Malachi 3:2 , Hebrew, borith, the cleanser; in Jeremiah 2:22 distinguished from nitre, which see. It is well known that the ancient used certain vegetables and their ashes for the purpose of cleansing linen, etc. The ashes of seashore plants contain carbonate of potash. Combined with oil or fat the alkalies produced soap; but it is not known in what forms the Jews used them.
Although written in 1859 by William Rand, this dictionary of the Bible from the American Tract Society is still relevant today.Wikipedia
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