In Jewish tradition, Saadiah (d. 942), Ibn Ezra (d. circa 1164), Maimonides (1135–1204) and Obadiah ben Abraham (1465–1515) identified the "ezov" mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Hebrew: אזוב, Samaritan Hebrew: ࠀࠉࠆࠅࠁ) with the Arabic word "za'atar". Ezov/za'atar is particularly associated with ritual purity ceremonies, such as preparing the ashes of the red heifer (Numbers 19:6) and handling bodily contaminations (Leviticus 14:4, 6, 51–52; Numbers 20:18). The Children of Israel are also said to have used a clump of ezov/za'atar stalks to daub the blood of the Paschal sacrifice on the doorposts of their houses before leaving bondage in Egypt (Exodus 12:22). King David refers to the purifying powers of the herb in Psalm 51:7, "Cleanse me with ezov/za'atar and I shall be purified." Much later, ezov/za'atar appears in the 2nd century CE Mishnah as an ingredient in food at that time in Judea ('Uktzin 2:2), while elsewhere in the Talmud there is mention of herbs ground into oil (a preparation called "mish'cha t'china" in Aramaic, משחא טחינא), but it is not specified whether this was like the za'atar mix known today. In the 12th century Maimonides described the use of the za'atar (צעתר, صعتر) he identified in contemporary cuisine, noting that "the "ezov" mentioned in the Torah is the "ezov" that the homeowners eat and season their stews with it." (Mishneh Torah, Parah Adumah 3:2)