Touch Not Laws
Touch Not Laws deals with God’s commands not to touch that which is unclean and today we know that the transmission of fungus and diseases and bacteria and parasites can occur by touching something which is contaminated. When the God of Israel told the Jews not to touch something it was often related to the transmission of something unclean that could affect their health.
Touch Not Unclean Animal
Leviticus 11:7-8 (CJB)
7 while the pig is unclean for you, because, although it has a separate and completely divided hoof, it doesn’t chew the cud.
8 You are not to eat meat from these or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.
The book of Leviticus was written over 3,700 years ago as part of the law given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai in Arabia. Until today we continue to see God’s wisdom revealed in this book that was written thousands of years before science could catch up with what it was saying. One example of this is the reference about pigs being unclean and that their meat was not to be eaten by God’s people and they were not to touch the carcasses of pigs.
This scripture says that God’s people were not eat the meat or touch the carcasses of unclean animals like pigs. This is an example of a “Touch Not Law” because God gave a command not to even touch such an animal.
In fact, not touching something unclean is the best way to avoid any contamination that the unclean thing might carry. It is amazing that God gave these instructions thousands of years before the microscope was invented before humans discovered that diseases and parasites were transmitted by something that was invisible (until the invention of the microscope which made it possible to see these things).
Wild pigs for example are known carriers of at least 45 different parasites (both external and internal) and diseases both bacterial and viral which pose a threat to livestock, pets, wildlife, and in some cases human health.
The threat of disease transmission from wild pigs to other animals is probably of greatest concern to the livestock industry. Several of these diseases are swine specific (both wild and domestic), but others can affect cattle, sheep, goats, dogs, horses, and several species of native wild mammals. Infectious diseases that are significant to livestock and other animals include:
- Pseudorabies Virus (PRV)
- Swine brucellosis (Brucella suis)
- Bovine tuberculosis (TB)
- FAD-foreign animal diseases
- African swine fever
- Classical swine fever (Hog Cholera)
- Foot and Mouth Disease
Diseases that are transmissible from animals to humans are called zoonotic diseases. Many of these diseases are transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and handling or ingestion of infected tissues. Diseases can also be transmitted indirectly through contaminated water sources and possibly, through ticks. Zoonotic diseases transmissible by wild pigs include:
- Leptospirosis
- Brucellosis
- E. coli
- Salmonellosis
- Toxoplasmosis
- Rabies
- Swine Influenza viruses
- Trichinosis
- Giardiasis
- Cryptosporidiosis
See the link “Wild Pig Diseases” for more details.
God spoke to Moses and said that the Jewish people were not to touch the flesh or carcasses of these animals.
People who have handled wild pig carcasses have contacted diseases such as Brucellosis. Diseases can enter the human body through a cut in the skin while handling the carcass without protection or from broken skin (even a loose fingernail cuticle that permits the entry of a bacteria or virus). Pig diseases have also entered the human body through eyes, nose, or mouth if the blood or tissue or body fluids of infected animals touch any of these entry points of humans.
God told the Jewish people not to eat the flesh or touch the carcasses of pigs and this instruction reveals God’s wisdom far in advance of human knowledge of health care and hygiene. God’s wisdom was given thousands of years before humans invented the microscope and were able to see the invisible world of pathogens and parasite larva. God’s instructions of “Do Not Touch” pigs or eat pig flesh kept the Jewish people from being exposed to both pathogens and parasites contained in pig flesh and contained in pig blood and contained in body fluids of pigs.
We now know that pork must be cooked to an internal temperature of 150 Celsius in order to kill the parasite and disease pathogens in pig flesh. But just handling the carcass of wild pigs or the carcasses of free-range domestic pigs can introduce pathogens and parasites to humans before these threats in the meat are terminated by high cooking temperatures.
It is for this reason that the so-called “free-range” method of raising domestic pigs displays great ignorance. A wild pig is as “free-range” as they can get and it roams freely wherever it wants and has the highest number of diseases and parasites of all swine. Wild pigs and free-range domestic pigs carry more disease and parasites than any domestic pigs raised in confinement buildings. This is because “free-range” pigs have unlimited contact with contaminated soil and spread defilement everywhere they go.
Pigs cannot sweat, so in order to cool themselves the wild pigs rely on rooting out pig wallows to capture rain water to create mud. They wallow in the mud during the heat to cool themselves. The pigs defecate in these wallows so the stagnant muddy water in the pig wallow is full of pig manure and pig urine and is teaming with bacteria and viruses and also parasite larva.
