mikvah
what is a mikvah?
a mikvah, is a pool of water. the word “mikvah” or “mikveh” is used when referring to this body of water. what is the origin of this? is this scriptural or traditional?
what does the word “mikvah” mean?
the hebrew word “miqweh” is a derivative of the root “qavah” and is used for the first time in the book of genesis. it was translated as a “gathering of waters.”
genesis 1:10 10 elohiym called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters (mikveh) he called seas; and elohiym saw that it was good.
“mikvah” is used three more times, in scripture, in the context of “gathered” water, translated as a reservoir twice and once as collecting.(ex 7:19; lev 11:36; yes 11:36).
we also find mikveh in the following scriptures:
1 chronicles 29:15 for we are sojourners and pilgrims before you, as were all our fathers; our days on earth are as a shadow, and without permanence (mikveh – hope)
ezra 10:2 and sheḵanyah son of yeḥi’ĕl, one of the sons of olam, spoke up and said to ezra, we have trespassed against our elohiym, and have taken foreign women from the peoples of the land. and now there is *expectancy (mikveh – hope) in yashar’el concerning this.”
yirmeyahu 50:7 all who found them have devoured them. and their adversaries have said, ‘we are not guilty, because they have sinned against יהוה, the home of righteousness, and the expectation (mikveh – hope) of their fathers: יהוה.
yirmeyahu 14:8 o expectation (mikveh – hope) of yashar’el, its saviour in time of distress, why should you be like a stranger in the land, or like a traveller who turns aside to lodge?
yirmeyahu 17:13 o יהוה, the *expectation (mikveh – hope) of yashar’el, all who forsake you are put to shame. “those who depart from me shall be written in the earth (note: what did messiah wrote in the sand 🤔), because they have forsaken יהוה, the fountain of living waters.
now what about this hope?
the word mikvah also means hope. when i look at all the scriptures referring to mikvah, i get the picture that a collection of water (mikveh) that goes with this act of immersion, that this action brings forth the hope or expectation of being cleansed and being able to start fresh. you will understand the significance as we proceed. the word mikvah is, in scripture, not used in the direct context of washing for purification. it is only the collection of water and the expectation (hope) that connect this word with ritual immersion.
washing in the tanakh
the hebrew word “rahas” is normally translated as “wash” in the tanakh. this word in its various forms is used 72 times in the tanakh when referring to cleansing, whether for personal hygiene or for ritual purification purposes.
twot 2150: wash, bathe, i.e., remove dirt and impurities using water and possibly other cleansing agents, either immersed in a body of water, or with lesser amounts of water, used both as normal personal hygiene and as ceremonial ritual (ex 2:5; 29:4); (pual) be cleansed (pr 30:12; eze 16:4+); (hitp) wash oneself (job 9:30+), see also domain (qal) be abundant, formally, washed, i.e., have an abundant amount of a quantity, as a figurative extension of washing oneself in a large mass of liquid (job 29:6; ps 58:11), note: for mt text in ps 68:24, see 47301
here is an example of the word “rahas” used in the context of ritual purification.
lev 15:16 now if a man has a seminal emission, he shall bathe (rahas) all his body in water and be unclean until evening.
take note here the bathing alone does not render him clean, the bathing and the passing of time together renders him clean. when we did the study on clean and unclean, we learned that there are different ways of becoming ritually clean after having been defiled, depending on the source of the uncleanness. water is almost always involved.
washing in the kethub(v)im
many different greek words are used to describe washing in the kethuvim. we will not be going into detail of each one. two of these words are relevant to our study:
- baptismos – the act of washing, , mark 7:4 (in some texts, v. 8); heb. 6:2, 9:10,
- loutron – a bath, a laverâ, is used metaphorically of the word of elohiym, as the instrument of spiritual cleansing, eph. 5:26; in titus 3:5, of the washing of regeneration.
in general, taking all scripture into consideration, we can identify three main categories of washing, pertaining specifically to people.
- foot washing
- bathing
- washing from sin
we will briefly look at each of these for better understanding.
foot washing
in the ancient near east, where roads were dusty and sandals were the common footwear, making provision for guests or travelers to wash their feet was an act of common hospitality (gen. 18:4; 19:2; 24:32; luke 7:36; cf. john 12:1).
there are two facets to foot washing, physical and spiritual. as we have seen from the above quote, washing of feet was mostly done as an act of hospitality for the physical purpose of cleaning dusty feet. there are, however, two examples where the washing of feet had a spiritual significance. the feet of the priests were washed prior to entering the sanctuary, and before they approached the altar (ex 30:19-21; ex 40:31). this was done in order to ensure ritual purity. the other example is where yahusha washed the feet of his disciples to demonstrate how they (we) are to serve one another (yoh 13:1-20).
we have experienced the act of reciprocal foot washing. it is something we have done a few times when we got together with believers and a few times as part of a pesach seder in the past. it is an experience, both humbling and edifying, a loving act of service to brothers or sisters in yahusha.
is it something we should be doing?
bathing
the washing in water of the entire body, as opposed to simply the hands, face, or feet
- pharaoh’s daughter was bathing in the Nile when she found Moses (ex 2:5)
- aaron and his sons were washed as part of the process of inducting them into the priesthood (lev 8:6)
- newborn infants were bathed before they were swaddled in cloths (yeh(eze) 16:4)
- a cleansed leper has to bathe as part of the extensive rites for removing the impurity associated with leprosy (lev 14:8)
- naaman was prescribed bathing in the jordan seven times as a cure for leprosy (2 kin 5:10)
- yoh 5:2-8 contrasts the healing power of the pool of bethesda with that of yahusha, who heals without water.
