Plaster

A mixture of lime and water painted on walls to cover rough surfaces and make them white.

Plaster covering a stone wall
Plaster covering a stone wall (© Ray Pritz by United Bible Societies) Plaster, stucco, whitewash

About Plaster

Plaster was a wet, pasty material used to cover a wall. It filled in holes and cracks, and when it dried, it left the wall smooth. Different materials were used, among them mud or a composition of lime, water, and sand. The plaster served to fill and seal spaces between the building stones and thus protect the surface from water seepage. Because it made a smooth surface, the plaster also served as a base for decorating walls with paint.

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Key References

Leviticus 14:42

So different stones must be obtained to replace the contaminated ones, as well as additional mortar to replaster the house.

Deuteronomy 27:2

And on the day you cross the Jordan into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, set up large stones and coat them with plaster.

Ezekiel 13:10

Because they have led My people astray, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and whitewashing any flimsy wall that is built,

Matthew 23:27

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.

All Scripture References (10)

Deuteronomy (2)
Deuteronomy 27:2

And on the day you cross the Jordan into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, set up large stones and coat them with plaster.

Deuteronomy 27:4

And when you have crossed the Jordan, you are to set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I am commanding you today, and you are to coat them with plaster.

Job (1)
Job 13:4

You, however, smear with lies; you are all worthless physicians.

Psalms (1)
Psalm 119:69

Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep Your precepts with all my heart.

Ezekiel (6)
Ezekiel 13:10

Because they have led My people astray, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and whitewashing any flimsy wall that is built,

Ezekiel 13:11

tell those whitewashing the wall that it will fall. Rain will come in torrents, I will send hailstones plunging down, and a windstorm will burst forth.

Ezekiel 13:12

Surely when the wall has fallen, you will not be asked, ‘Where is the whitewash with which you covered it?’

Ezekiel 13:14

I will tear down the wall you whitewashed and level it to the ground, so that its foundation is exposed. The city will fall, and you will be destroyed within it. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

Ezekiel 13:15

And after I have vented My wrath against the wall and against those who whitewashed it, I will say to you: ‘The wall is gone, and so are those who whitewashed it—

Ezekiel 22:28

Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.