This word is used of sediment found in pits or in streets ( Isaiah 57:20 ; Jeremiah 38:60 ), of dust mixed with spittle ( John 9:6 ), and of potter's clay ( Isaiah 41:25 ; Nahum 3:14 ; Jeremiah 18:1-6 ; Romans 9:21 ). Clay was used for sealing ( Job 38:14 ; Jeremiah 32:14 ). Our Lord's tomb may have been thus sealed ( Matthew 27:66 ). The practice of sealing doors with clay is still common in the East. Clay was also in primitive times used for mortar ( Genesis 11:3 ). The "clay ground" in which the large vessels of the temple were cast ( 1 Kings 7:46 ; 2 Chronicles 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
- part_of
source-manifest/easton— Easton's Bible Dictionary (PD)