Rakhats: WASH, BATHE, Refresh

Wash/Bathe: Rakhats, verb (Strong’s 7364, 7366, 7367)

Root: רָחַץ

Sounds like: ra’kats

To take a bath is a learned human behaviour and it’s probably one of the earliest learned behaviours. Even animals regularly take baths because it’s instinctual to want to be clean and remove parasites. Dirt doesn’t feel good and it certainly doesn’t smell good. A bath is a renewal, a healthy fresh start.

Hospitality: Washing your Feet

The Bible gives us many examples of people bathing. Washing feet, in particular, was part of a hospitality ritual in ancient Israel. You would invite travellers into your home so they could wash their feet and partake in a meal. We first see this in a story involving Abraham:

Genesis 18:1-5

Now YHWH appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. When he raised his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed down to the ground, and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favour in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by. Please let a little water be brought and wash [w-rakh’atsu וְרַחֲצ֖וּ] your feet, and make yourselves comfortable under the tree; and I will bring a piece of bread, so that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant.” And they said, “So do as you have said.”

Feet would be dusty and dirty after a long day of walking in sandals. It was customary to invite a person into your home, give them space and equipment to wash their feet, and offer food after cleansing. This ritual is reflected in many stories in the Hebrew Bible:  Lot invited two men (angels) to enter his house and wash their feet (Genesis 19:2). Laban invited Abraham’s servant to wash his feet and join him for a meal (Genesis 24:32). The old man from Gibeah invited the Levite and his concubine to rest in his house and wash their feet (Judges 19:21) before the story turned violent and tragic.

Even Joseph, who was highly ranked in Egyptian society, invited his brothers, who had come to Egypt to seek food during the famine, to come into his house and wash their feet (Genesis 43:24).They did, although they did not recognize Joseph as their brother. When Joseph saw Benjamin, his only full-brother, he had to excuse himself:

Genesis 43:29-31

And as he raised his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” Then he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.” Joseph then hurried out, for he was deeply stirred over his brother, and he looked for a place to weep; so he entered his chamber and wept there. Then he washed [wai-yir’khats וַיִּרְחַ֥ץ] his face and came out; and he controlled himself and said, “Serve the meal.”

Seeing Benjamin, the one man with whom he shared a mother, almost broke him. He left his company, and wept. He then washed his face, and returned to his brothers. It was a renewal. He cleansed himself of his grief, put on a brave face, and re-joined his family for a fresh start.

Ritual bathing

That’s what bathing is… a fresh start. A clean slate. For this reason it was added into rituals of preparing oneself for facing God. Ritual purification was a priestly duty. 

When designing the Tabernacle, YHWH gave Moses design instructions which included basins for washing:

Exodus 30:17-21

Then YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “You shall also make a basin of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing [l-rakh’tsah לְרָחְצָ֑ה]; and you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it. Aaron and his sons shall wash [w-rakh’atsu וְרָחֲצ֛וּ] their hands and their feet from it; when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water [yi-r’kh’atsu mayim יִרְחֲצוּ־מַ֖יִם], so that they do not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to YHWH. So they shall wash [w-rakh’atsu וְרָחֲצ֛וּ] their hands and their feet, so that they do not die; and it shall be a permanent statute for them, for Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations.”

They shall wash their hands and feet so they do not die. The hospitable thing to do, when entering anyone’s house, was to wash your feet. God’s house was no different. You were to be cleansed before YHWH because no impurity was to be in His Presence.

Throughout the rest of Torah, rakhats was almost exclusively used in the description of cleansing laws (see Exodus 29:4, 17; 40:12, 30-32; Leviticus 1:9, 13; 8:6, 21; 9:14; 14:8-9; 15:5-8, 10-11, 13, 16, 18, 21-22, 27; 16:4, 24, 26, 28; 17:15-16; 22:6; Numbers 19:7-8, 19; Deuteronomy 21:6; 23:11). Purifying oneself before entering into the Presence of YHWH was of utmost importance and the Torah instructions, outlined by Moses, made that very clear.

