Washing in Water

Most recent discussions of the origins of Christian baptism have acknowledged that Christian baptism and Jewish ritual immersion were somehow related, but have claimed an inability to be certain as to the nature and origins of these practices, even while still interpreting their significance. A close analysis of the textual and archaeological evidence for early Christian baptism and Jewish ritual immersion could be very fruitful, but a necessary first step is to discuss the origins of Jewish ritual immersion. This project attempts to provide such a background, examining relevant texts from the Hebrew Bible, Second Temple literature, and the Dead Sea Scrolls along with archaeological evidence to provide a better description of the origins and forms of Jewish ritual bathing.
Some recent examinations of ritual bathing have focused on its role in the entire ritual purity system, especially the reasons why bathing was performed. These details are important, but such a focus on practice overlooks other texts related to washing which are not necessarily involved in ritual purity. Thus this project will examine the way each text describes ritual washing, looking to uncover its understanding as well as the way it was practiced. Therefore each text will be examined for what it says explicitly about ritual washing, rather than later assumptions and interpolations about its use.