Leviticus 15

The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He said:

1And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying,

Note"The LORD" in small capitals stands in for the personal name of Israel's God, written in Hebrew with four consonants (YHWH); Jewish readers traditionally do not pronounce it and say "the Lord" instead. Aaron is Moses' brother and the chief priest, so these rules are addressed to the men who will have to administer them.

2"Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any man has a discharge running from his body, that discharge makes him unclean.

2Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean.

Note"Unclean" translates a Hebrew term for ritual status, not dirtiness and not sin. An unclean person is temporarily barred from the sanctuary and from holy food, and can pass the status on to other people and objects by contact. It is a condition to be waited out and washed off, not a wrong to be repented of. "Body" here is literally "flesh," a standard Hebrew euphemism for the genitals. The discharge in view is an abnormal, ongoing one; a normal emission of semen is dealt with separately in verse 16. The text never names a disease, and no ancient or modern diagnosis is certain.

3This is how his discharge makes him unclean: whether his body lets the discharge flow, or his body is blocked so it does not flow, it is uncleanness.

3And 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.

NoteThe Hebrew of this verse is difficult, and translators divide over it. The sense is that the man counts as unclean whether the discharge is flowing freely or his body is blocked and it is not visibly running, the condition itself, not the flow at a given moment, is what matters.

4Any bed that the man with the discharge lies on is unclean, and anything he sits on will be unclean.

4Every bed, whereon he lieth that hath the issue, is unclean: and every thing, whereon he sitteth, shall be unclean.

NoteBeds and seats are singled out throughout this chapter because they take the weight of the body over time; they are treated as the main carriers of the condition to other people.

5Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he will be unclean until evening.

5And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

NoteThe Israelite day ran from sunset to sunset, so "until evening" means the status ended at nightfall of the same day. Washing and waiting both had to happen: the water alone did not end it.

6Anyone who sits on something that the man with the discharge sat on must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he will be unclean until evening.

6And 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.

7Anyone who touches the body of the man with the discharge must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he will be unclean until evening.

7And 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.

8If the man with the discharge spits on someone who is clean, that person must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he will be unclean until evening.

8And 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.

NoteSaliva counts as a carrier in the same way the discharge itself does.

9Any saddle that the man with the discharge rides on will be unclean.

9And what saddle soever he rideth upon that hath the issue shall be unclean.

Note"Saddle" covers any seat, pad or frame a rider sits in on a donkey, mule or camel, horses were rare in ordinary Israelite life. The point is the same as with beds and chairs: the rider's weight rests on it.

10Anyone who touches anything that was under him will be unclean until evening. Anyone who carries any of those things must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he will be unclean until evening.

10And 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.

11If the man with the discharge touches someone without having rinsed his hands in water, the person he touched must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he will be unclean until evening.

11And 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.

NoteThis is the one measure in the chapter that the affected man himself can take. Rinsing his hands beforehand prevents his touch from passing the condition on, otherwise ordinary contact does.

12Any clay pot that the man with the discharge touches must be broken, and every wooden container must be rinsed with water.

12And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.

NoteUnfired or lightly fired clay is porous: liquid soaks into the wall of the pot and cannot be scoured out, so the vessel is destroyed. Wood is dense enough to be rinsed clean and kept. Clay pots were cheap, everyday household items; breaking one was a small loss.

13When the man with the discharge is made clean from his discharge, he must count off seven days for his cleansing. He must wash his clothes and bathe his body in fresh running water, and then he will be clean.

13And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean.

NoteThe seven days are counted after the discharge has stopped, as a waiting period before the cleansing is completed. "Fresh running water" is literally "living water" in Hebrew, water from a spring, stream or flowing well, as opposed to standing water or water drawn and stored in a jar.

14On the eighth day he must take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, come before the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and give the birds to the priest.

14And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and give them unto the priest:

NoteTurtledoves and pigeons were the cheapest sacrificial animals allowed, and elsewhere in Leviticus they are named as the option for people who cannot afford a sheep. The tent of meeting was the portable tent-sanctuary Israel carried and set up in the middle of the camp; its entrance was as far as a person who was not a priest could go.

15The priest will offer them, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the LORD because of his discharge.

15And the priest shall offer them, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD for his issue.

