3 And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness.
4 Every bed, whereon he lieth that hath the issue, is unclean: and every thing, whereon he sitteth, shall be unclean.
5 And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
6 And he that sitteth on any thing whereon he sat that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
7 And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
8 And if he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
9 And what saddle soever he rideth upon that hath the issue shall be unclean.
10 And whosoever toucheth any thing that was under him shall be unclean until the even: and he that beareth any of those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
11 And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
12 And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.
3 And this shall be his uncleanness H2932 in his issue: H2101 whether his flesh H1320 run H7325 with his issue, H2101 or his flesh H1320 be stopped H2856 from his issue, H2101 it is his uncleanness. H2932
4 Every bed, H4904 whereon he lieth H7901 that hath the issue, H2100 is unclean: H2930 and every thing, H3627 whereon he sitteth, H3427 shall be unclean. H2930
5 And whosoever H376 toucheth H5060 his bed H4904 shall wash H3526 his clothes, H899 and bathe H7364 himself in water, H4325 and be unclean H2930 until the even. H6153
6 And he that sitteth H3427 on any thing H3627 whereon he sat H3427 that hath the issue H2100 shall wash H3526 his clothes, H899 and bathe H7364 himself in water, H4325 and be unclean H2930 until the even. H6153
7 And he that toucheth H5060 the flesh H1320 of him that hath the issue H2100 shall wash H3526 his clothes, H899 and bathe H7364 himself in water, H4325 and be unclean H2930 until the even. H6153
8 And if he that hath the issue H2100 spit H7556 upon him that is clean; H2889 then he shall wash H3526 his clothes, H899 and bathe H7364 himself in water, H4325 and be unclean H2930 until the even. H6153
9 And what saddle H4817 soever he rideth H7392 upon that hath the issue H2100 shall be unclean. H2930
10 And whosoever toucheth H5060 any thing that was under him shall be unclean H2930 until the even: H6153 and he that beareth H5375 any of those things shall wash H3526 his clothes, H899 and bathe H7364 himself in water, H4325 and be unclean H2930 until the even. H6153
11 And whomsoever he toucheth H5060 that hath the issue, H2100 and hath not rinsed H7857 his hands H3027 in water, H4325 he shall wash H3526 his clothes, H899 and bathe H7364 himself in water, H4325 and be unclean H2930 until the even. H6153
12 And the vessel H3627 of earth, H2789 that he toucheth H5060 which hath the issue, H2100 shall be broken: H7665 and every vessel H3627 of wood H6086 shall be rinsed H7857 in water. H4325
3 And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness.
4 Every bed whereon he that hath the issue lieth shall be unclean; and everything whereon he sitteth shall be unclean.
5 And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
6 And he that sitteth on anything whereon he that hath the issue sat shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
7 And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
8 And if he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean, then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
9 And what saddle soever he that hath the issue rideth upon shall be unclean.
10 And whosoever toucheth anything that was under him shall be unclean until the even: and he that beareth those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
11 And whomsoever he that hath the issue toucheth, without having rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
12 And the earthen vessel, which he that hath the issue toucheth, shall be broken; and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.
3 and this is his uncleanness in his issue -- his flesh hath run with his issue, or his flesh hath stopped from his issue; it `is' his uncleanness.
4 `All the bed on which he lieth who hath the issue is unclean, and all the vessel on which he sitteth is unclean;
5 and any one who cometh against his bed doth wash his garments, and hath bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening.
6 `And he who is sitting on the vessel on which he sitteth who hath the issue, doth wash his garments, and hath bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening.
7 `And he who is coming against the flesh of him who hath the issue, doth wash his garments, and hath bathed with water, and hath been unclean till the evening.
8 `And when he who hath the issue spitteth on him who is clean, then he hath washed his garments, and hath bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening.
9 `And all the saddle on which he rideth who hath the issue is unclean;
10 and any one who is coming against anything which is under him is unclean till the evening, and he who is bearing them doth wash his garments, and hath bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening.
11 `And anyone against whom he cometh who hath the issue (and his hands hath not rinsed with water) hath even washed his garments, and bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening.
12 `And the earthen vessel which he who hath the issue cometh against is broken; and every wooden vessel is rinsed with water.
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.
3 This 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 whereon he who has the discharge lies shall be unclean; and everything he sits on shall be unclean.
