Leviticus 15
BSASBThis chapter deals with bodily discharges, both ongoing ones from illness and normal ones from sexual life and the menstrual cycle. They made a person ceremonially unclean, which was a state of ritual separation and not a sin. The rules protect the holiness of God’s dwelling among the people. They also show how cleansing is reached, through waiting, water and, for lasting discharges, sacrifice.
Leviticus 15:1-2
God speaks to Moses and Aaron together, since the priests must teach and apply these rules. A man with a flowing bodily discharge, probably from some illness, is called unclean. Uncleanness here means being barred from the holy place for a time. It does not mean the man has done wrong.
BSA: discharge (“flow, issue, as in a continuous movement”): The word pictures a flow that keeps running, which marks this as an ongoing condition and not a single event.
Hebrew: זוֹב (zov, H2100) — “a flowing, a running issue.” The Hebrew comes from a verb meaning to flow or gush. It is the same word used of the land ‘flowing’ with milk and honey. Here the flowing is a sign of a body out of order.
Leviticus 15:3
The man is unclean whether the discharge is running or has temporarily stopped. The condition itself, and not only its visible sign, keeps him unclean. His state is settled by the law and not by how he feels, so he cannot decide on his own that he is fine.
BSA: blocks (“stops, seals”): Even when the flow is sealed up for a while, the man’s condition still counts until he is properly cleansed.
Leviticus 15:4-6
Uncleanness spreads by contact. The man’s bed and seat become unclean, and anyone who touches them must wash his clothes, bathe, and wait until evening. The rule is thorough but short-lived: a simple washing and a day’s wait restore the one affected.
BSA: bathe (“immerse, cleanse the body”): The bathing was a full washing of the body, a clear sign of being made fit to return to the community.
Hebrew: עֶרֶב (erev, H6153) — “evening, sunset.” In Israel’s reckoning the day ends at sunset. ‘Until evening’ therefore means the uncleanness lasts to the end of that day, and a new day begins clean.
Leviticus 15:7-8
Touching the sick man’s body, or being spat on by him, also brings uncleanness until evening. The laws recognize that ordinary life puts people in contact with the unclean, and they give a simple way back. They also treat the sick man’s condition seriously.
BSA: spits (“to spit, in contempt”): Spittle is a way the unclean state could pass to another person, even without a deliberate touch.
Leviticus 15:9-10
What the man rides on, or anything beneath him, carries his uncleanness. Touching such things means uncleanness until evening. Carrying them is more involved than touching, so the carrier must also wash his clothes and bathe. The more contact a person has, the more care is required.
Leviticus 15:11-12
If the man rinses his hands first, his touch does not pass uncleanness on, which is a sensible measure. A clay pot he touches must be broken, because its porous surface cannot be cleaned. A wooden utensil can simply be rinsed. Different materials call for different treatment.
BSA: broken (“shattered, ruptured”): A pot that cannot be made clean is destroyed, which shows how seriously uncleanness was treated.
Leviticus 15:13
When the discharge has stopped, the man counts seven full days, washes his clothes, and bathes in fresh water. Then he is clean. Healing does not make him clean at once. There is a waiting period to be sure, and then a visible washing.
BSA: fresh (“running, living”): The water is living water, such as a spring or stream, which suggests renewal and life replacing the flow of sickness.
Hebrew: מַיִם חַיִּים (mayim chayyim, H4325) — “living water.” Hebrew calls flowing water ’living’ water. It is fresh and moving and is the opposite of stagnant, so cleansing is connected with life.
See also: Ezekiel 36:25.
Leviticus 15:14-15
On the eighth day he brings two birds to the priest at the Tent entrance. One is a sin offering and one a burnt offering. Through these the priest makes atonement. The man is restored to full fellowship with God and not just to ritual cleanness. Birds were the offering of the poor.
BSA: atonement (“to cover, reconcile”): Atonement covers what stands between the person and God and brings him back into fellowship.
