Purity and Impurity in Ancient Israel and Early Judaism

Abstract

Concepts of purity and impurity are virtually global and can be found in most religions and regions of the world. Purity and impurity function as umbrella terms for a number of conceptions, aversions, taboos, and apotropaic practices. This bibliography discusses conceptions and practices of purity and impurity in ancient Israel and early Judaism, up to and including the earliest church and the Tannaitic period, but not covering rabbinic Judaism or the patristic period as a whole. In Judaism, purity and impurity take on a conspicuous character by their decidedly ritual definition, complemented by various types of figurative and/or rhetorical usages. There is a certain conceptual overlap between purity and holiness. Purity can refer to a positive property. The Hebrew term ṭāhôr/ṭāhārâ, like its Ugaritic cognate, can at times mean “shining,” or “radiance.” More generally, however, purity is conceptualized as the absence of contagion and purification involves the removal of dirt, pollution, or contaminating matter. The Hebrew word for impurity, ṭāmē’/ṭumʾâ, primarily refers to pollution, either as impure physical conditions or in the sense of culpability and moral transgression. The underlying meaning is probably dirt, as in several Semitic cognates. More specifically, concepts of impurity include a diversity of conditions and behaviors, including besmirched items, repelling substances, body fluids, certain physical states and diseases, corpses and carcasses, contagion by contact, food avoidances, disapproved sexual relations, breaches against moral and cultural codes, and various spiritual threats. At the same time, this array of meanings reveals certain common traits. Aesthetic and emotional aspects are present, as both human and divine beings are thought to enjoy that which is whole, clean, and radiant and to shun what is smelly, smeared, and smitten, especially when it threatens human life and order. Consequently, purification suggests the removal of dirt, pollution, or contaminating matter and at times partially overlaps with other concepts, such as sanctification and healing. It is necessitated by breaches of cultic prescriptions, or codes of conduct, including behaviors that evoke divine displeasure or wrath. It may also be necessary in a number of situations which do not involve any willful transgression, but rather belong to the course of normal life, such as birth, death, marriage, and disease. In addition, purification is a natural preparation for situations of heightened religious experience, encountering the divine and visiting sanctuaries to perform regular sacrifices. Some purificatory rituals are self-administered, while others are performed by ritual specialists. Not only persons and objects, but also places, buildings, and in some instances foodstuff and drink can be purified. Since impurity is usually understood as an acquired state that could be entered and exited, purification rituals are repeatable. However, some exceptional impurities for which there are no purification rituals prescribed, are regarded as permanent, and can only be handled by removal or destruction.