As we saw earlier, ritual purity-cum-defilement dominates in P. High as genealogy towers, purity peaks. P seems to stand in awe of ritual holiness and its congener ritual defilement, almost as though they were hypostatic and potent:

1. 1) Or a person who touches anything unclean either the carcass of an unclean beast or the carcass of unclean cattle or the carcass of an unclean creeping thing and the fact escaped him; but [then] being unclean he incurs guilt. Or if he touches uncleanness of a human, even any uncleanness of his whereby one becomes unclean, and the fact escaped him; but [then] he finds out and incurs guilt (Lev 5:2–3)

2. 2) Flesh that touches anything unclean shall not be eaten it shall be consumed in the fire. As for the flesh, anyone who is clean may eat flesh. But the person who while unclean eats flesh from the peace-offering belonging to Hashem shall be cut off from his kin. A person that touches anything unclean be it human uncleanness or an unclean animal or any unclean vile creature (sheqeṣ) and then eats flesh from the peace-offering belonging to Hashem that person shall be cut off from his kin. (7:19–21)

3. 3) You shall warn (ve-hizzartem) the children of Israel against their defilement that they die not through their defilement by defiling my Tabernacle that is among them (Lev 15:31)

4. 4) Any person homeborn or alien who eats that which has died or has been torn by beasts, shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and remain unclean until evening; then he shall be clean. If he does not wash [his clothes] and bathe his body he shall bear his sin. (Lev 17:15–16)

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