Understanding Purity Culture Part Two: The Goal of Purity in the Old Testament

To understand the goal of purity in the Old Testament, we must begin with the first garden. A garden was the specific location and environment that God created to commune with Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:8). We see in the Garden of Eden the first introduction of the concept of the temple, a place where humankind could meet with and spend time with God. Before sin entered the world, there was no need to separate the purity of God from his creation. After God created Adam, he created the Garden of Eden and placed Adam there (Genesis 2:8)…