Leviticus
Summary
Leviticus Chapter 15 deals with the laws concerning bodily discharges that rendered a person ceremonially unclean. It covers both normal and abnormal conditions for both men and women, outlining the periods of isolation and the required washings once the condition had passed. In some cases, specific sacrifices were needed for final purification. These regulations emphasized that even the most private and natural aspects of life are subject to the holiness of God's presence. They served to guard the sanctity of the Tabernacle and to teach the people the necessity of constant personal and community cleansing.
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
"Say to the Israelites: ‘When any man has an unusual bodily discharge, such a discharge is unclean.
Whether it continues or is blocked, it makes him unclean. This is how his discharge will make him unclean:
‘Any bed the man with a discharge lies on will be unclean, and anything he sits on will be unclean.
Anyone who touches his bed must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
Whoever sits on anything that the man sat on must wash their clothes and bathe, and they will be unclean till evening.
‘Whoever touches the man who has a discharge must wash their clothes and bathe, and they will be unclean till evening.
If the man with the discharge spits on anyone who is clean, they must wash their clothes and bathe, and they will be unclean till evening.
Any saddle the man rides on will be unclean.
Whoever touches anything that was under him will be unclean till evening; whoever picks up such things must wash their clothes and bathe, and they will be unclean till evening.
If the man with the discharge touches anyone without washing his hands first, they must wash their clothes and bathe, and they will be unclean till evening.
A clay pot that he touches must be broken, and any wooden article must be rinsed with water.
‘When a man is cleansed from his discharge, he is to count off seven days for his cleansing; he must wash his clothes and bathe in fresh water, and he will be clean.
On the eighth day he must take two turtledoves or pigeons and come before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
The priest is to sacrifice them, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, to make atonement for him.
“‘When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body and be unclean till evening.
Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water and will be unclean till evening.
When a man has sexual relations with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both must bathe with water and will be unclean till evening.
“‘When a woman has her regular flow of blood, her period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening.
Any bed the woman lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean.
Anyone who touches her bed must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
Anyone who touches anything she sat on must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
Whether it is her bed or anything she sat on, when anyone touches it, they will be unclean till evening.
If a man has sexual relations with her and her monthly flow touches him, he will be unclean for seven days; any bed he lies on will be unclean.
When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period or a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge, just as in the days of her period.
Any bed she lies on while her discharge continues will be unclean, as is her bed during her monthly period, and anything she sits on will be unclean, as during her period.
Anyone who touches them will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
“‘When she is cleansed from her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be clean.
On the eighth day she must take two turtledoves or pigeons and bring them to the priest.
The priest is to sacrifice them, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, to make atonement for her.
“‘You must keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not defile my dwelling place which is among them.’
These are the regulations for a man with a discharge or an emission,
for a woman in her monthly period, and for anyone who is ceremonially unclean.