1. Septuagint, Tobit, 2.9 (th cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 2.9. On the same night I returned from burying him, and because I was defiled I slept by the wall of the courtyard, and my face was uncovered. |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Exodus, 25.2 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 25.2. וְהָיוּ הַכְּרֻבִים פֹּרְשֵׂי כְנָפַיִם לְמַעְלָה סֹכְכִים בְּכַנְפֵיהֶם עַל־הַכַּפֹּרֶת וּפְנֵיהֶם אִישׁ אֶל־אָחִיו אֶל־הַכַּפֹּרֶת יִהְיוּ פְּנֵי הַכְּרֻבִים׃ 25.2. דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִקְחוּ־לִי תְּרוּמָה מֵאֵת כָּל־אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יִדְּבֶנּוּ לִבּוֹ תִּקְחוּ אֶת־תְּרוּמָתִי׃ | 25.2. ’Speak unto the children of Israel, that they take for Me an offering; of every man whose heart maketh him willing ye shall take My offering." |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Numbers, 31.20-31.23 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 31.21. וַיֹּאמֶר אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן אֶל־אַנְשֵׁי הַצָּבָא הַבָּאִים לַמִּלְחָמָה זֹאת חֻקַּת הַתּוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּה יְהוָה אֶת־מֹשֶׁה׃ 31.22. אַךְ אֶת־הַזָּהָב וְאֶת־הַכָּסֶף אֶת־הַנְּחֹשֶׁת אֶת־הַבַּרְזֶל אֶת־הַבְּדִיל וְאֶת־הָעֹפָרֶת׃ 31.23. כָּל־דָּבָר אֲשֶׁר־יָבֹא בָאֵשׁ תַּעֲבִירוּ בָאֵשׁ וְטָהֵר אַךְ בְּמֵי נִדָּה יִתְחַטָּא וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יָבֹא בָּאֵשׁ תַּעֲבִירוּ בַמָּיִם׃ | 31.20. And as to every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats’hair, and all things made of wood, ye shall purify.’" 31.21. And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war that went to the battle: ‘This is the statute of the law which the LORD hath commanded Moses:" 31.22. Howbeit the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead," 31.23. every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of sprinkling; and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make to go through the water." |
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4. Septuagint, Tobit, 2.9 (4th cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 2.9. On the same night I returned from burying him, and because I was defiled I slept by the wall of the courtyard, and my face was uncovered. |
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5. Dead Sea Scrolls, Community Rule, 5.1 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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6. Septuagint, 2 Maccabees, 12.38 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 12.38. Then Judas assembled his army and went to the city of Adullam. As the seventh day was coming on, they purified themselves according to the custom, and they kept the sabbath there.' |
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7. Septuagint, Judith, 12.7 (2nd cent. BCE - 0th cent. CE)
| 12.7. So Holofernes commanded his guards not to hinder her. And she remained in the camp for three days, and went out each night to the valley of Bethulia, and bathed at the spring in the camp. |
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8. Anon., Sibylline Oracles, 3.591-3.593 (1st cent. BCE - 5th cent. CE)
| 3.591. But when from Italy shall come a man 3.592. A spoiler, then, Laodicea, thou 3.593. Beautiful city of the Carian |
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9. Josephus Flavius, Jewish War, 2.119-2.161 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.119. 2. For there are three philosophical sects among the Jews. The followers of the first of which are the Pharisees; of the second, the Sadducees; and the third sect, which pretends to a severer discipline, are called Essenes. These last are Jews by birth, and seem to have a greater affection for one another than the other sects have. 2.121. They do not absolutely deny the fitness of marriage, and the succession of mankind thereby continued; but they guard against the lascivious behavior of women, and are persuaded that none of them preserve their fidelity to one man. 2.122. 3. These men are despisers of riches, and so very communicative as raises our admiration. Nor is there anyone to be found among them who hath more than another; for it is a law among them, that those who come to them must let what they have be common to the whole order,—insomuch that among them all there is no appearance of poverty, or excess of riches, but every one’s possessions are intermingled with every other’s possessions; and so there is, as it were, one patrimony among all the brethren. 2.123. They think that oil is a defilement; and if anyone of them be anointed without his own approbation, it is wiped off his body; for they think to be sweaty is a good thing, as they do also to be clothed in white garments. They also have stewards appointed to take care of their common affairs, who every one of them have no separate business for any, but what is for the use of them all. 2.124. 4. They have no one certain city, but many of them dwell in every city; and if any of their sect come from other places, what they have lies open for them, just as if it were their own; and they go in to such as they never knew before, as if they had been ever so long acquainted with them. 2.125. For which reason they carry nothing at all with them when they travel into remote parts, though still they take their weapons with them, for fear of thieves. Accordingly, there is, in every city where they live, one appointed particularly to take care of strangers, and to provide garments and other necessaries for them. 2.126. But the habit and management of their bodies is such as children use who are in fear of their masters. Nor do they allow of the change of garments, or of shoes, till they be first entirely torn to pieces or worn out by time. 2.127. Nor do they either buy or sell anything to one another; but every one of them gives what he hath to him that wanteth it, and receives from him again in lieu of it what may be convenient for himself; and although there be no requital made, they are fully allowed to take what they want of whomsoever they please. 