Saved by a Bather

In the early days of Moses’ life, he was rescued by a bather. Pharaoh put out an edict that all male Hebrew babies were to be drowned in the Nile. Moses’ mother placed her son in a wicker basket (ark) and pushed it into the Nile with the hope that he would somehow be rescued. Her prayers would be answered in the most unexpected way:

Exodus 2:5-6

Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe [li-r’khots לִרְחֹ֣ץ] at the Nile, with her female attendants walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave woman, and she brought it to her. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

The Princess took Moses into her arms and decided to raise him as her own. Moses would not be drowned in the Nile, he would be lifted up out of it by one bathing in the Nile and elevated to princehood. He went from slave to royalty at the hand of a bathing woman. It was a new beginning… a fresh start.

Wash, Anoint, Change your Clothes

The story of David has an interesting array of washing/bathing stories, including the love story of his great grandparents, Ruth and Boaz:

Ruth 3:1-3

Then her mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may go well for you? Now then, is Boaz not our relative, with whose young women you were? Behold, he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor tonight. Wash [w-rakhats’t וְרָחַ֣צְתְּ] yourself therefore, and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not reveal yourself to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.”

Ruth was instructed to wash, anoint herself, and put on her best clothes before facing Boaz. Her life was about to have a fresh start. She was no longer the poor widow; now she was to become the matriarch of the Davidic line leading to the Messiah. In a way, this was her coronation. It was a new beginning for her and a new beginning for what would become a united Israel under Ruth’s great-grandson, David.

Of course we can’t discuss bathing without the famous Bathsheba story:

2 Samuel 11:2-9

Now at evening time David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing [rokhetset רֹחֶ֖צֶת]; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. So David sent servants and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Then David sent messengers and had her brought, and when she came to him, he slept with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. But the woman conceived; so she sent word and informed David, and said, “I am pregnant.”

This was not a shining moment for David. He used his power to take what he wanted, regardless of Bathsheba’s status as a married woman. He immediately put a plan in place to cover-up his sinful secret:

2 Samuel 11:2-9

Then David sent word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked about Joab’s well-being and that of the people, and the condition of the war. Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and wash [u-r’khats וּרְחַ֣ץ] your feet.” So Uriah left the king’s house, and a gift from the king was sent after him. But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.

What was David’s motivation to face Uriah? It’s unclear. David asked Uriah questions he already knew the answers to. Perhaps he was trying to find something that would give him a “valid” reason to kill him. After the questioning David told Uriah to go home and wash his feet. He was not invited to wash his feet in the palace, which was the hospitable thing to do, instead he was dismissed to go home. But Uriah didn’t do that. He opted to remain a servant at the king’s home. He slept at the door of David’s house with the other servants. He was loyal to David. If Uriah had left for home could David have called him a deserter? Perhaps that was the plan. Either way, this is considered one of David’s gravest sins. Not only did he take Bathsheba, who wasn’t his to take, but out of fear at finding her pregnant, he carefully planned Uriah’s death and destruction. Motivated by his desire for Bathsheba and possibly fear of retribution, David placed Uriah at the front lines of battle in order to expedite his death. It worked. Uriah died and Bathsheba became David’s wife, but not without cost. The prophet Nathan called out David’s sin (2 Samuel 12:14). There would be consequences. The child they conceived would not live:

2 Samuel 12:19-23

But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; so David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” So David got up from the ground, washed [wai-yi-r’khats וַיִּרְחַ֣ץ], anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of YHWH and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and when he asked, they served him food, and he ate.

Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you got up and ate food.” And he said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows, YHWH may be gracious to me, and the child may live.’ But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I am going to him, but he will not return to me.”

David washed himself, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. It was a new beginning, a new coronation. He put the old sin behind him and moved forward, a refreshed king of Israel who had learned a hard lesson.

