Ashes to Ashes
My soul is satisfied as with [d]marrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. Psalm 63:5 NASB
Marrow and fatness – What does David’s poetry have to do with the official English Burial Service? Well, “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” comes from the Burial Service, not the Bible. It is supposed to be derived from Genesis 3:19. How is this connected to David? The answer is that “marrow and fatness” is really about ashes, not prosperity.
Marrow is the Hebrew ḥēleb. “It occurs ninety times, usually referring to the fat of animal sacrifices, especially in Lev where it appears forty-five times.”[1] Fatness is the Hebrew dāšēn. “The verb dāšēn is used only in poetry except for the Pentateuch, once in the Qal stem (Deut 31:20), usually in the Piel or Pu’al. Refers to the ‘fatty ashes’ left after the burning of sacrificial animals (Ex 27:3; Num 4:13).”[2]
So David is writing about the left-over after burned sacrifices—the ashes. And you thought he was writing lyrics about satisfying abundance. No, not quite. We would like David to sing about the satisfaction of prosperity, you know, having plenty so your life is full and fat, but that’s not what he’s saying. The words he chooses need to be understood in their context, and that context is overwhelmingly sacrificial. This is our typical desire upside down. And just in case you think this isn’t the critical point, David’s syntax puts “marrow” and “fatness” first in the sentence: “As with marrow and fatness is satisfied my nepeš.”
“My soul is satisfied,” but really? Are we really satisfied with the ashes of the sacrifice? With the leftovers? We already know that “soul” is a terrible translation of nepeš. David isn’t saying that his spiritual condition is satisfied (while his physical body is traumatized). Remember the opening verse – weary, parched, desperate—total person involvement, not the panting of some invisible “soul.” The verb for “satisfied” confirms this. It’s śābēaʿ, typically used for satisfaction with nourishment (e.g., manna). It also describes “fullness of life,” and “plenty of food.” Of course, metaphorically it can describe spiritual satisfaction. Waltke comments:
A derived notion is its metaphorical sense of being satisfied spiritually with God’s good gifts. Because the Lord answered the prayer of the Psalmist by delivering him from death at the hands of the wicked, the meek shall eat and be satisfied (Ps 22:26 [H 27]). In this messianic psalm a satisfaction is promised which extends beyond the bounds of merely having enough food and drink to a spiritual satisfaction because the Lord answered the prayer of the righteous. Jesus, in the Beatitudes, has a similar notion in mind when he says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled” (Mt 5:6; cf. Ps 107:9). Isaiah says that the charitable will find their own souls satisfied in drought (Isa 58:11), and Moses prays that the Lord will satisfy Israel early with his love (Ps 90:14). The Suffering Servant shall be satisfied when he sees the new life his death produced (Isa 53:11).[3]
The metaphorical use might be understood here, but the idea seems contradictory. How can David speak of even spiritual satisfaction when all he has are the ashes of burnt offerings? But that’s precisely the point, isn’t it? The ashes of burnt offerings demonstrate David’s continuing connection to God, his religious practice within the covenant—and they point to God’s faithfulness, even in this time of parched existence.
How does David seek God earnestly? How does he act in the parched land? He makes an offering. He sacrifices something. The ashes prove it. And God will respond. David lets the ashes sift through his fingers. He knows God honors his faithfulness. He sings praises because this simple ritual reminds him of the mutual bond of ḥesed.
Topical Index: ḥesed, śābēaʿ, satisfy, marrow, ḥēleb, dāšēn, fatness, ashes, Psalm 63:5
[1] Yamauchi, E. (1999). 651 חלב. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 285). Chicago: Moody Press.
[2] Wolf, H. (1999). 457 דָּשֵׁן. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 199). Chicago: Moody Press.
[3] Waltke, B. K. (1999). 2231 שָׂבֵַע. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 869). Chicago: Moody Press.