2.128. 5. And as for their piety towards God, it is very extraordinary; for before sunrising they speak not a word about profane matters, but put up certain prayers which they have received from their forefathers, as if they made a supplication for its rising. 2.129. After this every one of them are sent away by their curators, to exercise some of those arts wherein they are skilled, in which they labor with great diligence till the fifth hour. After which they assemble themselves together again into one place; and when they have clothed themselves in white veils, they then bathe their bodies in cold water. And after this purification is over, they every one meet together in an apartment of their own, into which it is not permitted to any of another sect to enter; while they go, after a pure manner, into the dining-room, as into a certain holy temple 2.131. but a priest says grace before meat; and it is unlawful for anyone to taste of the food before grace be said. The same priest, when he hath dined, says grace again after meat; and when they begin, and when they end, they praise God, as he that bestows their food upon them; after which they lay aside their [white] garments, and betake themselves to their labors again till the evening; 2.132. then they return home to supper, after the same manner; and if there be any strangers there, they sit down with them. Nor is there ever any clamor or disturbance to pollute their house, but they give every one leave to speak in their turn; 2.133. which silence thus kept in their house appears to foreigners like some tremendous mystery; the cause of which is that perpetual sobriety they exercise, and the same settled measure of meat and drink that is allotted to them, and that such as is abundantly sufficient for them. 2.134. 6. And truly, as for other things, they do nothing but according to the injunctions of their curators; only these two things are done among them at everyone’s own free will, which are to assist those that want it, and to show mercy; for they are permitted of their own accord to afford succor to such as deserve it, when they stand in need of it, and to bestow food on those that are in distress; but they cannot give any thing to their kindred without the curators. 2.135. They dispense their anger after a just manner, and restrain their passion. They are eminent for fidelity, and are the ministers of peace; whatsoever they say also is firmer than an oath; but swearing is avoided by them, and they esteem it worse than perjury for they say that he who cannot be believed without [swearing by] God is already condemned. 2.136. They also take great pains in studying the writings of the ancients, and choose out of them what is most for the advantage of their soul and body; and they inquire after such roots and medicinal stones as may cure their distempers. 2.137. 7. But now, if anyone hath a mind to come over to their sect, he is not immediately admitted, but he is prescribed the same method of living which they use, for a year, while he continues excluded; and they give him also a small hatchet, and the fore-mentioned girdle, and the white garment. 2.138. And when he hath given evidence, during that time, that he can observe their continence, he approaches nearer to their way of living, and is made a partaker of the waters of purification; yet is he not even now admitted to live with them; for after this demonstration of his fortitude, his temper is tried two more years; and if he appear to be worthy, they then admit him into their society. 2.139. And before he is allowed to touch their common food, he is obliged to take tremendous oaths, that, in the first place, he will exercise piety towards God, and then that he will observe justice towards men, and that he will do no harm to any one, either of his own accord, or by the command of others; that he will always hate the wicked, and be assistant to the righteous; 2.141. that he will be perpetually a lover of truth, and propose to himself to reprove those that tell lies; that he will keep his hands clear from theft, and his soul from unlawful gains; and that he will neither conceal anything from those of his own sect, nor discover any of their doctrines to others, no, not though anyone should compel him so to do at the hazard of his life. 2.142. Moreover, he swears to communicate their doctrines to no one any otherwise than as he received them himself; that he will abstain from robbery, and will equally preserve the books belonging to their sect, and the names of the angels [or messengers]. These are the oaths by which they secure their proselytes to themselves. 2.143. 8. But for those that are caught in any heinous sins, they cast them out of their society; and he who is thus separated from them does often die after a miserable manner; for as he is bound by the oath he hath taken, and by the customs he hath been engaged in, he is not at liberty to partake of that food that he meets with elsewhere, but is forced to eat grass, and to famish his body with hunger, till he perish; 2.144. for which reason they receive many of them again when they are at their last gasp, out of compassion to them, as thinking the miseries they have endured till they came to the very brink of death to be a sufficient punishment for the sins they had been guilty of. 2.145. 