Reference: Washing
American
Various ceremonial washings were enjoined in the Mosaic law, both upon priests, Ex 30:19-21, and upon others, Le 12-15; Heb 9:10. These were significant of spiritual purification through the Savior's blood, Tit 3:5; Re 1:5, as well as of that holiness without which none can see God. To these the Jews added other traditional ablutions, Mr 7:2-4; and regarded it as an act of impiety to neglect them, as Christ frequently did, Lu 11:38. The washing of the hands before and after meals,
Mt 15:2, called for by their custom of feeding themselves with their fingers, is still practiced in Syria. See cut in BED. Where there is a servant in attendance, he pours water from a pitcher over his master's hands, holding also a broad vessel underneath them, 2Ki 3:11; Ps 60:8. See FOOT and SANDALS. "Washing the hands" was a protestation of innocence, De 21:6; Mt 27:24; and has given rise to the proverbial saying common among us, "I wash my hands of that."
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So shall Aaron and his sons bathe thereat, - their hands, and their feet. When they enter the tent of meeting, they shall bathe with water so shall they not die, - or when they approach unto the altar to minister, to burn as incense an altar-flame to Yahweh: read more. so then they shall bathe their hands and their feet and shall not die, - and it shall be to them an age-abiding statute, to him and to his seed to their generations.
and, all the elders of that city who are nearest unto the slain, shall bathe their hands over the heifer that hath boon beheaded in the ravine,
So Jehoshaphat said - Is there not, here, a prophet of Yahweh, that we may enquire of Yahweh, from him? Then answered one of the servants of the king of Israel, and said, Here, is Elisha son of Shaphat, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.
Moab, is my wash-bowl, Upon Edom, will I throw my shoe, Over Philistia! raise shout of triumph.
Wherefore do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands, when they eat bread!
And Pilate, seeing, that, nothing, it availed, but rather, a tumult, was arising, taking water, washed his hands of it before the multitude, saying - Innocent, am I, of the blood of this man, - Ye, shall see to it for yourselves.
and, observing certain of his disciples, that, with defiled hands, that is unwashed, they are eating bread, - - For, the Pharisees, and all the Jews, unless with care they wash their hands, eat not, holding fast the tradition of the elders; read more. and coming from market, unless they sprinkle themselves, they eat not, - and, many other things, there are, which they have accepted to hold fast - immersions of cups and measures and copper vessels - -
And, the Pharisee, beholding, marvelled that he was not, first, immersed, before the dinner.
Not by works which we had done in righteousness, but, according to his mercy, he saved us - through means of the bathing of a new birth, and the moulding anew of Holy Spirit. -
Only as to eatings, and drinkings, and diversified immersions, - righteous-appointments of the flesh, which, until a season of rectifying, are in force.
and from - Jesus Christ, - The Faithful Witness, The Firstborn of the Dead, and The Ruler of the Kings of the Earth. Unto him that loveth us, and loosed us out of our sins with his blood, -
Easton
(Mr 7:1-9). The Jews, like other Orientals, used their fingers when taking food, and therefore washed their hands before doing so, for the sake of cleanliness. Here the reference is to the ablutions prescribed by tradition, according to which "the disciples ought to have gone down to the side of the lake, washed their hands thoroughly, 'rubbing the fist of one hand in the hollow of the other, then placed the ten finger-tips together, holding the hands up, so that any surplus water might flow down to the elbow, and thence to the ground.'" To neglect to do this had come to be regarded as a great sin, a sin equal to the breach of any of the ten commandments. Moses had commanded washings oft, but always for some definite cause; but the Jews multiplied the legal observance till they formed a large body of precepts. To such precepts about ceremonial washing Mark here refers. (See Ablution.)
Illustration: Washing the Hands
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And the Pharisees and certain of the Scribes who have come from Jerusalem gather themselves together unto him; and, observing certain of his disciples, that, with defiled hands, that is unwashed, they are eating bread, - - read more. For, the Pharisees, and all the Jews, unless with care they wash their hands, eat not, holding fast the tradition of the elders; and coming from market, unless they sprinkle themselves, they eat not, - and, many other things, there are, which they have accepted to hold fast - immersions of cups and measures and copper vessels - - and so the Pharisees and the Scribes, question, him - For what cause do thy disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but, with defiled hands, eat bread? But, he, said unto them - Well, prophesied Isaiah concerning you, ye hypocrites, as it is written - This people, with the lips do honour me, while, their heart, far off, holdeth from me, - But, in vain, do they pay devotions unto me, teaching for teachings, the commandments of men; Having, dismissed, the commandment, of God, ye, hold fast, the tradition, of men. And he was saying to them - Well, do ye set aside the commandment of God, that, your own tradition, ye may observe;
Fausets
The high priest's whole body was washed at his consecration (Ex 29:4; Le 16:4); also on the day of atonement. The priests' hands and feet alone were washed in the daily tabernacle ministrations (Ex 30:18-20). So Christians are once for all wholly "bathed" (leloumenoi) in regeneration which is their consecration; and daily wash away their soils of hand and foot contracted in walking through this defiling world (Joh 13:10, Greek "he that has been bathed needs not save to wash (nipsasthai) his feet, but is clean all over": 2Co 7:1; Heb 10:22-23; Eph 5:26). The clothes of him who led away the scape-goat, and of the priest who offered the red heifer, were washed (Le 16:26; Nu 19:7).