Washing Feet in Servitude

Earlier in his life, David gave a proposal of marriage to Abigail and she responded with great humility:

1 Samuel 25:39b-42

Then David sent a proposal to Abigail, to take her as his wife. When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.” And she got up and bowed with her face to the ground, and said, “Behold, your slave is a servant to wash [li-r’khots לִרְחֹ֕ץ] the feet of my lord’s servants.”

Then Abigail got up quickly, and rode on a donkey, with her five female attendants who accompanied her; and she followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

This was the humility of Abigail. She considered herself only worthy to wash the feet of David’s servants, but she accepted his proposal and became David’s wife. This would be a queen who would not lavish in her riches, she would be a servant of God and if you were to dive into her story further,  you would see how she actually rescued her first husband’s household from David’s wrath. She was wise, resourceful, well-spoken, and intelligent. Her actions gave her a renewed life and David was fortunate to have her by his side.

Abigail’s humility was reminiscent of Yeshua’s words when he washed the feet of His disciples:

John 13:5-15

Then He poured water into the basin, and began washing [Greek: niptein] the disciples’ feet and wiping them with the towel which He had tied around Himself. So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, You are washing [nipteis] my feet?” 

Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not realize right now, but you will understand later.” 

Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash [me nipses] my feet!” 

Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash [me nipso] you, you have no place with Me.” 

Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then (wash) not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!” 

Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash [nipsasthai] his feet; otherwise he is completely clean. And you are clean—but not all of you.” For He knew the one who was betraying Him; it was for this reason that He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

Then, when He had washed [enipsen] their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? You call Me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’; and you are correct, for so I am. So if I, the Lord and the Teacher, washed [enipsa] your feet, you also ought to wash [niptein] one another’s feet. For I gave you an example, so that you also would do just as I did for you.”

If we feel too important to wash the feet of our neighbours, then we do not understand our commission to bear God’s image. We are to be servants to each other in love and humility.

Wash off the blood!

In Biblical poetry the action of washing or bathing was used in many literary ways. Job recalled when life was good and said:

Job 29:2-6

[Job:] “Oh that I were as in months gone by, as in the days when God watched over me; when His lamp shone over my head, and by His light I walked through darkness; just as I was in the days of my youth, when the protection of God was over my tent; when the Almighty was still with me, and my children were around me; when my steps were bathed [bi-r’khots בִּרְחֹ֣ץ] in butter, and the rock poured out streams of oil for me!

The idea of bathing in butter… that’s the good life, and Job yearned for the ‘good ole’ days.

The Psalms included metaphoric washing, such as washing in innocence:

Psalm 26:5-7

[David:] I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked. I will wash [eh-r’khats אֶרְחַ֣ץ] my hands in innocence, and I will go around Your altar, YHWH, that I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving and declare all Your wonders.

Psalm 73:13

[Asaph:] Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and washed [wa-eh-r’kats וָאֶרְחַ֖ץ] my hands in innocence.

In a rather harsh turn of phrase, David spoke of washing his feet in the blood of the wicked:

Psalm 58:10-11

[David:] The righteous will rejoice when he sees vengeance; he will wash [yi-r’kats יִ֝רְחַ֗ץ] his feet in the blood of the wicked. And people will say, “There certainly is a reward for the righteous; there certainly is a God who judges on the earth!”

It’s the human condition to want vengeance, but is it right to pray for it? David felt comfort in the idea of washing his feet in the blood of the wicked but was that his calling? When David wanted to build a house for YHWH, God rejected his plan. The reason for the rejection?…

1 Chronicles 22:8

“You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me.”

God said, “vengeance is Mine” (Deut 32:35), but did He call us to celebrate it? 

The first chapter of Isaiah highlighted Israel as a hypocrite… they sacrificed with no sincerity. Everything was about ritual and tradition, with no consideration for compassion or mercy. They were aligning with death and destruction and trampling on life and the living. Their hands, said YHWH, were covered with blood:

Isaiah 1:14-17

“What are your many sacrifices to Me?” says YHWH. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle; and I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats. When you come to appear before Me, who requires of you this trampling of My courtyards?

