Psalm 26 · a question people ask
"I will wash my hands in innocence" (26:6). Is this a washing with water, or a picture?
The psalm doesn't say. It puts the washing right beside the altar: "I will wash my hands in innocence, so I will go about your altar, LORD" (26:6) (tap wash). The Law gave the priests a washing before they came near the altar: "Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in it" (Exodus 30:19), "when they come near to the altar to minister" (Exodus 30:20), with the same Hebrew verb. The Law also has elders who "wash their hands over the heifer" (Deuteronomy 21:6) and say, "Our hands have not shed this blood" (Deuteronomy 21:7), with the same verb again. Psalm 26 says in innocence (tap innocence), and doesn't say whether water is meant. These notes don't choose.
The verses
“I will wash my hands in innocence, so I will go about your altar, LORD,”
“Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in it. When they go into the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water, that they don’t die; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the LORD.”
“All the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. They shall answer and say, “Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.”