Bible Dictionary
Fuel
Fuel was any combustible material used to feed a fire, including wood, charcoal, thorns, dried plants, and animal dung. Scripture uses such materials in descriptions of household needs, cooking, and judgment by fire.
Definition
Fuel is combustible material used as food for a fire. Biblical examples include wood, charcoal, thorns, dried stalks, and dried animal dung.
Biblical Usage
Fuel appears in descriptions of household and agricultural materials and in images of burning and judgment. The supplied material also mentions fuel in passages concerning fire’s destructive use.
Historical Background
Houses in the described setting generally lacked chimneys and were not constructed for extensive heating. Wood and charcoal remained common, while dried plants, thorns, and dung supplied other forms of fuel.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Almost every kind of combustible matter was used for fuel, such as the withered stalks of herbs (Matt. 6:30), thorns (Ps. 58:9; Eccl. 7:6), animal excrements (Ezek. 4:12-15; 15:4, 6; 21:32). Wood or charcoal is much used still in all the towns of Syria and Egypt. It is largely brought from the region of Hebron to Jerusalem. (See COAL.)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>fu'-el ('okhlah, or ma'akholeth, "food"): Is mentioned specifically only in the Old Testament, in Isa 9:5,19; Eze 15:4,6; 21:32. Its general, literal meaning in these connections is "food for fire," and might include any sort of combustible material. The common forms of fuel were wood of various sorts (even including thorns, Ps 58:9; 118:12; Ec 7:6), and dried stalks of flowers or grass (Mt 6:30), charred wood as charcoal (Le 16:12; Isa 44:19, and frequently), and dried dung (Eze 4:12,15). There is no certain indication that our coal was known to the Hebrews as fuel, and their houses, being without chimneys, were not constructed for the extensive use of fuel for warmth.</p><p>Leonard W. Doolan</p>