Wide acceptance of the idea that the Jewish people were required to purify themselves by immersion in water has had an impact, warranted or not, on deciding the meaning of baptizo in the New Covenant Scriptures. While purification by immersion certainly was wide-spread in late Second Temple days, attested to by numerous "mikva'ot" מקוות (purification pools) that have been discovered both in the immediate vicinity of the Temple and at various locations in Israel, it must be pointed out that the Hebrew Scriptures make no formal demand for purification by a mode of immersion.
Rahatz
There are 72 usages of the word "rahatz" רחץ (to wash, without reference to mode) in the Hebrew Scriptures. The five books of Moses invariably use the word rahatz to describe the bodily purifications incumbent on the people of Israel, and it is used for a number of different kinds of purifications. While the word "tabal" טבל (dip or immerse) is also found in the five books of the Torah, it is noteworthy to realize that there is no correspondence between rahatz and tabal in the Torah. Never in the Torah is there a washing (rehitzah) that must be accomplished by immersion (tevilah). The list below of every use of tabal in the entire Hebrew Scrirptures demonstrates this fact.
Washings for Purification do not require Immersion
This leads to the likelihood that the washings demanded by the Torah did not require a mode as strictly defined as tabal, or tevilah, immersion. If it had, then tabal, a word which was in use in the Torah, no doubt would have been directly associated with the washing. On the other hand it seems clear that rahatz could certainly include the mode of immersion within its range of usage, but without being limited by it.
Rahatz and Tabal Together
Only in one instance, 2 Kings 5:14, written some centuries after the Torah, is the word rahatz directly associated with the tabal, as can be seen in example 14 below. This juxtaposition provides the link between the performance of rahatz and the mode of immersion. Nevertheless, not even that passage makes a direct equivalence of the two words, but rather describes two aspects of the act that caused Naaman's purification.
Jewish tradition that developed during Secong Temple days sought to "expand the fence" of Jewish Law to help prevent transgression. This expansion of ordinances included, among many other things, legislating the need for immersion in 40 seah of water (about 150 gallons) collected in a specially constructed pool in order for a Jew to be purified.
Still this survey makes clear that immersion is not a clear demand of the Torah as a remedy for defilement, though purification is always required. This lends credence to the possibility that the purification with water in Ezekiel 36:25 was not a de novo creation of a previously unknown purification, but rather may have been common practice in Ezekiel's day.
Tabal
There are 16 passages in the Hebrew Scriptures in which usages of the word "tabal" טבל are found. Modern pronunciation of טבל is "taval." This word is typically taken to mean immerse, though in the 16 examples only two lend themselves directly to that idea. The remaining 14 are well represented by the English word "dip," which cannot be taken as an equivalent for immerse.
As mentioned, though "tabal" טבל is found in ten times in the five books of Moses, no verse in the Pentateuch takes this word to describe the mode of the much more frequently used, "rahatz" רחץ.
Also of note is the fact that not found in the Hebrew Scriptures is the noun "tevilah" טבילה, the noun for immersion. Surprisingly though, modern ideas about the mode of baptism in the New Covenant Scriptures are apparently influenced by the Jewish practice of טבילה, immersion in a mikveh.
Lest there be any misunderstanding, immersion in a mikveh for purification can certainly be considered what the New Covenant Scriptures would term a "baptism." However the Greek word baptizo is most certainly not limited to immersion, or to immersion in a mikveh, as can be seen in "The Meaning of Baptizo".
Furthermore, as the examples clearly show, the Hebrew Scriptures do not spell out explicitly in any shape or form that Israel practiced "immersion" in a mikveh during the days the Hebrew Scriptures were penned, though certainly that could have been practiced.
Each verse listed below is given a translation from the New King James Version except where noted. Following each verse is a direct translation of the Hebrew, then the Hebrew and then Septuagint Greek translation.
In nearly every usage the word apparently carries the idea and modal information conveyed by the English word, "dip," by which it is usually translated.
In all examples except two the Septuagint translates tabal with the Greek word bapto.
While bapto and baptizo share a common root, usage shows convincingly that baptizo and bapto have distinctive differences, see "The Meaning of Baptizo" for more information.
Moreover, in the first example tabal is translated by μόλυναν, stained, which may demonstrate the kind of flexibility the word tabal bore to the translators to Greek.
