Ablution, or the act of washing oneself, is a practice with significant religious and ceremonial implications in the Bible. It often symbolizes purification and preparation for worship or service to God. The following scriptures provide insight into the various contexts and meanings of ablution within the biblical narrative.

1. Ceremonial Cleansing in the Law of Moses:
· Exodus 30:18-21 : "You are to make a bronze basin for washing, with a bronze stand, and set it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar. Put water in it, with which Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet. Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister by burning an offering made by fire to the LORD, they must wash with water, so that they will not die. Thus they are to wash their hands and feet, so that they will not die. This is to be a permanent statute for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come."
· Leviticus 16:4 : "He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body. He is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on."

2. Purification Rituals:
· Leviticus 14:8-9 : "The one to be cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe with water; then he will be clean. Afterward, he may enter the camp, but he must remain outside his tent for seven days. On the seventh day he must shave off all his hair—his head, his beard, his eyebrows, and the rest of his hair. He must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and he will be clean."
· Numbers 19:19 : "The man who is clean is to sprinkle the unclean one on the third and seventh days. After he purifies the unclean person on the seventh day, the one being cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he will be clean by evening."

3. Symbolic and Spiritual Cleansing:
· Psalm 51:2 : "Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin."
· Isaiah 1:16 : "Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!"

4. New Testament References:
· John 13:10 : "Jesus told him, 'Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet, and he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.'"
· Hebrews 10:22 : "Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."

5. Baptism as a Form of Ablution:
· Matthew 3:11 : "I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come One more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."
· Acts 22:16 : "And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name."

These scriptures illustrate the multifaceted role of ablution in biblical tradition, encompassing physical, ceremonial, and spiritual dimensions.Exodus 19:10,14
And the LORD said to Moses, Go to the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
Nave's Topical Index

Matthew 15:2
Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
Nave's Topical Index

Mark 7:2-5,8,9
And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashed, hands, they found fault.
Nave's Topical Index

Luke 11:38
And when the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that he had not first washed before dinner.
Nave's Topical Index

Hebrews 9:10
Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
Nave's Topical Index

The Lord's Day --The Worship of the Apostolic Church --Its ...
... the congregation, either by giving a general exposition of ... The Scriptures furnish
no very specific instructions as to ... in many ways, as the means of ablution. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/killen/the ancient church/chapter i the lords daythe.htm

P??dobaptism. Its Accordance with the Institution of Christ, and ...
... To these general heads may be referred all that the Scriptures teach concerning ... If,
by baptism, Christ intends to attest the ablution by which he ...
/.../chapter 16 paedobaptism its accordance.htm

The Third Part of the Articles.
... Baptism washes away sins, and that this ablution occurs only ... come into them without
the preaching of the Scriptures? ... the sake of the peace and general unity of ...
//christianbookshelf.org/luther/the smalcald articles/the third part of the.htm

Psalm CIX.
... We should remark these things in the holy Scriptures. ... me," since they owed love not
as a general duty only ... by water through the notion of ablution or irrigation ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/psalm cix.htm

The Beginning of Justification. In what Sense Progressive.
... passage, when treating of the general call of ... to all tolerably verdant with Scriptures
that the ... ablution, satisfaction, expiation; in short, perfect obedience ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 14 the beginning of.htm

Of the True Church. Duty of Cultivating Unity with Her, as the ...
... their communion, and then lays down a general sentence, by ... which are enjoined in
the Holy Scriptures (due regard ... Church is, by the symbol of ablution, to teach ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 1 of the true.htm

Of the Discipline of the Church, and Its Principal Use in Censures ...
... and, indeed, not content with this general vituperation, they ... they, however, find
something in the Scriptures to defend ... a cure of souls and ablution for sins. ...
/.../the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 12 of the discipline.htm

The Law Given, not to Retain a People for Itself, but to Keep ...
... briefly to explain and confirm, the general opinion being ... that thing cannot be, which
the Scriptures declare will ... For the rites of ablution and sacrifice, by ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 7 the law given.htm

Of the Lord's Supper, and the Benefits Conferred by It.
... error when I treated of the sacraments in general (Chap.14 ... of all, we are taught
by the Scriptures that Christ ... be to us a sure pledge of our ablution; nay, the ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 17 of the lords.htm

Ablution: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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