Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yigal Levin <Yigal-Levin AT utc.edu>]

Hi Vince, 

The Hebrew word "mikveh" (MQWH) does, indeed, mean "pool" or "reservoir".
In Gen. 1:9 God says: "Let the waters BE GATHERED" - "Yiqqawu Hammayim",
and then in vs. 10 He calls "the gathering of the waters" - "Miqweh
Hammayim" - "seas". This is certainly not a reference to a ritual bath!

The origin of ritual bathing is in the various passages in Leviticus, in
which lepers, women after childbirth, people who come into contact with the
dead, and especially priests before entering the sanctuary, must wash their
flesh with water. The Hebrew word used here is "Raxac" - "wash". While
there is no specific instruction on how or where this is to be done
(remember Naaman the Aramean dipping in the Jordan to cure his leprosy?),
by the late Second Temple period this had been interpreted as immersion in
"living (naturally flowing) water" - a stream or lake. The common word in
the Mishnah is "Taval". However, Israel is a land of few streams, and so
the "mikveh" (reservoir) of stored stream-water was invented - especially
in places like Jerusalem and Qumran. In post-Temple Judaism, most such
"immersion" is done by woman after their menstrual period (though some men,
especially in Hasidic sects, dip as well), and while Halakhah still
recognizes immersion in a lake or stream to be "kosher", modesty,
convenience and heated water have made the indoor mikveh much more common.
I would assume, that John Hammatbil, being an eccentric with perhaps ties
to the Essines or Qumran, preferred the Jordan. In any case, you could say
that the Jewish mikveh and Christian baptism both have their roots in the
Second Temple understanding of Leviticus.  

By the way, the modern Samaritans, who claim to take Leviticus literally,
don't use a mikveh (though archaeological evidence shows that their
ancestors did) - they just "Raxac" in the shower!

Yigal



At 08:09 AM 2/14/2003 -0600, Medina, Vincent wrote:
>Greetings to all:
>
>I have a question that I would like to submit to the collective wisdom
>of the list. My question is this...
>
>Is the Jewish mikveh the antecedent to Christian baptism? Though there
>are similarities, I suspect that it is not. However, not being an expert
>in Judaic studies, I would like some guidance. I understand that the
>term mikveh means "pool" or "reservoir" or some such. However the NT
>name for John "the Baptizer" does not seem to be related to that. The
>UBS Hebrew NT translates it as Yochanan hammatbil, from a Hebrew verb
>meaning "to dip." Is there any precedent in Judaism for someone who
>administers the mikveh being described in this way? Any insight you can
>give will be appreciated.
>
>Vince Medina
>Springfield, MO
>
>Solo Deo Gloria
>
>_______________________________________________
>b-hebrew mailing list
>b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
>http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
>
Dr. Yigal Levin
Dept. of Philosophy and Religion
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
615 McCallie Avenue
Chattanooga TN 37403-2598
U.S.A.
>From Polycarp66 AT aol.com  Fri Feb 14 09:43:37 2003
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Subject: Re: Fw: [b-hebrew] LORD
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In a message dated 2/14/2003 9:09:42 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
Yigal-Levin AT utc.edu writes:

> Despite my Jewish reading, I am capable of assuming, as do many critical
> scholars, that the superscription "A psalm of David" may NOT be part of the
> original text of Ps. 110. I don't KONW who the original author is - and I
> only said that I assumed that "my lord: was a priest because of the
> refference to "a priest after the order of Melchizedek". But even if it was
> David, his calling a priest "my lord" would not bother me.
> However, presuming to read a trinitarian godhead into this context does.
> The use of this verse in Jesus' polemic with the Pharisees in Matt.
> 22:42-45/Mark 12:35-37/Luke 20:41-44 means nothing other than that "Mark"
> (or his source), writing the story some decades after Jesus, already
> assumed that Jesus was both "Lord" and "Son of David/Messiah/Christ". 
> You will notice that the NT (I assume following the LXX) uses "Lord"
> (KURIOS) for both the "YHWH" and "Adoni" of the Hebrew. Assuming that
> "Mark" the Greek-speaking Gentile had no knowledge of the Hebrew, this
> could even make sense. But WE are trying to understand the Hebrew - let's
> do it without preconceptions.
> 
Though I am a trinitarian, I would think it totally impermissable to read 
that into this psalm.  I would understand it to be an accession psalm in 
which the speaker (perhaps a priest as you say) sets forth the basis of the 
kingship as the elevation on the basis of YHWH's decree.

gfsomsel
>From lizfried AT umich.edu  Fri Feb 14 09:59:19 2003
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From: "Lisbeth S. Fried" <lizfried AT umich.edu>
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Subject: RE: [b-hebrew] John the Baptist
Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 10:04:55 -0500
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Dear Vince,
You migh enjoy reading _The Immerser:
JOhn the Baptist within Second Temple Judaism_
by Joan E. Taylor. It has received excellent reviews,
tho I haven't read it myself.
Another one of the many books I have purchased and
have not (yet) read.
Liz Fried

> -----Original Message-----
> From: b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
> [mailto:b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org]On Behalf Of
> Medina, Vincent
> Sent: Fri, February 14, 2003 9:09 AM
> To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Subject: [b-hebrew]
>
>
> Greetings to all:
>
> I have a question that I would like to submit to the collective wisdom
> of the list. My question is this...
>
> Is the Jewish mikveh the antecedent to Christian baptism? Though there
> are similarities, I suspect that it is not. However, not
> being an expert
> in Judaic studies, I would like some guidance. I understand that the
> term mikveh means "pool" or "reservoir" or some such. However the NT
> name for John "the Baptizer" does not seem to be related to that. The
> UBS Hebrew NT translates it as Yochanan hammatbil, from a Hebrew verb
> meaning "to dip." Is there any precedent in Judaism for someone who
> administers the mikveh being described in this way? Any
> insight you can
> give will be appreciated.
>
> Vince Medina
> Springfield, MO
>
> Solo Deo Gloria
>
> _______________________________________________
> b-hebrew mailing list
> b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew