Topical Bible: Ceremonially

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The term "ceremonially" in the context of the Bible refers to actions, objects, or states that pertain to religious rites and rituals as prescribed by the Mosaic Law. These ceremonial laws were given to the Israelites and are detailed primarily in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. They encompass a wide range of practices, including sacrifices, festivals, dietary laws, and purification rituals.

Ceremonial Purity and Impurity

Ceremonial purity was a significant aspect of the Old Testament law. It dictated the conditions under which individuals could participate in worship and community life. For instance, Leviticus 11 outlines dietary laws that distinguish between clean and unclean animals, affecting what the Israelites could eat. Leviticus 15 discusses various bodily discharges that render a person ceremonially unclean, requiring specific purification rituals.

The concept of ceremonial impurity extended beyond personal hygiene or moral sin; it was a symbolic representation of holiness and separation from the profane. For example, touching a dead body made one ceremonially unclean (Numbers 19:11), necessitating a purification process before the individual could re-enter the community or participate in worship.

Sacrifices and Offerings

Sacrifices and offerings were central to the ceremonial laws. They served as a means for the Israelites to atone for sin, express gratitude, and maintain a covenant relationship with God. The Book of Leviticus provides detailed instructions on various types of offerings, including burnt offerings, grain offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings (Leviticus 1-7).

These sacrifices were not merely ritualistic but were intended to reflect the heart's attitude of the worshiper. As the prophet Samuel declared, "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams" (1 Samuel 15:22), emphasizing that God desires obedience and a contrite heart over mere ritual compliance.

Festivals and Holy Days

The ceremonial laws also established a calendar of festivals and holy days, which served as reminders of God's covenant and His acts of deliverance. Key festivals included Passover, commemorating the Israelites' deliverance from Egypt (Exodus 12:14-20), and the Day of Atonement, a solemn day of fasting and repentance (Leviticus 16:29-34).

These festivals were not only times of celebration but also opportunities for communal worship and reflection on God's faithfulness. They reinforced the identity of the Israelites as God's chosen people and their responsibility to live according to His statutes.

Transition to the New Covenant

With the advent of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the New Covenant, the ceremonial laws were fulfilled and transformed. Jesus' sacrificial death and resurrection rendered the Old Testament sacrificial system obsolete, as He became the ultimate sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 10:1-14). The Apostle Paul explains that the ceremonial laws were a "shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ" (Colossians 2:17).

In the New Testament, the focus shifts from external rituals to the internal transformation of the believer. The ceremonial distinctions between clean and unclean are transcended in Christ, as seen in Peter's vision in Acts 10, where God declares, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean" (Acts 10:15).

While the ceremonial laws are no longer binding on Christians, they continue to hold theological significance, illustrating the holiness of God, the seriousness of sin, and the need for atonement, all of which find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

(adv.) According to rites and ceremonies; as, a person ceremonially unclean.

Greek

4472. rhantizo -- to sprinkle
... Speech: Verb Transliteration: rhantizo Phonetic Spelling: (hran-tid'-zo) Short
Definition: I sprinkle Definition: I sprinkle, cleanse ceremonially by sprinkling ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4472.htm - 6k

449. aniptos -- unwashed
... Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: aniptos Phonetic Spelling: (an'-ip-tos)
Short Definition: unwashed Definition: unwashed, ceremonially unclean. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/449.htm - 7k

48. hagnizo -- to purify, cleanse from defilement
... Transliteration: hagnizo Phonetic Spelling: (hag-nid'-zo) Short Definition: I cleanse,
purify Definition: I cleanse, purify, either ceremonially, actually, or ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/48.htm - 6k

53. hagnos -- free from ceremonial defilement, holy, sacred
... nos') Short Definition: pure, chaste Definition: (originally, in a condition prepared
for worship), pure (either ethically, or ritually, ceremonially), chaste. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/53.htm - 7k

2452. Ioudaikos -- in Jewish fashion
... Ioudaikos Phonetic Spelling: (ee-oo-dah-ee-koce') Short Definition: in the manner
of Jews Definition: in the manner of Jews (religiously, ceremonially). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2452.htm - 6k

3014. lepra -- leprosy
... leprosy. Cognate: 3014 -- a deeply infectious, contagious skin disease
rendering a person "ceremonially unclean" in Jewish society. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3014.htm - 6k

