Dung-hills, also referred to as refuse heaps or ash heaps, are mentioned in the Bible as places of lowliness, desolation, and humility. In ancient times, these heaps were used for the disposal of waste, including animal dung, ashes, and other refuse. The imagery of dung-hills is employed in Scripture to convey themes of degradation, judgment, and sometimes restoration.

Biblical References:

1. Job 2:8 · In the Book of Job, dung-hills are associated with suffering and affliction. After Job is struck with painful sores, he sits among the ashes, a place of mourning and despair: "And Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes."

2. 1 Samuel 2:8 · The concept of being lifted from the dung-hill is used metaphorically to describe God's power to elevate the humble and downtrodden. Hannah's prayer of thanksgiving includes this imagery: "He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; He seats them with princes and bestows on them a throne of honor."

3. Psalm 113:7 · Similar to Hannah's prayer, the psalmist praises God for His ability to transform the lives of the lowly: "He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap."

4. Lamentations 4:5 · The Book of Lamentations uses the imagery of dung-hills to depict the drastic reversal of fortunes experienced by the people of Jerusalem during the Babylonian siege: "Those who once ate delicacies are destitute in the streets; those brought up in purple huddle in ash heaps."

Symbolism and Themes:

· Humility and Lowliness: Dung-hills symbolize the lowest state of human existence, often associated with poverty, suffering, and disgrace. They serve as a stark contrast to wealth and honor, highlighting the transient nature of earthly status.

· Divine Reversal: The Bible frequently uses the imagery of dung-hills to illustrate God's ability to reverse human circumstances. The transformation from the ash heap to a place of honor underscores the theme of divine intervention and grace.

· Judgment and Desolation: In prophetic literature, dung-hills can represent the aftermath of divine judgment, where once-prosperous cities or individuals are reduced to ruins and waste.

· Repentance and Mourning: Sitting on a dung-hill or ash heap is an act of mourning and repentance, as seen in the practices of wearing sackcloth and ashes. It signifies a recognition of one's sinfulness and a plea for God's mercy.

Cultural Context:

In the ancient Near East, dung-hills were common in urban and rural settings. They were practical sites for waste disposal but also carried significant symbolic weight in the cultural and religious life of the people. The use of dung-hills in biblical literature reflects a deep understanding of their physical and metaphorical implications.

Theological Insights:

From a theological perspective, dung-hills remind believers of the humility required before God and the hope of redemption. They serve as a powerful metaphor for the transformative work of God, who can lift individuals from the depths of despair to positions of dignity and purpose. The imagery encourages a reliance on divine providence and a recognition of God's sovereignty over human affairs.

Zedekiah
... The miseries of the siege live for ever in the Book of Lamentations. Mothers
boiled their children, nobles hunted on dunghills for food. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/maclaren/expositions of holy scripture h/zedekiah.htm

The Net Spread
... The gate of Ahasuerus's palace was not a favourable soil for the growth of a devout
soul, but flowers can bloom on dunghills, and there have been 'saints' in ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/the net spread.htm

Jerusalem
... And it is customary for dunghill cocks to scrape dunghills, and thence perhaps they
might rake up the bones of creeping things; whence those holy things, which ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 21 jerusalem.htm

Rahab
... So we should not expect old heads on young shoulders, nor wonder if people, lifted
from the dunghills of the world, have some stench and rags of their old ...
//christianbookshelf.org/maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/rahab.htm

The First Preaching at Antioch
... famine feasting sumptuously on their private stores, whilst women were boiling their
children for a meal and men fighting with dogs for garbage on the dunghills ...
/.../expositions of holy scripture the acts/the first preaching at antioch.htm

Divine Grace.
... But alas, they receive it as stones receive showers, or as dunghills receive the
rain: they either abide as hard as stones still, or else return nothing to ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bunyan/the riches of bunyan/vi divine grace.htm

The Last Pleading of Love
... We change; 'He abideth faithful, He cannot deny Himself.' As the sunshine pours
down as willingly and abundantly on filth and dunghills, as on gold that ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture b/the last pleading of love.htm

Ebenezer!
... but think any one of us what a mass of sin we are, if we will but reflect that we
are after all, as one of the fathers writes, "walking dunghills," we should ...
//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 9 1863/ebenezer.htm

Salvation: Grace: Faith
... Just as the light, because it is light and must radiate, falls upon dunghills and
diamonds, upon black rocks and white snow, upon ice-peaks and fertile fields ...
/.../expositions of holy scripture ephesians peter/salvation grace faith.htm

Two Households
... Christian people in, was it? Such flowers do not often grow, or at least
do not easily grow, on such dunghills. And in both these ...
/.../maclaren/romans corinthians to ii corinthians chap v/two households.htm

Dunghills (2 Occurrences)
...Dunghills (2 Occurrences). Lamentations 4:5 Those who did feed delicately are desolate
in the streets: Those who were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills. ...
/d/dunghills.htm - 7k

Dung-hills (1 Occurrence)
Dung-hills. Dunghills, Dung-hills. Dung-pit . Multi-Version Concordance
Dung-hills (1 Occurrence). ... (DBY). Dunghills, Dung-hills. Dung-pit . Reference
/d/dung-hills.htm - 6k

Nurtured (3 Occurrences)
... (See NAS). Lamentations 4:5 Those who did feed delicately are desolate in the streets:
Those who were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills. (See NIV). ...
/n/nurtured.htm - 7k

Out-places (22 Occurrences)
... (YLT). Lamentations 4:5 Those eating of dainties have been desolate in out-places,
Those supported on scarlet have embraced dunghills. (YLT). ...
/o/out-places.htm - 13k

Embraced (19 Occurrences)
... (See RSV). Lamentations 4:5 Those eating of dainties have been desolate in out-places,
Those supported on scarlet have embraced dunghills. (YLT). ...
/e/embraced.htm - 11k

Embrace (11 Occurrences)
... Lamentations 4:5 Those who did feed delicately are desolate in the streets:
Those who were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills. ...
/e/embrace.htm - 11k

Dung-hill (3 Occurrences)
Dung-hill. Dunghill, Dung-hill. Dunghills . Easton's Bible Dictionary ...
(ASV). Dunghill, Dung-hill. Dunghills . Reference Bible.
/d/dung-hill.htm - 7k

Dung-pit (1 Occurrence)
Dung-pit. Dung-hills, Dung-pit. Dung-port . Multi-Version Concordance
Dung-pit (1 Occurrence). ... (See RSV). Dung-hills, Dung-pit. Dung-port . Reference
/d/dung-pit.htm - 6k

Dainties (14 Occurrences)
... (YLT). Lamentations 4:5 They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets:
They that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills. (See JPS YLT RSV). ...
/d/dainties.htm - 12k

Delicately (11 Occurrences)
... (See RSV). Lamentations 4:5 Those who did feed delicately are desolate in the
streets: Those who were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills. ...
/d/delicately.htm - 11k

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