Strong's Number: H7364
Original Word: rah?as?
Usage Notes: "to wash, bathe." This word is common to both ancient and modern Hebrew and is found in ancient Ugaritic as well. It is used some 72 times in the text of the Hebrew Old Testament. The first occurrence of the word in the text illustrates one of its most common uses: "Let a little water … be fetched, and wash your feet…" (Gen 18:4).
When the word is used figuratively to express vengeance, the imagery is a bit more gruesome: "… He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked" (Psa 58:10). Pilate's action in Matt 27:24 is reminiscent of the psalmist's statement "I will wash mine hands in innocency" (Psa 26:6). The parts of a sacrificial animal usually "were washed" before they were burned on the altar (Exod 29:17). Rah?as? is frequently used in the sense of "bathing" or "washing" oneself (Exod 2:5; 2Sa 11:2). Beautiful eyes are figuratively described as "washed with milk" (Song 5:12).
Usage Number: 2
Strong's Number: H3526
Original Word: kabas
Usage Notes: "to wash." A common term throughout the history of Hebrew for the "washing" of clothes, this word is found also in ancient Ugaritic and Akkadian, reflecting the treading aspect. Kabas occurs in the Hebrew Old Testament 51 times. It is found for the first time in the Old Testament in Gen 49:11 as part of Jacob's blessing on Judah: "… He washed his garments in wine…"
The word is used in the Old Testament primarily in the sense of "washing" clothes, both for ordinary cleansing (2Sam 19:24) and for ritual cleansing (Exod 19:10; 14; Lev 11:25). It is often used in parallelism with the expression "to wash oneself," as in Lev 14:8-9. Kabas is used in the sense of "washing" or "bathing" oneself only in the figurative sense and in poetic usage, as in Jer 4:14: "O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved."
