Wed Dec 18 09:12:16 1996

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Date: Wed, 18 Dec 96 16:17:52 +0100
From: schmiul@uni-muenster.de (Ulrich Schmid)
Subject: Re: have salt with each other ??
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On Wed, 18 Dec 1996, Jean Valentin wrote:

>In NA27, Mk 9.50 (second part) is translated:
>"Have salt in yourselves, and be in peace with each other".

>In Sin. Arb. 71, this sentence is translated:
>"Have salt in yourselves (litt. in your souls, usual in Arabic), and have 
>_salt_ with each other".

>I ask myself several questions about this passage. Could it be just 
>another carelessness of the translator or the scribe, or is it possible 
>that we have here a correct interpretation of this enigmatic sentence of 
>Jesus? I mean by this, could it be that, in the milieu that produced the 
>Gospel texts, "salt" was a metaphor for "peace"? 



>So I ask the exegetes among you if they know of references to salt as an 
>emblem of peace? And, maybe this can help us also understanding the 
>meaning of the salt in the OT passages where it accompanies several 
>sacrifices cf. Lev 2.13, Nb 18.19, Esd 4.14 and 7.22, Ez 43.24 - and what 
>about Mt 5.13?).

Though personally lacking any up-to-date knowledge, I may quote from the 1933 
article *hALAS* (by Hauck) in: Kittel, Theologisches Woerterbuch zum Neuen 
Testament, I, S. 229:
"Gemeinsames Geniessen von Brot und Salz oder von Salz allein stiftet feste 
Buendnisse: Nu 18,19; 2 Chr 13,5 Salzbund (Anmerkung: Vgl. Aristot[eles] 
Eth[ica] Nic[omachea] VIII 4 p 1156 b 27ff; Cic[ero] Lael[ius] 19,67)."
Though I did not check the references, I suspect this "Salzbund" a cultural 
feature transcendending limited regional or tribal/national boundaries. 
BTW-- Some (German) novels and "Reiseberichte" of the last century describe the 
"Salzbund" as peace and wellcome rite performed in various arabian societies.
Hope this helps 

Ulrich Schmid, Muenster 

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