The Pharisaic washings of hands before eating, and of the whole body after being in the market (Mr 7:2-4), turned attention off from the spirit of the law, which aimed at teaching inward purity, to a mere outward purification. In the sultry and dusty East water for the feet was provided for the guests (Lu 7:44; Ge 18:4). The Lord Jesus by washing His disciples' feet taught our need of His cleansing, and His great humility whereby that cleansing was effected (compare 1Sa 25:41; 1Ti 5:10). The sandals, without stockings, could not keep out dust from the feet; hence washing them was usual before either dining or sleeping (Song 5:3). Again, the usage of thrusting the hand into a common dish rendered cleansing of the hand indispensable before eating. It was only when perverted into a self righteous ritual that our Lord protested against it (Mt 15:2; Lu 11:38).
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Let there be fetched, I pray thee a little water, and bathe ye your feet, - and rest yourselves under the tree.
And Aaron and his sons, shalt thou bring near, unto the opening of the tent of meeting, - and shalt bathe them in water.
And thou shalt make a laver of bronze, and its stand of bronze for bathing, - and thou shalt place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and shalt put therein water. So shall Aaron and his sons bathe thereat, - their hands, and their feet. read more. When they enter the tent of meeting, they shall bathe with water so shall they not die, - or when they approach unto the altar to minister, to burn as incense an altar-flame to Yahweh:
A holy tunic of linen, shall he put on and drawers of linen, shall be upon his flesh, and with a band of linen, shall he gird himself, and with a turban of linen, shall his head be wrapped about, - holy garments, they are, therefore shall he bathe in water his flesh, and so put them on.
And he that sent away the goat unto Azazel, shall wash - his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, - and, after that, shall he come into the camp.
And the priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and afterwards come into the camp, - but the priest shall be unclean until the evening,
And she arose, and bowed herself down with her face to the earth, - and said - Lo! thy handmaid, as serving-woman to bathe the feet of the servants of my lord.
I have put off my tunic, oh how shall I put it on? I have bathed my feet, oh how shall I soil them?
Wherefore do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands, when they eat bread!
and, observing certain of his disciples, that, with defiled hands, that is unwashed, they are eating bread, - - For, the Pharisees, and all the Jews, unless with care they wash their hands, eat not, holding fast the tradition of the elders; read more. and coming from market, unless they sprinkle themselves, they eat not, - and, many other things, there are, which they have accepted to hold fast - immersions of cups and measures and copper vessels - -
And, turning towards the woman, unto Simon, he said - Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house: water to me, on my feet, thou didst not give, - but, she, with her tears, hath wetted my feet, and, with her hair, wiped off the tears .
And, the Pharisee, beholding, marvelled that he was not, first, immersed, before the dinner.
Jesus saith unto him - He that hath bathed himself, hath no need save as to the feetto get washed; but is pure, as a whole. And, ye, are, pure, but not ye, all.
Having therefore, these, promises, beloved, let us purify ourselves from all pollution of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in fear of God.
That, her, he might sanctify, having purified her with the bath of water, in declaration,
Let us approach with a genuine heart, in full assurance of faith, having been sprinkled, as to our hearts, from an evil conscience, and bathed, as to our bodies, with pure water; Let us hold fast the confession of the hope without wavering, - for, faithful, is he that hath promised;
Morish
A requirement of frequent literal recurrence under the law, but in the N.T. a term bearing commonly a moral force and application. Important truth may be learned from the different significations of the Greek words used for 'washing' in John 13. The word in Joh 13:10 is ????, 'to cleanse, wash thoroughly.' One who is cleansed in this sense never needs to be thus washed again; he is, as the Lord said, 'clean every whit,' yet in order to have 'part with' Christ, he needs, because of the defilement of the way, that his feet should be washed (here the word is ?????), Joh 13:5-14, an action which is applied to parts of the body only. The same difference was typified in the cleansing of Aaron and his sons. They were at their consecration once 'washed' by Moses, but were thenceforward required continually, when executing their service, to wash only their hands and feet in the laver. Ex 40:12,30-32.
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And thou shalt bring near Aaron and his sons, unto the opening of the teat of meeting, - and shalt bathe them in the water;
And he put the laver, between the tent of meeting, and the altar, - and put therein water for bathing; and Moses and Aaron and his sons thenceforth bathed thereat, - their hands and their feet; read more. when they were entering into the tent of meeting, and when they were drawing near unto the altar, then used they to bathe, - As Yahweh commanded Moses.
Next, he poureth water into the wash-basin, and began to be washing the feet of the disciples, and to be wiping them with the linen cloth wherewith he was girded. So he cometh unto Simon Peter. He saith unto him - Lord, dost, thou, wash my feet? read more. Jesus answered, and said unto him - What, I, am doing, thou, knowest not, as yet; howbeit, thou shalt got to know, hereafter. Peter saith unto him - In nowise shalt thou, ever, wash my feet. Jesus answered him - If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him - Lord! not my feet only, but my hands also, and my head. Jesus saith unto him - He that hath bathed himself, hath no need save as to the feetto get washed; but is pure, as a whole. And, ye, are, pure, but not ye, all.
Jesus saith unto him - He that hath bathed himself, hath no need save as to the feetto get washed; but is pure, as a whole. And, ye, are, pure, but not ye, all. For he know the man that was delivering him up; therefore, said he - Not ye all, are pure. read more. When, therefore, he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and reclined, again said he unto them - Are ye taking note, what I have done unto you? Ye, call me, The Teacher, and, The Lord, - and, well, say, for I am. If then, I, have washed your feet, - I The Lord, and, The Teacher, ye also, ought to wash, one another's, feet;