1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man have a flux from his flesh, because of his flux he is unclean.
3 And this shall be his uncleanness in his flux: whether his flesh run with his flux, or his flesh be closed from his flux, it is his uncleanness.
4 Every bed whereon he lieth that hath the flux shall be unclean; and every object on which he sitteth shall be unclean.
5 And whoever toucheth his bed shall wash his garments, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even.
6 And he that sitteth on any object whereon he sat that hath the flux shall wash his garments, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even.
7 And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the flux shall wash his garments, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even.
8 And if he that hath the flux spit upon him that is clean, then he shall wash his garments, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even.
9 And what carriage soever he rideth upon that hath the flux shall be unclean.
10 And whoever toucheth anything that was under him shall be unclean until the even; and he that carrieth them shall wash his garments, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even.
11 And whomsoever he toucheth who hath the flux and hath not rinsed his hands in water -- he shall wash his garments, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even.
12 And the vessel of earth that he toucheth who hath the flux shall be broken; and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.
13 And when he that hath a flux is clean of his flux, then he shall count seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and he shall be clean.
14 And on the eighth day he shall take two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, and come before Jehovah unto the entrance of the tent of meeting, and give them unto the priest.
15 And the priest shall offer them, one as a sin-offering, and one as a burnt-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him before Jehovah for his flux.
16 And if any man's seed of copulation pass from him, then he shall bathe his whole flesh in water, and be unclean until the even.
17 And every garment, and every skin, whereon the seed of copulation shall be, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even.
18 And a woman with whom a man lieth with seed of copulation -- they shall bathe in water, and be unclean until the even.
19 And if a woman have a flux, and her flux in her flesh be blood, she shall be seven days in her separation, and whoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.
20 And everything that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean; and everything that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.
21 And whoever toucheth her bed shall wash his garments, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even.
22 And whoever toucheth any object that she sat upon shall wash his garments, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even.
23 And if it be on the bed, or on anything whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.
24 And if a man lie with her at all, and the uncleanness of her separation come upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.
25 And if a woman have her flux of blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if she have the flux beyond the time of her separation, all the days of the flux of her uncleanness shall she be as [in] the days of her separation: she is unclean.
26 Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her flux shall be unto her as the bed of her separation; and every object on which she sitteth shall be unclean, according to the uncleanness of her separation.
27 And whoever toucheth them shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even.
28 And if she be cleansed of her flux then she shall count seven days, and after that she shall be clean.
29 And on the eighth day she shall take two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, unto the entrance of the tent of meeting.
30 And the priest shall offer the one as a sin-offering, and the other as a burnt-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her before Jehovah for the flux of her uncleanness.
31 And ye shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is in their midst.
32 This is the law for him that hath a flux, and for the one whose seed of copulation goeth from him, and who is defiled therewith:
33 and for a woman who is sick in her separation, and for him that hath his flux; for the man and for the woman, and for him that lieth with her that is unclean.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Leviticus 15
Commentary on Leviticus 15 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 15
Le 15:1-18. Uncleanness of Men.
2. When any man hath a running issue—This chapter describes other forms of uncleanness, the nature of which is sufficiently intelligible in the text without any explanatory comment. Being the effects of licentiousness, they properly come within the notice of the legislator, and the very stringent rules here prescribed, both for the separation of the person diseased and for avoiding contamination from anything connected with him, were well calculated not only to prevent contagion, but to discourage the excesses of licentious indulgence.
9. what saddle … he rideth upon that hath the issue shall be unclean—(See on Ge 31:34).
12. the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken—It is thought that the pottery of the Israelites, like the earthenware jars in which the Egyptians kept their water, was unglazed and consequently porous, and that it was its porousness which, rendering it extremely liable to imbibe small particles of impure matter, was the reason why the vessel touched by an unclean person was ordered to be broken.
13, 14. then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing—Like a leprous person he underwent a week's probation, to make sure he was completely healed. Then with the sacrifices prescribed, the priest made an atonement for him, that is, offered the oblations necessary for the removal of his ceremonial defilement, as well as the typical pardon of his sins.
Le 15:19-33. Uncleanness of Women.
19. if a woman have an issue—Though this, like the leprosy, might be a natural affection, it was anciently considered contagious and entailed a ceremonial defilement which typified a moral impurity. This ceremonial defilement had to be removed by an appointed method of ceremonial expiation, and the neglect of it subjected any one to the guilt of defiling the tabernacle, and to death as the penalty of profane temerity.
31-33. Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness—The divine wisdom was manifested in inspiring the Israelites with a profound reverence for holy things; and nothing was more suited to this purpose than to debar from the tabernacle all who were polluted by any kind of uncleanness, ceremonial as well as natural, mental as well as physical. The better to mark out that people as His family, His servants and priests, dwelling in the camp as in a holy place, consecrated by His presence and His tabernacle, He required of them complete purity, and did not allow them to come before Him when defiled, even by involuntary or secret impurities, as a want of respect due to His majesty. And when we bear in mind that God was training a people to live in His presence in some measure as priests devoted to His service, we shall not consider these rules for the maintenance of personal purity either too stringent or too minute (1Th 4:4).