Literally, “food” for fire. (Isa 9:5, 19; Eze 15:4) Charcoal (Isa 47:14; Joh 18:18), sticks (Jer 7:18), rushes (Job 41:20), thorns (Ec 7:6), wood (Jos 9:27; Isa 44:14-16), as well as vines (Eze 15:6), are among the fuels specifically mentioned in the Bible. Additionally, olive oil was a fuel commonly used in lamps. (Ex 27:20; Mt 25:3, 4) Wood, in its natural state or in the form of charcoal, was likely the main fuel of the Israelites. For heating purposes charcoal was commonly burned in a brazier. (Jer 36:22) At other times it was burned without a container, as was undoubtedly the case when Jesus Christ, after his resurrection, prepared breakfast over a charcoal fire.​—Joh 21:9, 10; see CHARCOAL.

To depict the severity of Jerusalem’s siege, Ezekiel was instructed to use human excrement for fuel, but when he objected, Jehovah permitted him to use cakes of cattle dung instead. (Eze 4:8, 12-15) Although dried cattle dung is today used by some persons in the Middle East because of the scarcity of wood, this does not necessarily mean that the Israelites ordinarily used it, especially since ancient Palestine was more heavily wooded than it is now.