1397. douleia -- slavery
... bondage. From douleuo; slavery (ceremonially or figuratively) -- bondage. see GREEK
douleuo. (douleian) -- 1 Occurrence. (douleias) -- 4 Occurrences. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1397.htm - 6k

40. hagios -- sacred, holy
... From hagos (an awful thing) (compare hagnos, thalpo); sacred (physically, pure,
morally blameless or religious, ceremonially, consecrated) -- (most) holy (one ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/40.htm - 8k

3068. louo -- to bathe, to wash
... Definition: (lit. or merely ceremonially), I wash, bathe (the body); mid: of
washing, bathing one's self; met: I cleanse from sin. 3068 ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3068.htm - 7k

2514. katharotes -- cleanness
... purification. From katharos; cleanness (ceremonially) -- purification. see GREEK
katharos. (katharoteta) -- 1 Occurrence. 2513, 2514. katharotes. 2515 . ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2514.htm - 7k

Strong's Hebrew

3244. yanshuph -- (a ceremonially unclean bird) perhaps an owl
... (a ceremonially unclean bird) perhaps an owl. Transliteration: yanshuph or yanshoph
Phonetic Spelling: (yan-shoof') Short Definition: owl. ...
/hebrew/3244.htm - 6k

601. anaphah -- a ceremonially unclean bird
... 600, 601. anaphah. 602 . a ceremonially unclean bird. Transliteration: anaphah
Phonetic Spelling: (an-aw-faw') Short Definition: heron. ...
/hebrew/601.htm - 6k

1744. dukiphath -- perhaps hoopoe (a ceremonially unclean bird)
... dukiphath. 1745 . perhaps hoopoe (a ceremonially unclean bird). Transliteration:
dukiphath Phonetic Spelling: (doo-kee-fath') Short Definition: hoopoe. ...
/hebrew/1744.htm - 6k

2892. tohar -- purity, purifying
... clearness, glory, purifying From taher; literally brightness; ceremonially purification
-- clearness, glory, purifying. see HEBREW taher. 2891, 2892. ...
/hebrew/2892.htm - 5k

6292. piggul -- foul thing, refuse
... Or piggul {pig-gool'}; from an unused root meaning to stink; properly, fetid, ie
(figuratively) unclean (ceremonially) -- abominable(-tion, thing). ...
/hebrew/6292.htm - 6k

6918. qadosh -- sacred, holy
... Or qadosh {kaw-doshe'}; from qadash; sacred (ceremonially or morally); (as noun)
God (by eminence), an angel, a saint, a sanctuary -- holy (One), saint. ...
/hebrew/6918.htm - 6k

6942. qadash -- to be set apart or consecrated
... A primitive root; to be (causatively, make, pronounce or observe as) clean
(ceremonially or morally) -- appoint, bid, consecrate, dedicate, defile, hallow, ( ...
/hebrew/6942.htm - 6k

Library

Circumcision, Temple Service, and Naming of Jesus.
... It seems that the members of her family were also ceremonially unclean, because
they came in daily contact with her], they brought him up to Jerusalem [to the ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/xii circumcision temple service and.htm

Missed Ends
... To-day they were all ceremonially unclean, so our presence was not considered polluting.
Also the Indian loves a function; sad or glad, it matters little. ...
/.../wilson-carmichael/things as they are/chapter vi missed ends.htm

The Beast
... heartless one. Under the Law lambs were ceremonially clean and used in sacrifice,
but beasts were unclean and unfit for sacrifices. It ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/the antichrist/4 the beast.htm

Sacrifice Renewed
... of priests and Levites took a fortnight to 'carry forth the filthiness out of the
holy place to the brook Kidron,' and to cleanse and ceremonially sanctify the ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/sacrifice renewed.htm

Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus.
... Corinthians. [3770] They were keeping it "unleavened" ceremonially, and
he urges a spiritual unleavening as more important. The ...
//christianbookshelf.org/unknown/the decretals/polycrates bishop of ephesus.htm

Jesus Fails to Attend the Third Passover.
... who had been in the marketplace, where he might have touched an unclean person,
and to hold certain cups, pots, and brazen vessels as ceremonially unclean when ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/lxv jesus fails to attend.htm

Civ. Jesus Arrives and is Feasted at Bethany.
... xxx.13-20), for those who were ceremonially unclean were excluded from it"John
18:28.] 56 They sought therefore for Jesus, and spake one with another, as ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/civ jesus arrives and is.htm

