this motif by providing salt “without limit,” ensuring unbroken worship.
3. Consecration of Worship: The reintroduction of salt into the Temple rites signaled that the exiles’ return was not merely political restoration but spiritual re­constitution under the law of Moses.

Economic Dimension

Salt functioned as currency and ration. Persia’s willingness to fund limitless salt for Jewish worship reflects both geopolitical strategy and divine providence: God used imperial resources to re-establish His prescribed worship in Jerusalem.

Broader Biblical Theology of Salt

• Judgment: Lot’s wife became “a pillar of salt” (Genesis 19:26), and barren lands are compared to salt flats (Jeremiah 17:6).
• Wisdom: “Is tasteless food eaten without salt?” (Job 6:6) illustrates spiritual insipidity.
• Discipleship: “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13) and “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6) extend the metaphor to the Church’s preserving and purifying mission.

Practical Ministry Implications

1. Worship Integrity: Like the priests of Ezra’s day, believers must offer service seasoned with sincerity and moral purity.
2. Covenant Loyalty: Just as consuming the king’s salt bound subjects to their sovereign, partaking of the Lord’s Table obliges believers to unswerving allegiance to Christ.
3. Cultural Engagement: Salt permeates without losing its essence; Christians are to engage society while retaining distinct holiness.
4. Generosity in Service: Persia’s lavish provision models how God’s people should resource gospel work—“salt without limit.”

Christological Fulfillment

Jesus embodies and perfects every Old Testament symbol. He is the agent who preserves His people from corruption (Jude 24) and establishes an everlasting covenant. Through Him, the Church becomes the true “salt of the earth,” extending the legacy of מְלַח from Persian-era Jerusalem to the ends of the world.

Forms and Transliterations

וּמְלַ֖ח ומלח מְלַ֣ח ׀ מְלַ֤ח מלח mə·laḥ meLach məlaḥ ū·mə·laḥ umeLach ūməlaḥ

Englishman's Concordance

Ezra 4:14
HEB: קֳבֵל֙ דִּֽי־ מְלַ֤ח הֵֽיכְלָא֙ מְלַ֔חְנָא
INT: according to have maintenance of the palace the service

Ezra 6:9
HEB: שְׁמַיָּ֟א חִנְטִ֞ין מְלַ֣ח ׀ חֲמַ֣ר וּמְשַׁ֗ח
NAS: and wheat, salt, wine
KJV: of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil,
INT: of heaven and wheat salt wine and anointing

Ezra 7:22
HEB: מְשַׁ֖ח מְאָ֑ה וּמְלַ֖ח דִּי־ לָ֥א
NAS: baths of oil, and salt as needed.
KJV: of oil, and salt without
INT: of oil an hundred and salt forasmuch without

3 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 4416
3 Occurrences

mə·laḥ — 2 Occ.
ū·mə·laḥ — 1 Occ.