Many of the factors that spread disease in pigs are reduced by raising pigs in confinement. Confinement raised pigs are not exposed to airborne pathogens through inhalation of contaminated dust and are not allowed to touch contaminated soil and mud that carry both parasites and disease. Free-range domestic pigs and wild hogs always carry the maximum number of disease and parasites simply because they are allowed to be exposed to contaminated soil where parasite larva and diseases can be picked up.
The idea behind confinement buildings is to raise pigs in an environment that is sterile as possible. Pigs are not allowed to touch contaminated soil and confinement buildings are screened in and enclosed to keep out birds that carry diseases like TGE virus (Transmissible Gastro Enteritis). Birds like starlings will defecate in the drinking water of pigs and deposit viruses that have killed thousands of pigs. Livestock growers cannot afford to lose that many pigs after they have invested so much money in raising them. So that is why intelligent pig growers will take every precaution to keep out all sources disease and parasites that can harm the health of the animals. This means raising the animals in a secured building within a protected environment rather than allowing the animals to run “free-range” and be exposed to everything that is a threat to their health.
Pigs will eat anything they find and this includes human excrement and decomposing carrion and rotten vegetables and anything that is spoiled. Pigs are part of the cleaner species of animals which consume things that are rotten. Unless they are kept in a controlled environment and fed strictly clean feeds (made of soybean meal and corn meal) then they will eat anything that they can have access to no matter how defiled or spoiled or unclean that it is. Wild pigs have no restrictions on what they eat and they consume anything they find.
All of the concern of diseases and parasites carried by pigs and pathogens contained in the flesh and body fluids of pigs is all cancelled simply by the Jewish people not eating pig meat or touching their carcasses or even touching anything that the swine have touched. This is God’s wisdom displayed over 3,700 years ago long before science ever had any idea about what causes diseases. The simple rule of “Do Not Touch” solves all of the problems with diseases transmitted from pigs to humans. We now know why God instructed the Jewish people not to touch pigs or eat their flesh. God’s wisdom is displayed in only three simple words, “Do Not Touch!”
Touch Not Fungus
In the book of Leviticus there is a description of an infection in a house. This type of thing can happen under damp conditions where mold or mildew begin to grow on the walls.
I know of a family that had water seep into the basement of their home after their outside drainage system failed during some heavy rains. This produced a wet and moldy condition in their basement and carpeting and walls and even leather goods like shoes and belts all became moldy. Those who had bedrooms in the affected area began to feel sick from breathing in the air that was full of mold spores and they were forced to vacate this part of the house until the moldy conditions could be corrected and the basement dried out.
Leviticus 14:34-35 (NIV)
34 “When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a spreading mildew in a house in that land,
35 the owner of the house must go and tell the priest, ‘I have seen something that looks like mildew in my house.’
If a mildew started to grow in a house, then the owner of that house was to report the situation to the priest. The priest was to come and inspect the house.
Leviticus 14:39-41 (NIV)
39 On the seventh day the priest shall return to inspect the house. If the mildew has spread on the walls,
40 he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out and thrown into an unclean place outside the town.
41 He must have all the inside walls of the house scraped and the material that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the town.
The priest would examine the walls and note the size of the mildew blotches and then return after a week and examine to see if these blotches had grown bigger or spread on the walls. If the mildew was spreading, then the priest would order the infected stones be removed from the wall and the plaster be thoroughly scraped off and discarded. Sometimes just removing what is infected can stop the spread of infections like mildew.
Leviticus 14:43-45 (NIV)
43 “If the mildew reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house scraped and plastered,
44 the priest is to go and examine it and, if the mildew has spread in the house, it is a destructive mildew; the house is unclean.
45 It must be torn down–its stones, timbers and all the plaster–and taken out of the town to an unclean place.
If after the infected stones were removed and the infected plaster was scraped off and the wall plastered again then the priest was to return again to examine the house. If he found that the mildew broke out again then he was to declare this is a contagious infection. Such a house with a contagious infection was declared “unclean” and it must be demolished and all parts of the infected house were to removed and discarded in place designated for disposal of unclean things.
Leviticus 14:46-47 (NIV)
46 “Anyone who goes into the house while it is closed up will be unclean till evening.
