Washing hands before bread was a religious rite, “the tradition of the elders”, not hygiene: water was poured over the hands before eating (at a feast, one hand before the pre-dinner cup and both before the meal itself). The schools of Shammai and Hillel even disputed the order: wash the hands and then pour the cup, or pour the cup and then wash. This is the rite Jesus’ disciples were challenged over (“Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with defiled hands?”), and the one Jesus pointedly omitted at a Pharisee’s table.
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Washing hands before bread
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- Mark 7:1bsb
Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus,
- Luke 11:37bsb
As Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to dine with him; so He went in and reclined at the table.
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