Genesis 13:16Numbers 23:10Isaiah 29:5Psalm 78:27Job 27:16Zephaniah 1:17Job 10:9Ecclesiastes 12:7Daniel 12:2Isaiah 40:15Genesis 2:7Job 4:19Psalm 104:29Genesis 3:19Job 10:9Job 17:16Lamentations 2:10Ezekiel 27:30Revelation 18:19Micah 1:10Joshua 7:62 Samuel 16:13Acts 22:23

To defile a crown in dust (Psalm 89:39 ) was to dishonor the office of king. To eat or lick dust (Genesis 3:14; Psalm 72:9; Isaiah 65:25; Lamentations 3:29; Micah 7:17 ) was to suffer humiliation and powerlessness before an enemy. To lay one's horn (glory) in the dust was to experience humiliation and loss of standing (Job 16:15 ). To lay a soul in the dust (Psalm 7:5; Psalm 22:15 ) is to kill. To make something dust (Deuteronomy 9:21; 2 Kings 13:7 ) is to completely destroy it. To raise from the dust (1 Samuel 2:8 ) is to rescue or exalt. To sit in the dust (Isaiah 47:1 ) is to suffer humiliation.

For Jews to shake dust off their feet was a sign that Gentile territory was unclean. In the New Testament this action indicates that those who have rejected the gospel have made themselves as Gentiles and must face the judgment of God (Matthew 10:14-15; Acts 13:51 ).

Chris Church