47 Anyone who sleeps or eats in the house must wash his clothes.
If anyone entered that house at any time while it was sealed up under quarantine was declared unclean and whoever would lie down in that house or eat in the house would have to wash his clothing. This was because mold and mildew can spread by spores and if someone entered a contaminated house they could have mold spores all over their clothing.
Those who sleep in a damp basement that was made wet after a flood can inhale mold spores and it can make their lungs feel tight and give them headaches and coughing and other respiratory problems. Until the dampness is corrected and the mold removed people cannot remain in areas affected by mold without feeling sick.
Leviticus 14:48 (NIV)
48 “But if the priest comes to examine it and the mildew has not spread after the house has been plastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the mildew is gone.
But if the infection does not spread then the house can be declared clean and is fit to receive human inhabitants again.
Often correcting the humidity in a house or stopping water seepage is enough to cure many mold or mildew problems which are created by excessive dampness.
Fungus and Skin Disease
Leviticus 14:54-57 (NIV)
54 These are the regulations for any infectious skin disease, for an itch,
55 for mildew in clothing or in a house,
56 and for a swelling, a rash or a bright spot,
57 to determine when something is clean or unclean. These are the regulations for infectious skin diseases and mildew.
The law concerning infections can be applied to buildings or a garment like leather that can grow mold when damp and it also can apply to human bodies because when something grows on damp human skin it can be called a fungus.
The image above is a bad case of athlete’s foot fungus. This is a skin infection of the feet that grows primarily on the webs of the toes where it is the most damp. This is caused by a fungus that grows in areas that are damp and moist on the human body. This infection can be spread by walking barefoot on contaminated floors. It can cause itching, burning, and pain and scaling of the skin. It can be treated by anti-fungal medications. If someone does not keep their feet clean and dry and change their socks daily, then the fungus can get as bad as seen in this image.
This fungus infection is something covered by the Torah laws concerning infections. Like mildew, this fungus also grows in moist and damp places. The principle of “Touch Not” can also be applied to this fungus infection.
For example, in the United States most school systems have adopted a program they call physical education. This program offers little in the way of education but rather it is designed to provide exercise for students by having them play different sports for a period of their day at school. After the students have completed their P.E. class they are required to go to the locker room and take a shower. These youths will typically walk barefoot in the public shower unless someone has warned them to wear shower thongs. This is where they can pick up athlete’s foot fungus by walking on floors that are contaminated by this fungus. Most of these students will be infected by using public showers while barefoot so they are forced to use anti-fungal medications to stop this disease from eating holes in the flesh of their feet! If they stop the anti-fungal medication, then the fungus will typically return again. So they may end up using medication every day for the rest of their lives! It is a sad situation that could have been stopped simply by warning them never to walk barefoot on a public shower room floor!
When a person has their feet infected by fungus and they touch their infected toes on their underpants when dressing, then the fungus can be spread onto their groin area. The same fungus that grows on the webs of the toes can also grow in the moist damp conditions of the groin. When this fungus grows on the groin it is called jock-itch or tinea cruris. This is also treated by an anti-fungal medication and the same medication will work for both athlete’s foot-fungus and jock-itch.
The law of “Touch Not” can be applied to fungus infections because if they would not touch the contaminated public shower floor with bare feet they would not receive this infection. If they would not touch their underpants with infected feet (when dressing) then they would not spread the fungus to their groin.
Fungus grows under wet conditions so they should wash and dry the infected area of their feet daily. But they should not use the same towel they use to dry their feet also on their groin or they can transfer the fungus to their groin. Those infected with foot fungus should wash and dry their feet daily and change their socks with clean ones. Drying between the toes with a towel helps to remove the moisture where the fungus grows. Also wool socks help because wool absorbs moisture and helps to wick it away from human flesh. The effects of foot fungus are greatly reduced by keeping the feet clean and dry and free from contamination. People who wear dirty socks for extended periods of time will cause the fungus to thrive and it can eat holes in their skin down to the raw flesh.
But all of this problem with fungus can be dealt with simply by following the laws found in Leviticus. If they do not touch that which is contaminated in the first place they will never have to deal with the symptoms of fungus or be forced to use fungus treatments. If infected people bring fungus from public showers into the private bathrooms at home, then everyone in the family can become infected.
The “Touch Not” laws of Leviticus deal with invisible things like bacteria, viruses, parasite larva and even mold, mildew, and fungus infections. The spread of these things can be stopped by not touching them in the first place. The concept of “quarantine” is to keep a disease from spreading.
