You state "in Israel,... neter didn't only refer to soda (sodium carbonate) but primarily to potash (potassium carbonate)". There is also confusion with "ashlag" - is it potassium carbonate (i.e. pot ash - from wood fire residues) or is it potassium chloride as per its modern commercial usage?
From what I can see, ashlag is a Post-Biblical word. So perhaps in biblical times they used "neter", and post-biblically, they used ashlag.
thanks for these posts on chemical nomenclature. shabbat shalom.
Commenting by HaloScan
