Hebrew word · H1287

בֹּרִית

borit

lye

Lye or alkali: a cleansing substance made from the ash of certain plants (soda and potash plants), probably from the root ברר, 'to be clean, pure'. Appears only twice in the Bible.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

lye, potash, soap, alkali (used in washing)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Malachi 3:2

Range of meaning

Lye or alkali: a cleansing substance made from the ash of certain plants (soda and potash plants), probably from the root ברר, 'to be clean, pure'. Appears only twice in the Bible.

Against the English

KJV/ESV 'fullers' soap', BSB/WEB 'launderer's soap'. 'Soap' calls to mind a mild, often scented bar. Borit was the caustic alkali itself, used to strip grease and stains out of cloth.

How it drifted

The word 'soap' stayed the same while the product changed. In 1611 'soap' could mean crude alkaline cleaners, but now it suggests gentle washing.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jer 2:22: 'Even if you wash with natron (neter) and use much lye (borit), your guilt is still a stain before me.' The Septuagint renders it as πόα, 'herb, plant', and the Vulgate as herba fullonum, 'fullers' herb'. Both reflect a cleaning agent made from plants.

From the study of Jeremiah 2:22

Range of meaning

Alkaline lye made from plant ash. Salt-loving plants (saltworts, glassworts) were burned, and water was soaked through the ash to make a caustic washing solution. The word comes from the root b-r-r, 'to be clean, pure'. A related noun, bōr, also means lye (Job 9:30; Isa 1:25).

Against the English

'Soap' suggests a modern bar of fat and alkali. Bōrît was a plant-ash lye solution. Whether true fat-based soap was made in Judah at this date is uncertain. The word means 'cleanser', and the exact chemistry is not the point.

Used elsewhere in the period

Mal 3:2, 'fullers' lye'. The Septuagint here translates it poa, 'herb, plant', and the Vulgate herba borith, 'the plant borith'. Both translators understood it as a plant-based product. Job 9:30–31 has a close parallel: 'If I wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye, you will still plunge me into the pit.'

Where it appears

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 2:22 בֹּרִ֑ית soap

    Although you wash with lye and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before Me,” declares the Lord GOD.

    Here: A cleaning lye made by burning certain salt-loving plants and soaking water through the ash. The word comes from a root meaning 'clean, pure'. Together with natron it covers both kinds of alkali people knew: mineral and plant.

Malachi · 1

  1. Malachi 3:2 וּכְבֹרִ֖ית and like [the] soap of

    But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.

    Here: 'And like the lye of…'. A caustic cleaning agent made from the ash of alkali-rich plants. It was harsh enough to strip stains out of cloth, so it was nothing like a gentle bar of soap. The word appears only here and in Jeremiah 2:22.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.