Forcing students to use a public shower can cause the spread of fungus infection to all of the households of the students. Infected individuals who use the bathroom at home can spread the same infection to everyone in the family.
It is a great piece of ignorance that US public school systems force students to take showers in public locker rooms after their P.E. classes when they are infecting students and their families at home with fungus disease.
The principles found in the book of Leviticus for clean and unclean and “quarantine” are the same principles that can be applied to stop the spread of all diseases from one person to another. The “Touch Not” laws speak of not touching something that has a potential of transmitting infection. All that we have today that is related to health and hygiene comes from the Torah which is the only source of knowledge given by God on the subjects of cleanliness and resisting the transmission of infectious diseases. We owe the Jews a great debt of gratitude because of the knowledge they brought to earth from God which has made our lives clean and hygienic and healthy simply by following the sanitary rules given by God to the Jews.
Spread of Venereal Disease
The book of Proverbs warns against going near a prostitute and not coming near the door of the house of an immoral woman. Giving a man’s vigor to others and his years to the cruel one speaks of contracting a sexually transmitted disease. These diseases are cruel as they can consume their health and consume their flesh and destroy their bodies.
Proverbs 5:8-11 (NASB)
8 Keep your way far from her And do not go near the door of her house,
9 Or you will give your vigor to others And your years to the cruel one;
10 And strangers will be filled with your strength And your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien;
11 And you groan at your final end, When your flesh and your body are consumed.
The book of Proverbs describes when a man gets a sexually transmitted disease and his flesh and his body are consumed. Images of advanced syphilis no doubt can be described as having the flesh of a human body consumed as it seems to rot away in grotesque manner.
Tertiary Syphilis
It is no surprise that venereal disease was described over 3,000 years ago in the book of Proverbs. Skeletal remains of humans have been found dating back centuries which have evidence of sexually transmitted diseases. Syphilis for example not only devours the flesh of the human body while the victim is still alive but it also pits the bones of its victims leaving a mute testimony of what killed these people long ago.
The flesh of humans rots away quickly after death leaving no evidence of what killed the person but the bones of humans can last for centuries. Syphilis is the only disease which leaves pits in the bones of its victims. It is these pits that give evidence to what killed these people in past generations.
Syphilis bacteria can be spread by sexual contact. It is no wonder that some ancient civilizations were decimated by sexually transmitted disease. Gentiles who had no knowledge of the God of Israel and had no knowledge of God’s laws were typically immoral people. Often entire Gentile societies were given over to pagan religions that were based on sex and everyone participated in this sexual immorality that was part of their pagan worship. When open sexual immorality was occurring between many sex-partners there was a high rate of sexually transmitted disease. This immoral sexual behavior could in fact cause the deaths of entire populations. At that time, there were no medical treatments to cure these diseases and in fact they did not even know the disease was spread by sexual contact with infected individuals.
But the Jewish people lived by God’s laws which forbade sexual intercourse outside of the marriage between a man and a woman. When the man and woman were both virgins when married and they did not have sexual intercourse with anyone else except their own spouse then there was no chance of contacting these sexually transmitted diseases.
The godless pagan Gentiles however had no such moral code to live by and it was for this reason that sexually transmitted diseases often decimated their heathen populations.
Proverbs 5:15-20 (NASB)
15 Drink water from your own cistern And fresh water from your own well.
16 Should your springs be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be yours alone and not for strangers with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19 As a loving hind and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love.
20 For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress and embrace the bosom of a foreigner?
The book of Proverbs says that a man should drink water from his own cistern and this is a metaphor describing a man who is faithful to his own wife and has only pure sexual relations in marriage. Having fresh water from his own well speaks of being satisfied sexually only by his own wife. Sexual relations in marriage are pure and there is no danger of any sexually transmitted diseases if both man and woman are clean when married and never have sex outside of marriage. A man’s fountain can be blessed with his own wife and he can be satisfied by her love only.
But public sex with many partners would be like drinking water from a sewer that runs along the public streets that everyone dumps their waste into. It is absurd to embrace the bosom of a stranger that someone does not even know. Sex with an adulteress does not involve any love because how can they love someone they never met? Such immoral relationships can end in giving someone a disease that will consume their flesh and even pit their bones. A disease like this can ruin their lives forever.
