Logos Bible Study

Leviticus 15:19–33

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Female Bodily Discharges

15:19“ ‘When a woman has a discharge28 and her discharge is blood from her body,29 she is to be in her menstruation30 seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening. 15:20Anything she lies on during her menstruation will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean. 15:21Anyone who touches her bed must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 15:22Anyone who touches any furniture she sits on must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 15:23If there is something on the bed or on the furniture she sits on,31 when he touches it32 he will be unclean until evening, 15:24and if a man actually has sexual intercourse with her so that her menstrual impurity touches him,33 then he will be unclean seven days and any bed he lies on will be unclean.

15:25“ ‘When a woman’s discharge of blood flows34 many days not at the time of her menstruation, or if it flows beyond the time of her menstruation,35 all the days of her discharge of impurity will be like the days of her menstruation—she is unclean. 15:26Any bed she lies on all the days of her discharge will be to her like the bed of her menstruation, any furniture she sits on will be unclean like the impurity of her menstruation, 15:27and anyone who touches them will be unclean, and he must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.36

Purity Regulations from Female Bodily Discharges

15:28“ ‘If37 she becomes clean from her discharge, then she is to count off for herself seven days, and afterward she will be clean. 15:29Then on the eighth day she must take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons38 and she must bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, 15:30and the priest is to make one a sin offering and the other a burnt offering.39 So the priest40 is to make atonement for her before the Lord from her discharge of impurity.

Summary of Purification Regulations for Bodily Discharges

15:31“ ‘Thus you41 are to set the Israelites apart from their impurity so that they42 do not die in their impurity by defiling my tabernacle which is in their midst. 15:32This is the law of the one with a discharge: the one who has a seminal emission43 and becomes unclean by it,4415:33the one who is sick in her menstruation, the one with a discharge, whether male or female,45 and a man46 who has sexual intercourse with an unclean woman.’ ”

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Footnotes

  1. 28 See the note on above.
  2. 29 Heb “blood shall be her discharge in her flesh.” The term “flesh” here refers euphemistically to the female sexual area (cf. the note on v. above).
  3. 30 See the note on and R. E. Averbeck, 1:.
  4. 31 Heb “and if on the bed it (הוּא, hu’) is or on the vessel which she sits on it, when he touches it.…” The translation and meaning of this verse is a subject of much debate in the commentaries (see the summary in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [], 1:). It is difficult to determine what הוּא refers to, whether it means “he” referring to the one who does the touching, “it” for the furniture or the seat in v. 22, “she” referring to the woman herself (see היא rather than הוא), or perhaps anything that was lying on the furniture or the bed of vv. 21–22. The latter view is taken here (cf. J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [], ).
  5. 32 The accent suggest that “when he touches it” goes with the preceding line, but it seems to be better to take it as an introduction to what follows (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [], ).
  6. 33 Heb “and if a man indeed lies with her and her menstrual impurity is on him.”
  7. 34 Heb “And a woman when the flow of her blood flows.”
  8. 35 Heb “in not the time of her menstruation or when it flows on her menstruation.”
  9. 36 See the note on v. above.
  10. 37 Heb “And if …” Although this clause is parallel to v. 13 above, it begins with וְאִם (vé’im, “and if”) here rather than וְכִי (vékhi, “and when/if”) there.
  11. 38 Heb “from the sons of the pigeon,” referring either to “young pigeons” or “various species of pigeon” (contrast J. Milgrom, Leviticus [], 1: with J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [], ; cf. Lev 1:14 and esp. 5:7–10).
  12. 39 Heb “And the priest shall make the one a sin offering and the one a burnt offering.”
  13. 40 Heb “And the priest.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
  14. 41 Heb “And you shall.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here (cf. , , , , ).
  15. 42 Heb “and they.” Here the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) indicates a negative purpose (“lest,” so , ).
  16. 43 Heb “and who a lying of seed goes out from him.”
  17. 44 Heb “to become unclean in it.”
  18. 45 Heb “and the one with a discharge, his discharge to the male and the female.”
  19. 46 Heb “and for a man.”