9. But in the judgments they exercise they are most accurate and just, nor do they pass sentence by the votes of a court that is fewer than a hundred. And as to what is once determined by that number, it is unalterable. What they most of all honor, after God himself, is the name of their legislator [Moses], whom, if anyone blaspheme, he is punished capitally. 2.146. They also think it a good thing to obey their elders, and the major part. Accordingly, if ten of them be sitting together, no one of them will speak while the other nine are against it. 2.147. They also avoid spitting in the midst of them, or on the right side. Moreover, they are stricter than any other of the Jews in resting from their labors on the seventh day; for they not only get their food ready the day before, that they may not be obliged to kindle a fire on that day, but they will not remove any vessel out of its place, nor go to stool thereon. 2.148. Nay, on theother days they dig a small pit, a foot deep, with a paddle (which kind of hatchet is given them when they are first admitted among them); and covering themselves round with their garment, that they may not affront the Divine rays of light, they ease themselves into that pit 2.149. after which they put the earth that was dug out again into the pit; and even this they do only in the more lonely places, which they choose out for this purpose; and although this easement of the body be natural, yet it is a rule with them to wash themselves after it, as if it were a defilement to them. 2.151. They are long-lived also, insomuch that many of them live above a hundred years, by means of the simplicity of their diet; nay, as I think, by means of the regular course of life they observe also. They condemn the miseries of life, and are above pain, by the generosity of their mind. And as for death, if it will be for their glory, they esteem it better than living always; 2.152. and indeed our war with the Romans gave abundant evidence what great souls they had in their trials, wherein, although they were tortured and distorted, burnt and torn to pieces, and went through all kinds of instruments of torment, that they might be forced either to blaspheme their legislator, or to eat what was forbidden them, yet could they not be made to do either of them, no, nor once to flatter their tormentors, or to shed a tear; 2.153. but they smiled in their very pains, and laughed those to scorn who inflicted the torments upon them, and resigned up their souls with great alacrity, as expecting to receive them again. 2.154. 11. For their doctrine is this: That bodies are corruptible, and that the matter they are made of is not permanent; but that the souls are immortal, and continue forever; and that they come out of the most subtile air, and are united to their bodies as to prisons, into which they are drawn by a certain natural enticement; 2.155. but that when they are set free from the bonds of the flesh, they then, as released from a long bondage, rejoice and mount upward. And this is like the opinions of the Greeks, that good souls have their habitations beyond the ocean, in a region that is neither oppressed with storms of rain or snow, or with intense heat, but that this place is such as is refreshed by the gentle breathing of a west wind, that is perpetually blowing from the ocean; while they allot to bad souls a dark and tempestuous den, full of never-ceasing punishments. 2.156. And indeed the Greeks seem to me to have followed the same notion, when they allot the islands of the blessed to their brave men, whom they call heroes and demigods; and to the souls of the wicked, the region of the ungodly, in Hades, where their fables relate that certain persons, such as Sisyphus, and Tantalus, and Ixion, and Tityus, are punished; which is built on this first supposition, that souls are immortal; and thence are those exhortations to virtue, and dehortations from wickedness collected; 2.157. whereby good men are bettered in the conduct of their life by the hope they have of reward after their death; and whereby the vehement inclinations of bad men to vice are restrained, by the fear and expectation they are in, that although they should lie concealed in this life, they should suffer immortal punishment after their death. 2.158. These are the Divine doctrines of the Essenes about the soul, which lay an unavoidable bait for such as have once had a taste of their philosophy. 2.159. 12. There are also those among them who undertake to foretell things to come, by reading the holy books, and using several sorts of purifications, and being perpetually conversant in the discourses of the prophets; and it is but seldom that they miss in their predictions. 2.161. However, they try their spouses for three years; and if they find that they have their natural purgations thrice, as trials that they are likely to be fruitful, they then actually marry them. But they do not use to accompany with their wives when they are with child, as a demonstration that they do not marry out of regard to pleasure, but for the sake of posterity. Now the women go into the baths with some of their garments on, as the men do with somewhat girded about them. And these are the customs of this order of Essenes. |
