Leviticus 15:18

Translations

Modern

If a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both must bathe with water, and they will remain unclean until evening.

Traditional

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

Literal

And a woman that a man lies with, and there is seed from lying, then they shall bathe in the water, and they be unclean until the evening.

Latin

Mulier, cum qua coierit, lavabitur aqua, et immunda erit usque ad vesperum.

Original

Hebrew

English

If a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both must bathe with water, and they will remain unclean until evening.

Notes

Leviticus 15:18

If a man had a seminal emission during sexual intercourse, both he and the woman became unclean. They had to wash and remain unclean until evening. This was because of a natural bodily emission, not because of infection or disease, and no sacrifice was required.

Leviticus 15:1–33

The idea of normal and abnormal, along with the created order, helps interpret these rules (see “Clean, Unclean, and Holy” Theme Note). Bodily discharges, like infections (see study note on Leviticus 13:1–46), were not considered "normal" because they weakened a person's health. This made the person seem incomplete. Whether male (15:1–18) or female (15:19–33), such a person became unclean.

Theme notes and profiles

Bathsheba Ancient Law Codes Clean, Unclean, and Holy

Related verses

1 Peter 2:11
Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.
Ephesians 5:3–11
But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed.
1 Corinthians 6:12
“Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything.
Exodus 19:15
“Be prepared for the third day,” he said to the people. “Do not draw near to a woman.”
Ephesians 4:17–19
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
1 Thessalonians 4:3–5
For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality;
Leviticus 15:5
Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
2 Timothy 2:22
Flee from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Psalm 51:5
Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.
1 Samuel 21:4–5
“There is no common bread on hand,” the priest replied, “but there is some consecrated bread—provided that the young men have kept themselves from women.”
1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

Glossary

Bathe, Bathing Biblical Concept of Law Blood, Flow of Cleanness and Uncleanness, Regulations Concerning Deuteronomy, Book of Hemorrhage History of Israel John the Baptist Law of Moses Leviticus, Book of Medicine and Medical Practice Offerings and Sacrifices Priesthood Worship

Topics

Purification: Scriptures Relating To Sanitation: Contagion Sanitation: Disinfection Sanitation: Venereal Diseases

Leviticus 15:18

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Original?

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Related verses?

Glossary?

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Translations

Original

Notes

Related verses

Glossary

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