1. Hebrew Bible, Numbers, 3.38, 19.11, 19.19 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 3.38. וְהַחֹנִים לִפְנֵי הַמִּשְׁכָּן קֵדְמָה לִפְנֵי אֹהֶל־מוֹעֵד מִזְרָחָה מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן וּבָנָיו שֹׁמְרִים מִשְׁמֶרֶת הַמִּקְדָּשׁ לְמִשְׁמֶרֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהַזָּר הַקָּרֵב יוּמָת׃ 19.11. הַנֹּגֵעַ בְּמֵת לְכָל־נֶפֶשׁ אָדָם וְטָמֵא שִׁבְעַת יָמִים׃ 19.19. וְהִזָּה הַטָּהֹר עַל־הַטָּמֵא בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וְחִטְּאוֹ בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וְכִבֶּס בְּגָדָיו וְרָחַץ בַּמַּיִם וְטָהֵר בָּעָרֶב׃ | 3.38. And those that were to pitch before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrising, were Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary, even the charge for the children of Israel; and the common man that drew nigh was to be put to death." 19.11. He that toucheth the dead, even any man’s dead body, shall be unclean seven days;" 19.19. And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify him; and he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even." |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Ezra, 2.3 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 2.3. בְּנֵי מַגְבִּישׁ מֵאָה חֲמִשִּׁים וְשִׁשָּׁה׃ 2.3. בְּנֵי פַרְעֹשׁ אַלְפַּיִם מֵאָה שִׁבְעִים וּשְׁנָיִם׃ | 2.3. The children of Parosh, two thousand a hundred seventy and two." |
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3. Philo of Alexandria, On The Decalogue, 1 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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4. Philo of Alexandria, On The Special Laws, 1.1, 1.162, 1.261, 3.89, 3.120, 3.124-3.126, 3.205 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.1. The genera and heads of all special laws, which are called "the ten commandments," have been discussed with accuracy in the former treatise. We must now proceed to consider the particular commands as we read them in the subsequent passages of the holy scriptures; and we will begin with that which is turned into ridicule by people in general. 1.162. Or the creatures which are fit to be offered as sacrifices, some are land animals, and some are such as fly through the air. Passing over, therefore, the infinite varieties of birds, God chose only two classes out of them all, the turtledove and the pigeon; because the pigeon is by nature the most gentle of all those birds which are domesticated and gregarious, and the turtle-dove the most gentle of those which love solitude. 1.261. The body then, as I have already said, he purifies with ablutions and bespringklings, and does not allow a person after he has once washed and sprinkled himself, at once to enter within the sacred precincts, but bids him wait outside for seven days, and to be besprinkled twice, on the third day and on the seventh day; and after this it commands him to wash himself once more, and then it admits him to enter the sacred precincts and to share in the sacred ministrations.XLIX. 3.89. Or shall we say that to those who have done no wrong the temple is still inaccessible until they have washed themselves, and sprinkled themselves, and purified themselves with the accustomed purifications; but that those who are guilty of indelible crimes, the pollution of which no length of time will ever efface, may approach and dwell among those holy seats; though no decent person, who has any regard for holy things would even receive them in his house?XVI. 3.120. The sacred law says that the man, who has been killed without any intention that he should be so on the part of him who killed him, has been given up by God into the hands of his slayers; {8}{#ex 21:13.} in this way designing to make an excuse for the man who appears to have slain him as if he had slain a guilty person. 3.124. And the cause of the first of these injunctions was this. The tribe which has been mentioned received these cities as a reward for a justifiable and holy slaughter, which we must look upon as the most illustrious and important of all the gallant actions that were ever performed. 3.125. For when the prophet, after having been called up to the loftiest and most sacred of all the mountains in that district, was divinely instructed in the generic outlines of all the special laws, {10}{#ex 32:1.