SOAP. Appears in the KJV, ASV and RSV in Jeremiah 2:22 and Malachi 3:2 only. The Heb. term is בֹּרִית, H1383, which must be connected to similar occurrences in Isaiah 1:25 and Job 9:30 where the term is בֹּר֮, H1342, meaning alkali (potash, K₂CO₃) obtained from the ashes of certain plants. Throughout the Near E the phrase “ashes of borith,” or “ashes of qali” was synonymous to “soap.” In the OT the term is used in a fig. sense in regard to the cleansing of Israel from iniquity and unbelievers. In the same sense, the notion of the “fuller” is used in the NT (e.g. Mark 9:3), although the Gr. term, ποία, G4471, is tr. literally “grass.” It is used for the Heb. term in the LXX, but not in the NT.