To Mask or Not to Mask? A Possible Biblical View

 

The Mask-Wearing Controversy

Dramatic changes rapidly unfolded in the Western world with the arrival of COVID-19 in January/February 2020. Mask-wearing was one of those significant changes. Mask-wearing began with just a few people who voluntarily wore them amid a confusing mix of information. It eventually evolved into mandatory mask-wearing in all public spaces in many states. 

The compulsory aspect has sparked a heated debate. The question is whether to wear a mask. Opinions vary widely depending on which article you read or which YouTube video you watch. One source says it does nothing; another says it will save the world. Social, political, and religious right groups seem to be capitalizing on this issue and building alliances around it. 

This article will move entirely away from the political, social, and "religious" agendas. Instead, it will examine a thought from the archives of God's eternal instructions on the matter of spreadable pathogens. 

A Biblical Case of Masking

Throughout this season, I have asked, "What does the Bible have to say about this, if anything?" I chuckled, thinking it was most likely not in there. However, a couple of days later, while doing my regular Bible reading, a couple of verses in Leviticus 13 stood out to me on this topic.

And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent and his head uncovered, and he shall put a covering (wrap) upon his upper lip and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. 

— Leviticus 13:45 (Jubilee Bible 2000)

The Hebrew word translated "covering" in the above portion of Scripture refers to wrapping something in a cloth or garment. Although our current instructions are to cover from the nose down, the Biblical direction appears to be more concerned with the mouth, specifically from the upper lip down. 

We don't exactly know what Biblical leprosy was, but we know it was a contagious disease with skin manifestations. The connection to wearing a covering over one's mouth because of the ailment is obvious. Whatever came out of the diseased person's mouth could infect someone else who breathed it. The above Biblical command is a fascinating instruction from pre-microscope history. This supports the idea that masking is about protecting others. My mask protects you, and your mask protects me.

Some have argued that only infected people should wear masks based on this particular Biblical presentation. Still, I would propose that we consider that contagion begins before symptoms appear and that our contacts are far more widespread than in the ancient world. They did not travel as rapidly to such distant places or mix outside their own communities as we do. In view of this, the added layer could make a lot of sense. 

Social Distancing

The cry of "unclean, unclean" could be viewed as an ancient example of social distancing. It was instituted to distinguish an infected person from a non-infected one.

A testimony to this principle is evidenced in a recent event. My husband and I were with my son midmorning when he developed COVID-19 symptoms. We were not within 6 feet of him for any more than a few seconds. My husband and I never got it. However, His friend, who spent half an hour with him inside an ice fishing house, came down with it the next day. 

Things That Come Out of Our Mouths

The Hebrew word translated "leprosy" in Leviticus chapter thirteen, as recorded in the verse above, is "negah" (נגע). But another Hebrew word, "deber" (דבר), also expresses the idea of a contagious disease. This particular word can illustrate a spiritual lesson from a physical perspective about what comes out of our mouths.

"Deber" (דבר) is most often translated as "pestilence" or "plague" in the Bible.

Surely he shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the perilous pestilence (דבר). 

— Psalm 91:3

Deber" (דבר) shares the same letters as the Hebrew word for "word," which is dâbâr (דבר), in its noun form, or "to say" in its verb form. In Hebrew, when two words are spelled the same, one often illustrates or explains the other. In this case, both words and plagues come out of our mouths. From a disease perspective, pathogens are commonly emitted and received via our mouths. From a spiritual perspective, we could learn that words may have the same effect and be transmitted as pathogens. 

Death and life are in the power of the tongue ... 

— Proverbs 18:21

James, in his New Testament letter, says something similar.

... but no man can tame the tongue, which is an evil that cannot be restrained and is full of deadly poison. With it we bless God, even the Father; and with it we curse men, who are made in the image of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a fountain send forth at the same place both sweet and bitter water? Can the fig tree, my brethren, produce olive berries? Or the vine, figs? In the same manner no fountain can yield both salt water and fresh. Who is wise and ready among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works in meekness of wisdom. 

— James 3:8-13

The Biblical instructions for noxious words are the same as those for pestilence. 

If you have been foolish by exalting yourself
Or if you’ve been scheming (imagining what you might say),
Put your hand over your mouth.

— Proverbs 30:32

Many times, when we feel angry or frustrated, we can pridefully imagine what we might say. These imagined speeches often include cursing rather than blessing. The writer of Proverbs implies that expressing those thoughts in words is inherently wrong and destructive.

I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. 