} and was out of sight of his people for many days; those of the people who were not of a peaceable disposition filled every place with the evils which arise from anarchy, and crowned all their iniquity with open impiety, turning into ridicule all those excellent and beautiful lessons concerning the honour due to the one true and living God, and having made a golden bull, an imitation of the Egyptian Typhos, and brought to it unholy sacrifices, and festivals unhallowed, and instituted profane and impious dances, with songs and hymns instead of lamentations; 3.126. then the tribe aforesaid, being very terribly indigt at their sudden departure from their previous customs, and being enflamed with zeal by reason of their natural disposition which hated iniquity, all became full of rage and of divine enthusiasm, and arming themselves, as at one signal, and with great contempt and one uimous attack, came upon the people, drunk thus with a twofold intoxication of impiety and of wine, beginning with their nearest and dearest friends and relations, thinking those who loved God to be their only relations and friends. And in a very small portion of the day, four-and-twenty thousand men were slain; the calamities of whom were a warning to those who would otherwise have joined themselves to their iniquity, but who now were alarmed lest they should suffer a similar fate. |
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5. Mishnah, Berachot, 3.6 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 3.6. A zav who has had a seminal emission and a niddah from whom semen escapes and a woman who becomes niddah during intercourse require a mikveh. Rabbi Judah exempts them." |
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6. Mishnah, Miqvaot, 8.1, 8.4 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 8.1. The land of Israel is clean and its mikvaot are clean. The mikvaot of the nations outside the land are valid for those who had a seminal emission even though they have been filled by a pump-beam; Those in the land of Israel: when outside the entrance [to the city] are valid even for menstruants, and those within the entrance [to the city] are valid for those who had a seminal emission but invalid for all [others] who are unclean. Rabbi Eliezer says: those which are near to a city or to a road are unclean because of laundering; but those at a distance are clean." 8.4. If a non-Jewish woman discharged semen from an Israelite, it is unclean. If an Israelite woman discharged semen from a non-Jewish man, it is clean. If a woman had intercourse and then went down and immersed herself but did not sweep out the house, it is as though she had not immersed herself. If a man who had a seminal emission immersed himself but did not first pass urine, he again becomes unclean when he passes urine. Rabbi Yose says: if he was sick or old he is unclean, but if he was young and healthy he remains clean." |
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7. Mishnah, Niddah, 4.3 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 4.3. The blood of a Gentile and the clean blood of a metzoraat (a woman with scale disease): Bet Shammai declares clean. And Bet Hillel holds that it is like her spittle or her urine. The blood of a woman after childbirth who did not immerse [in a mikveh]: Bet Shammai says it is like her spittle or her urine, But Bet Hillel says: it conveys uncleanness both when wet and when dry. They agree that if she gave birth while in zivah, it conveys uncleanness both when wet and when dry." |
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8. New Testament, Acts, 21.23-21.27 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 21.23. Therefore do what we tell you. We have four men who have a vow on them. 21.24. Take them, and purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses for them, that they may shave their heads. Then all will know that there is no truth in the things that they have been informed about you, but that you yourself also walk keeping the law. 21.25. But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written our decision that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from strangled things, and from sexual immorality. 21.26. Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purified himself and went with them into the temple, declaring the fulfillment of the days of purification, until the offering was offered for every one of them. 21.27. When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him |
