Stardust and Hope

After last week's newsletter, I found myself exploring different salt-related texts from antiquity, and I became incredibly frustrated with phrase from Matthew 5:13 - "the salt of the earth". Even ignoring the rest of the confusing verse, those five words made less and less sense every time I reread them. 

In a generally uplifting and inspiring sermon, I could not find a grain of hope in those words. And the fact that this phrase has become so ingrained within our language makes me want to make some sense of it.

Cliff Notes for the Unfamiliar

• The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the (Christian) New Testament, and the specific chapter (5) is usually referred to as "The Sermon on the Mount", in which Jesus goes up a mountain and preaches to his followers and other passerby.
• The book was originally written in either Hebrew or Aramaic, and subsequently translated to Greek, with the original text lost. 
• The intended audience of his sermon were Jews in the hyper-sectarian Second Temple period, who were living under Roman rule.
• It is difficult to even describe parts of it as sectarian rhetoric. For example, in 5:17-20 are the famous verses in which Jesus says that he is not trying to abolish the Torah, but fulfill it. And he still considered the Pharisees and the teachers of the Torah to be righteous.
• As a work of homiletics, it is quite effective, especially the Beatitudes (5:3-10), in which he begins every verse with the words "Blessed are the" and then inserts a group usually perceived as not powerful, and concludes it with positive prophecy. 
• This is parodied by a scene in the blasphemous* film "Life of Brian" (1979), in which someone mishears "Blessed are the Peacemakers" as "Blessed are the Cheesemakers", which is also true.
• He then reminds his followers to stay strong even whilst being insulted, persecuted, and slandered, like the prophets of the past.

Problematic Portion

(Problematic portion bolded)

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
– (translations by NKJV)

I don't mean problematic from a theological or religious point of view. I mean, it is nonsensical. And I chose a translation at random, as the problem stems from the Greek.

What is the salt of the earth?

This phrase has transformed into a catch-phrase for describing people as poor, but hard-working people. I'm not exactly sure how it comes to mean that.

The only real connection in antiquity containing both salt and earth was as the final destructive act of a conquering horde to ensure that things could not be subsequently grown on the land. 

Also, salt was expensive. And that is usually how commentators try to explain the phrase. Or quoting the value in salt with worship and food. It feels too obscure.

Giving the benefit of the doubt, one would assume that Jesus must have been making a reference that his audience would immediately understand, yet there is not a single Biblical reference thats seems to fit. 

Considering the clarity of message and efficacy of the rest of the sermon, I would blame the translator and not the author. As the earliest Greek manuscripts I could find seem to have the problem, I would assume that the mistranslation happened when it was translated into Greek. (This is also helped by the fact that we already saw a similar error regarding the substance in the wine he was provided by the Roman soldier.)

Salt : Earth :: Light : World

Stylistically, the salt of the earth (το αλας της γης) is paralleled by the light of the world (το φως του κοσμου). But the common understanding of the first phrase seems to be polite and neutral at best, and the second phrase seems to be overwhelmingly positive.

An Unholy People?

Matthew 5:12 talks about the persecuted prophets, which begs the connection to Ezekiel. The words qodesh (holy) and hol (profane / mundane) are found multiple times as a pair in Ezekiel 44, specifically referring to the priests and sectarianism. 

And I could potentially understand how "you are a profane people", which is overwhelmingly negative, which could fit in what I think the original words could be, but that line doesn't get better in the second half with being trampled by men.

In that regard, I found it interesting that Jesus didn't take a page from Korah's playbook, "For all the community are holy, all of them" (Numbers 16:3), but he probably knew what happened to Korah and his followers (they were swallowed up by the earth).

In fact, there doesn't seem to be any talk of holiness or profanity whatsoever in this entire chapter.

Bad Sectarians

Sects, by definition, are a separate class or group of people.

There is nothing in the Sermon on the Mount which seems to instruct the listeners to separate themselves from the larger group. While there are some minor modifications on behavior (eg. no lust in heart, no divorce), it is nothing like the sectarian rhetoric in the Damascus Document found in Qumran. 

Please don't misunderstand: I am not making a statement about early Christians or Christianity, I'm talking about a single chapter in a single book which is likely transcriptive in nature about a single sermon. 

The Book of Daniel

It's the lack of sectarianism that also makes me disregard Daniel 12:2-3 as a potential reference for the phrase. 

Many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth (אַדְמַת־עָפָ֖ר, admat afar) will awake, some to eternal life, others to reproaches, to everlasting abhorrence. 

And the knowledgeable will be radiant like the bright expanse of sky (כְּזֹ֣הַר הָרָקִ֑יעַ, ke-zohar-ha-rakia), and those who lead the many to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever.
– (Translations by JPS, 1985)

That said, (those who sleep in the) admat afar "dust of the earth", which is a euphemism for the dead, fits what the original language could have been, and paralleled with zohar ha-rakia "radiance of the sky" mirrors the salt of the earth / light of the world.

But I don't know how exactly this provides hope. Possibly, I guess?

Ahistoric

There was something else that struck me, again, nothing seems to be connected to historical events in the nation. Which again, makes sense, that the Exodus from Egypt or the miracles associated with giving of the Law were missing from the message the preacher preached in an occupied city. But there doesn't seem to be any reason given why the Law needed to be kept.

Are we all stardust?

What if Carl Sagan** borrowed his "star stuff" philosophy from Jesus? Or more seriously, what if this is intended to echo the promise to Abraham in Genesis 22? If the phrase was more similar to the "sand on the beach" and "stars in the heaven", common references to two uncountable Biblical quantities.

While "you are a grain of sand/salt on the earth"*** and "you are a light (star) in the heavens" sound like opposite sentiments, both of them are self-affirming as descendants of Abraham and the other forefathers.

"You are a grain of sand" becomes as powerful as "you are a star".

And both are messages that would remind weathered residents of an occupied city that they have a noble bloodline, and therefore, a reason to have hope to continue.

* Why I described Life of Brian as blasphemous:

I learned how much I didn't know about another persecuted people. I also didn't know how a town in Wales banned Monty Python's Life of Brian because of the apparent blasphemy, and that the Welsh actress in it, Sue Jones-Davis, became the mayor of Aberystwyth, I'm assuming for the sole purpose of removing the ban.
– Why I Learned Lliwiau (colors) in Cymraeg (Welsh)

** nice Jewish boy

***Without knowing the original, I still can't understand the second half of the 5:13.