Ablution

Ablution, or ritual washing, was a pervasive element of Israelite worship and purity law. Its principal occasions included: the consecration of priests before investiture (Leviticus 8:6); the required handwashing of priests before approaching the altar (Exodus 30:17–21); purification after contact with uncleanness, childbirth, or a corpse (Leviticus 12; Numbers 19); and the symbolic washing of hands to disclaim bloodguilt (Deuteronomy 21:1–6; cf. Psalm 26:6; Matthew 27:24).

In the New Testament, Jesus and Paul both distinguish the inner transformation of the heart from mere outward washing (Mark 7:1–8; Colossians 2:16–17), while Christian baptism reinterprets ritual ablution as the sign of spiritual cleansing and union with Christ's death and resurrection.