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9. Tosefta, Berachot, 2.13 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 2.13. “A man who had a seminal emission (Baal Keri) who does not have water to dip in may read the Shema, but he may not [read it loud enough so that he can] hear [himself talking] with his own ear, and does not say the Beracha (blessing) not before it and not after it.” [These are] the words of Rebbi Meir. And the Chachamim (Sages) say, ”He may read the Shema and he may [read it loud enough so that he can] hear [himself talking] with his own ear, and he says the Beracha [both] before it and after it.” Rebbi Meir said, “One time we were sitting in the Bet Midrash (Study Hall) in front of Rebbi Akiva and we were reading the Shema, but we were not saying it loud enough to be able to hear ourselves, because of one inquisitor who was standing by the door.” They (i.e. Chachamim) said [back] to him, “The time of danger is not a proof.”" |
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10. Tosefta, Hulin, 1.1, 2.20 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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11. Tosefta, Megillah, 3.22 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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12. Tosefta, Niddah, 5.5 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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13. Tosefta, Peah, 4.1 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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14. Tosefta, Shevi It, 4.6-4.11 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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15. Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat, 14b (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 14b. כיון דהך גזור ברישא הא תו למה לי אלא הך גזור ברישא והדר גזור בכולהו ידים,וטבול יום טבול יום דאורייתא הוא דכתיב (ויקרא כב, ז) ובא השמש וטהר סמי מכאן טבול יום,והאוכלין שנטמאו במשקין במשקין דמאי אילימא במשקין הבאין מחמת שרץ דאוריי' נינהו דכתיב (ויקרא יא, לד) וכל משקה אשר ישתה אלא במשקין הבאין מחמת ידים וגזירה משום משקין הבאין מחמת שרץ,והכלים שנטמאו במשקין כלים דאיטמאו במשקין דמאי אילימא במשקין דזב דאוריי' נינהו דכתיב (ויקרא טו, ח) וכי ירוק הזב בטהור מה שביד טהור טמאתי לך אלא במשקין הבאין מחמת שרץ וגזירה משום משקין דזב,וידים תלמידי שמאי והלל גזור שמאי והלל גזור דתניא יוסי בן יועזר איש צרידה ויוסי בן יוחנן איש ירושלים גזרו טומאה על ארץ העמים ועל כלי זכוכית שמעון בן שטח תיקן כתובה לאשה וגזר טומאה על כלי מתכות שמאי והלל גזרו טומאה על הידים,וכ"ת שמאי וסיעתו והלל וסיעתו והאמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל י"ח דבר גזרו ובי"ח נחלקו ואילו הלל ושמאי לא נחלקו אלא בג' מקומות דא"ר הונא בג' מקומות נחלקו ותו לא וכ"ת אתו אינהו גזור לתלות ואתו תלמידייהו וגזרו לשרוף והאמר אילפא ידים תחלת גזירתן לשריפה אלא אתו אינהו גזור ולא קבלו מינייהו ואתו תלמידייהו גזרו וקבלו מינייהו,ואכתי שלמה גזר דא"ר יהודה אמר שמואל בשעה שתיקן שלמה עירובין ונטילת ידים יצתה בת קול ואמרה (משלי כג, טו) בני אם חכם לבך ישמח לבי גם אני (משלי כז, יא) חכם בני ושמח לבי ואשיבה חורפי דבר אתא | 14b. bonce they decreed that first, why do I need thatdecree of impurity on hands that touch a sacred scroll bas well?Once the Sages decreed impurity on hands in general, there is no longer a necessity to decree impurity on hands that touched a Torah scroll, as hands are impure in any case. bRather,certainly the Sages bdecreedimpurity on bthis,hands that touched a Torah scroll, bfirst. And then they decreedimpurity bon all hands. /b,Among the decrees listed in the mishna, there is the decree that contact with one who bimmersed himself during the daydisqualifies iteruma /i. The Gemara asks: bOne who immersed himself during the daytransmits impurity by bTorahlaw, as it is written: “One who touches it remains impure until evening. He should not eat of the consecrated items and he must wash his flesh with water. bAnd the sun sets and it is purified.Afterward, he may eat from the teruma, for it is his bread” (Leviticus 22:6–7). Consequently, until sunset he is prohibited by Torah law from touching consecrated items, and the same is true for iteruma /i. The Gemara answers: bDelete from here,from the list of decrees in the mishna, bone who immersed himself during the day. /b, bAndamong the decrees that were listed, there is also the decree concerning the impurity of bthe foods that became impurethrough contact bwith liquids.The Gemara asks: bWith liquids thatbecame impure due to contact with bwhatsource of impurity? bIf you saythat the mishna is referring