“Do not go on bringing your worthless offerings, incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and Sabbath, the proclamation of an assembly— I cannot endure wrongdoing and the festive assembly. I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, they have become a burden to Me; I am tired of bearing them.

“So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; yes, even though you offer many prayers, I will not be listening. Your hands are covered with blood.”

“Wash yourselves [rakh’atsu רַחֲצוּ֙], make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, obtain justice for the orphan, plead for the widow’s case.”

Things got so bad that it was up to YHWH, once again, to find a solution. He would wash away the filth of the nation:

Isaiah 4:2-6

On that day the Branch of YHWH will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the beauty of the survivors of Israel. And it will come about that the one who is left in Zion and remains behind in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem. When the Lord has washed away [rakhats רָחַ֣ץ] the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, then YHWH will create over the entire area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. And there will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain.

Similarly, Ezekiel (in his more graphic way of explaining things) gave a picture of Israel as an unwashed newborn who would be rescued and cleansed by YHWH:

Ezekiel 16:1-15

Then the word of YHWH came to me, saying, “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, and say, ‘This is what the Lord YHWH says to Jerusalem: “Your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed [lo rukhats’t לֹֽא־רֻחַ֖צְתְּ] with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths. No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born.

“When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ I made you very numerous, like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall and reached the age for fine jewelry; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare.

“Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My garment over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine,” declares the Lord YHWH. “Then I bathed you [wa-eh-r’khatsek וָאֶרְחָצֵ֣ךְ] with water, washed off your blood from you, and anointed you with oil. I also clothed you with colourfully woven cloth and put sandals of fine leather on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. I adorned you with jewelry, put bracelets on your wrists, and a necklace around your neck. I also put a ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk, and colourfully woven cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. Then your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendour which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord YHWH.

“But you trusted in your beauty and became unfaithful because of your fame, and you poured out your obscene practices on every passer-by to whom it might be tempting.”

YHWH saved them in infancy. He helped them flourish and grow and kept them under His protection. He washed off the blood, anointed them, and clothed them, as His royal sons and daughters. 

However, eventually they trusted in themselves, gave up on YHWH, and sold themselves into prostitution with other nations. They were given a fresh royal beginning, but they made the choice to turn back to their old ways and contaminate themselves again. It was a repetitive failure that they returned to time and time again, generation after generation:

Wash in the Jordan

In the New Testament the ritual of baptism was a form of bathing. John the Baptiser took people who wanted to be reborn into a renewed life to the Jordan River and he dipped them into the water and raised them up as refreshed God followers.

Centuries before, a powerful Aramean military man, named Naaman, was struck with leprosy. He had a young Hebrew slave girl who told him he could be cured by her God, YHWH, through the actions of the prophet Elisha. Naaman went to see this prophet but when he got to his house Elisha did not come to greet him. Instead he sent a messenger:

2 Kings 5:10-14

And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash [w-rakhats’ta וְרָחַצְתָּ֤] in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.” But Naaman was furious and went away, and he said, “Behold, I thought, ‘He will certainly come out to me, and stand and call on the name of YHWH his God, and wave his hand over the site and cure the leprosy.’ Are Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, not better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash [ha-low eh-r’khatsהֲלֹֽא־אֶרְחַ֥ץ] in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. Then his servants approached and spoke to him, saying, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash [r’khats רְחַ֥ץ] and be clean’?” So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, in accordance with the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Naaman’s body was renewed, restored, but his spirit housed the real transformation. He became a follower of YHWH. The blood was washed away and he was a new spirit-thriving human. This was, and is, the essence of baptism.

2 Peter 3:17-18, 21

For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit…

…Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…

Baptism doesn’t save us, only God can do that, but it is a public announcement of a personal renewal, a fresh start, a turning point to a new beginning. If you haven’t been baptised it’s something you ought to consider. And for those of you who were baptised years ago, remember that each day can be a new beginning and a chance to go, and share the Good News:

Matthew 28:19-20

[Yeshua:] “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Next week: equity, fairness, rightness