This was a practice done by the Pharisees, but it was not an obligation according to the law of Moses. The Pharisees had many rituals involving washing in an attempt to make themselves clean. This is ironic because no amount of water could make them spiritually clean. (See: [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/lawofmoses]], [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/clean]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-irony]])
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This is an Aramaic word. Mark "transliterates" its sounds by writing them with Greek letters. After transliterating the word, Mark explains what it means.
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