Leviticus 15 details laws concerning various bodily discharges that cause ritual uncleanness among the Israelites. It outlines regulations for men with a running issue or seminal emission, and for women with menstruation or abnormal blood flow. These conditions render individuals and anything they touch unclean, necessitating specific purification rituals. The chapter emphasizes the importance of these laws to maintain the purity of the community and prevent defilement of the Tabernacle.
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.
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.
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.
“‘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.
“‘When he who has a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall count to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes; and he shall bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean.
“‘On the eighth day he shall take two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the priest:
and the 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 the LORD for his discharge.
“‘If a woman has a discharge, and her discharge in her flesh is blood, she shall be in her impurity seven days: and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening.
“‘If a woman has a discharge of her blood 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 in the days of her period: she is unclean.
Every bed whereon she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her period: and everything whereon she sits shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her period.
The priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her before the LORD for the uncleanness of her discharge.
“‘Thus you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, so they will not die in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is in their midst.’”
and of her who has her period, and of a man or woman who has a discharge, and of him who lies with her who is unclean.
Study Notes for Leviticus 15
Verse 2
The 'running issue' refers to an abnormal, likely chronic, genital discharge, distinguishing it from normal seminal emission (v. 16). This condition resulted in prolonged ritual impurity.
Verse 3
The law clarifies that the uncleanness applies whether the flow is continuous or intermittent, emphasizing that the underlying pathological condition, rather than just the discharge itself, is the source of impurity.
Verse 4
This verse establishes the concept of transferable uncleanness. Objects touched by the person become unclean and can transmit impurity to others.
Verse 12
Earthenware vessels (pottery) were considered porous and absorbed the impurity permanently, thus requiring destruction. Wooden vessels, being less porous, could be cleansed by rinsing.
Verse 13
The cleansing process required a seven-day waiting period followed by bathing in 'running water' (or 'living water'), typically spring or river water, symbolizing complete purification and renewal.
Verse 15
The required offering included a sin offering (purification) and a burnt offering (dedication). This required atonement highlights the seriousness of such a prolonged state of impurity, which separated the individual from the holy space.
Verse 16
Unlike the chronic issue (v. 2), normal seminal emission results in a temporary impurity lasting only until the evening, requiring only bathing and washing of clothes.
Verse 18
Sexual intercourse, even within marriage, resulted in temporary ritual impurity for both parties, necessitating bathing before they could participate in sacred life.
Verse 19
This section defines the law of *niddah* (separation). The woman is ritually separated for seven days, and anything she touches or sits upon becomes secondarily unclean.
Verse 24
If a man violates the separation period, he inherits the full duration of her impurity (seven days), highlighting the intense, transferable nature of menstrual uncleanness.
Verse 25
This refers to abnormal, prolonged uterine bleeding (metrorrhagia), a condition functionally parallel to the male chronic issue (v. 2). The woman remains unclean for the entire duration of the flow.
Verse 28
The purification process mirrors that of the male (vv. 13-15), requiring a seven-day waiting period after cessation of the flow before sacrifices could be offered.
Verse 30
Atonement was required for the abnormal discharge, restoring the woman to full ritual purity and allowing her to re-engage with the Tabernacle community.
Verse 31
This verse provides the theological rationale for all purity laws: they ensure the holiness of the community and protect the Tabernacle from defilement, preventing the people from facing divine judgment ('that they die not').
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