Hebrew word · H2893

טׇהֳרָה

letohorato

purifying

Cleansing, purification, the state of being ritually clean. It belongs to the purity system, which marks what is fit to come near God's presence. It is not mainly about personal morality.

Appears 11 times in 11 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) purifying, cleansing, purification, purity, cleanness

1a) purifying, menstruation

1b) cleansing, purification

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 1 Chronicles 23:28

Range of meaning

Cleansing, purification, the state of being ritually clean. It belongs to the purity system, which marks what is fit to come near God's presence. It is not mainly about personal morality. The word is used of purification after childbirth (Lev 12:4, 6), purification of a person with a skin disease (Lev 13:7, 35; 14:2), and here, cleansing of sacred objects.

Against the English

'Purification' and 'purifying' are fine translations. A modern reader, though, may hear spiritual or moral cleansing, or hygiene. Here it is ritual and practical: keeping holy vessels and spaces in a fit state.

How it drifted

In Christian devotional language, 'purify' mostly refers to the heart or to sin. In Israel, ritual cleanness was a separate category from guilt: one could be unclean without having done anything wrong.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Chronicles 29:15–18 shows what this looked like. In Hezekiah's reform the priests went into the inner house and brought out everything unclean. The Levites carried it out to the Kidron valley, and they reported that they had cleansed the altar and all its utensils. Nehemiah 13:9 likewise has the chambers 'cleansed' after Tobiah's goods were thrown out.

From the study of 2 Chronicles 30:19

Range of meaning

Cleanness or purification in the ritual sense. It is the status needed to approach holy space or eat holy food, gained by washing, waiting a set time, and sometimes by sacrifice. Ritual impurity came from ordinary life events: contact with a corpse, bodily discharges, childbirth, skin disease.

Against the English

'Cleansed' and 'purification' can suggest being cleansed from sin. Ritual impurity is not a sin in itself. A son who buries his father becomes impure by doing his duty. The offence lies in bringing that impurity into contact with holy things.

How it drifted

Christian use of 'cleansing' for forgiveness of sin, and the general merging of 'pure' with 'morally good', blurs the ritual category.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lev 12:4-6 (the days of 'her purification'); Lev 13:7, 35; Neh 12:45. Lev 7:20-21 warns that anyone who eats holy sacrificial meat while impure 'shall be cut off'. Lev 15:31 says impurity in the camp risks death by defiling the sanctuary. Num 9:6-13 lets people impure from a corpse keep Passover a month later.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 6

  1. Leviticus 13:7 לְטָהֳרָת֑וֹ for purification his

    But if the rash spreads further on his skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he must present himself again to the priest.

  2. Leviticus 13:35 טָהֳרָתֽוֹ׃ purification his

    If, however, the scaly outbreak spreads further on the skin after his cleansing,

  3. Leviticus 14:2 טָהֳרָת֑וֹ purification his

    “This is the law for the one afflicted with a skin disease on the day of his cleansing, when he is brought to the priest.

  4. Leviticus 14:23 לְטָהֳרָת֖וֹ for purification his

    On the eighth day he is to bring them for his cleansing to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD.

  5. Leviticus 14:32 בְּטָהֳרָתֽוֹ׃ פ for purification his

    This is the law for someone who has a skin disease and cannot afford the cost of his cleansing.”

  6. Leviticus 15:13 לְטָהֳרָת֖וֹ for purification his

    When the man has been cleansed from his discharge, he must count off seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe himself in fresh water, and he shall be clean.

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 6:9 טָהֳרָת֔וֹ purification his

    If someone suddenly dies in his presence and defiles his consecrated head of hair, he must shave his head on the day of his cleansing—the seventh day.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 23:28 טָהֳרַ֖ת [the] purification

    but their duty was to assist the descendants of Aaron with the service of the house of the LORD, being responsible for the courts and chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God,

    Here: The ritual cleansing that kept sacred objects and spaces fit for use in God's presence. In practice this meant washing, scouring and clearing away whatever made them unclean.

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 30:19 כְּטָהֳרַ֥ת according to [the] purification of

    who sets his heart on seeking God—the LORD, the God of his fathers—even if he is not cleansed according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.”

    Here: 'According to the purification of…': the ritual cleanness a person needed before eating holy food. This is a ritual status, not a moral one.

Nehemiah · 1

  1. Nehemiah 12:45 הַֽטָּהֳרָ֔ה <the> purification

    They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, along with the singers and gatekeepers, as David and his son Solomon had prescribed.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 44:26 טָֽהֳרָת֑וֹ purification his

    and after he is cleansed, he must count off seven days for himself.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.