Hebrew: כִּפֶּר (kipper, H3722) — “to cover, to make atonement.” The word carries the idea of covering over and making right. It shows the sacrifice as God’s way of removing what blocks a person’s approach to Him.
See also: Luke 2:22-24; Leviticus 12:8.
Leviticus 15:16-17
A normal emission of semen calls for a bath and uncleanness until evening. Anything it touches is washed. This is an ordinary part of life and no sin. The law marks it as a moment when a person needs to stop and be cleansed before returning to holy things.
BSA: semen (“seed, layer of something”): The word is literally ‘seed,’ a reminder that this body fluid belongs to the beginning of new life.
Leviticus 15:18
When a husband and wife have relations, both bathe and are unclean until evening. Marital relations are not forbidden or called sinful. The law just shows that even good gifts of God bring a brief pause before one returns to the holy place. Marriage itself is held in honor elsewhere in Scripture.
See also: Deuteronomy 23:10-11.
Leviticus 15:19
A woman’s monthly flow makes her unclean for seven days, and anyone touching her is unclean until evening. Blood stands for life, and its loss here is a reminder of life’s fragility. This was a ritual separation and not a moral judgment on her.
BSA: blood (“the liquid essential for life”): Because blood represents life, its flowing out is treated with the same seriousness as the other signs of life’s loss.
Hebrew: נִדָּה (niddah, H5079) — “impurity of separation, monthly period.” The word is related to the idea of being set apart or moved away. It describes a time of temporary separation and not a lasting stain.
See also: Leviticus 17:11.
Leviticus 15:20-23
What she lies or sits on during her period becomes unclean, and anyone touching those things must wash, bathe, and wait until evening. The pattern matches the rules for the sick man. Uncleanness spreads by contact, and a bath and a day’s wait remove it.
Leviticus 15:24
If a man has relations with her and her flow touches him, he is unclean for seven days, the same period as hers. His bed also becomes unclean. Here the husband shares her state and her time of waiting, and so is bound to her by the law.
Leviticus 15:25-27
A woman with a long-lasting flow outside her normal period is unclean for the whole time, and the same rules about her bed, seat and touch apply. Such a woman could be cut off from worship and from normal contact for many years. Jesus later met such a woman with compassion.
BSA: continues (“to flow, runs”): The word describes a flow that keeps running past its normal limit, which marks the condition as abnormal.
See also: Mark 5:25-34.
Leviticus 15:28
When the flow ends, she counts seven days. After that she is ceremonially clean. As with the man, the waiting is part of the cleansing. The law gives a clear point when she may return to normal life and worship.
BSA: count off (“recount, number to herself”): She keeps the count herself, taking personal responsibility for her return to cleanness.
Leviticus 15:29-30
On the eighth day she brings two birds to the priest at the Tent entrance. One is a sin offering and one a burnt offering, and the priest makes atonement for her. Her return is completed before the LORD and not just by her own washing. She too is received back into fellowship with God.
See also: Hebrews 9:13-14.
Leviticus 15:31
The purpose of all these laws is stated here. God’s dwelling is among His people, and uncleanness carried carelessly into it could bring death. Keeping the people separate from uncleanness protects them. It reminds them that holiness is serious and that God’s presence is a gift to be honored.
BSA: tabernacle (“holy tent, sacred dwelling place”): The tabernacle is God’s dwelling place, so what happens there is no small matter. defiling (“making foul, contaminating”): The danger is that uncleanness would foul the place where God lives among His people.
Hebrew: מִשְׁכָּן (mishkan, H4908) — “dwelling place.” The word comes from a verb meaning to dwell or settle. It shows the tabernacle as the place where God lives among His people and is not only a place of worship.
See also: 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; Leviticus 16:16.
Leviticus 15:32-33
The chapter closes with a summary of those covered: the man with a discharge, the man with an emission, the woman in her period, anyone with a lasting flow, and a man lying with an unclean woman. The law gave clear guidance for the most private parts of life, showing that God cares about the whole person.