Water Baptism - Why isn't it mentioned in the Old Testament?
Looking for some experienced wisdom. Can someone teach me or lead me to a resource that would help me understand why water baptism was never mentioned in all the O.T.?
Any help would be appreciated....
JT
Comments
-
Totally Different covenants. All that is in the Old Testament (i.e. Prophecies) point to Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation which isn't provided for in the Old, except for the annual sacrifice rolling sins forward till the time of the Messiah. There is no name under heaven whereby man can be saved. Not in the Old, but in the New/. Look what Jesus says in Luke 24 to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. He informs them that all that is in the Law and the Prophets points to Christ in the New Testament, not to anything that is in the Old. Especially the blood of bulls and goats. Only the blood of Christ can cleanse man of sin. And even then, we must walk in the light in order for that blood to cleanse. This provision is not provided for under the Law. Besides, Paul says we are under Christ and not the Law (i.e. Old Testament).
Also, the Old Testament Law is but that which, like a schoolmaster leads man who was under the law. When Christ came and began his earthly ministry John the Baptist said, "Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world." The necessity of Water Baptism (as we see in Gal 3:26,27, Acts 2:38, Romans 6:1-6, Mark 16, etc...) did not exist in the Old, so why mention it? Although the New does allude to Baptism in the Old, the Old doesn't mention it because God's plan to save is provided for under the Law of Christ, not the law of Moses.
0 -
JT Lawler said:
why water baptism was never mentioned in all the O.T.?
Question 1: Why would you expect the Christian initiation rite to be mentioned in the Old Testament where the role of initiation rite is filled partially by circumcisions?
Question 2: Why do you assume water baptism is not mentioned in the Old Testament. As Perplexity suggests:
Perplexity said:While baptism as a Christian sacrament is not explicitly mentioned in the Old Testament, there are several concepts and practices in the Old Testament that foreshadow or relate to baptism:
- Ritual washing and purification: The Old Testament contains many instances of ritual washing for purification, such as:
- Priests washing before entering the tabernacle or temple (Exodus 30:17-21)
- Cleansing rituals for various types of impurity (Leviticus 14-15)
- Washing as part of consecration (Exodus 29:4, 40:12)
- Symbolic use of water:
- The flood in Noah's time is seen as prefiguring baptism (1 Peter 3:20-21)
- The Israelites passing through the Red Sea is described as a type of baptism (1 Corinthians 10:1-2)
- Crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land (Joshua 3-4)
- Spiritual cleansing:
- Prophets used water as a metaphor for spiritual cleansing (Isaiah 1:16, Ezekiel 36:25)
- Psalms refer to washing away sins (Psalm 51:2,7)
- Mikveh: The Jewish ritual bath used for purification, which developed during the Second Temple period, has some similarities to baptism.
- Proselyte baptism: While not mentioned in the Old Testament, Jewish proselyte baptism (for Gentile converts) likely developed before the time of Christ.
While these practices and symbols are not identical to Christian baptism, they provide important background and context for understanding the development of baptism in the New Testament. The New Testament authors, especially Paul and Peter, drew on these Old Testament concepts when explaining the meaning of Christian baptism.
Question 3: What question did you enter into the all search to direct you to this sort of response - I found "baptism in the Old Testament" gave some decent answers in my library.
You usually will get better research results if you don't build assumption like "Baptism is not mentioned in the Old Testament" into your question - that makes it looks like you are seeking confirmation of current beliefs rather than researching an issue ... which very much limits your answers.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
0 -
I'm responding to your post solely because the forums have been unpleasantly contentious recently. Please remember to steer away from theology in your response so you don't run afoul of the guidelines. Helping him reframe the question into your covenantal language is no problem. Assuming your covenantal language drifts into theology. No problem, just a caution.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
0 -
JT Lawler said:
Any help would be appreciated....
check into "pagan baptism" or "proselyte baptism" to get some ideas as to where John came across the idea that water indicates some type of purification. The student will need to discern if Christian water baptism is something brand new after the crucifixion/resurrection or if there is any continuity with pagan, Jewish, or other practices before John 2.
Making Disciples! Logos Ecosystem = LogosMax on Microsoft Surface Pro 7 (Win11), Android app on tablet, FSB on iPhone & iPad mini, Proclaim (Proclaim Remote on Fire Tablet).
0 -
MJ Smith -
Thought provoking reply, I appreciate that.
When I first started looking into this I was searching for where John the Baptist got baptism with water from. Still wondering that...
Of course us looking back as well as having the NT we see all these events you mentioned, but is that where John's baptism originated? Since John's water baptism started before Jesus' ministry.
I searched the OT for the "word" baptism, baptized in scripture etc. Not one hit, even in the fuzzy search. Then went to the passage guide and factbook and it seemed to pile the NT & OT findings together. Maybe I need to start using the search tab with phrases instead of single words. Learning....
