Leviticus 15:18
in Leviticus 15If 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The woman also with whom a man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Leviticus 15
Commentary
5 notes on this verseIn the past, a man coming from marital intercourse was required to wash. It cannot be too strongly said that the providence of God revealed through the Lord no longer makes this demand. The Lord eliminates washing after intercourse as unnecessary since he has cleansed believers by one single baptism for every such encounter, just as he takes in the many washings prescribed by Moses by one single baptism.
This site's exposition
he must count off seven days for his cleansing
on Leviticus 15:13-18
The uncleanness outlasts the discharge by seven days, and on the eighth he brings two birds. One is a sin offering and one a burnt offering, the offering Leviticus 5:7 and 12:8 allow one who cannot afford a lamb.
This site's exposition
both must bathe with water
Both spouses bathe and wait until evening. Adam Clarke reads the rule as a restraint on excess, keeping people from the unlawful use of lawful things. Clement of Alexandria held that the one baptism of believers replaces this washing along with the many washings of Moses.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of copulation,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
They shall both bathe themselves - What a wonderful tendency had these ordinances to prevent all excesses! The pains which such persons must take, the separations which they must observe, and the privations which, in consequence, they must be exposed to in the way of commerce, traffic, etc., would prevent them from making an unlawful use of lawful things.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִשָּׁ֕ה | veishah | and a woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִשְׁכַּ֥ב | yishkav | he will lie with | H7901 → | 212 times |
| אִ֛ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֹתָ֖הּ | ʾotah | with <the> her | H854 → | 929 times |
| שִׁכְבַת־ | shikhvat- | a laying of | H7902 → | 9 times |
| זָ֑רַע | zara' | seed | H2233 → | 229 times |
| וְרָחֲצ֣וּ | verachatzu | and they will wash | H7364 → | 72 times |
| בַמַּ֔יִם | vamayim | with <the> water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| וְטָמְא֖וּ | vetameu | and they will be unclean | H2930 → | 162 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הָעָֽרֶב׃ | haarev | the evening | H6153 → | 134 times |
וְאִשָּׁ֕הand a woman
veishahH802 →781 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יִשְׁכַּ֥בhe will lie with
yishkavH7901 →212 times
אִ֛ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֹתָ֖הּwith <the> her
ʾotahH854 →929 times
שִׁכְבַת־a laying of
shikhvat-H7902 →9 times
זָ֑רַעseed
zara'H2233 →229 times
וְרָחֲצ֣וּand they will wash
verachatzuH7364 →72 times
בַמַּ֔יִםwith <the> water
vamayimH4325 →581 times
וְטָמְא֖וּand they will be unclean
vetameuH2930 →162 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
הָעָֽרֶב׃the evening
haarevH6153 →134 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Peter 2:11Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.
it leads to
- 1 John 2:15–17
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
- Galatians 5:24
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
- 1 John 2:15–17
Through
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.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 10:23–33
“Everything is permissible,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible,” but not everything is edifying.
- 1 Corinthians 10:23–33
Through
Psalms 51:5Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.
it leads to
- Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.
- Job 14:4
Who can bring out clean from unclean? No one!
- Psalms 58:3
The wicked are estranged from the womb; the liars go astray from birth.
- Job 15:14–16
What is man, that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?
- Ephesians 2:3
All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath.
- Romans 5:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata Book 3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.