a.phar is loose earth or fine material, used for the ground, human lowliness and death, pulverized remains, and comparisons of abundance.

The term most often denotes loose earth or fine material on the ground, in or on which people, animals, objects, and cities are placed. It also occurs in statements of human origin, lowliness, and return to the ground; in accounts of objects or enemies reduced to fine material; and in comparisons for an uncountable multitude.

1. Loose earth on the ground or a surface · dominant

   The singular absolute form occurs for material that can fill wells, be eaten by the serpent, cover blood, be raised on mourners’ heads, or be sat upon. In Genesis 26:15 the APB renders the wells as filled “with dust,” while Ezekiel 24:7 describes blood not poured on the land “to cover it with dust.”

   Genesis 26:15Genesis 3:14Ezekiel 24:7Ezekiel 27:30Isaiah 47:1Isaiah 2:10
2. Human origin, lowliness, and return to the ground · common

   In clauses about people, the singular absolute form marks the material from which a human is formed, to which a human returns, or the low position from which someone is raised. In Genesis 3:19 the APB renders the paired statements, “for dust you are and to dust you will return,” and Ecclesiastes 12:7 renders the return of dust to the earth.

   Genesis 2:7Genesis 3:19Genesis 18:27Ecclesiastes 3:20Ecclesiastes 12:71 Samuel 2:8
3. Fine material produced by crushing or destruction · common

   The term names the residue or condition produced when objects, places, or opponents are broken down. In Deuteronomy 9:21 the APB renders the calf as ground “until it was crushed to dust,” while 2 Kings 23:15 renders the high place as burned and “crushed it to dust.”

   Deuteronomy 9:212 Kings 23:152 Kings 23:62 Kings 13:72 Samuel 22:43Ezekiel 26:4
4. Comparison for an innumerable quantity · occasional

   In construct phrases, the term supplies the comparison for a quantity too great to count or suffice for the people concerned. In Genesis 13:16 the APB renders offspring “like the dust of the earth,” and 2 Chronicles 1:9 similarly describes a people “many like the dust of the land.”

   Genesis 13:162 Chronicles 1:91 Kings 20:10Isaiah 41:2

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the cited verses, the APB commonly uses “dust,” including “dust of the earth,” “to dust,” and “crushed to dust.” It also renders clauses involving the term through images of filling, covering, sitting, and comparison; Those English expressions do not always isolate the term’s individual contribution.