Tevilah and Baptism

Abstract

The Hebrew verb TBL, in which the T transliterate to the tet, refers in the Bible to the concept of soaking, smearing, dyeing. It designates actions that are part of rituals of atonement in which the priest had to dip his finger in the blood of the sacrifice; or of purification of a leper, in which case he had to embed a set of elements in the blood of a slaughtered bird, on one occasion, and in oil on another. The priests dipped their fingers in the blood of the sacrifice to splash with it to the altar, or they would dip a hyssop in pure water to to purify an impure. In Exodus 12:22, in the story of the sacrifice of the Paschal lamb that was to be performed in Egypt, it is narrated that in its blood was to be dipped into a swab which would mark the jambs and lintels of the houses. This verb is also used in the Bible for designate the action of smearing with honey or vinegar, or soaking the feet in oil. Based on the way John poses the baptism associated with the contrition (Matthew 3:1-16; Mark 1:2-8; Luke 3:1-18; John 1:31) it is plausible to consider their relationship to those who precepts exposed in Megilat HaSerakhim and Megilat Berit Dameseq.