In the biblical context, "contamination" often refers to the state of being defiled or made unclean, both physically and spiritually. This concept is deeply rooted in the laws and teachings of the Old and New Testaments, where purity and holiness are emphasized as essential attributes for the people of God.

Old Testament Context

In the Old Testament, the concept of contamination is primarily associated with ceremonial uncleanness. The Mosaic Law provided detailed instructions on what constituted contamination and how it could be remedied. Leviticus 11-15 outlines various sources of uncleanness, including certain animals, bodily discharges, and skin diseases. For example, Leviticus 11:43-44 states, "Do not defile yourselves by any creature that moves along the ground. I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy."

The Israelites were commanded to avoid contact with anything deemed unclean to maintain their covenant relationship with God. Contamination was not merely a physical issue but had spiritual implications, as it could hinder one's ability to participate in worship and community life. Numbers 19:20 warns, "But if anyone who is unclean does not purify himself, he must be cut off from the assembly because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD."

New Testament Context

In the New Testament, the focus shifts from ceremonial laws to the purity of the heart and mind. Jesus Christ emphasized that true contamination comes from within, rather than from external sources. In Mark 7:15 , Jesus teaches, "Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him, but what comes out of a man, that is what defiles him."

The Apostle Paul further elaborates on this concept, urging believers to avoid spiritual contamination by separating themselves from sinful practices and influences. In 2 Corinthians 6:17 , Paul quotes the Old Testament, saying, "Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."

Spiritual Implications

Contamination in the biblical sense extends beyond physical impurity to encompass moral and spiritual defilement. Believers are called to live lives of holiness, avoiding anything that could corrupt their relationship with God. James 1:27 highlights this, stating, "Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

The Bible consistently calls for a separation from sin and a dedication to God's standards of purity. This involves a conscious effort to guard one's heart and mind against influences that could lead to spiritual contamination.(n.) The act or process of contaminating; pollution; defilement; taint; also, that which contaminates.3394. miasmos -- the act of defiling
... uncleanness, contamination. From miaino; (morally) contamination (properly, the
act) -- uncleanness. see GREEK miaino. (miasmou) -- 1 Occurrence. 3393, 3394. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3394.htm - 6k

283. amiantos -- undefiled
... Transliteration: amiantos Phonetic Spelling: (am-ee'-an-tos) Short Definition:
undefiled, untainted Definition: undefiled, untainted, free from contamination. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/283.htm - 7k

55. hagnos -- purely, with pure motives
... honestly. Cognate: 55 (an adverb) -- sincerely, without inner contamination
(duplicity). It only occurs in Phil 1:17. See 53 (). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/55.htm - 6k

And Some Indeed, who are Used to Excuse their Own Sins...
... whose devilish devices the undoubted truth most easily overthrows; which confesses
that the nature of God is incapable of contamination and corruption. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/on continence/section 14 and some indeed.htm

Comparison of Christ's Power Over Winds and Waves with Moses' ...
... her God was working in Christ; she touched Him, therefore, nor as a holy man simply,
nor as a prophet, whom she knew to be capable of contamination by reason ...
/.../the five books against marcion/chapter xx comparison of christs power.htm

Whether it is Reasonable in the Platonists to Determine that the ...
... If seeing and being seen is contamination, and if the gods, whom Apuleius himself
calls visible, "the brilliant lights of the world," [353] and the other stars ...
/.../augustine/city of god/chapter 16 whether it is reasonable.htm

Faustus Recurs to the Genealogy and Insists Upon Examining it as ...
... God from being deprived of His kingdom, and that God's substance and nature is so
exposed to change, corruption, injury, and contamination, that part of it is ...
/.../faustus recurs to the genealogy.htm

Index of Subjects.
... contamination theory, [1540]500, [1541]501, [1542]506, [1543]513, [1544]514,
[1545]543, [1546]544, [1547]550, [1548]551, [1549]555, [1550]556, [1551]614, [1552 ...
/.../writings in connection with the donatist controversy /index of subjects 2.htm

The Manich??an System.
... allow him to suppose that the King of Light fully equipped had personally contended
with the King of Darkness, and suffered the loss and contamination of his ...
/.../chapter iii name manichaean system.htm

True Repentance a Thing Divine, Originated by God, and Subject to ...
... which he preached), whose province was the purging of men's minds, that whatever
defilement inveterate error had imparted, whatever contamination in the heart ...
/.../tertullian/on repentance/chapter ii true repentance a thing.htm

Book viii. On the Various Meanings of Words and Names
... [Ps.102(103):3((unknown variant)]. Leprosy is the contamination of sins; in the
gospel: and immediately the leper was cleansed. [Matt.8:3]. ...
/.../eucherius/the formulae of st eucherius of lyons/book viii on the various.htm

Theater-Going.
... are written, in such positions as they must sometimes take, affecting such sentiment
and passions"how can they do this without moral contamination?" And we ...
/.../judy/questionable amusements and worthy substitutes/v theater-going.htm

The Saybrook Platform and the Toleration Act
... the common law of England, Connecticut was determined to protect as much as possible
her own approved church, to keep it free from the contamination not only ...
/.../chapter vii the saybrook platform.htm

Contamination (3 Occurrences)
... (n.) The act or process of contaminating; pollution; defilement; taint; also, that
which contaminates. Multi-Version Concordance Contamination (3 Occurrences). ...
/c/contamination.htm - 7k

Infection (24 Occurrences)
... 3. (n.) The state of being infected; contamination by morbific particles; the
result of infecting influence; a prevailing disease; epidemic. ...
/i/infection.htm - 14k

Treaty (25 Occurrences)
... to make treaties, or enter into covenant, with the Canaanites because of the risk
thereby involved of religious apostasy and moral contamination (Exodus 23:32 ...
/t/treaty.htm - 16k

Pollution (5 Occurrences)
... po-lu'-shun (ga'al, "to pollute"; alisgema, "contamination"): In Malachi 1:7, "Ye
offer polluted bread," ie not actually unclean, but worthless, common ...
/p/pollution.htm - 8k

Contemn (6 Occurrences)

/c/contemn.htm - 8k

Contaminates (1 Occurrence)

/c/contaminates.htm - 6k

Accursed (26 Occurrences)
... the religious life of Israel, with the further idea of destroying (things) or
exterminating (persons) as the surest way of avoiding such contamination. ...
/a/accursed.htm - 18k

Fever (13 Occurrences)
... Typhoid is common in some crowded towns and villages, and considering how little
protected the wells are from contamination, the wonder is that it is not much ...
/f/fever.htm - 17k

Pharisees (86 Occurrences)
... The name means "separatists," from parash, "to separate"-those who carefully kept
themselves from any legal contamination, distinguishing themselves by their ...
/p/pharisees.htm - 66k

Cruelty (8 Occurrences)
... 30). It is declared necessary in order to guard the Hebrews from
contamination by the sins of the Canaanites (Exodus 23:32). It ...
/c/cruelty.htm - 16k

Is carbon dating a reliable method for determining the age of things? | GotQuestions.org

What does the Bible say about corruption? | GotQuestions.org

Who was Paul in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Contamination: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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