Leviticus 15 · WEB
Bodily Discharges and Ritual Purity
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Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
2"Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean.
3This shall be his uncleanness in his discharge: whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body has stopped from his discharge, it is his uncleanness.
4"'Every bed on which he who has the discharge lies shall be unclean; and everything on which he sits shall be unclean.
5Whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
6He who sits on anything on which the man who has the discharge sat shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
7He who touches the body of him who has the discharge shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
8If he who has the discharge spits on him who is clean, then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
9Whatever saddle he who has the discharge rides on shall be unclean.
10Whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until the evening. He who carries those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
11Whoever the man who has the discharge touches, without having rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
12The earthen vessel, which he who has the discharge touches, shall be broken; and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.
13"'When he who has a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes; and he shall bathe his body in running water, and shall be clean.
14On the eighth day he shall take for himself two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before Yahweh to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the priest.
15The priest shall offer them, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering. The priest shall make atonement for him before Yahweh for his discharge.
16"'If any man has an emission of semen, then he shall bathe all his body in water, and be unclean until the evening.
17Every garment, and every skin, on which the semen is, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the evening.
18If a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the evening.
19"'If a woman has a discharge, and her discharge in her flesh is blood, she shall be in her impurity for seven days. Whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening.
20Everything that she lies on in her impurity shall be unclean. Everything also that she sits on shall be unclean.
21Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
22Whoever touches anything that she sits on shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
23If it is on the bed, or on anything on which she sits, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until the evening.
24If any man lies with her, and her monthly flow is on him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.
25"'If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days not in the time of her period, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her period; all the days of the discharge of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her period. She is unclean.
26Every bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her monthly period. Everything on which she sits shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her monthly period.
27Whoever touches these things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
28"'But if she is cleansed of her discharge, then she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean.
29On the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and bring them to the priest, to the door of the Tent of Meeting.
30The priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering. The priest shall make atonement for her before Yahweh for the discharge of her uncleanness.
31"'Thus you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, so that they don't die in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.'"
32This is the law of him who has a discharge, and of him who has an emission of semen, and is unclean thereby;
33and of her who has her monthly period, and of a man or woman who has a discharge, and of him who lies with her who is unclean.
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Summary
Chapter 15 addresses ritual impurity caused by various bodily discharges — chronic male discharge (likely a sexually transmitted infection), seminal emission, menstruation, and prolonged female bleeding. Each condition renders the person ritually unclean for a period, with cleansing requiring washing, a waiting period, and in cases of chronic discharge, a sacrificial offering at the Tabernacle on the eighth day. The theological rationale is stated in verse 31: separating Israel from uncleanness so they do not defile God's Tabernacle and die. This chapter provides the background for the healing of the woman with a twelve-year hemorrhage in the Gospels.
Themes
- The whole person — including the physical body — exists within the realm of holiness
- Bodily life is not shameful but must be managed within the framework of covenant purity
- God's presence in the community requires careful maintenance of the conditions for that presence
- Restoration is always provided — cleansing is possible after every form of impurity
Key verses
- Lev 15:19 — “If a woman has a discharge, and her discharge in her flesh is blood, she shall be in her impurity for seven days.”
- Lev 15:25 — “If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days not in the time of her period... all the days of the discharge of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her period.”
- Lev 15:31 — “Thus you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, so that they don't die in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.”
Context & background
These laws were given at Sinai (modern Sinai Peninsula, Egypt) for a community living in close proximity in a desert camp, where disease management and community hygiene had profound practical implications. The ritual impurity associated with bodily discharges was not about shame or sin per se but about maintaining the conditions appropriate for Yahweh's holy presence in the Tabernacle at the center of the camp. The woman with a twelve-year hemorrhage (Mark 5:25-34, Luke 8:43-48) would have been perpetually unclean under Leviticus 15:25-27. Jesus' healing of her — and her touching him — is a powerful inversion of these laws, with holiness flowing from Jesus rather than impurity spreading from the woman.
Cross-references
- Ezek 36:25 — God promises to sprinkle clean water and cleanse Israel from all uncleanness
- Lev 12 — Childbirth impurity, parallel structure involving blood discharge and restoration
- Mark 5:25-34 — Jesus heals the woman with twelve years of hemorrhage, who was perpetually unclean per Lev 15:25
- Num 5:1-4 — Discharging persons are removed from the camp to protect its holiness
- Rev 22:14-15 — The final vision of the holy city where nothing unclean may enter, fulfilling the vision of Lev 15:31