Sexual Pollution in the Hebrew Bible-Eve Levavi Feinstein

The concept of pollution here is tied to the idea that G-d dwells within the land. The word (Shochen) is commonly used in priestly texts to denote God's presence in his sanctuary. Its use here suggests that the land itself is an extension of God's tabernacle and is similarly averse to pollution.

This is a significant theological idea, but it is not identical to-or even compatible with-the idea of land pollution in Leviticus 18. In the priestly tradition, God's presence is always centered on the sanctuary, even when that sanctuary is a shrine traveling through the wilderness. The land of Canaan becomes God's home only when Israel arrives there and establishes his sanctuary in it. Yet Leviticus 18 states that the ;and became polluted even before Israel's arrival, due to the abhorrent practices of its previous inhabitants. Thus, even if the idea behind these texts are related, the metaphorical constructs underlying them are different. Leviticus 18 pictures the land as a female susceptible to sexual pollution and Numbers 35 pictures it as an extension of God's sanctuary, to be preserved from pollution on account of its holiness.