- mourners, did not bathe while mourning, however, at the end of mourning they would bathe, anoint themselves and put on fresh clothing (2 sam 12:20)
- women would bathe as part of normal hygiene (eze 23:40; rut 3:3 and 2 sam 11:2-4)
archaeological testimony to bathing in iron age yashar’el includes a 9th-century bathtub found at tel dan, 6th-century wash basins found in the guestrooms at tell beit mirsim, cisterns lined with lime plaster found in typical israelite private dwellings from the beginning of the iron age, and the 8th-century pottery figure of a woman bathing in a shallow bowl (perhaps a bidet?) from er-ras cemetery at ez-zib.
once again, we see washing for both physical and spiritual reasons here. we all know that the body needs regular cleaning. however, spiritual cleaning is of interest to us. aaron and his sons were bathed with water when they were consecrated. we also see the leper being cleansed from his uncleanness of leprosy after he has been healed. then we have all the other examples of washing for ritual cleanness. these washings were symbolic of the removal of uncleanness that cannot be seen, spiritual uncleanness. this is along the same lines as washing away sin.
spiritual washing
we have learned before, when we studied about uncleanness, that sin causes spiritual uncleanness. this is what king david was referring to in ps 51 when he asked yhwh to wash him from his iniquity and to cleanse him from his sin.
Ps 51:2 wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
there are other references where water is mentioned in the context of sin and impurity. in zechariah, the following is prophesied:
zech 13:1 in that day a fountain will be opened for the house of david and for the inhabitants of jerusalem, for sin and for impurity.
this imply that this fountain will be used for the purification of sin and impurity. the hebrew word “maqor” is used here, meaning a source:
5227 TWOT 2004 flow, i.e., that which is a movement of a mass of liquid or fluid (lev 12:7+); 2. LN 80.5 source, i.e., that which is the spatial beginning of a direction or path (lev 20:18+); 3. LN 68.10 source, formally, fountain, i.e., that which is the origin or beginning of a state or time (ps 36:10[EB 9]; pr 10:11; 13:14; 14:27; 16:22; 18:4+); 4. LN 1.69 – 1.78 well, spring, fountain, i.e., a relatively small body of water on the surface or just below ground, with the associative meanings of life and cleansing associated with clean water (pr 5:18; 25:26; yer 2:13; 17:13; 51:36; hos 13:15; zech 13:1+); 5. LN 11.12“11.54 assembly, formally, fountain, i.e., a socio-religious group, as a figurative extension of a pool of fresh water (ps 68:27[EB 26]+); 6. LN 59.11 “59.22 much, formally, fountain, i.e., a relatively great quantity of a mass as a figurative extension of a fountain as a body of water (yer 8:23[EB 9:1]+1
wait a minute, we see here that this fountain is the source, and this source of living water is for taking away impurity and sin. this is more profound than you probably realize! is this really a physical fountain?
father (yhwh), our hope, the source of living water
let us just go a few steps back. where in scripture do we get other references about a fountain? father calls himself the fountain of living waters.
yer 2:13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
father is the fountain, the source of living water. he cleanses us from our sin; we are not cleansed by our works.
wait, there is even more…
yer 17:13 o yhwh, the hope of yashar’el, all who forsake you will be put to shame. those who turn away on earth will be written down, because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, yhwh
do you see this? do you know which hebrew word was translated as “hope?” it is miqwah! yhwh is the hope (miqwah in hebrew); he is also the fountain (source) of living water. so every time we immerse ourselves in water, it is symbolic of how yhwh purifies us. this is indeed very profound! *yhwh is our mikvah! he cleanses and purifies us! it is not our act of immersing ourselves that cleanses us, this act is only symbolic of yhwh cleansing us!
when i (davison) call out fathers name, and say: “yhwh, please save me!” and go into the miqwah and arise from that miqwah i have the hope that father, cleanced me and saved me.
yoḥanan 3:3-5
יהושע answered and said to him, “truly, truly, i say to you, unless one is born from above, he is unable to see the reign of elohiym.” naḵdimon said to him, “how is a man able to be born when he is old? is he able to enter into his mother’s womb a second time and be born?” יהושע answered, “truly, truly, i say to you, unless one is born of water (washing in a mikveh (collection of water – hope) and the spirit (ruach – wind, breath, words of yhwh), he is unable to enter into the reign of elohiym.
there are many opinions (interpretations, commentaries, dogmas…), let’s read and study fathers word first and firstly find out what his interpretation of his own words are before we believe the interpretations of people.