to bliquids that cometo be impure bdue tocontact with ba creeping animal, they areimpure bby Torah law, as it is writtenwith regard to the impurity of creeping animals: b“And every liquid that is drunkin any vessel, will be impure” (Leviticus 11:34). bRather,the mishna is referring to bliquids that cometo be impure bdue tocontact with impure bhands.The Sages issued this bdecree due to liquids that cometo be impure bthroughcontact with ba creeping animal. /b, bAndamong the decrees that were listed, there is also the decree concerning bthe vessels that became impurethrough contact bwith liquids.The Gemara asks: bVessels that became impuredue to contact bwith liquids thatbecame impure due to contact with bwhatsource of impurity? bIf you saythat they become impure due to contact bwith liquidssecreted by ba izav /i,e.g., spittle, urine, etc., bthey areimpure bby Torah law, as it is written: “And if a izavspits on a pure personand he should wash his clothes and wash in water and he is impure until the evening” (Leviticus 15:8). The Sages interpreted homiletically: bWhatever is in the hand of the pure person I made impure for you.Not only did the person who came into contact with the liquids of the izavbecome impure, but the objects in his hand did as well. bRather,here it is referring bto liquids that cometo be impure bdue tocontact with ba creeping animal,which by Torah law do not transmit impurity to vessels. bAndthe Sages issued ba decreewith regard to those liquids bdue totheir similarity to the bliquids of a izav /i. /b,Among the list of items in the mishna with regard to which the disciples of Shammai and Hillel instituted decrees, were the hands of any person who did not purify himself for the sake of purity of iteruma /i. If he came into contact with iteruma /i, the Sages decreed it impure. The Gemara asks: bAndwith regard to bhands,was it bthe disciples of Shammai and Hillelwho bissued the decreeof impurity? bShammai and Hillelthemselves bissued the decree. As it was taughtin a ibaraita /i: bYosei ben Yo’ezer of Tzereida and Yosei ben Yoḥa of Jerusalem decreed impurity on the land of the nations,that the land outside Eretz Yisrael transmits impurity; bandthey decreed impurity bon glass vessels,even though glass is not listed in the Torah among the vessels that can become impure. bShimon ben Shataḥ institutedthe formula of ba woman’s marriage contract andalso bdecreedspecial bimpurity on metal vessels. Shammai and Hillel decreed impurity on the hands. /b, bAnd if you saythat the ibaraitais referring to bShammai and his faction and Hillel and his faction, didn’t Rav Yehuda saythat bShmuel said: With regard to eighteen matters they issued decreesthat day, band with regard tothose beighteenmatters bthey disagreedprior to that? The eighteen disputes were only between the disciples of Shammai and Hillel, bwhereas Hillel and Shammaithemselves bargued only in three places.Clearly, they were neither party to the disputes nor the decrees. bAs Rav Huna said:Shammai and Hillel bdisagreed inonly bthree places and no more. And if you saythat Hillel and Shammai bcameand bdecreedthat iterumathat came into contact with hands bwould be in abeyance, and their students came and decreed to burn iterumathat came into contact with hands, then the following difficulty arises. bDidn’t Ilfa,one of the Sages, bsay:With regard to bhands,from bthe beginning their decreewas that iterumathat comes into contact with them is bto be burned?According to Ilfa, there is no uncertainty. iTerumathat came into contact with definite impurity is burned. iTerumathat is in abeyance may not be destroyed. One must wait until it becomes definitely impure or decomposes on its own. bRather,the explanation is that bthey came and issued a decree andthe people bdid not acceptthe decree bfrom them, and their disciples came and issued a decree and they acceptedit bfrom them. /b,The Gemara asks further: bStill,the matter is not clear, as the decree of hands was bissuedby King bSolomon. As Rav Yehuda saidthat bShmuel said: At the time that Solomon institutedthe ordices of ieiruvandof bwashing handsto purify them from their impurity, ba Divine Voice emerged and saidin his praise: b“My son, if your heart is wise my heart will be glad, even mine”(Proverbs 23:15), and so too: b“My son, be wise and make my heart glad, that I may respond to those who taunt me”(Proverbs 27: 11). The Gemara responds: bCame /b |
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