Topical Bible: Priest: The Time of Moses: Defilement and Purification of

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In the time of Moses, the role of the priest was central to the religious and communal life of the Israelites. Priests were responsible for performing sacrifices, maintaining the sanctuary, and instructing the people in the laws of God. Given their sacred duties, the purity of the priests was of utmost importance, and the Mosaic Law provided specific regulations regarding defilement and purification.

Defilement of Priests

Priests could become ceremonially defiled through various means, which would render them temporarily unfit to perform their sacred duties. One primary source of defilement was contact with a dead body. Leviticus 21:1-4 states, "The LORD said to Moses, 'Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and tell them: A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean for a dead person among his people, except for his immediate family: his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother, or his unmarried sister who is near to him, since she has no husband. He may make himself unclean for her.'"

Additionally, priests were prohibited from certain mourning practices that were common among the surrounding nations, such as shaving their heads or cutting their bodies (Leviticus 21:5-6). These restrictions underscored the distinctiveness and holiness required of those who served in the presence of God.

Purification of Priests

When a priest became defiled, specific purification rituals were required to restore him to a state of ceremonial cleanliness. The process of purification often involved washing with water, a symbolic act representing the removal of impurity. Numbers 19:11-13 outlines the purification process for those who had come into contact with a dead body: "Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days. He must purify himself with the water on the third day and the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean."

The water used in this purification process was mixed with the ashes of a red heifer, a unique sacrifice described in Numbers 19. This ritual underscores the seriousness of defilement and the necessity of divine provision for cleansing.

Holiness and Separation

The laws concerning defilement and purification highlight the broader biblical theme of holiness and separation. Priests, as mediators between God and the people, were to embody the holiness of God in their conduct and service. Leviticus 21:6 emphasizes this calling: "They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they present the offerings made by fire to the LORD, the food of their God. So they must be holy."

The stringent requirements for purity among the priests served as a constant reminder of the holiness of God and the need for His people to be set apart from the surrounding nations. These regulations also pointed forward to the ultimate High Priest, Jesus Christ, who would fulfill the law and offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the purification of all who believe.

Nave's Topical Index

Ezekiel 44:25,26
And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that has had no husband, they may defile themselves.
Nave's Topical Index

Library

The Purification of the virgin and the Presentation in the Temple
... as to the manner in which the priest was to ... Paul's teacher, though not impossible
as regards time, is unsupported ... having been said by Jethro to Moses (Exodus 4 ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter vii the purification of.htm

The New Covenant.
... a holiest place for the appearing of the great High-priest, constituted the ... appear
on earth repeatedly, and repeatedly die, not from the time of Moses or of ...
/.../chapter viii the new covenant.htm

Numbers
... by the zeal of Phinehas, the high priest's son, who was ... worship, which we know persisted
to the time of Hezekiah ... as in Exodus, the character of Moses offers a ...
//christianbookshelf.org/mcfadyen/introduction to the old testament/numbers.htm

Archelaus's Ethnarchy is Reduced into a [Roman] Province. The ...
... The same priest, when he hath dined, says grace again after ... be in authority, he will
at no time whatever abuse ... is the name of their legislator [Moses], whom if ...
/.../chapter 8 archelauss ethnarchy is.htm

Appendix iv. An Abstract of Jewish History from the Reign of ...
... coins which bear in Hebrew the device: Matthatjah the High-Priest, and in ... the Sanhedrin,
and assumes its existence not only in the time of Moses, David, and ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/appendix iv an abstract of.htm

Acts XXI
... The truth is, that, up to this time, Paul had written ... and this was, in one sense,
"apostasy from Moses." But he ... part was to give notice to the priest of the ...
/.../mcgarvey/a commentary on acts of the apostles/acts xxi.htm

The Epistle to the Hebrews
... out that Christ is greater than Moses, as the ... As High Priest Christ is now ministering
in heaven, of ... dispensation were merely figures for the time then present ...
/.../drummond/introduction to the new testament/the epistle to the hebrews.htm

The "Fraternity" of Pharisees
... Greek for "people," and so betraying the time of its ... to give "therumah" or tithes
to any priest who was ... were not answered in the law of Moses, the "traditions ...
/.../edersheim/sketches of jewish social life/chapter 14 the fraternity of.htm

The Deputation from Jerusalem - the Three Sects of the Pharisees ...
... What were ever Moses and Aaron? ... Sadducees were the priest-party,' the name of the
sect is derived from Zadok (Tsadoq), the High-Priest in the time of Solomon ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter ii the deputation from.htm

Second Journey through Galilee - the Healing of the Leper.
... clean and unclean' is at the same time the largest and ... for it: not in the case of
Moses, nor even ... with that of presenting himself to the priest and conforming ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xv second journey through.htm