Leviticus 15: Discharges, Uncleanness, and the Path to Cleansing

Leviticus 15 works through a series of bodily conditions, each one treated with the same careful attention to contact, sequence, and time. It opens with a man who has a bodily discharge. The result is uncleanness, and the law follows that uncleanness wherever it goes.

Whatever the man lies on becomes unclean. Whatever he sits on becomes unclean. Anyone who touches those things must wash their clothes, bathe in water, and wait until evening. The chain extends from the man to his bed to a saddle, from a wooden vessel to an earthen vessel that cannot be cleaned and must be broken. The law does not allow for loose boundaries.

When the discharge stops, the man counts seven days, washes his clothes, and bathes in running water. On the eighth day he brings two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting. One bird is for a sin offering, the other for a burnt offering. The cleansing is completed before the Lord, not treated as a private matter.

The chapter then addresses the emission of seed. The man washes his whole body and remains unclean until evening. Garments or skins that come into contact with the seed must also be washed. When a man and woman lie together under these conditions, both wash and both remain unclean until evening.

The same structure applies to a woman during her monthly period. For seven days she is in a state of impurity. Whoever touches her is unclean until evening. Her bed and whatever she sits on carry that same uncleanness. If a man lies with her during that time, he shares it.

The chapter also addresses a woman whose bleeding continues beyond the ordinary period. The uncleanness extends with it. When the discharge ends, she counts seven days. On the eighth day she brings two birds to the priest, and atonement is made for her.

The final verses explain why all of this matters. Israel must be kept separate from uncleanness so they do not die by defiling the tabernacle that stands in their midst. God dwells among his people, and that is what gives the chapter its weight. Every washing, every waiting period, every offering at the tent of meeting follows from that fact.