Leviticus 15:19-24

THE MENSTRUAL PERIOD OF WOMEN 15:19-24
TEXT 15:19-24

19

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

20

And everything that she lieth upon in her impurity shall be unclean: everything also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.

21

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

22

And whosoever toucheth anything that she sitteth upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

23

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

24

And if any man lie with her, and her impurity be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 15:19-24

325.

Was there some physical hygienic reason in the regulation of Leviticus 15:19?

326.

Name three conditions of uncleanness and how they are cleansed.

327.

Is sexual intercourse forbidden during this time? Discuss.

PARAPHRASE 15:19-24

Whenever a woman menstruates, she shall be in a state of ceremonial defilement for seven days afterwards, and during that time anyone touching her shall be defiled until evening. Anything she lies on or sits on during that time shall be defiled. Anyone touching her bed or anything she sits upon shall wash his clothes and bathe himself and be ceremonially defiled until evening. A man having sexual intercourse with her during this time is ceremonially defiled for seven days, and every bed he lies upon shall be defiled.

COMMENT 15:19-24

Leviticus 15:19-24 The menses of a woman.If a woman have an issue, (if) blood is her issue in her flesh, she shall be seven days in her uncleanness. As the discharge does not last as a rule more than four or five days, the period of seven days was fixed on account of the significance of the number seven. In this condition she rendered every one who touched her unclean (Leviticus 15:19), everything upon which she lay or sat (Leviticus 15:20), every one who touched her bed or whatever she sat upon (Leviticus 15:21-22), also any one who touched the blood upon her bed or seat; and they remained unclean till the evening, when they had to wash their clothes and bathe themselves.Leviticus 15:24. If a man lay with her and her uncleanness came upon him, he became unclean for seven days, and the bed upon which he lay became unclean as well. The meaning cannot be merely if he lie upon the same bed with her, but if he have conjugal intercourse, as is evident from chapter Leviticus 20:18 and Numbers 5:13 (Cf. Genesis 26:10; Genesis 34:2; Genesis 35:22; 1 Samuel 2:22). It cannot be adduced as an objection to this explanation, which is the only admissible one, that according to chapter Leviticus 18:19 and Leviticus 20:18 intercourse with a woman during her menses was an accursed crime, to be punished by extermination. For the law in chapter Leviticus 20:18 refers partly to conjugal intercourse during the hemorrhage of a woman after child-birth, as the similarity of the words in chapter Leviticus 20:18 and Leviticus 12:7 clearly proves, and the case of a man attempting cohabitation with a woman during her menstruation. The verse before us, on the contrary, refers simply to the possibility of menstruation commencing during the act of conjugal intercourse, when the man would be involuntarily defiled through the unexpected uncleanness of the woman.

FACT QUESTIONS 15:19-24

349.

Why seven days involved in this purifying?

350.

Do you suppose there was any embarrassment involved in the uncleanness and the purifying?

351.

Some felt that intercourse with a woman during her period was an accursed crime, to be punished by extermination. This is not right. Why not? Discuss.