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10. Mishnah, Niddah, 9.3 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 9.3. If she lent her shirt to a non-Jewish woman or to a menstruant she may attribute a stain to either. If three women had worn the same shirt or had sat on the same wooden bench and subsequently blood was found on it, all are regarded as unclean. If they had sat on a stone bench or on the projection within the colonnade of a bath House: Rabbi Nehemiah says that they are clean, for Rabbi Nehemiah says: anything that is not susceptible to uncleanness is not susceptible to stains." |
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11. Mishnah, Oholot, 6.1 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 6.1. Both persons and vessels can form ‘tents’ to bring uncleanness, but not to [protect objects so that they] remain clean. How so? There are four people carrying a chest: If there is uncleanness beneath it, vessels upon it become unclean. If there is uncleanness upon it, vessels beneath it become unclean. Rabbi Eliezer declares them clean. [If the chest] is placed upon four vessels, even if they are vessels made of dung, vessels of stone, or vessels of [unbaked] earth, If there is uncleanness beneath [the chest], vessels upon it become unclean. If there is uncleanness beneath it, vessels upon it become unclean. [If the chest] is placed on four stones or on any living creature, If there is uncleanness beneath it, vessels upon it remain clean. If there is uncleanness upon it vessels beneath it remain clean." |
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12. New Testament, John, 2.6 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.6. Now there were six water pots of stone set there after the Jews' manner of purifying, containing two or three metretes apiece. |
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13. New Testament, Mark, 7.1-7.23 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 7.1. Then the Pharisees, and some of the scribes gathered together to him, having come from Jerusalem. 7.2. Now when they saw some of his disciples eating bread with defiled, that is, unwashed, hands, they found fault. 7.3. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, don't eat unless they wash their hands and forearms, holding to the tradition of the elders. 7.4. They don't eat when they come from the marketplace, unless they bathe themselves, and there are many other things, which they have received to hold to: washings of cups, pitchers, bronze vessels, and couches.) 7.5. The Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why don't your disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unwashed hands? 7.6. He answered them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors me with their lips, But their heart is far from me. 7.7. But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' 7.8. For you set aside the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men -- the washing of pitchers and cups, and you do many other such things. 7.9. He said to them, "Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. 7.10. For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother;' and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.' 7.11. But you say, 'If a man tells his father or his mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban, that is to say, given to God;"' 7.12. then you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother 7.13. making void the word of God by your tradition, which you have handed down. You do many things like this. 7.14. He called all the multitude to himself, and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand. 7.15. There is nothing from outside of the man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man. 7.16. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear! 7.17. When he had entered into a house away from the multitude, his disciples asked him about the parable. 7.18. He said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also? Don't you perceive that whatever goes into the man from outside can't defile him 7.19. because it doesn't go into his heart, but into his stomach, then into the latrine, thus making all foods clean? 7.20. He said, "That which proceeds out of the man, that defiles the man. 7.21. For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts 7.22. covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. 7.23. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. |
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14. Tosefta, Demai, 2.2-2.12 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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15. Babylonian Talmud, Menachot, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 69b. blike dung vesselsand blike earth vessels, andthese bare not susceptible to ritual impurity, as the Master said: Stone vessels and dung vessels and earth vessels are not susceptible to ritual impurity, neither by Torah law nor by rabbinic law? Or perhapsthis is bnotconsidered bdigestion,as these palm leaves remained intact, and therefore the vessel prepared from them is susceptible to ritual impurity like any other wooden vessel.,The Gemara suggests: bResolvethe dilemma bfrom that which Ulla says in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yehotzadak: An incidentoccurred in which bwolves swallowed two childrenand excreted them bonthe east bbank of the Jordan, andthe bincident came before the Sagesfor a ruling. They were asked whether the remains of the children were ritually impure even after they had passed through the animal’s digestive tract, band they deemed the flesh ritually pure,as it is no longer considered human flesh but wolf excrement. Similarly, the swallowed palm leaves should be considered like elephant dung and