Leviticus 15:16-24
New English Translation
16 “‘When a man has a seminal emission,[a] he must bathe his whole body in water[b] and be unclean until evening, 17 and he must wash in water any clothing or leather that has semen on it, and it will be unclean until evening. 18 As for a woman whom a man goes to bed with, then has a seminal emission,[c] they must bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
Female Bodily Discharges
19 “‘When a woman has a discharge[d] and her discharge is blood from her body,[e] she is to be in her menstruation[f] seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening. 20 Anything she lies on during her menstruation will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean. 21 Anyone who touches her bed must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 22 Anyone who touches any furniture she sits on must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 23 If there is something on the bed or on the furniture she sits on,[g] when he touches it[h] he will be unclean until evening, 24 and if a man actually goes to bed[i] with her so that her menstrual impurity touches him,[j] then he will be unclean seven days and any bed he lies on will be unclean.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Leviticus 15:16 tn Heb “And a man when a lying of seed goes out from him”; KJV, ASV “any man’s seed of copulation”; NIV, NRSV, TEV, NLT “an emission of semen.”
- Leviticus 15:16 tn Heb “and he shall bathe all his flesh in water.”
- Leviticus 15:18 tn Heb “And a woman whom a man lies down with her, a lying of seed.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) “to lie down” can imply going to bed for sexual relations. The phrase “a lying down of seed” or “an emission of seed” is adverbial, specifying the circumstance with which the regulation is concerned.
- Leviticus 15:19 tn See the note on Lev 15:2 above.
- Leviticus 15:19 tn Heb “blood shall be her discharge in her flesh.” The term “flesh” here refers euphemistically to the female sexual area (cf. the note on v. 2 above).
- Leviticus 15:19 tn See the note on Lev 12:2 and R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 1:925-27.
- Leviticus 15:23 tn Heb “and if on the bed it (הוּא, huʾ) is or on the vessel which she sits on it, when he touches it….” The translation and meaning of this verse is a subject of much debate in the commentaries (see the summary in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:938-40). It is difficult to determine what הוּא refers to, whether it means “he” referring to the one who does the touching, “it” for the furniture or the seat in v. 22, “she” referring to the woman herself (see Smr היא rather than הוא), or perhaps anything that was lying on the furniture or the bed of vv. 21-22. The latter view is taken here (cf. J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 202).
- Leviticus 15:23 tn The MT accent suggests that “when he touches it” goes with the preceding line, but it seems to be better to take it as an introduction to what follows (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 202).
- Leviticus 15:24 tn Heb “actually lies down with.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) “to lie down” acts as a euphemism, implying going to bed for sexual relations.
- Leviticus 15:24 tn Heb “and if a man indeed lies with her and her menstrual impurity is on him.”
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