The origins and nuances of ‘salt of the earth’

us the word “salary,” derived from the

Latin word for salt – “sal.”

Biblical scholars believe that the phrase “of the earth” might be a reference to the use of salt to accelerate burning in earthen (clay) ovens, or to the pure salt mined from the earth – the nearby cliffs of Jebel Usdum, as opposed to inferior salt scraped from the flats along the Dead Sea.

“Of the earth” also suggests that virtuous people are connected to the land, either literally as farmers or herders, or figuratively as decent, down-to-earth folks. Given the Joe-Six-Pack composition of Jesus’ audience, it’s not surprising that “salt of the earth” is used today more often to refer to common, humble folks than to the country-club set.

The entry for “salt of the earth” in the New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy reflects this homespun connotation: “Basic, fundamental goodness: the phrase can be used to describe any simple, good person: ‘I like Mary; she’s reliable, trustworthy and straightforward; she’s the salt of the earth.’”

But does calling people “the salt of the earth” imply that they’re unsophisticated or proletarian? That question has spurred a lively debate on the linguistic usage website english.stackexchange.com.

Posts one contributor: “‘Salt of the earth’ has class connotations. I think we are far more likely to compliment a hardworking laborer as ‘salt of the earth’ than a welleducated, white-collar professional.”

But another post reads, “I just used the term to describe two people I know who are sincere, honest, hard-working and kind. It escapes me how this [phrase] needs to exclude the educated or world-wise people.”

Given the rarity of integrity, kindness and humility in the world, please feel free to use “salt of the earth” to describe any virtuous people, no matter how much money they’ve salted away.