The Mosaic Health Laws

Medically Sound Rules from God

The Children of Israel were chosen by God to be His chosen people, and to carry the knowledge of God to all the world. When they left Egypt, they had been slaves for hundreds of years. They had no civil government structure. They had no medical knowledge. Antibiotics did not exist. Antibacterial cleaners did not exist. There was no recorded treatment for disease. There was no knowledge of bacteria or viruses. There was no knowledge of communicable diseases. There were 603,550 men 20 years old and up who were capable of fighting, not counting the levites (Num. 3:32,33). Therefore there were well over a million persons, maybe as many as two million persons, with flocks of sheep and cattle, all travelling together in close proximity. Any infection would logically have run through the camp killing thousands.

God Himself instituted a system of health laws for these people (Lev. 11:1,2) to ensure their existence. This God, the Creator and Sustainer of all mankind, who knows intimately the workings of the human body, set down details, out of His love for them, of how do deal with disease and how to prevent disease. Since no treatment existed, one of the foundations for the system was the “clean” and “unclean” designations. Clean foods were allowed to be eaten. Anything “unclean” in the camp, be it person or item was to be taken outside the camp, away from others, and to be isolated for the protection of the camp. This system was presented in this language because it is simple and straightforward and understandable to the people. This plan for their preservation of health, from God Himself, reflects principles of health we understand today, and may reflect principles of health beyond our understanding.

Foods:

Animals were clean (edible) that had a divided hoof, and is cleft footed and chews the cud- “such you may eat.” (Lev. 11:2). They had do have a divided hoof AND chew the cud. “You may eat” “everything that has fins and scales” (Lev. 11:9) of water animals. The unclean animals, even “their carcasses you may not touch” (Lev. 11:8).

“The birds..they shall not be eaten...the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, the kite..every raven..the ostritch, the nighthawk..the sea gull, the hawk, the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, the water hen, the desert owl, the carrion vulture, the stork, the heron..the hoopae, and the bat.” (Lev. 11:13-19)

All the above unclean animals are either carnivores or scavengers and would be the most likely carriers of disease.

Of the insects those were unclean that were “All winged insects that walk on all fours but you may eat those who have jointed legs above their feet with which to hop on the ground.”..”the locust..the cricket..the grasshopper.” (Lev. 20:20-23.)

Any of the above unclean animals: “By these you shall become unclean; whoever touches the carcass of them shall be unclean until the evening, and whoever carries any part of the carcass of any of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.”Lev. 11:24-28).

Also listed as unclean were “the mouse, the great lizard, the gecko, the crocodile, the lizard, the land lizard and the chameleon.” Whoever touches one of them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening.” “And anything upon which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean…it shall be dipped in water and it shall be unclean until the evening.” (Lev. 11:29-32). “If any one of them falls into any earthen vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean and you shall break the vessel.” (Contaminated items in an earthen vessel, that is porous, cannot be made clean without antibacterials.) “Any food that could be eaten shall be unclean if water from any such vessel comes upon it; and any liquid that could be drunk shall be unclean if it was in any such vessel.” “Everything on which any part of the carcass falls shall be unclean…it shall be broken in pieces.” “But spring or cistern(s) holding water shall be clean.” (Lev. 11:33-38).

“You shall not eat anything that dies of itself.” (Deut. 14:22). “If any animal which you may eat dies, anyone who touches the carcass shall be unclean until the evening…those who eat of the carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening and those who carry the carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening.” (Lev. 11:39,40).

Any creatures that crawl on their belly or “swarm” were “detestable.” (Lev. 11:42,43)

Eating blood is forbidden. (Lev. 17:10,11)..

Blood or fluid borne pathogens:

A woman bearing a male child is “ceremonially unclean” as is a menstruating woman, for 7 days. Her time of “blood purification” is 33 days. (unclean meant isolation from the camp, blood purification meant she could not go to the sanctuary or participate in religious ceremonies). If she bears a female child “she shall be unclean for 2 weeks.” Her time of purifications is 66 days. (Lev. 12:1-5).

Communicable disease isolation and diagnosis:

(Leprosy referred to several skin diseases.) The priest was designated to be the one who diagnosed skin diseases and to pronounce whether they were healed or not. If the skin disease was questionable the priest confined the person for 7 days, if it was still questionable they were confined for 7 more days, and if it was then confirmed to be leprosy the person was unclean. He “shall wear torn clothes, and let the hair of his head be disheveled, and she shall cover his upper lip and cry out ‘unclean, unclean’ He shall remain unclean as long as he had the disease..He shall live alone, his dwelling shall be outside the camp.” (Lev. 13:1-45).

