Topical Encyclopedia
The term "ceremonially" in the context of the Bible refers to actions, objects, or states that pertain to religious rites and rituals as prescribed by the Mosaic Law. These ceremonial laws were given to the Israelites and are detailed primarily in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. They encompass a wide range of practices, including sacrifices, festivals, dietary laws, and purification rituals.
Ceremonial Purity and ImpurityCeremonial purity was a significant aspect of the Old Testament law. It dictated the conditions under which individuals could participate in worship and community life. For instance,
Leviticus 11 outlines dietary laws that distinguish between clean and unclean animals, affecting what the Israelites could eat.
Leviticus 15 discusses various bodily discharges that render a person ceremonially unclean, requiring specific purification rituals.
The concept of ceremonial impurity extended beyond personal hygiene or moral sin; it was a symbolic representation of holiness and separation from the profane. For example, touching a dead body made one ceremonially unclean (
Numbers 19:11), necessitating a purification process before the individual could re-enter the community or participate in worship.
Sacrifices and OfferingsSacrifices and offerings were central to the ceremonial laws. They served as a means for the Israelites to atone for sin, express gratitude, and maintain a covenant relationship with God. The Book of Leviticus provides detailed instructions on various types of offerings, including burnt offerings, grain offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings (Leviticus 1-7).
These sacrifices were not merely ritualistic but were intended to reflect the heart's attitude of the worshiper. As the prophet Samuel declared, "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams" (
1 Samuel 15:22), emphasizing that God desires obedience and a contrite heart over mere ritual compliance.
Festivals and Holy DaysThe ceremonial laws also established a calendar of festivals and holy days, which served as reminders of God's covenant and His acts of deliverance. Key festivals included Passover, commemorating the Israelites' deliverance from Egypt (
Exodus 12:14-20), and the Day of Atonement, a solemn day of fasting and repentance (
Leviticus 16:29-34).
These festivals were not only times of celebration but also opportunities for communal worship and reflection on God's faithfulness. They reinforced the identity of the Israelites as God's chosen people and their responsibility to live according to His statutes.
Transition to the New CovenantWith the advent of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the New Covenant, the ceremonial laws were fulfilled and transformed. Jesus' sacrificial death and resurrection rendered the Old Testament sacrificial system obsolete, as He became the ultimate sacrifice for sin (
Hebrews 10:1-14). The Apostle Paul explains that the ceremonial laws were a "shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ" (
Colossians 2:17).
In the New Testament, the focus shifts from external rituals to the internal transformation of the believer. The ceremonial distinctions between clean and unclean are transcended in Christ, as seen in Peter's vision in
Acts 10, where God declares, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean" (
Acts 10:15).
While the ceremonial laws are no longer binding on Christians, they continue to hold theological significance, illustrating the holiness of God, the seriousness of sin, and the need for atonement, all of which find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
(
adv.) According to rites and ceremonies; as, a person ceremonially unclean.
Greek
4472. rhantizo -- to sprinkle... Speech: Verb Transliteration: rhantizo Phonetic Spelling: (hran-tid'-zo) Short
Definition: I sprinkle Definition: I sprinkle, cleanse
ceremonially by sprinkling
...449. aniptos -- unwashed
... Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: aniptos Phonetic Spelling: (an'-ip-tos)
Short Definition: unwashed Definition: unwashed,ceremonially unclean....
48. hagnizo -- to purify, cleanse from defilement
... Transliteration: hagnizo Phonetic Spelling: (hag-nid'-zo) Short Definition: I cleanse,
purify Definition: I cleanse, purify, eitherceremonially, actually, or...
53. hagnos -- free from ceremonial defilement, holy, sacred
... nos') Short Definition: pure, chaste Definition: (originally, in a condition prepared
for worship), pure (either ethically, or ritually,ceremonially), chaste....
2452. Ioudaikos -- in Jewish fashion
... Ioudaikos Phonetic Spelling: (ee-oo-dah-ee-koce') Short Definition: in the manner
of Jews Definition: in the manner of Jews (religiously,ceremonially)....
3014. lepra -- leprosy
... leprosy. Cognate: 3014 -- a deeply infectious, contagious skin disease
rendering a person "ceremonially unclean" in Jewish society....
1397. douleia -- slavery
... bondage. From douleuo; slavery (ceremonially or figuratively) -- bondage. see GREEK
douleuo. (douleian) -- 1 Occurrence. (douleias) -- 4 Occurrences....
40. hagios -- sacred, holy
... From hagos (an awful thing) (compare hagnos, thalpo); sacred (physically, pure,
morally blameless or religious,ceremonially, consecrated) -- (most) holy (one...
3068. louo -- to bathe, to wash
... Definition: (lit. or merelyceremonially), I wash, bathe (the body); mid: of
washing, bathing one's self; met: I cleanse from sin. 3068...
2514. katharotes -- cleanness
... purification. From katharos; cleanness (ceremonially) -- purification. see GREEK
katharos. (katharoteta) -- 1 Occurrence. 2513, 2514. katharotes. 2515 ....
Strong's Hebrew
3244. yanshuph -- (aceremonially unclean bird) perhaps an owl... (a
ceremonially unclean bird) perhaps an owl. Transliteration: yanshuph or yanshoph
Phonetic Spelling: (yan-shoof') Short Definition: owl.
