Good Touch, Bad Touch: Ritual Impurification as a means of Othering

(7) When I arrived in Jerusalem, I learned of the outrage perpetrated by Eliashib on behalf of Tobiah in assigning him a room in the courts of the House of God. (8) I was greatly displeased, and had all the household gear of Tobiah thrown out of the room; (9) I gave orders to purify the rooms, and had the equipment of the House of God and the meal offering and the frankincense put back. (10) I then discovered that the portions of the Levites had not been contributed, and that the Levites and the singers who performed the [temple] service had made off, each to his fields.

(15) At that time I saw men in Judah treading winepresses on the sabbath, and others bringing heaps of grain and loading them onto asses, also wine, grapes, figs, and all sorts of goods, and bringing them into Jerusalem on the sabbath. I admonished them there and then for selling provisions. (16) Tyrians who lived there brought fish and all sorts of wares and sold them on the sabbath to the Judahites in Jerusalem. (17) I censured the nobles of Judah, saying to them, “What evil thing is this that you are doing, profaning the sabbath day! (18) This is just what your ancestors did, and for it God brought all this misfortune on this city; and now you give cause for further wrath against Israel by profaning the sabbath!”

(19) When a woman has a discharge, her discharge being blood from her body, she shall remain in her impurity seven days; whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. (20) Anything that she lies on during her impurity shall be unclean; and anything that she sits on shall be unclean. (21) Anyone who touches her bedding shall wash his clothes, bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening; (22) and anyone who touches any object on which she has sat shall wash his clothes, bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening. (23) Be it the bedding or be it the object on which she has sat, on touching it he shall be unclean until evening. (24) And if a man lies with her, her impurity is communicated to him; he shall be unclean seven days, and any bedding on which he lies shall become unclean. (25) When a woman has had a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her impurity, or when she has a discharge beyond her period of impurity, she shall be unclean, as though at the time of her impurity, as long as her discharge lasts. (26) Any bedding on which she lies while her discharge lasts shall be for her like bedding during her impurity; and any object on which she sits shall become unclean, as it does during her impurity: (27) whoever touches them shall be unclean; he shall wash his clothes, bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening. (28) When she becomes clean of her discharge, she shall count off seven days, and after that she shall be clean.

(2) No one whose testes are crushed or whose member is cut off shall be admitted into the congregation of Adonai. (3) No one misbegotten shall be admitted into the congregation of Adonai; none of his descendants, even in the tenth generation, shall be admitted into the congregation of Adonai. (4) No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted into the congregation of Adonai; none of their descendants, even in the tenth generation, shall ever be admitted into the congregation of Adonai, (5) because they did not meet you with food and water on your journey after you left Egypt, and because they hired Balaam son of Beor, from Pethor of Aram-naharaim, to curse you.—