a
phrase spoken in certain burial
services, used sometimes to
denote total finality. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust is based upon biblical texts, such as in "
Genesis" (the first book of the
Bible) where
God sent Adam and Eve, the first
man and woman to inhabit the earth, out of the Garden of Eden (a paradise created by
God) after they had disobeyed him.
God stated to
Adam "Dust
thou art, and
unto dust
shalt thou return" reminding
Adam that he had been created by
God from the dust of the
ground and due to their disobedience they had brought
death upon themselves.