Ashes. The ashes on the altar of burnt-offering were gathered into a cavity in its surface. On the days of the three solemn festivals the ashes were not removed, but the accumulation was taken away afterwards in the morning, the priests casting lots for the office. The ashes of a red heifer burnt entire, according to regulations prescribed in Numbers 19:1-22, had the ceremonial efficacy of purifying the unclean, Hebrews 9:13, but of polluting the clean. Ashes about the person, especially on the head, were used as a sign of sorrow.