Water that the people are permitted to drink from a spring or cistern is spoken of as if it were physically clean. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
The dead body of an animal that God has declared to be unfit for the people to touch or eat is spoken of as if it were physically unclean. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
A person who is unacceptable for God's purposes because he has touched the carcass of one of these animals is spoken of as if he were physically unclean. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])