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What Does the Bible Say About..Cleanliness?

What does God say or think about being clean? Like keeping your body clean (like dirt) and keeping your room and house clean? And does He say anything about being over weight?

Answer

Generally, when the Bible talks of being clean it is speaking in spiritual terms. The Law of Moses especially talked about being cleansed from impurities such as being in the presence of a dead body or countless other things that could make one “unclean.” There is frequent mention of cleansing from leprosy, a mysterious disease unlike what we now call leprosy. And there is frequent mention in the Old and New Testaments about being cleansed of sin.

The few references to being clean of dirt are mainly just mentions that someone washed themselves, but does not put cleanliness forward as a command or even something to be desired. Likewise, although some people in the Bible are mentioned as being very heavy, there is nothing about losing weight or about being overweight as being wrong. This is probably because the Bible is concerned with spiritual matters rather than physical matters.

Please also see my previous answer about health in general, at What Does the Bible Say About..Health?"