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I've been ardently searching the Bible for a proverb my wife keeps quoting. But somehow, I don't think it is in there. So, where did the notion that being clean had anything to do with being holy? I like to tell my wife that only my feet need to be clean (I know where that is in the Bible).

Looking for historical answers from a Catholic tradition or if it really is in the Bible that would be good too. What I'd really like to know is how clean is clean enough not to be a slothful slob and how clean is so clean that you miss out on the "better part" that Jesus said Martha was missing out on.

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  • I think that saying cleanliness is next to godliness does not imply that cleanliness is, necessarily, part of godliness. Godliness is the most important priority, but after that comes cleanliness. It is effectively saying that cleanliness is the most important earthly thing, while acknowledging that religious obligations are of course even more important.
    – davidlol
    Jun 25, 2017 at 16:48
  • Isaiah 1:16-18 tells us to wash and be clean
    – depperm
    Jun 25, 2017 at 20:09
  • googling seems to hint that John Wesley coined the phrase 'cleanliness is indeed next to godliness' in 1778 or Sir Francis Bacon in 1605 with 'cleanliness of body was ever deemed to proceed from a due reverence to God'
    – depperm
    Jun 25, 2017 at 20:18
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    @depperm Bacon's wording makes me think he was referring to more of an Old Testament usage of "clean". Like, no fornication and that kind of thing.
    – user3961
    Jun 26, 2017 at 1:24
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    Not sure why one is seeking a Catholic answer to a Protestant aphorism, but it's worth asking. The monasts and hermits established a long tradition of not bathing while trying to get closer to God. Are you sure the term refers to "physical" cleanliness rather than "spiritual" cleanliness? @depperm I think you've got the meat of the answer. Nice work.
    – KorvinStarmast
    Jun 26, 2017 at 12:32

3 Answers 3

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If you are just looking for the origins of the quote there are two possibilities:

Sir Francis Bacon in 1605 in Advancement of Learning mentions

For cleanliness and decency of the body were always allowed to proceed from moral modesty and reverence; first, toward God, whose creatures we are; next, toward society, wherein we live; and lastly, toward ourselves, whom we ought to reverence still more than others.

John Wesley in On Dress mentions 'cleanliness is indeed next to godliness' in 1791.

See also Phrase Meaning and Origin or a similar question on English SE.

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The ceremonial precepts of the Old Law included ritual washings not because cleanliness was the end sought in an of itself but because the ceremonial precepts were meant to teach the ancient Israelites of a spiritual reality, such as sin (dirtiness) and the purity (cleanliness) resulting from God's forgiveness.

In the New Law, only the sacramental aspect of baptism is a mere washing.

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Isaiah 52: 11:

Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.

This can be interpreted symbolically, but that really doesn't help you much.

On the other hand, you can always ask her (nicely) to take it easy about judging your ideas of what is important. (Matthew 7, if it's not on the tip of your tongue:)

Judge not, that ye be not judged.

But remember, it's a two-edged sword:

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

You have to be careful how you judge your wife's attempts to help you be a better person.

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