Abstract
'Womb of the World' examines how baptism is an effective sign of the socio- religious reorganization of the world in the New Covenant. The article maintains that the phrase 'our bodies washed with pure water' in Heb. 10.22 refers to baptism, and therefore implies in context that baptism initiates into the Christian priesthood. The article then explores portions of Heb. 1-2 and Heb. 7 to fill out the background to 10.22. The article concludes that, because baptism is applied indiscriminately to Jew and Gentile, Levite and non-Levite, it breaks down the ritualized boundaries that formed Israel's order of 'graded holiness' and forms a new community of priests.
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