{"id": "card_n_48d59fad564c", "kind": "note", "title": "Easton: Clay", "body": "This word is used of sediment found in pits or in streets (Isa. 57:20; Jer. 38:60), of dust mixed with spittle (John 9:6), and of potter’s clay (Isa. 41:25; Nah. 3:14; Jer. 18:1-6; Rom. 9:21). Clay was used for sealing (Job 38:14; Jer. 32:14). Our Lord’s tomb may have been thus sealed (Matt. 27:66). The practice of sealing doors with clay is still common in the East. Clay was also in primitive times used for mortar (Gen. 11:3). The “clay ground” in which the large vessels of the temple were cast (1 Kings 7:46; 2 Chr. 4:17) was a compact loam fitted for the purpose. The expression literally rendered is, “in the thickness of the ground,”, meaning, “in stiff ground” or in clay.", "source": {"label": "Matthew Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary (1897)", "url": "/encyclopedia.html?ref=Clay", "ref": "Clay", "authority_tier": "external_aligned"}, "shelf": "dictionary", "box": "easton_concept_a_d", "bands": ["easton", "bible_dictionary", "concept"], "connections": [{"to_card_id": "card_n_b3d286d98c09", "relationship": "cites", "via_connection_card_id": "card_c_17aa6a88fc88"}, {"to_card_id": "card_n_59aff31da66d", "relationship": "cites", "via_connection_card_id": "card_c_8e5a52cab72a"}], "author": "engine", "created_at": "2026-05-19T13:08:58.983833+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-05-19T19:50:27.253551+00:00", "visibility": "public", "lifecycle_stage": "public", "volatility": "permanent", "metrics": {"paperclips_count": 0, "helpful_count": 0, "not_helpful_count": 0, "cite_count": 4, "walks_through_count": 0, "flagged_count": 0}, "source_hash": "674c251334d35a8831a4e0c75398e1bd5141b43c432e9670464241e7d9d1a72b", "witnesses": [{"class": "manuscript_tradition", "label": "Original 1897 publication — Thomas Nelson, London", "ref": "Easton-1897"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "Project Gutenberg — Easton's Bible Dictionary", "url": "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45696", "ref": "PG-45696"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "Internet Archive — multiple scans", "url": "https://archive.org/details/eastonsillustra00east", "ref": "IA-Easton"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "CCEL — Easton's Bible Dictionary", "url": "https://www.ccel.org/e/easton/ebd/", "ref": "CCEL-Easton"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "Blue Letter Bible — searchable Easton's", "url": "https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/easton/", "ref": "BLB-Easton"}], "witness_status": "passed", "witness_status_reason": "5 witnesses across 2 independence classes: ['manuscript_tradition', 'republication']", "surface": "secular"}