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Maybe OT cleanliness isn't exactly godliness after all.

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
While cleanliness has oftentimes been touted and evidenced in the Old Testament as being something exceptional of note via God's divine direction for his people to remain healthy and long-lived, it appears however, God has apparently overlooked and forgotten a few key points affecting the health of his followers in quite a serious way when it comes to hygiene and safe practices.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releas...tm_campaign=ScienceDaily_TMD_1&utm_source=TMD
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
That's not what the article said. It was about how the specific practices of a group were just the wrong thing to do based on where they were living. Such as "Burying your feces in the outdoors makes a lot of sense until you live in Qumran,"
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
That's not what the article said. It was about how the specific practices of a group were just the wrong thing to do based on where they were living. Such as "Burying your feces in the outdoors makes a lot of sense until you live in Qumran,"

The group is identified as the Essenes.
 

Oeste

Well-Known Member
While cleanliness has oftentimes been touted and evidenced in the Old Testament as being something exceptional of note via God's divine direction for his people to remain healthy and long-lived, it appears however, God has apparently overlooked and forgotten a few key points affecting the health of his followers in quite a serious way when it comes to hygiene and safe practices.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releas...tm_campaign=ScienceDaily_TMD_1&utm_source=TMD

Hardly.

The mikveh, or total body immersion, was to be done in running or flowing water, something the Essenes just didn't have but would have prevented contamination.

Tradition:

How can I identify a stream as fit for mikveh?

Scripture:

Now in case the one having a running discharge would become clean from his running discharge, he must then count for himself seven days for his purification, and he must wash his garments and bathe his flesh in running water; and he must be clean. And on the eighth day he should take for himself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and he must come to the entrance of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest.(Leviticus 15:13-14)

Article:

Ironically, both the rigorous latrine and purification practices, combined with the lack of running water appear to be the most likely causes for the extreme differences in early mortality between Qumran and the contemporary Jericho.
 
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