— Psalm 39:1

In Hebrew, the word dâbâr (דָּבָר) also means "thing." This connection suggests that what comes out of our mouths, though invisible, has substance. Just as unseen pathogens leave our mouths and spread sickness among those we contact, so do the ugly things we say.

Inside-Outside: The Debate Continues

Another question concerns mask-wearing. Are masks necessary both indoors and outdoors? Does the Bible address this issue? Perhaps it does. The book of Numbers, chapter nineteen, contains the laws for cleansing the "unclean."

One occasion for becoming "unclean" involved being in an enclosed area with a dead body. A second occasion is noted when a dead body is encountered in an open field.

“This is the law when a person dies in a tent: everyone who enters the tent and everyone who is already in the tent will be unclean for seven days, and any open container without a lid tied on it is unclean. Anyone in the open field who touches a person who has been killed by the sword or has died, or who even touches a human bone, or a grave, will be unclean for seven days. 

— Numbers 19:14-16

It appears that a person who encounters a dead body outside is unclean only if he comes into contact with it. A person inside a tent is unclean whether or not he comes into contact with the body. This scenario may suggest that pathogens emitted by the illness the dead person had or by decomposing flesh are more concentrated in enclosed areas but are dispersed and dissipated in fresh, moving air and sunshine.  

Wash Your Hands

Also note in Numbers chapter nineteen, quoted in the above section, that all surfaces within the tent where the dead body was were considered unclean. This section acknowledges that pathogens were understood to persist on surfaces within enclosed areas. 

Ignaz Semmelweis, a mid-1800s Hungarian physician and scientist, made a history-changing observation. While working at a Vienna hospital, in one of the first obstetric wards attended by physicians, he noted that the mortality rate was three times higher than in wards attended by midwives. 1 Along with this observation, he also noticed that obstetric doctors were simultaneously working in the morgue and attending to dead bodies. Semmelweis suggested handwashing between handling dead bodies and treating live patients. His experiment with handwashing proved to drop the death rate significantly.

According to an online article in "The Conversation," handwashing goes back even further than Ignaz Semmelweis, the doctor who discovered its disease-fighting power in 1847.

The history of hand-washing extends back to ancient times when it was largely a faith-based practice. The Old Testament, the Talmud, and the Quran all mention hand-washing in the context of ritual cleanliness. ... for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water. 

— Exodus 30:19 

 

Don't Forget the Soap

The Numbers chapter nineteen instructions noted above for cleansing from contact with pathogens associated with death included a recipe for a type of soap made from the ashes of a burnt red heifer, collected over a fire made with cedarwood, then added to water.

The priest is to take cedar wood, hyssop, and crimson yarn, and throw them onto the fire where the cow is burning ... 

... Then a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for the water of purification; it is for purifying from sin ... 

... The person who touches any human corpse will be unclean for seven days. He is to purify himself with the water ... 

— Numbers 19:6, 9, 11-12

This ashes-and-water recipe sounds very similar to a lye recipe, which is still used in soap making today. Only two ingredients are technically needed to make it: water and wood ashes. The Biblical model included other elements more closely connected to spiritual applications.

Quarantine: It's Nothing New

All the days in which the plague shall be in him, he shall be defiled; he shall be unclean; he shall dwell alone; outside the camp shall his habitation be. 

— Leviticus 13:46

The long list of situations in Leviticus that rendered a person unclean all included an initial seven-day quarantine. After seven days were complete, the unclean person would be examined by the priest. If the condition had not spread, the person would wait another seven days and then be considered clean. The quarantine totaled fourteen days, which is what is now recommended for Covid-19 cases. 

Franz Halberg, a Minnesota-based scientist who studies chronobiology, has discovered that many human biological processes follow seven-day cycles.

God's Word

As with quarantining, masking isn't new either—it's just new to us. The Spanish flu in the early 1900s was characterized by this same precautionary method. 

For me, wearing a mask, social distancing, and handwashing center on a couple of things. First and foremost, as this article explains, God's revelation has influenced me most. I believe He knows best and understands things I don't. My second reason concerns my 81-year-old mother, who is part of the most vulnerable group of people. Protecting her from something so potentially dangerous is of great importance. 

Wearing a mask, washing my hands, and social distancing do not make a political, social, or "religious" statement. Instead, they reflect what I understand God's Word to say on the topic, and they express love for those around me who are more vulnerable. It really seems to be the polite thing to do. 

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 

— Mark 12:30-31

That said, the above is not an exact science. I simply want to do my best to be wise with the information I've discovered. 

© 2020 Tamarajo

Sources

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Semmelweis 

2https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/01/12/375663920/the-doctor-who-championed-hand-washing-andsaved-women-s-lives