Wash, Washing
Wash, Washing
wosh, woshing: The two usual Hebrew words for wash are , rahac, and , kabhas, the former being normally used of persons or of sacrificial animals (Gen 18:4, etc., often translated bathe; Lev 15:5, etc.), and the latter of things (Gen 49:11, etc.), the exceptions to this distinction being few (for rahac, 1Ki 22:38 margin; for kabhas, Psa 51:2, Psa 51:7; Jer 2:22; Jer 4:14). Much less common are , duah (2Ch 4:6; Isa 4:4; Eze 40:38) and , shataph (1Ki 22:38; Job 14:19; Eze 16:9), translated rinse in Lev 6:28; Lev 15:11, Lev 15:12. In Neh 4:23 the King James Version has washing and the Revised Version (British and American) water for mayim, but the text is hopelessly obscure (compare the Revised Version margin). In the Apocrypha and New Testament the range of terms is wider. Most common is , npto (Mat 6:17, etc.), with aponpto in Mat 27:24. Of the other terms, , louo (Susanna verses 15, 17; Joh 13:10, etc.), with apolouo (Act 22:16; 1Co 6:11) and the noun loutron (Sirach 34:25b; Eph 5:26; Tit 3:5), usually has a sacral significance. On , baptzo (Sirach 34:25a; Mar 7:4; Luk 11:38), with the noun baptismos (Mar 7:4 (text?); Heb 9:10), see BAPTISM. In Luk 5:2; Rev 7:14; Rev 22:14 the Revised Version (British and American) occurs , pluno, while Judith 10:3 has , perikluzo. Virtually, as far as meaning is concerned, all these words are interchangeable. Of the figurative uses of washing, the most common and obvious is that of cleansing from sin (Psa 51:2; Isa 1:16, etc.), but, with an entirely different figure, to wash in may signify to enjoy in plenty (Gen 49:11; Job 29:6; the meaning in Son 5:12 is uncertain). Washing of the hands, in token of innocence, is found in Deu 21:6; Mat 27:24.
The washing balls of Susanna verse 17 (, smegma, a very rare word) were of soap. See SOAP.