questions of character emerge.38 Taken together they merge ritual and ethical purity, which is of course the purpose of the law. Those who wash themselves by obedient, faith-based repentance prove themselves innocent under the terms Yahweh sets for such post-sin innocence. They become innocent because God directs them on the right path, the path He has set. Without such guidance, their hands remain covered with blood, so they can hardly take credit for their cleansing. Credit belongs to Yahweh. This