therefore the basket made from them should not be susceptible to ritual impurity.,The Gemara rejects this resolution: That case of bflesh is different, asflesh bis softand digestible. Palm leaves, by contrast, are hard and not easily digested. The Gemara suggests: bButin that case, blet us resolvethe dilemma bfrom the last clauseof the account of that incident: The Sages ruled that flesh was ritually pure, bbutthey bdeemedthe intact bbones ritually impure.The bones, which are a harder substance than the flesh, are not considered digested. Likewise, the hard palm leaves should also not be considered digested, and the wicker basket fashioned from them should be susceptible to ritual impurity. The Gemara answers: The case of bbones is different, as they are harder.Therefore, one cannot cite a proof from here with regard to palm leaves, which are a comparatively softer substance.,§ bRabbi Zeira raises a dilemma:With regard to bwheat that fell from the clouds, what isthe ihalakha /i? The Gemara asks: bWith regard to whatissue was this dilemma raised? bIfit is referring to using this wheat bfor meal offerings, why not?There should be no problem with using the wheat, since wheat for meal offerings does not have to come from Eretz Yisrael. bRather,the dilemma is whether this wheat can be used bfor theoffering of the btwo loaveson iShavuot /i. bWhatis the ihalakha /i?,The Gemara explains the two possibilities. The verse states: “You shall bring out of your dwellings two wave-loaves of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of fine flour, they shall be baked with leaven, for first fruits to the Lord” (Leviticus 23:17). When bthe Merciful One states: “Out of your dwellings,”does this serve bto excludewheat bthatcame bfrom outside EretzYisrael, teaching bthatit may bnotbe used for the two loaves; bbutwheat that fell bfromthe bcloudsis bpermitted? Or perhapsthe verse means bspecifically: “Out of your dwellings,”i.e., only from Eretz Yisrael; bandif so, bevenwheat that fell bfromthe bcloudsis balso notacceptable.,With regard to this dilemma, the Gemara asks: bBut is there a case like this?Is it possible for wheat to fall from the clouds? The Gemara answers: bYes, as inan incident involving bAdi the Arab [ itaya’a /i],about whom it is related that it rained bdown on him wheatof ba height of one handbreadthspread boveran area of bthree parasangs. /b,§ bRabbi Shimon ben Pazi raises a dilemma:In a case where one had ban earof grain bthat reached one-thirdof its growth bprior to thebringing of bthe iomer /ioffering, bandthen he buprooted it and plantedit again bafter the iomer /i, andthen bit addedto its growth, bwhat isthe ihalakha /i? bDo we follow the originalgrowth, which was bpermittedby bthe iomer /ioffering, and therefore the additional growth is also permitted? bOr perhaps we follow the additionalgrowth, which was not permitted by the iomer /i, as it grew afterward. bAndif so, it will remain prohibited buntil the next iomer /ioffering bis brought. /b,The Gemara suggests: bResolvethe dilemma bfromthat bwhich Rabbi Abbahu saysthat bRabbi Yoḥa says:With regard to ba youngvine within three years of its planting, whose fruits are prohibited as iorla /i, bthat one grafted onto an old,permitted vine, band there were fruits onthe younger vine, bevenif the older vine badded two hundredparts of growth to the existing fruit, it is still bprohibited.The two hundred permitted parts, which are generally sufficient to nullify one part of iorla /i, are ineffective in this case, because the subsequent additional growth is considered subordinate to the original prohibited growth. This proves that we follow the original growth, and therefore in Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi’s case the original growth that was permitted by the iomershould render the entire plant, including the subsequent growth, permitted in consumption.,The Gemara cites another proof from a similar case. bAndlikewise bRabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani saysthat bRabbi Yonatan says:With regard to ban onion that one planted in a vineyard,creating a forbidden mixture of food crops in a vineyard, band the vineyard wassubsequently buprooted,so that most of the onion grew in a permitted manner, bevenif the onion badded two hundredparts of growth, the onion is bprohibited.The reason the entire onion is prohibited is apparently because we follow the original growth, which is forbidden.,The Gemara states that these proofs are inconclusive, as bthat itself iswhat Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi braisesas ba dilemma:Is it entirely bobvious to the Sages that we follow the maingrowth, and there is bno difference whetherthis leads bto a leniency or whetherit leads bto a stringency? Or perhaps they are uncertainabout the matter, bandtherefore they rule that when it leads bto a stringency,e.g., prohibiting the additional growth of iorlafruit or the additional growth of an onion that had grown in a vineyard, bwe saythat we follow the original growth, but when it leads bto a leniency,such as allowing the consumption of grain after the iomer /i, bwe do not saythat we follow the original growth. The Gemara concludes: The dilemma bshall standunresolved.,§ In connection to the previous discussion with regard to an ear of grain that had grown one-third prior to the iomerand was subsequently uprooted and replanted, bRabba raises a dilemma: With regard tothe obligation to btithe, whatis the ihalakhaof such grain? The Gemara asks: bWhat are the circumstances?The circumstances involve a case bwhere /b |
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