Urine, a bodily fluid produced by the kidneys, is mentioned in the Bible in contexts that often relate to purity, health, and ritual cleanliness. While the Bible does not provide extensive discourse on urine itself, it is indirectly referenced in passages concerning bodily functions and cleanliness laws.

Biblical References and Context

1. Deuteronomy 23:12-14: This passage provides instructions for maintaining cleanliness within the camp of Israel. While urine is not explicitly mentioned, the broader context of bodily functions is addressed. The Israelites were commanded to have a designated place outside the camp for relieving themselves, emphasizing the importance of cleanliness and holiness in the presence of God: "You must have a place outside the camp to go and relieve yourself. And you must have a digging tool in your equipment so that when you relieve yourself, you can dig a hole and cover up your excrement."

2. Leviticus 15: This chapter outlines laws regarding bodily discharges, which would include urine as part of the broader category of bodily fluids. The laws emphasize the need for ritual purification following any discharge, highlighting the importance of maintaining ceremonial cleanliness: "When any man has a bodily discharge, the discharge is unclean."

3. 2 Kings 18:27 and Isaiah 36:12: These passages recount the words of the Assyrian Rabshakeh during the siege of Jerusalem, where he crudely refers to the dire conditions of a siege, mentioning drinking one's own urine. This reference underscores the severity and desperation of a siege situation: "Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who, like you, will have to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?"

Theological and Cultural Considerations

In the biblical worldview, bodily functions, including urination, are part of the natural human condition. However, the laws given to Israel often required separation from anything considered unclean, which included certain bodily discharges. This separation was not only for physical health but also for maintaining spiritual purity and readiness to worship God.

The biblical emphasis on cleanliness and purity can be seen as a reflection of God's holiness and the call for His people to be set apart. The instructions regarding bodily functions served as a constant reminder of the need for both physical and spiritual cleanliness.

Historical and Practical Implications

In ancient Israel, the practical implications of these laws were significant. The instructions for cleanliness helped prevent the spread of disease and maintained the health of the community. The requirement to handle bodily functions outside the camp also served to protect the sanctity of the communal living space and the tabernacle, where God's presence dwelled.

Overall, while urine itself is not a focal point in Scripture, the biblical references to bodily cleanliness and the handling of bodily functions reflect broader themes of purity, health, and holiness that are central to the biblical narrative.1. (n.) In mammals, a fluid excretion from the kidneys; in birds and reptiles, a solid or semisolid excretion.

2. (v. i.) To urinate.

7890. shayin -- urine
shayin or shen. 7889, 7890. shayin or shen. 7891 . urine. Transliteration:
shayin or shen Phonetic Spelling: (shah'-yin) Short Definition: urine. ...
/hebrew/7890.htm - 5k

4325. mayim -- waters, water
... Dual of a primitive noun (but used in a singular sense); water; figuratively, juice;
by euphemism, urine, semen -- + piss, wasting, water(-ing, (-course, -flood ...
/hebrew/4325.htm - 6k

Whether There is Only one Truth, According to which all Things are ...
... So healthiness is predicated of animal, of urine, and of medicine, not that health
is only in the animal; but from the health of the animal, medicine is called ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether there is only one 2.htm

Whether the Goodness and Malice of the External Action are the ...
... one thing from another, according to analogy or proportion, then it is one and the
same in both: thus the healthiness which is in medicine or urine is derived ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether the goodness and malice.htm

Whether this Name "God" is Applied to God Univocally by Nature, by ...
... in the definition of being as applied to "accident"; and "healthy" applied to animal
is placed in the definition of healthy as applied to urine and medicine. ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether this name god is 3.htm

Appendix to Q. 4, Art. 3 Q. 12, Art. 12. (Whether, in this Life ...
... Thus "healthy" is applied both to medicine and to urine, because these both relate
to the health of an animal, one being the sign of it and the other the cause ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/nature and grace/appendix to q 4 art.htm

Whether what is Said of God and of Creatures is Univocally ...
... are thus used in two ways: either according as many things are proportionate to
one, thus for example "healthy" predicated of medicine and urine in relation ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether what is said of.htm

Whether Impassibility Excludes Actual Sensation from Glorified ...
... type of the other, the attention of the soul to the one does not hinder or lessen
its attention to the other: thus a physician while considering urine is not ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether impassibility excludes actual sensation.htm

System of the Magicians; Incantations of Demons; Secret Magical ...
... will become plain. And urine likewise, and sauce of brine, and juice of
euphorbia, and of a fig, produce a similar result. But when ...
/.../hippolytus/the refutation of all heresies/chapter xxviii name of the.htm

But if Souls Were, as is Said, the Lord's Children...
... of earth, that [3660] they might live enclosed in gloomy bodies amid phlegm and
blood, among these bags of filth and most disgusting [3661] vessels of urine. ...
/.../the seven books of arnobius against the heathen/37 but if souls were.htm

Whether a Sacrament is a Kind of Sign?
... through being the subject of health: but medicine also is said to be healthy through
producing health; diet through preserving it; and urine, through being a ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether a sacrament is a.htm

Whether the Humors Will Rise Again in the Body?
... as receding from the perfection of the individual"-either because it is on the way
to corruption, and is voided by nature, for instance urine, sweat, matter ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether the humors will rise.htm

Urine (2 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Urine (2 Occurrences). ... Is it not to the men that sit on
the wall, that they may eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you? ...
/u/urine.htm - 7k

Piss (2 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (vt & i.) To discharge urine, to urinate. 2.
(n.) Urine. Multi-Version Concordance Piss (2 Occurrences). ...
/p/piss.htm - 7k

Urinates (6 Occurrences)

/u/urinates.htm - 8k

Urn (1 Occurrence)

/u/urn.htm - 7k

Land (19790 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) Urine. See Lant. 2. (n.) The solid part of
the surface of the earth; -- opposed to water as constituting ...
/l/land.htm - 21k

Water (4571 Occurrences)
... other collection of water. 3. (n.) Any liquid secretion, humor, or the like,
resembling water; esp., the urine. 4. (n.) A solution ...
/w/water.htm - 23k

Incontinency (1 Occurrence)
... 2. (n.) The inability of any of the animal organs to restrain the natural evacuations,
so that the discharges are involuntary; as, incontinence of urine. Int. ...
/i/incontinency.htm - 7k

Fuller (5 Occurrences)
... Among them were white clay, putrid urine, and the ashes of certain desert plants
(Arabic qali, Biblical "soap"; Malachi 3:2). The fuller's shop was usually ...
/f/fuller.htm - 10k

Rabshakeh (15 Occurrences)
... me only to your master and to you, to speak these words, and not to the men who
sit on the wall, who will eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you ...
/r/rabshakeh.htm - 14k

Dung (27 Occurrences)
... me only to your master and to you, to speak these words, and not to the men who
sit on the wall, who will eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you ...
/d/dung.htm - 20k

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