Table of Contents
Sanitation Practices in the Bible
The Bible has many references to sanitation practices dating back to 3500 years ago. All reference infer that the nation of Israel was divinely inspired to cleans and quarantine people and object from bacteria to prevent the spreading of diseases. Without divine inspiration how could any society have known about this type of issue? Modern science did not discover the microbial world until the 18th century by Antony van Leeuwenhoek.
God gave Moses strict regulations about sanitation one of them one of the most important rediscovery in the medical field.
Even until the recent 19th century mankind and modern society still did not have much knowledge about micro-bacterial infections. There where many bacterial issues due to doctors touching blood and dead bodies. Doctors up until this time frame in many different cultures had used dirty water in basins to clean their hands while dealing with dead bodies and pregnant women.
Washing your body and hand with running clean water was an important rediscovery in the medical field during the 19th century. A medical doctor that had used the bible to back his claim that doctors should wash their hands with clean water before moving between patience.
And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean.
– Deut 23 . 11
Other Sanitary Practices
The touching of blood and other bodily fluids are directly related to the spreading of germs and bacteria. Objects or places touched by infected persons needed to be properly cleansed and quarantined based on the situation and need for sanitation.
A society without the technology to understand microbiology could not have understood the use or necessity of sanitation rituals and their effect on a persons health.
The Bible clearly lays out various cleansing rites that kept its listeners health as follows:
- Contains instructions to dispose of human waste away from population Deut 23:12-13
- Isolating infected people Leviticus 13:45-46
- Washing after handling a dead body Numbers 19:11-19
- Burying excrement away from a camp Deute 23:12-13
- Opened container become unclean Num 19.14
- The water of Cleaning become unclean after use, and those who touch it will become unclean Num 19.21
God’s Soap
God told His people to use Hyssop in many of Israel cleaning rituals. Hyssop is known as a natural soap and anti-bacterial throughout the world.