Of the Son of the Priest.
... and with their father came the young man and his brother, being appointed to the
service of the temple and charged with the duty of ceremonially sprinkling the ...
/.../theodoret/the ecclesiastical history of theodoret/chapter x of the son of.htm

The First Miracle.
... These water-pots were to supply water for the washings usual at feasts (see Mark
7:4). The Jews were regarded ceremonially unclean if they did not wash both ...
/.../johnson/the new testament commentary vol iii john/the first miracle.htm

The Bishop Elect and Consecrate
... When he was fairly and ceremonially seated the archdeacon held out his practised
palm for the customary fee (archdeacons are still fee-extracting creatures). ...
/.../marson/hugh bishop of lincoln/chapter iv the bishop elect.htm

Thesaurus

Ceremonially (38 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (adv.) According to rites and ceremonies; as, a person
ceremonially unclean. Multi-Version Concordance Ceremonially (38 Occurrences). ...
/c/ceremonially.htm - 18k

Defile (63 Occurrences)
... 8. (vt) To corrupt the chastity of; to debauch; to violate. 9. (vt) To make
ceremonially unclean; to pollute. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. ...
/d/defile.htm - 38k

Defilement (12 Occurrences)
... (4) Ceremonial: to render ceremonially unclean, ie disqualified for religious service
or worship, and capable of communicating the disqualification. ...
/d/defilement.htm - 21k

Ceremonial (11 Occurrences)

/c/ceremonial.htm - 10k

Unclean (393 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (a.) Not clean; foul; dirty; filthy. 2. (a.) Ceremonially
impure; needing ritual cleansing. 3. (a.) Morally impure. Int. ...
/u/unclean.htm - 39k

Ordain (13 Occurrences)
... 5 1 Chronicles 9:22; 1 Chronicles 1 Esdras 8:23; Additions to Esther 13:6; Acts
10:42; Acts 13:48; Acts 17:31 Romans 13:1. (5) To appoint ceremonially to the ...
/o/ordain.htm - 19k

Ordination (12 Occurrences)
... 5 1 Chronicles 9:22; 1 Chronicles 1 Esdras 8:23; Additions to Esther 13:6; Acts
10:42; Acts 13:48; Acts 17:31 Romans 13:1. (5) To appoint ceremonially to the ...
/o/ordination.htm - 19k

Freckled (1 Occurrence)
... tetter," and described as a bright shining spot (beharoth lebhenoth): These white
eruptions did not render the person so marked ceremonially unclean (Leviticus ...
/f/freckled.htm - 7k

Tanner (3 Occurrences)
... as an undesirable occupation and well they might, for at best it was accompanied
with unpleasant odors and unattractive sights, if not even ceremonially unclean ...
/t/tanner.htm - 11k

Things (10975 Occurrences)
... Sheqets, translated "abomination," is applied in the Scriptures to that which is
ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 7:21), creatures forbidden as food, as water ...
/t/things.htm - 10k

Resources

What is a mikvah? | GotQuestions.org

Why were a husband and wife considered unclean after they had sexual relations? | GotQuestions.org

What is the meaning of impurity in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Ceremonially: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Ceremonially (38 Occurrences)

Luke 11:38
When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that he had not first washed himself before dinner.
(See NAS)

Hebrews 9:13
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have contracted defilement make them holy so as to bring about ceremonial purity,
(See NIV)

Leviticus 4:12
even the whole bull shall he carry forth outside the camp to a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire. Where the ashes are poured out it shall be burned.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 5:2
"'Or if anyone touches any unclean thing, whether it is the carcass of an unclean animal, or the carcass of unclean livestock, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and it is hidden from him, and he is unclean, then he shall be guilty.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 6:11
He shall take off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 7:19
"'The flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten. It shall be burned with fire. As for the flesh, everyone who is clean may eat it;
(See NIV)

