The Role of Hand and Foot Washing in the Temple in Tannaitic Literature
Temple purification rituals raise a fundamental question: Did they address the past - removing ritual impurity, declaring moral purity, or cleansing physical dirt - or did they sanctify priests entering sacred space? This study examines the priestly hand and foot washing ritual (Exod 30:19-21) as a...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2026
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| In: |
Journal of ancient Judaism
Year: 2026, Volume: 17, Issue: 1, Pages: 122-151 |
| Further subjects: | B
Ritual Impurity
B priestly ritual B Tannaitic interpretation B cultic holiness B moral impurity B Second Temple Literature B hand and foot washing |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Temple purification rituals raise a fundamental question: Did they address the past - removing ritual impurity, declaring moral purity, or cleansing physical dirt - or did they sanctify priests entering sacred space? This study examines the priestly hand and foot washing ritual (Exod 30:19-21) as a test case. Unlike standard purity laws requiring full-body immersion for the impure, this commandment applies to all priests and focuses only on extremities. This suggests the ritual may have functioned primarily as consecration rather than purification, aligning with ordination rituals in Exod 29. While the ritual appears frequently in Second Temple and Tannaitic literature, scholarly attention has focused predominantly on Second Temple interpretations. This research addresses this gap by examining Tannaitic understandings with contextual background from biblical and Second Temple sources, revealing how early rabbinic authorities conceptualized the boundaries between purification and sanctification in Temple service. |
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| ISSN: | 2196-7954 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of ancient Judaism
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.30965/21967954-bja10084 |
