Definition of clay in Scripture
Glossary
By Stephen Michael Leininger
Posted: 05/2022
STOSS Books
Clay (in Scripture):
Our DNA is a bonded collection of very, very small stones—dust—held together by electrically charged ions and surrounded by dynamically structured water molecules (more on the importance of that fact later). William Whitman, a microbiology professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, tells us that DNA by itself, absent any of the other biological systems that make for a living cell, is nothing more than a “rock.”[1] That’s right—dust! Let’s recall the words of God to Adam: “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:19).
Unbeknownst to Prof. Whitman, it would not be correct to equate the word rock with DNA relative to both Scripture and geological circles because rock generally refers to the original mineral formation from which stones come.[2] Dust/stone is nothing more than pieces of rock that have been separated from the rock and gradually worn down to very, very small mineral crystals, i.e., stones that are the size of dust.[3]
More specific to man in Scripture is the use of the word clay. God revealed to Hildegard, “Out of clay God so shaped humanity that through this tiny spark of the soul we become flesh and blood out of clay.”[4] The use of clay in Scripture is significant. Clay is comprised of two primary substances:
1. Dust, which is even finer than silt, i.e., 2 microns or less (aka micrometer; two-thousandths of a millimeter),[5] and;
2. Water.
Considering the size of our DNA (the nuclear volume of an entire sperm cell, containing an entire molecule of DNA, is only about 30 microns[6]).
Thus, the symbolism of clay is most appropriate. For clay to be moldable (the technical term is plastic), which is scripturally symbolic of a biologically and spiritually alive human person (e.g., Num 5:17; Job 10:9, 27:16; Is 64:8; Rom 9:21), it must contain water within its mix. The significance of this fact will become much more evident as we progress through those parts of STOSS that discuss bio-living water, freshwater, saltwater, and more. If you examine Scripture references to clay, I am confident that you will begin to see in each passage a much deeper meaning relating to grace, the Holy Spirit, the redemption of the body, and Truth incarnate. Our bodies—including Jesus’ body—are made up entirely of cells that contain within their nuclei the biological (not geological) salt of DNA—the “stone/dust/clay” of DNA.
The word Bethel means house of God;[7] the NC house of God is the rebuilt Temple that Jesus said he would rebuild in three days—the resurrected and glorified body of Jesus (Jn. 2:19-21). We become one Mystical Body of Christ through Baptism, which is a prerequisite to becoming one flesh with the Temple through the Mass and the Eucharist. It is through Baptism that we are purified, and our garments are changed (cf. Eph 2:15, 4:24). In his lectures on the mystery of Baptism, St. Cyril of Jerusalem
To understand the science hidden behind the term clay, we must understand the meaning of the scriptural mouth and the spiritual soul related to fallen sinful man. The spirit, i.e., the spiritual heart of the spiritual soul, is where our “treasure” resides. The treasure is either evil, good, or some degree between the two. That treasure is what overflows to the soul of the spiritual soul, which controls every expression of the scriptural mouth—the body via all of its members (heart, brain, vocal cords, etc.).
The deeper meaning of clay is seen in the role of water within the clay matrix. Without the water, the clay cannot be molded or remolded. Grace (Living Water) builds upon nature. As our earthen vessel changes in response to the changing overflow from our spirit, the mouth must accurately express that overflow into physical creation. This is where epigenetic plasticity comes into play. The epigenome is one of the “members” of the scriptural mouth. It is a significant component of clay’s plasticity.
The scriptural mouth is that which sends out/expresses into physical creation. The scriptural mouth of man has many biological members. Some are more prominent than others. St. Paul writes, “For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Rom 12:4-5). Our scriptural mouth/body has different members that contribute to that expression of the overflow of the heart.
The mouth will always accurately express the inner heart’s overflow. This statement needs to be qualified. There are two components of the biblical mouth’s expression; sense-able and meta-sense-able. The sense-able part of the expression can only be sensed through the five naked senses of the body. On the other hand, while the meta-sense-able part of the expression is also physical, it is not detectable through the five senses. For an example of this, we can point to the electromagnetic field generated by the beating heart or the neuronal processes of the cranial brain. The meta-sense-able part of the expression cannot lie, but the sense-able part of the expression can be formed in such a way as to deceive others.
Nowhere in the Magisterial writings has it been intimated that the body (the scriptural mouth) and the spiritual soul spend eternity in different places, e.g., the body in hell and the soul in Heaven. God’s justice would require such to happen if the body did not accurately express the spiritual heart. This is the deeper meaning of clay. The overflow of the heart will be accurately by the mouth. If the heart is gradually and increasingly purified through the Living Water of the Holy Spirit dwelling in the human spirit, the mouth/body will be equally purified so that it can accurately send out the overflow. Grace builds on nature. Grace uses biological processes, such as the instrumentality of structured biological water, to accomplish that building.
St. Catherine of Siena (a Doctor of the Church) tells us what was revealed to her by God. She writes:
They will see my generosity and mercy shine forth in the blessed as these receive the fruit of the blood of the Lamb. And they will see how all the sufferings the blessed endured remain as adornments on their bodies, like ornamentation imprinted on cloth-not from the body's own excellence, but because the soul from her fullness will imprint on the body the fruit of its labors, to shine outwardly, since it was her partner in virtue. just as a mirror reflects a person's face, just so, the fruit of their labors will be reflected in their bodies.
When the darksome ones see such honor, and themselves deprived of it, their suffering and confusion will increase. For on their bodies will appear the mark of their evil deeds, with pain and excruciating torment.[10]
ENDNOTES:
[1] University of Georgia, “Light Shed on Ancient Origin of Life,” Science Daily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130307110644.htm: Science Daily LLC, March 6, 2013 (accessed 03/08/2013). Journal Source: F. Sarmiento, J. Mrazek, W. B. Whitman. “Genome-scale analysis of gene function in the hydrogenotrophic methanogenic archaeon Methanococcus maripaludis.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1220225110.
[2] David Lyle Jeffrey, Klyne Snodgrass, “Stone,” A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature (Grand Rapids, MI.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1992), 736.
[3] MineralTown, “Soil, Sand and Dirt,” http://www.mineraltown.com/infocoleccionar/How_rocks_minerals_are_formed.htm#Crystals, (accessed 10/11/2011).
[4] Hildegard of Bingen. Hildegard of Bingen’s Book of Divine Works: With Letters and Songs, trans. Robert Cunningham, Jerry Dybdal, and Ron Miller, ed. Matthew Fox. (Santa Fe: Inner Traditions International/Bear & Company, 1987), Kindle Locations 2430-2431.
[5] “Clay,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay, (accessed 10/17/2012).
[6] Ron Milo, Rob Phillips, “How Big Is A Human Cell,” Cell Biology By The Numbers, http://book.bionumbers.org/how-big-is-a-human-cell/, (accessed 08/23/2016).
[7] John Corbett, “Bethel,” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907), http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02532d.htm, (accessed August 10, 2011).
[8] St. Cyril of Jerusalem, “Catechetical Lecture #20; On the Mysteries II. of Baptism,” (Third Millennium Media L.L.C., The Faith Database L.L.C., 2008), n.2.
[9] Catherine of Siena. Dialog of Catherine of Siena, Kindle Location 796.
[10] St. Catherine of Sienna, The Dialogue, trans. Suzanne Noffke, O.P. (Mahwah: Paulist Press, 1980), 86.