All of the horrors of sexually transmitted diseases will never take place if a man and woman are faithful to each other in marriage as God has intended. There does not have to be any medical treatments or seeing a doctor for a disease that is consuming their flesh if they remain sexually pure in marriage with their own spouse.
Again it is clear that when people obey the laws that God gave to the children of Israel then they will not have any problems with sexually transmitted diseases. The syphilis bacteria could not be seen until microscopes were invented but God already told His people not to have sexual relations outside of marriage and that solves all of the problems with contracting a sexually transmitted disease. This same advice still applies to all humans on earth and if they will follow the commands of God given to the Jews through Moses then they also can enjoy a happy and fulfilled life free of sexually transmitted diseases.
The “Touch Not Laws” can be applied to people not touching someone who is not their own spouse and not having sexual relations outside of marriage. Not touching someone sexually outside of marriage was the best way to deal with the invisible syphilis bacteria that has destroyed the bodies of humans throughout the centuries.
Death By Blood
The image above shows a lethal strain of E. Coli bacteria under magnification of a powerful microscope. Thousands of people are made sick and many die every year from this lethal E. Coli bacteria. I heard of one instance where a man carried some raw meat to his barbecue grill and after cooking the meat, he then placed the cooked meat onto the same bloody plate that he used to carry the raw meat out to the grill with. The E. Coli bacteria is killed by high cooking temperatures but placing the cooked meat on the same plate that had blood on it from raw meat then introduced live E. Coli bacteria onto the cooked meat again. The people who ate this contaminated meat all got deathly ill and several died from E. Coli poisoning. Pathogens can be carried in the blood of livestock and when ingested by humans they can spread within the human body through their blood system.
God’s laws given to the Jews deals with all of these things including pathogens and viruses and parasite larva. The dietary laws in Leviticus spell out what is clean and what is unclean. Anyone who touches blood was unclean and had to wash and today we know that even cooked meat that has touched blood can become toxic with lethal bacteria. This is another example of the wisdom of the Jewish-Torah that has helped humanity live a longer and healthy and sanitary life.
Touch Not Parasites
The principles of “Do not Touch” and “Clean and Unclean” are the foundational principles in dealing with the unseen world of pathogens and parasites. Societies that are advanced in health care and hygiene have largely come up with these principles based on what is taught in the Hebrew Torah given to the Jews.
Many of the hygiene practices that will disrupt parasite life cycles are found in the book of Leviticus. Those living by God’s commandments will typically not experience many of the disease and parasite problems that affect others who are not familiar with what God has said about sanitary issues.
The image above shows several hookworms attached to the inside of a human’s small intestine. These worms can penetrate human organs and tissues and cause internal bleeding. People with hookworms suffer many symptoms including anemia from internal blood loss. It is estimated that from 500-700 million people worldwide are affected by hookworm. Hookworm was once widespread in the southeastern part of the United States but this disease has been nearly eradicated through education.
Hookworm eggs are passed in the excrement of infected people. If people move their bowels on the ground, then this disease can become widespread. From 1943-1947 a program was carried out in Mississippi and Florida to build thousands of outhouses for the purpose of eradicating hookworm disease. Hookworm eggs hatch out into worms that are able to penetrate the skin of those who walk barefoot on contaminated soil. Simply teaching people to use a toilet and to wear shoes was enough to disrupt the life cycle of the hookworm.
It is interesting that the principles needed to protect humans from disease and parasites are found in the Torah. God told Moses that when a man moves his bowels that he should carry a digging tool with his equipment in order to bury his excrement. Something as simple as burying human waste is a major way of keeping disease and parasites from spreading.
Deuteronomy 23:12-13 (CJB)
12 Also you are to have an area outside the camp to use as a latrine.
13 You must include a trowel with your equipment, and when you relieve yourself, you are to dig a hole first and afterwards cover your excrement.
Insects like flies can also carry bacteria from uncovered excrement and bring it into the homes of people and crawl on their food depositing this bacterium on the food they are eating. Covering waste or using toilets with a sewer system is a major factor in maintaining human health.
We received this knowledge of hygiene and sanitary operations from the Torah which was given to the Jews thousands of years prior to humans discovering the invisible enemies of bacteria, viruses or parasites that can affect human health.
We owe a great debt of gratitude to the Jewish people because through them came the knowledge and wisdom of God contained in their laws given by God to Moses. Almost everything that is good and pure and clean and healthy can be traced to the Jews who brought innovation and advancement and healing to the earth by their wisdom found in the Torah.