NoteThe Hebrew term rendered "sin offering" is built on a verb meaning to cleanse or de-contaminate, and many scholars translate it "purification offering"; here it removes ritual impurity, and no wrongdoing on the man's part is implied. A "burnt offering" is an animal burned up entirely on the altar rather than shared as food. "Make atonement" translates a verb whose basic sense is to wipe off or purge, what is being purged is the contamination.

16If a man has an emission of semen, he must wash his whole body in water, and he will be unclean until evening.

16And if any man’s seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even.

NoteThis covers a normal emission, including one during sleep. Note how much lighter the requirement is than for the chronic discharge of verses 2–15: a wash and a wait until nightfall, with no offering and no waiting period.

17Any clothing and any leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be unclean until evening.

17And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even.

Note"Leather" is literally "skin", tanned animal hide, used for clothing, bedding, straps and containers, and a normal household material.

18When a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both of them must bathe themselves in water, and they will be unclean until evening.

18The woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even.

NoteOrdinary sex between a husband and wife leaves both of them unclean until nightfall. This is one of the clearest signs that "unclean" in this system carries no suggestion of wrongdoing: the law elsewhere commands marriage and children.

19When a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she must be set apart for seven days. Anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening.

19And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.

NoteThe Hebrew word for a woman in this state is *niddah*, which came to be the standard term for menstruation. The seven days run from the start of the period, whatever its actual length. "Set apart" translates the same root: she is kept from contact rather than sent away from the household, though later Jewish practice varied in how strictly this was applied.

20Anything she lies on while she is set apart will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean.

20And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.

21Anyone who touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he will be unclean until evening.

21And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

22Anyone who touches anything she sat on must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he will be unclean until evening.

22And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

23And if it is on her bed, or on anything she sits on, whoever touches it will be unclean until evening.

23And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.

24If a man lies with her at all and her monthly flow is on him, he will be unclean for seven days, and any bed he lies on will be unclean.

24And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.

NoteWhere the plain rendering has "monthly flow," the King James has "her flowers", "flowers" was ordinary seventeenth-century English for menstrual flow, unrelated to the modern sense. The man in this case takes on the woman's full seven-day status rather than the usual until-evening one. Note that Leviticus 18:19 and 20:18 forbid intercourse during menstruation outright and attach a severe penalty, while this verse states only that impurity results; the two rules stand side by side in the book without being reconciled.

25If a woman has a flow of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period, or if it goes on past the time of her period, then for as long as her unclean discharge lasts she will be unclean, just as she is during the days of her period.

25And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean.

NoteThis paragraph covers prolonged or irregular bleeding outside the normal cycle. Unlike a period, which ends on a fixed schedule, this condition leaves the woman unclean for as long as it lasts, however many months or years that may be, the female counterpart of the man's chronic discharge in verses 2–15.

26Every bed she lies on during the days of her discharge will be to her like the bed she lies on during her period, and anything she sits on will be unclean, as in the uncleanness of her period.

26Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her separation: and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her separation.

27Anyone who touches those things will be unclean. He must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he will be unclean until evening.

27And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

28But if she is made clean from her discharge, she must count off seven days for herself, and after that she will be clean.

28But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean.

NoteAs with the man in verse 13, the seven days begin only after the discharge has stopped. This differs from a normal period, where the seven days are counted from the onset.

29On the eighth day she must take two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

29And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

30The priest will offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her before the LORD because of her unclean discharge.

30And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before the LORD for the issue of her uncleanness.

31This is how you are to keep the Israelites separate from the things that make them unclean, so that they do not die in their uncleanness by making my tabernacle unclean, the tabernacle that stands among them.

31Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.

NoteThe tabernacle was the tent-sanctuary understood as God's dwelling in the middle of the camp. The logic assumed here is that impurity is contagious and travels: if people in an unclean state carry on as normal, the contamination reaches the sanctuary itself, and the text states that the consequence is death without explaining the mechanism.

32This is the law for the man who has a discharge, and for the man who has an emission of semen and is made unclean by it,

32This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed goeth from him, and is defiled therewith;

Note"This is the law of..." is a standard closing formula in Leviticus, marking the end of a block of instruction and summarizing the cases it covered.

33and for the woman who is unwell with her monthly flow, and for anyone with a discharge, whether man or woman, and for the man who lies with a woman who is unclean.

33And of her that is sick of her flowers, and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and of the woman, and of him that lieth with her that is unclean.