...601. anaphah -- aceremonially unclean bird
... 600, 601. anaphah. 602 . aceremonially unclean bird. Transliteration: anaphah
Phonetic Spelling: (an-aw-faw') Short Definition: heron....
1744. dukiphath -- perhaps hoopoe (aceremonially unclean bird)
... dukiphath. 1745 . perhaps hoopoe (aceremonially unclean bird). Transliteration:
dukiphath Phonetic Spelling: (doo-kee-fath') Short Definition: hoopoe....
2892. tohar -- purity, purifying
... clearness, glory, purifying From taher; literally brightness;ceremonially purification
-- clearness, glory, purifying. see HEBREW taher. 2891, 2892....
6292. piggul -- foul thing, refuse
... Or piggul {pig-gool'}; from an unused root meaning to stink; properly, fetid, ie
(figuratively) unclean (ceremonially) -- abominable(-tion, thing)....
6918. qadosh -- sacred, holy
... Or qadosh {kaw-doshe'}; from qadash; sacred (ceremonially or morally); (as noun)
God (by eminence), an angel, a saint, a sanctuary -- holy (One), saint....
6942. qadash -- to be set apart or consecrated
... A primitive root; to be (causatively, make, pronounce or observe as) clean
(ceremonially or morally) -- appoint, bid, consecrate, dedicate, defile, hallow, (...
Library
Circumcision, Temple Service, and Naming of Jesus.
... It seems that the members of her family were alsoceremonially unclean, because
they came in daily contact with her], they brought him up to Jerusalem [to the...
Missed Ends
... To-day they were allceremonially unclean, so our presence was not considered polluting.
Also the Indian loves a function; sad or glad, it matters little....
The Beast
... heartless one. Under the Law lambs wereceremonially clean and used in sacrifice,
but beasts were unclean and unfit for sacrifices. It...
Sacrifice Renewed
... of priests and Levites took a fortnight to 'carry forth the filthiness out of the
holy place to the brook Kidron,' and to cleanse andceremonially sanctify the...
Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus.
... Corinthians. [3770] They were keeping it "unleavened"ceremonially, and
he urges a spiritual unleavening as more important. The...
Jesus Fails to Attend the Third Passover.
... who had been in the marketplace, where he might have touched an unclean person,
and to hold certain cups, pots, and brazen vessels asceremonially unclean when...
Civ. Jesus Arrives and is Feasted at Bethany.
... xxx.13-20), for those who wereceremonially unclean were excluded from it"John
18:28.] 56 They sought therefore for Jesus, and spake one with another, as...
Of the Son of the Priest.
... and with their father came the young man and his brother, being appointed to the
service of the temple and charged with the duty ofceremonially sprinkling the...
The First Miracle.
... These water-pots were to supply water for the washings usual at feasts (see Mark
7:4). The Jews were regardedceremonially unclean if they did not wash both...
The Bishop Elect and Consecrate
... When he was fairly andceremonially seated the archdeacon held out his practised
palm for the customary fee (archdeacons are still fee-extracting creatures)....
Thesaurus
Ceremonially (38 Occurrences)... Noah Webster's Dictionary (adv.) According to rites and ceremonies; as, a person
ceremonially unclean. Multi-Version Concordance
Ceremonially (38 Occurrences).
...Defile (63 Occurrences)
... 8. (vt) To corrupt the chastity of; to debauch; to violate. 9. (vt) To make
ceremonially unclean; to pollute. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia....
Defilement (12 Occurrences)
... (4) Ceremonial: to renderceremonially unclean, ie disqualified for religious service
or worship, and capable of communicating the disqualification....
Ceremonial (11 Occurrences)
Unclean (393 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (a.) Not clean; foul; dirty; filthy. 2. (a.)Ceremonially
impure; needing ritual cleansing. 3. (a.) Morally impure. Int....
Ordain (13 Occurrences)
... 5 1 Chronicles 9:22; 1 Chronicles 1 Esdras 8:23; Additions to Esther 13:6; Acts
10:42; Acts 13:48; Acts 17:31 Romans 13:1. (5) To appointceremonially to the...
Ordination (12 Occurrences)
... 5 1 Chronicles 9:22; 1 Chronicles 1 Esdras 8:23; Additions to Esther 13:6; Acts
10:42; Acts 13:48; Acts 17:31 Romans 13:1. (5) To appointceremonially to the...
Freckled (1 Occurrence)
... tetter," and described as a bright shining spot (beharoth lebhenoth): These white
eruptions did not render the person so markedceremonially unclean (Leviticus...
Tanner (3 Occurrences)
... as an undesirable occupation and well they might, for at best it was accompanied
with unpleasant odors and unattractive sights, if not evenceremonially unclean...
Things (10975 Occurrences)
... Sheqets, translated "abomination," is applied in the Scriptures to that which is
ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 7:21), creatures forbidden as food, as water...
Resources
What is a mikvah? | GotQuestions.orgWhy were a husband and wife considered unclean after they had sexual relations? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the meaning of impurity in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgCeremonially: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
Bible Dictionary •
Bible Encyclopedia •
Topical Bible •
Bible Thesuarus