Leviticus 10:14
The waved breast and the heaved thigh you shall eat in a clean place, you, and your sons, and your daughters with you: for they are given as your portion, and your sons' portion, out of the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the children of Israel.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 11:4
"'Nevertheless these you shall not eat of those that chew the cud, or of those who part the hoof: the camel, because he chews the cud but doesn't have a parted hoof, he is unclean to you.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 12:2
"Speak to the children of Israel, saying,'If a woman conceives, and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her monthly period she shall be unclean.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 12:7
and he shall offer it before Yahweh, and make atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the fountain of her blood. "'This is the law for her who bears, whether a male or a female.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 13:3
and the priest shall examine the plague in the skin of the body: and if the hair in the plague has turned white, and the appearance of the plague is deeper than the body's skin, it is the plague of leprosy; and the priest shall examine him, and pronounce him unclean.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 14:8
"He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water; and he shall be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, but shall dwell outside his tent seven days.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 15:28
"'But if she is cleansed of her discharge, then she shall count to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 15:33
and of her who has her period, and of a man or woman who has a discharge, and of him who lies with her who is unclean.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 17:15
"'Every person that eats what dies of itself, or that which is torn by animals, whether he is native-born or a foreigner, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening: then he shall be clean.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 21:1
Yahweh said to Moses, "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them,'A priest shall not defile himself for the dead among his people;
(See NIV)

Leviticus 22:3
"Tell them,'If anyone of all your seed throughout your generations approaches the holy things, which the children of Israel make holy to Yahweh, having his uncleanness on him, that soul shall be cut off from before me. I am Yahweh.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 27:11
If it is any unclean animal, of which they do not offer as an offering to Yahweh, then he shall set the animal before the priest;
(See NIV)

Numbers 5:2
"Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, and everyone who has an issue, and whoever is unclean by the dead.
(See NIV)

Numbers 6:7
He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die; because his separation to God is on his head.
(See NIV)

Numbers 8:6
"Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.
(See NIV)

Numbers 9:6
But there were certain men, who were unclean by the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the passover on that day; and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day.
(See NIV)

Numbers 9:13
But the man who is clean, and is not on a journey, and fails to keep the Passover, that soul shall be cut off from his people. Because he didn't offer the offering of Yahweh in its appointed season, that man shall bear his sin.
(See NIV)

Numbers 18:11
"This is yours, too: the wave offering of their gift, even all the wave offerings of the children of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and to your daughters with you, as a portion forever. Everyone who is clean in your house shall eat of it.
(See NIV)

Numbers 18:13
The first-ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to Yahweh, shall be yours; everyone who is clean in your house shall eat of it.
(See NIV)

Numbers 19:7
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 even.
(See NIV)

Numbers 19:9
"A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up outside of the camp in a clean place; and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water for impurity: it is a sin offering.
(See NIV)

Deuteronomy 12:15
Notwithstanding, you may kill and eat flesh within all your gates, after all the desire of your soul, according to the blessing of Yahweh your God which he has given you: the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle, and as of the hart.
(See NIV)

Deuteronomy 12:22
Even as the gazelle and as the hart is eaten, so you shall eat of it: the unclean and the clean may eat of it alike.
(See NIV)

Deuteronomy 14:7
Nevertheless these you shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of those who have the hoof cloven: the camel, and the hare, and the rabbit; because they chew the cud but don't part the hoof, they are unclean to you.
(See NIV)

Deuteronomy 15:22
You shall eat it within your gates: the unclean and the clean shall eat it alike, as the gazelle, and as the hart.
(See NIV)

1 Samuel 20:26
Nevertheless Saul didn't say anything that day: for he thought, "Something has happened to him. He is not clean. Surely he is not clean."
(See NIV)

2 Chronicles 13:11
and they burn to Yahweh every morning and every evening burnt offerings and sweet incense: the show bread also set they in order on the pure table; and the lampstand of gold with its lamps, to burn every evening: for we keep the instruction of Yahweh our God; but you have forsaken him.
(See NIV)

2 Chronicles 30:17
For there were many in the assembly who had not sanctified themselves: therefore the Levites were in charge of killing the Passovers for everyone who was not clean, to sanctify them to Yahweh.
(See NIV)

Ezra 6:20
For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were pure: and they killed the Passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brothers the priests, and for themselves.
(See NIV)

Nehemiah 12:30
The priests and the Levites purified themselves; and they purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.
(See NIV)

Isaiah 66:20
And they will take your countrymen out of all the nations for an offering to the Lord, on horses, and in carriages, and in carts, and on asses, and on camels, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, as the children of Israel take their offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.
(See NIV)

Ezekiel 22:10
In you have they uncovered their fathers' nakedness; in you have they humbled her who was unclean in her impurity.
(See NIV)

Subtopics

Ceremonially

Related Terms

Ceremony (3 Occurrences)

Education (4 Occurrences)

Nazarite (8 Occurrences)

Outward (17 Occurrences)

Orgies (4 Occurrences)

Ceremonial (11 Occurrences)

Mystery (31 Occurrences)

Tower (74 Occurrences)