I Thank You Sir.
I would welcome the answer to my question above if you know it, I would love to look deeper into this. I just cant get my head wrapped around water baptism originally being a pagan idea.
0 -
David Thomas -
I am going to try that. I have read something similar before but brushed it off as untrue that baptism originally came from pagan rituals. I cant get my head wrapped around that. I wrote this down, i am going to read more on this topic... Thank You!
0 -
When you went to Factbook, did you read any of the dictionary articles on baptism? Also consider a books search on your dictionaries for something like (antecedents OR precursors OR origin) IN topic:Baptism
Using Logos as a pastor, seminary professor, and Tyndale author
0 -
Mark Johns -
Agree. Well said.
Just wondering where John the Baptist got the idea of baptism? Where did it come from? Of my own thinking, I figured it had to come from the OT since John started baptizing before Jesus' ministry began...
But when I searched the OT for the word baptism or baptized I didn't even get one hit, not even in the fuzzy search.
That's why I am here, but I got alot more reading to do since I just learned that its better to search with phrases in the search tab....(rather than factbook or passage guide)
0 -
Justin Green,
Yes I read my share of dictionary hits, I just couldn't find the source of baptism with what I did read.
Goodness, I didnt know that type of search exists. Is that a kind of smart search? How did you know to enter it that way?
It pulled up more resources on the subject than I will be able to read...I will start in the morning...
If you are already aware of a particular resource that would shorten my learning curve please do share....
I do appreciate your input, thank you !
JT
0 -
David Thomas -
Thank You Sir!
Will try that search as well....
JT
0 -
JT Lawler said:
Goodness, I didnt know that type of search exists. Is that a kind of smart search? How did you know to enter it that way?
It pulled up more resources on the subject than I will be able to read...I will start in the morning...
If you are already aware of a particular resource that would shorten my learning curve please do share....
No smart search. If you right click a dictionary article, you can see the subject it is tagged with (in this case, baptism). Then, you can search for any specific word that is in one of those sections by doing something like origin IN subject:baptism. I added a few other ideas for similar words, by putting them in parenthesis, it finds any of them as long as they are in a section on baptism. Then I clicked "all books" and changed it to type:encyclopedia to narrow it down a little.
It is hard for me to make specific recommendations without knowing your library, but if you have the IVP Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, it has a lengthy section on the antecedents of John's baptism. So does the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible and the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary.
They will all basically agree that water baptism had some precedents in the Old Testament and the surrounding culture but was basically new. Luke 20 says it came from God, not men.
Using Logos as a pastor, seminary professor, and Tyndale author
0 -
Justin Gatlin said:
No smart search. If you right click a dictionary article, you can see the subject it is tagged with (in this case, baptism). Then, you can search for any specific word that is in one of those sections by doing something like origin IN subject:baptism. I added a few other ideas for similar words, by putting them in parenthesis, it finds any of them as long as they are in a section on baptism. Then I clicked "all books" and changed it to type:encyclopedia to narrow it down a little.
Thank You Very Much Justin, Much Appreciated!
I have made notes of all these ideas and will use them often,
JT
0 -
Thanks for Details answer, MJ
0 -
JT Lawler said:
When I first started looking into this I was searching for where John the Baptist got baptism with water from. Still wondering that...
Hi JT. That's a good question. You could search for cleansing rituals were being practiced among Jewish people in or before NT times.
Miqveh could be a key word. A quick summary with some links: https://allenbrowne.blog/2016/12/16/where-did-baptism-come-from/
0 -
Thanks for the link - and jumping into this discussion.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
0 -
I’m jumping into the discussion to offer a great resource by Isaac Agustine Morales: https://www.logos.com/product/218441/the-bible-and-baptism-the-fountain-of-salvation?queryId=e9962c9ec8973a4f16b3afed517bfeb1
He might have what you’re looking for.
DAL
0 -
Worship in the Early Church may be worth a look as it is on sale for Black Friday.
0 -
MJ. Smith said:
I'm responding to your post solely because the forums have been unpleasantly contentious recently. Please remember to steer away from theology in your response so you don't run afoul of the guidelines. Helping him reframe the question into your covenantal language is no problem. Assuming your covenantal language drifts into theology. No problem, just a caution.
Great reminder, MJ. Another post reminding me how much I appreciate your input!
Macbook Air (2024), Apple M2, 16gb Ram, Mac Sequoia, 1TB storage
0 -
I always reccomend these books.
G. R. Beasley-Murray, Baptism in the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962.
Donald Bridge and David Phypers, The Water That Divides. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1977.
Thomas R. Schreiner and Shawn D. Wright, eds., Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ Nashville: B&H, 2006.
0
