Topical Bible: Defilement: Laws Relating To

◄ Defilement: Laws Relating To ►

Jump to: Nave's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

In the biblical context, defilement refers to the state of being ceremonially unclean or impure, which can result from various actions, conditions, or contacts. The laws relating to defilement are primarily found in the Old Testament, particularly within the books of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These laws were given to the Israelites to maintain holiness and purity as a people set apart for God.

Sources of Defilement:

1. Contact with the Dead: One of the most significant sources of defilement was contact with a dead body. Numbers 19:11 states, "Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days." This law underscores the separation between life and death, emphasizing the sanctity of life.

2. Skin Diseases and Bodily Discharges: Leviticus 13 and 15 provide detailed instructions regarding skin diseases (often translated as "leprosy") and bodily discharges. Leviticus 13:3-4 describes the examination of skin conditions by a priest to determine cleanliness. Leviticus 15:2-3 addresses discharges, stating, "When any man has a bodily discharge, the discharge is unclean."

3. Unclean Animals: Certain animals were considered unclean and their consumption or contact would result in defilement. Leviticus 11 outlines clean and unclean animals, with verses 7-8 stating, "And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you."

4. Sexual Relations: Sexual immorality and certain sexual relations were also sources of defilement. Leviticus 18 provides a list of prohibited sexual relations, emphasizing the need for sexual purity among God's people.

Purification Rituals:

The laws also provided means for purification from defilement. These rituals often involved washing, sacrifices, and a period of waiting. For example, Numbers 19:12 instructs, "He must purify himself with the water on the third day and the seventh day; then he will be clean."

Spiritual Significance:

The laws of defilement served not only to maintain physical cleanliness but also to teach spiritual truths about holiness and the nature of sin. Defilement symbolized the separation from God caused by sin, and the purification rituals pointed to the need for atonement and reconciliation with God.

New Testament Perspective:

In the New Testament, Jesus and the apostles addressed the concept of defilement, emphasizing the internal rather than external sources of impurity. Mark 7:15 records Jesus saying, "Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him, but what comes out of a man, that is what defiles him." This teaching highlights the importance of the heart's condition over ceremonial observance.

The laws of defilement in the Old Testament provided a framework for understanding purity and holiness, setting the stage for the deeper spiritual truths revealed in the New Testament.

Nave's Topical Index

Leviticus 7:18-21
And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed to him that offers it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eats of it shall bear his iniquity.
Nave's Topical Index

Leviticus 11:43
You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps, neither shall you make yourselves unclean with them, that you should be defiled thereby.
Nave's Topical Index

Leviticus 22:2-7
Speak to Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow to me: I am the LORD.
Nave's Topical Index

Library

Numbers
... The thread of the narrative, broken at this point by laws relating to offerings
and ... and Levites (xviii.) and the manner of purification after defilement (xix ...
//christianbookshelf.org/mcfadyen/introduction to the old testament/numbers.htm

Rom. Ii. 17, 18
... more of them by different ways of relating them ... in the idol temples") by reason of
the defilement. ... two uncircumcisions, and two circumcisions, as also two laws. ...
/.../chrysostom/homilies on acts and romans/homily vi rom ii 17.htm

Book ii.
... For I will not reproach them with relating the manner ... bathe themselves; for there
is a defilement contracted thereby ... and to exercise them in the laws, and make ...
//christianbookshelf.org/josephus/against apion/book ii.htm

The Life of Christ.
... den of uncleanness, He contracted no defilement from the ... consisted frequently of
doubtful disputations relating to the ... punishment from which the laws of the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/killen/the ancient church/chapter ii the life of.htm

Modern Revivals.
... The plain warnings of God's word, relating directly to their ... him from the condemnation
or the defilement of sin ... their being into harmony with the laws that will ...
/.../white/the great controversy between christ and satan /27 modern revivals.htm

Modern Revivals
... The plain warnings of God's word, relating directly to their ... him from the condemnation
or the defilement of sin ... their being into harmony with the laws that will ...
/.../white/the great controversy/chapter 27 modern revivals.htm

The Death and the Raising of Lazarus - the Question of Miracles ...
... would necessitate knowledge alike of all the laws of Nature ... was kept whitened, [4846]
to warn the passer-by against defilement. ... 4792] When relating the history ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xxi the death and.htm

Faustus Denies that the Prophets Predicted Christ. Augustin Proves ...
... Shall I believe the absurdities of Manich??us relating a vain ... of the ungodly, purified
from the defilement of fornication ... that, as we see, the very laws of the ...
/.../faustus denies that the prophets.htm

An Exhortation to Theodore after his Fall. Letter I.
... not only treating them according to the laws of the ... evils of old age, but all things
relating to decay ... tears, wiping off from his soul the defilement of his sin ...
/.../chrysostom/on the priesthood/an exhortation to theodore after.htm

Against Jovinianus.
... The first book is wholly on the first proposition of Jovinianus, that relating to
marriage and virginity. The first three chapters are introductory. ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/against jovinianus.htm