However, the following incident involving Elisha directly contradicts this conclusion:
And the people of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, please, the situation of this city is good, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the land miscarries.” And he said, “Bring me a new cruse, and put salt inside it,” and they brought it to him. And he went out to the source of the water and threw the salt into it, and he said, “So said God, ‘I have healed these waters; there shall not be any more death or loss from them.’” And the waters were healed until this day, as the words of Elisha that he spoke. (II Kings 2:19-22)
In this incident, salt – which is generally associated with destruction –actually heals the water!
Healing with Salt Highlights the Miracle
The following midrash explains Elisha’s actions:
Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel says: Come and see how different are the way of the Holy One, Blessed be He, from the ways of flesh and blood. Flesh and blood heals the bitter with the sweet, but the Holy One, Blessed be He, heals the bitter with the bitter. How so? He puts something destructive into something which is being destroyed in order to perform a miracle... And so too, “And he went out to the source of the water and he threw salt there, and he said, ‘So said God...’” How does this heal it? For is it not so that sweet water becomes spoiled when salt is put into it? How does this work? He put something destructive into something which is being destroyed in order to perform a miracle. (Mechilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Mesechta DeVaYisa, Beshalach 1, s.v. “VaYitzak el”)
According to the midrash, salt – which normally spoils drinking water – was specifically chosen here to heal the water in order to highlight the miraculous nature of the event. In this case, this incident also relates to salt as a generally destructive and negative substance.
