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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And from it Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. When they go into the tabernacle of the testimony, they shall wash with water that they not die, or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn the offering unto the LORD that must be consumed by fire, read more. they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they not die. And he and his seed shall have it as a perpetual statute throughout their generations.
And all the elders of that closest city next to the dead man shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley.
But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not a prophet of the LORD here, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's slaves answered and said, Here is Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.
Moab is my washpot; over Edom I will cast out my shoe; Philistia, triumph thou because of me.
Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.
When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person; see ye to it.
who upon seeing some of his disciples eat bread with common, that is to say, with unwashed, hands, they condemned them. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews, unless they wash their hands often, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. read more. And when they come from the market, unless they wash, they eat not. And there are many other things which they took upon themselves to hold such as the washing of cups and pots, brasen vessels and of tables.)
And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
but in foods and drinks and different washings and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of correction.
and from Jesus, the Christ, who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins with his own 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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Then came together unto him the Pharisees and some of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, who upon seeing some of his disciples eat bread with common, that is to say, with unwashed, hands, they condemned them. read more. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews, unless they wash their hands often, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, unless they wash, they eat not. And there are many other things which they took upon themselves to hold such as the washing of cups and pots, brasen vessels and of tables.) Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why do thy disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but eat bread with unwashed hands? He answered and said unto them, Well has Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they honor me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men as the washing of pots and cups, and many other such like things ye do. And he also said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
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 a little water, I pray you, be brought and wash your feet and rest yourselves under a tree;
And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the testimony and shalt wash them with water.
Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and its base also of brass, to wash with; and thou shalt place it between the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar, and thou shalt put water in it. And from it Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. read more. When they go into the tabernacle of the testimony, they shall wash with water that they not die, or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn the offering unto the LORD that must be consumed by fire,
He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen underwear upon his flesh and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he cover himself. These are holy garments; and he shall wash his flesh with water and put them on.
And he that took the he goat to Azazel shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh with water and afterward come into the camp.
Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the evening.
And she arose and bowed herself on her face to the earth and said, Behold, let thy handmaid be a slave to wash the feet of the slaves of my lord.
I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?
Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.
who upon seeing some of his disciples eat bread with common, that is to say, with unwashed, hands, they condemned them. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews, unless they wash their hands often, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. read more. And when they come from the market, unless they wash, they eat not. And there are many other things which they took upon themselves to hold such as the washing of cups and pots, brasen vessels and of tables.)
And he turned to the woman and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house, thou didst give me no water for my feet; but she has washed my feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.
Jesus said to him, He that is washed needs only to wash his feet because he is completely clean, and ye are clean, but not all.
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
that he might sanctify and cleanse her in the washing of water by the word,
let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts purified from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water; let us hold fast the profession of our hope without wavering (for he is faithful that 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 Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the testimony and wash them with water.
And he set the laver between the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar and put water in it, to wash with. And Moses and Aaron and his sons would wash their hands and their feet in it. read more. When they would enter into the tabernacle of the testimony and when they would come near unto the altar, they washed themselves, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. Then he came to Simon Peter, and Peter said unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? read more. Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou dost not understand now, but thou shalt understand afterwards. Peter said unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus said to him, He that is washed needs only to wash his feet because he is completely clean, and ye are clean, but not all.
Jesus said to him, He that is washed needs only to wash his feet because he is completely clean, and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore, said he, Ye are not all clean. read more. So after he had washed their feet and had taken his garments and had sat down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord; and ye say well, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet.