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               “Touch” in the Scriptures


               Something  happens that is irre-
               versible in the case of whoredom
               with  strange  (nokriy)  women. We
               are  not  told  what  this  is  in  any
               physical sense. What a man loses
               is his life, (the same word as that
               translated  as “soul”). But to  be
               complete,  one must have body,
               soul and spirit, so any one of the-
               se is tied in  with the other two.
               What cannot be undone or forgiv-              Judah and Tamar
               en  might  well  be  the  unforgivable
               sin.


               We  cannot  eliminate  the  possibility  that  there  is  a  transfer  of  some  sort
               through bodily contact or body fluids, although this does not appear to be like-
               ly in the  light of present knowledge available. The  word “touch”
               (Strong's #5060 naga) is used widely of bodily contact.

               1. Israelites are not even to “touch” dead bodies, lepers, certain animals, and
               even things belonging to wicked men. Notice Numbers 16:26.


               COMMENT: We are not told exactly what happens, but we are told the touch
               of them and their property defiles. This is the same  word translated  as “un-
               clean”, and usually this uncleanness was only for a period. Under the Law a
               sacrifice for this sin was mandatory.


               The matter of  whether this applies to non-Semitic foreigners only, part-
               Israelite women, and about Israelite women taking non-Israelite men as sexu-
               al partners will be considered further down in the lesson under the heading,
               “Qualifications”. This is an emotional subject, and we must keep in mind that
               emotional arguments prove nothing.


               2. Is the word “touch” = “haptomai” in the New Testament used in the same
               way as “touch” in the Old Testament? I Corinthians 7:1.


               COMMENT: This is about physical contact (including sexual contact). But yes,
               it is also used in the normal sense of any bodily contact as well.

               3. In the following passage are we told not to “touch” unclean people? II Co-
               rinthians 6:17.





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