5 Whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
6 He who sits on anything whereon the man who has the discharge sat shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
7 "'He 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.
8 "'If 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.
9 "'Whatever saddle he who has the discharge rides on shall be unclean.
10 Whoever 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.
11 "'Whoever he 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.
12 "'The earthen vessel, which he who has the discharge touches, shall be broken; and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.
3 If the flow goes on or if the part is stopped up, to keep back the flow, he is still unclean.
4 Every bed on which he has been resting will be unclean, and everything on which he has been seated will be unclean.
5 And anyone touching his bed is to have his clothing washed and his body bathed in water and be unclean till evening.
6 And he who has been seated on anything on which the unclean man has been seated is to have his clothing washed and his body bathed in water and be unclean till evening.
7 And anyone touching the flesh of the unclean man is to have his clothing washed and his body bathed in water and be unclean till evening.
8 And if liquid from the mouth of the unclean man comes on to him who is clean, then he is to have his clothing washed and his body bathed in water and be unclean till evening.
9 And any leather seat on a horse on which the unclean man has been seated will be unclean.
10 And anyone touching anything which was under him will be unclean till the evening; anyone taking up any of these things is to have his clothing washed and his body bathed in water and be unclean till evening.
11 And anyone on whom the unclean man puts his hands, without washing them in water, is to have his clothing washed and his body bathed in water and be unclean till evening.
12 And any vessel of earth which has been touched by the unclean man will have to be broken and any vessel of wood washed.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Leviticus 15
Commentary on Leviticus 15 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The Uncleanness of Secretions. - These include (1) a running issue from a man (Leviticus 15:2-15); (2) involuntary emission of seed (Leviticus 15:16, Leviticus 15:17), and the emission of seed in sexual intercourse (Leviticus 15:18); (3) the monthly period of a woman (Leviticus 15:19-24); (4) a diseased issue of blood from a woman (Leviticus 15:25-30). They consist, therefore, of two diseased and two natural secretions from the organs of generation.
The running issue from a man is not described with sufficient clearness for us to be able to determine with certainty what disease is referred to: “if a man becomes flowing out of his flesh, he is unclean in his flux.” That even here the term flesh is not a euphemism for the organ of generation, as is frequently assumed, is evident from Leviticus 15:13, “he shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water,” when compared with Leviticus 16:23-24, Leviticus 16:28, etc., where flesh cannot possibly have any such meaning. The “flesh” is the body as in Leviticus 15:7, “whoever touches the flesh of him that hath the issue,” as compared with Leviticus 15:19, “whosoever toucheth her.” At the same time, the agreement between the law relating to the man with an issue and that concerning the woman with an issue (Leviticus 15:19, “her issue in her flesh”) points unmistakeably to a secretion from the sexual organs. Only the seat of the disease is not more closely defined. The issue of the man is not a hemorrhoidal disease, for nothing is said about a flow of blood; still less is it a syphilitic suppuration ( gonorrhaea virulenta ), for the occurrence of this at all in antiquity is very questionable; but it is either a diseased flow of semen ( gonorrhaea ), i.e., an involuntary flow drop by drop arising from weakness of the organ, as Jerome and the Rabbins assume, or more probably, simply blenorrhaea urethrae , a discharge of mucus arising from a catarrhal affection of the mucous membrane of the urethra ( urethritis ). The participle זב יהיה is expressive of continued duration. In Leviticus 15:3 the uncleanness is still more closely defined: “whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh closes before his issue,” i.e., whether the member lets the matter flow out or by closing retains it, “it is his uncleanness,” i.e., in the latter case as well as the former it is uncleanness to him, he is unclean. For the “closing” is only a temporary obstruction, brought about by some particular circumstance.
Every bed upon which he lay, and everything upon which he sat, was defiled in consequence; also every one who touched his bed (Leviticus 15:5), or sat upon it (Leviticus 15:6), or touched his flesh, i.e., his body (Leviticus 15:7), was unclean, and had to bathe himself and wash his clothes in consequence.
The conveyance in which such a man rode was also unclean, as well as everything under him; and whoever touched them was defiled till the evening, and the person who carried them was to wash his clothes and bathe himself.
This also applied to every one whom the man with an issue might touch, without first rinsing his hands in water.
Vessels that he had touched were to be broken to pieces if they were of earthenware, and rinsed with water if they were of wood, for the reasons explained in Leviticus 11:33 and Leviticus 6:21.
