DUST

Jos 7:6. Dust or ashes put upon the head was a sign of mourning; sitting in the dust, a sign of affliction, La 3:29 Isa 47:1. "Dust" is also put for the grave, Ge 3:19 Job 7:21. It signifies a multitude, Ge 13:16, and a low and mean condition, 1Sa 2:8. We have two remarkable instances of casting dust recorded in Scripture, and they seem to illustrate a practice common in Asia: those who demanded justice against a criminal were accustomed to throw dust upon him, signifying that he deserved to be cast into the grave. Shimei cast dust upon David when he fled from Jerusalem, 2Sa 16:13. The Jews treated the apostle Paul in a similar manner in the same city: "They cried out, ‘Away with such a fellow from the earth; for it is not fit that he should live.’ And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air, the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle," Ac 22:22-24. To shake off the dust of the feet against another was expressive of entire renunciation, Mt 10:14 Mr 6:11 Ac 13:51. The threatening of God, recorded in De 28:24, "The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed," means that instead of fertilizing rains, clouds of fine dust, raised from the parched ground and driven by fierce and burning winds, shall fill the air. Of such a rain of dust, famine and disease would be the natural attendants. See WIND.

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Dust. Dust
Storms of sand and dust sometimes overtake Eastern travellers. They are very dreadful, many perishing under them. Jehovah threatens to bring on the land of Israel, as a punishment for forsaking him, a rain of “powder and dust” (Deut. 28:24).

To cast dust on the head was a sign of mourning (Josh. 7:6); and to sit in dust, of extreme affliction (Isa. 47:1). “Dust” is used to denote the grave (Job 7:21). “To shake off the dust from one’s feet” against another is to renounce all future intercourse with him (Matt. 10:14; Acts 13:51). To “lick the dust” is a sign of abject submission (Ps. 72:9); and to throw dust at one is a sign of abhorrence (2 Sam. 16:13; comp. Acts 22:23).

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DUST. → Man made from Ge 2:7; 3:19; 23; Ec 3:20 → Casting of, in anger 2Sa 16:13 → Shaking from feet Mt 10:14; Ac 13:51 → Put on the head in mourning Jos 7:6; 1Sa 4:12; 2Sa 1:2; 15:30; Job 2:12; 42:6

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(1) Man made from Ge 2:7; 3:19; 18:27; Job 10:9; 34:15; Ps 103:14; Ec 12:7 (2) Thrown or Shaken off in Anger Mt 10:14; Ac 13:51 (3) Placed on the Head as a Sign of Grief Jos 7:6; Job 2:12; La 2:10; Eze 27:30; Re 18:19 --SEE Sackcloth, 1950

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dust. Dust, n. earth dried to powder, the grave

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Dust (dŭst), n. [[AS. dust; cf. LG. dust, D. duist meal dust, OD. doest, donst, and G. dunst vapor, OHG. tunist, dunist, a blowing, wind, Icel. dust dust, Dan. dyst mill dust; perh. akin to L. fumus smoke, E. fume. √71.]] 1. 1. Fine, dry particles of earth or other matter, so comminuted that they may be raised and wafted by the wind; that which is crumbled to minute portions; fine powder; as, clouds of dust; bone dust.
Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. Gen. iii. 19. Stop! — for thy tread is on an empire's dust. Byron. 2. 2. A single particle of earth or other matter. “To touch a dust of England's ground.” Shak.
3. 3. The earth, as the resting place of the dead.
For now shall sleep in the dust. Job vii. 21. 4. 4. The earthy remains of bodies once alive; the remains of the human body.
And you may carve a shrine about my dust. Tennyson. 5. 5. Figuratively, a worthless thing.
And by the merit of vile gold, dross, dust. Shak. 6. 6. Figuratively, a low or mean condition.
raiseth up the poor out of the dust. 1 Sam. ii. 8. 7. 7. Gold dust; hence: (Slang) Coined money; cash.
Down with the dust, deposit the cash; pay down the money. “My lord, quoth the king, presently deposit your hundred pounds in gold, or else no going hence all the days of your life. . . . The Abbot down with his dust, and glad he escaped so, returned to Reading.” Fuller. — Dust brand (Bot.), a fungous plant (Ustilago Carbo); — called also smut. — Gold dust, fine particles of gold, such as are obtained in placer mining; — often used as money, being transferred by weight. — In dust and ashes. See under Ashes. — To bite the dust. See under Bite, v. t. — To raise, or kick up, dust, to make a commotion. — To throw dust in one's eyes, to mislead; to deceive.