The disease noted to be in any cloth or clothing had its’ own diagnosis and treatment. (Lev. 13:47-59).

Those who the priest stated were “clean of leprosy” were to wash and shave off all their hair and a specific process to ensure their recovery was dictated which was overseen by the priest, (Lev. 14:1-9) who went outside of the camp to examine them.

Homes that appeared to have a “disease” on the walls, as in mold or fungus or discoloration, were looked at by the priest after they were emptied. If the walls showed greenish or red spots and if it appeared to be deeper than the surface, the house was shut up for 7 days. If it was noticed to have spread on the walls, the stones were removed and taken to an unclean place outside the city and the inside of the house was scraped thoroughly and the plaster taken off and taken to an unclean place outside the city. It was then re-stoned and re-plastered. If the disease broke out again, the house is unclean and it is torn down and all the materials are taken outside the city to an unclean place. (Lev. 14:34-47).

A man with a “discharge” from his body, specifically his sexual organ is ceremonially unclean. The fluid is unclean. His bed is unclean, and anything he sits on is unclean. “Anyone who touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening...”- as they must do if they sit on anything he has sat on, or touched his body, or are spit on by him, or if they touch anything that was under him, including his saddle. All these things are unclean. “All those whom the one with the discharge touches without rinsing his hands in water, shall wash their clothes, bathe in water, and unclean until the evening.” Any earthen vessel they touch shall be broken and other vessels must be “rinsed in water.” “When the one is cleansed of his discharge, he shall count 7 days for his cleansing, he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in fresh water, and he shall be clean.” (Lev. 15:2-15). (This was a preventative from infection and sexually transmitted diseases.)

“If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until the evening.” “Everything made of cloth or of skin on which the semen falls shall be washed with water and be unclean until the evening. If a man lies with a woman and has an emission of semen, both of them shall bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening.” (Lev. 15:16-18).

“When a woman has a discharge of blood that is the regular discharge from her body, she shall be in her impurity for 7 days and whatever touches her shall be unclean until the evening. Everything upon which she lies during her impurity shall be unclean. Everything upon which she sits shall be unclean. Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening. Whoever touches anything upon which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening…if any man lies with her and her impurity falls on him, she shall be unclean 7 days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.” (Lev. 15:19-24).

“If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her impurity, all the days of her discharge she shall continue in uncleanness.” (The same 7 day rules of menstruation apply to her too.) “If she is cleansed of her discharge, she shall count 7 days and after that she shall be clean.” (Lev. 15:25-28).

There is a repeated theme of being unclean until the evening and being isolated for 7 days of more. Microbiologists tell us that several bacteria, like the Streptococcal Pharyngitis and the virus for HIV become inactive when dried or exposed to air for prolonged periods of time.

Dead Bodies:

Anyone who has had contact with a corpse is unclean for 7 days. (Num. 5:2). They shall wash on the third and 7^th days and then be clean. (Num. 19: 11-13).

“When someone dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent, and everyone who is in the tent, shall be unclean 7 days…Every open vessel with no cover fastened on it is unclean…Whoever in an open field touches one who has been killed by a sword, or who has died naturally, or a human bone or a grave, shall be unclean 7 days. For the unclean thing they shall take some ashes of the burnt purification offering, and running water shall be added in a vessel (this creates lye soap) ..then it is sprinkled on the person, the tent and furnishings.” “The clean person shall sprinkle the unclean ones on the 3^rd and on the 7^th day…then they shall wash their clothes and bathe themselves in water and at evening they shall be clean.” (Num. 19:14-19).

Waste disposal:

When they were encamped against their enemies: ”With your utensils you shall have a trowel; when you relieve yourself outside, you shall dig a hole with it and then cover up your excrement.” (Deut. 23:13).

Circumcision:

Newborn males were to be circumcised on the 8^th day after they were born. (Gen. 17:12-14). “Circumcised little boys have a reduced risk of urinary tract infections. Circumcised men have a lower rate of cancer of the penis, and women married to circumcised men have a much lower rate of cervical cancer.” The blood clotting mechanism of children is not fully developed until the 8^th day. (Bible Health Laws by Douglas S. Winnail. In Tomorrows World.com Vol. 6. Issue 2.).