When he was cleansed, i.e., recovered from his issue, he was to wait seven days with regard to his purification, and then wash his clothes and bathe his body in fresh water, and be clean. On the eighth day he was to bring two turtle-doves or young pigeons, in order that the priest might prepare one as a sin-offering and the other as a burnt-offering, and make an atonement for him before the Lord for his issue.
Involuntary emission of seed . - This defiled for the whole of the day, not only the man himself, but any garment or skin upon which any of it had come, and required for purification that the whole body should be bathed, and the polluted things washed.
Sexual connection . “If a man lie with a woman with the emission of seed, both shall be unclean till the evening, and bathe themselves in water.” Consequently it was not the concubitus as such which defiled, as many erroneously suppose, but the emission of seed in the coitus . This explains the law and custom, of abstaining from conjugal intercourse during the preparation for acts of divine worship, or the performance of the same (Exodus 19:5; 1 Samuel 21:5-6; 2 Samuel 11:4), in which many other nations resembled the Israelites. (For proofs see Leyrer's article in Herzog's Cyclopaedia, and Knobel in loco , though the latter is wrong in supposing that conjugal intercourse itself defiled.)
The menses of a woman . - “If a woman have an issue, (if) blood is her issue in her flesh, she shall be seven days in her uncleanness.” As the discharge does not last as a rule more than four or five days, the period of seven days was fixed on account of the significance of the number seven. In this condition she rendered every one who touched her unclean (Leviticus 15:19), everything upon which she lay or sat (Leviticus 15:20), every one who touched her bed or whatever she sat upon (Leviticus 15:21, Leviticus 15:22), also any one who touched the blood upon her bed or seat (Leviticus 15:23, where הוּא and בּו are to be referred to דּם ); and they remained unclean till the evening, when they had to wash their clothes and bathe themselves.
If a man lay with her and her uncleanness came upon him, he became unclean for seven days, and the bed upon which he lay became unclean as well. The meaning cannot be merely if he lie upon the same bed with her, but if he have conjugal intercourse, as is evident from Leviticus 20:18 and Numbers 5:13 (cf. Genesis 26:10; Genesis 34:2; Genesis 35:22; 1 Samuel 2:22). It cannot be adduced as an objection to this explanation, which is the only admissible one, that according to Leviticus 18:19 and Leviticus 20:18 intercourse with a woman during her menses was an accursed crime, to be punished by extermination. For the law in Leviticus 20:18 refers partly to conjugal intercourse during the hemorrhage of a woman after child-birth, as the similarity of the words in Leviticus 20:18 and Leviticus 12:7 ( דּמיה מקור ) clearly proves, and to the case of a man attempting cohabitation with a woman during her menstruation. The verse before us, on the contrary, refers simply to the possibility of menstruation commencing during the act of conjugal intercourse, when the man would be involuntarily defiled through the unexpected uncleanness of the woman.
Diseased issue from a woman . - If an issue of blood in a woman flowed many days away from (not in) the time of her monthly uncleanness, or if it flowed beyond her monthly uncleanness, she was to be unclean as long as her unclean issue continued, just as in the days of her monthly uncleanness, and she defiled her couch as well as everything upon which she sat, as in the other case, also every one who touched either her or these things.
After the issue had ceased, she was to purify herself like the man with an issue, as described in Leviticus 15:13-15. - Obedience to these commands is urged in Leviticus 15:31 : “Cause that the children of Israel free themselves from their uncleanness, that they die not through their uncleanness, by defiling My dwelling in the midst of them.” הזּיר , Hiphil , to cause that a person keeps aloof from anything, or loosens himself from it, from נזר , Niphal to separate one's self, signifies here deliverance from the state of uncleanness, purification from it. Continuance in it was followed by death, not merely in the particular instance in which an unclean man ventured to enter the sanctuary, but as a general fact, because uncleanness as irreconcilable with the calling of Israel to be a holy nation, in the midst of which Jehovah the Holy One had His dwelling-place (Leviticus 11:44), and continuance in uncleanness without the prescribed purification was a disregard of the holiness of Jehovah, and involved rebellion against Him and His ordinances of grace.
Concluding formula . The words, “ him that lieth with her that is unclean, ” are more general than the expression, “lie with her,” in Leviticus 15:24, and involve not only intercourse with an unclean woman, but lying by her side upon one and the same bed.