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Dung: The uses of dung were two-fold --as manure and as fuel. The manure consisted either of straw steeped in liquid manure, Isa 25:10 or the sweepings, Isa 5:25 of the streets and roads, which were carefully removed from about the houses, and collected in heaps outside the walls of the towns at fixed spots --hence the dung-gate at Jerusalem --and thence removed in due course to the fields. The difficulty of procuring fuel in Syria, Arabia and Egypt has made dung in all ages valuable as a substitute. It was probably used for heating ovens and for baking cakes, Ezr 4:12,15 the equable heat which it produced adapting it pecularily for the latter operation. Cow's and camels dung is still used for a similar purpose by the Bedouins. |
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