Touch is a universal and potent human experience that, in many ways, reflects our need for connection, healing, and comfort. Touch holds a significant place in the Bible, occurring in various circumstances and contexts, conveying a broad range of concepts and teachings.
Who Touched and Why in the Bible?
In the Bible, touch frequently implies a deeper spiritual or relational connection. Characters in biblical narratives touch for comfort, healing, blessing, and identification. For instance, Jesus touched individuals as an expression of his compassion and healing power. He touched lepers, a group considered unapproachable due to their contagious disease, symbolizing divine acceptance and inclusion. Jesus used touch not only as a healing method but also to convey a profound message of love, compassion, and acceptance towards all, including the socially marginalized.
What the Bible Says About the Power of Touch
The Bible shows that touch can yield remarkable effects. Many verses emphasize the transformative capacity of touch – it can heal, it can comfort, it can bless. Consequently, the Bible associates the act of touching with God’s power. In various stories, Jesus restores health and life through touch: He resurrects a girl by taking her by her hand, heals a blind man by touching his eyes, cures a woman with chronic bleeding just by allowing her to touch His garment. These examples beautifully illustrate the Bible’s teaching that interaction through touch can serve as a conduit for divine power.
Where the Bible Establishes the Significance of Touch
Bible verses about touch also focus on social and ethical aspects. Touch transgresses the barriers of personal space and establishes an intimate connection. The Bible teaches that touch should not be intrusive or violate another’s autonomy and dignity. It sets forth guidelines on appropriate and respectful physical interaction. For example, Bible verses advise against the improper touch as it defaces the purity of the body, seen as the temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, while the Bible values touch as essential, it also upholds the ethics of touching, underscoring its importance in maintaining personal boundaries and mutual respect.
Why the Touch in the Bible Is Symbolic
Touch in the Bible often symbolizes deeper spiritual truths. For instance, the Bible employs the symbol of touch to convey God’s closeness and personal involvement in human lives. In cases where Jesus touches to heal, it symbolizes God’s power at work, transforming people’s circumstances and lives. Furthermore, the Bible uses the non-literal meaning of touch to portray spiritual realities. ’Do not touch my anointed ones’ is a divine command symbolizing protection for God’s chosen people. Thus, the touch symbolizes a link between the physical and spiritual, expressing profound spiritual truths in tangible ways.
When Touch Is More Than Physical in the Bible
In the Bible, touch extends beyond the physical act and can depict spiritual communion and influence. God’s touch can signify His divine intervention, His guiding, shaping, and transforming of lives. Conversely, the idea of ‘touch not the unclean thing,’ moves beyond the physical to the moral sphere, representing the avoidance of moral defilement. Thus, touch in the Bible is not confined to tangible contact but extends into the metaphysical realm, embodying spiritual realities and moral teachings. By reflecting on Bible verses about touch, we can glean insights into these broader scriptural themes and principles.
Below is our full list of bible verses on touch (King James Version – KJV) provided in ranked order.
Most Popular Bible Verses About Touch
Luke 8:46
“46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.”
Matthew 9:29
“29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.”
Mark 1:41-42
“41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.”
Luke 6:19
“19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.”
Related Themes: Healing
Leviticus 12:4
“4 And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.”
Hebrews 4:12
“12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Related Themes: Discernment Greatness Omnipresence Heart Complaining
Psalm 105:15
“15 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.”
Luke 18:15
“15 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.”
Related Themes: Children
John 20:17
“17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”
Luke 7:14
“14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.”
Psalm 144:5
“5 Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.”
Genesis 3:3
“3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”
Genesis 20:6
“6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.”
Related Themes: Integrity
Mark 6:56
“56 And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.”
Matthew 17:7
“7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.”
Genesis 26:11
“11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”
Matthew 18:15-17
“15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.”
Related Themes: Trespassing Criticism Resolving Conflict Gossip
Exodus 19:12
“12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:”
Leviticus 7:21
“21 Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain unto the LORD, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.”
Related Themes: Abomination