Example 14, 2 Kings 5:14, tells the story of the healing of Naaman the Aramaen. The Septuagint uses the Greek word baptizo for this rendering of tabal, the only time of the 16 passages. This usage of tabal appears to mean Naaman did dip himself in the Jordan river and not just some part of his body affected by the disease. However, when it comes to the Septuagint, it is possible the usage of baptizo indicates more information was intended to be conveyed than just a mode of immersion.
In example 12, which is Job 9:31 , many English translations use the word "plunge," apparently following the license of the King James Translation. Yet at least two other translations listed for this example show that "dip" is just as reasonable translation, and in light of all the rest of the usages, appears to make more sense.
"So they took Joseph's tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood."
"And they dipped the garment in the blood"
ויטבלו את-הכתנת בדם |
και εμολυναν τον χιτωνα τω αιματι
"And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin.
"And you shall dip in the blood which is in the basin"
וטבלתם בדם אשר בסף |
λημψεσθε δε δεσμην υσσωπου και βαψαντες απο του αιματος του παρα την θυραν
"The priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil of the sanctuary."
"And the Cohen shall dip his finger in the blood"
וטבל הכוהן את אצבעו בדם |
και βαψει ο ιερευς τον δακτυλον εις το αιμα
"Then the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil."
"And the Cohen shall dip his finger from the blood"
וטבל הכוהן את אצבעו מן הדם |
και βαψει ο ιερευς τον δακτυλον απο του αιματος του μοσχου
"Then the sons of Aaron brought the blood to him. And he dipped his finger in the blood, put it on the horns of the altar, and poured the blood at the base of the altar."
"And he dipped his finger in the blood"
ויטבול אצבעו בדם |
και εβαψεν τον δακτυλον εις το αιμα και επεθηκεν επι τα κερατα του θυσιαστηριου
"As for the living bird, he shall take it, the cedar wood and the scarlet and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water."
"And he shall dip them ... in the blood of the bird"
וטבל אותם ... בדם הציפור |
και βαψει αυτα και το ορνιθιον το ζων εις το αιμα του ορνιθιου
"Then the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD."
"And the Cohen shall dip his right finger"
וטבל הכוהן את אצבעו הימנית |
και βαψει τον δακτυλον τον δεξιον απο του ελαιου
"And he shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times."
"And he shall dip them in the blood of the slain bird"
וטבל אתם בדם הצפר השחוטה |
και βαψει αυτο εις το αιμα του ορνιθιου του εσφαγμενου εφ' υδατι ζωντι
"A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave."
"And a purified man shall dip in the water"
וטבל במים איש טהור ולקח אזוב |
και λημψεται υσσωπον και βαψει εις το υδωρ ανηρ καθαρος
" And of Asher he said:
'Asher is most blessed of sons;
Let him be favored by his brothers,
And let him dip his foot in oil.'
"And he dips his foot in the oil"
וטובל בשמן רגלו |
βαψει εν ελαιω τον ποδα αυτου
"And as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest),"
"And the Cohen's feet ... were dipped at the edge of the water."
ורגלי הכוהנים ... נטבלו בקצה המים |
και οι ποδες των ιερεων ... εβαφησαν εις μερος του υδατος του ιορδανου
"Yet You will plunge me into the pit, And my own clothes will abhor me."
"Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me." (KJV)
"Then in corruption Thou dost dip me, and my garments have abominated me." (Young's Literal Translation)
"Then You dip me in a pit [of mud], and my own clothes despise me!" (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
"Then in corruption you will dip me"
אז בשחת תטבלני ותעבוני שלמותי |
ικανως εν ρυπω με εβαψας εβδελυξατο δε με η στολη
"But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath; therefore he stretched out the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in a honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his countenance brightened."
"And he dipped it in the honeycomb"
ויטבול אותה ביערת הדבש |
και εβαψεν αυτο εις το κηριον του μελιτος
"So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan , according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean."
"And he went down and dipped in the Jordan "
וירד ויטבול בירדן |
και κατεβη ναιμαν και εβαπτισατο εν τω ιορδανη επτακι κατα το ρημα ελισαιε
"But it happened on the next day that he took a thick cloth and dipped it in water, and spread it over his face so that he died; and Hazael reigned in his place."
"And he took the towel and dipped it in the water"
וייקח המכבר ויטבול במים |
αι ελαβεν το μαχμα και εβαψεν εν τω υδατι
"Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, 'Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.'"
"And you shall dip your pitah in vinegar."
וטבלת פיתך בחומץ |
και βαψεις τον ψωμον σου εν τω οξει