Ashes
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(Gen. 18:27)—a biblical sign of humility, grief, mourning, and repentance. Abraham calls himself “dust and ashes” before God; mourners put ashes on their heads or sat among ashes (2 Sam. 13:19; Esth. 4:1-3; Job 2:8). The sufferer of Psalm 102 says, “I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink.” Ashes are not spiritually nourishing in themselves; their force lies in bodily confession of frailty and sorrow. Later Jewish mourning practices surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem are historical developments and should not be treated as commands of Scripture.