Albert Barnes Commentary Mark 7:3

"(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands diligently, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders;" — Mark 7:3 (ASV)

Except they wash their hands oft. The word oft means frequently, often. The word translated oft has been rendered in various ways. Some have interpreted it as "up to the wrist," so the meaning would be, "unless they wash their hands up to the wrist." Others have interpreted it as "up to the elbow."

There is evidence that the Pharisees had some such foolish rule about washing, and it is likely that they practiced it faithfully. But the word probably means, diligently, accurately, carefully. So the meaning would be, "unless they wash their hands carefully, or according to rule," etc.

The tradition. This refers to what had been handed down—not what was delivered by writing in the law of Moses, but what had been communicated from father to son as proper and binding.

The elders. This refers to the ancients—not the old men living at that time, but those who had lived formerly.