Leviticus 15:24
in Leviticus 15If a man lies with her and her menstrual flow touches him, he will be unclean for seven days, and any bed on which he lies will become unclean.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.
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This verse in Leviticus 15
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
she will be unclean due to her menstruation for seven days
on Leviticus 15:19-24
The woman's ordinary case is measured in days, seven of them, and closes without an offering. Leviticus 12:2 measures the uncleanness of childbirth by these same days, so the earlier chapter assumes the reader knows this rule.
This site's exposition
he will be unclean for seven days
Verse 24 sets seven days of uncleanness while 20:18 cuts both off from their people. Albert Barnes reconciles them by reading this verse of a flow that begins unexpectedly.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), and those that were unseasonable, excessive, and the disease of the body; such was the bloody issue of that poor woman who was suddenly cured by touching the hem of Christ's garment, after she had lain twelve years under her distemper, and had spent her estate upon physicians and physic in vain. This made the woman that was afflicted with it unclean (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And if any man lie with her at all,....
We need not be at all curious in explaining these antiquated laws, it is enough if we observe the general intention; but we have need to be very cautious lest sin take occasion by the commandment to become more exceedingly sinful; and exceedingly sinful it is when lust is kindled by sparks of fire from God's altar.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The common sense of all mankind has led them to avoid the gross impropriety referred to in this verse - and it has been a general opinion, that off-spring obtained in this way has been infected with leprous, scrofulous, and other deeply radicated diseases, from which they and their posterity have been scarcely ever freed.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
This must refer to an unexpected occurrence. Intercourse during the acknowledged period was a heavy crime, and was to be punished by “cutting off” Lev 18:19; Lev 20:18; Eze 18:6.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִ֡ם | veim | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| שָׁכֹב֩ | shakho | certainly <to lie> | H7901 → | 212 times |
| יִשְׁכַּ֨ב | yishkav | he will lie with | H7901 → | 212 times |
| אִ֜ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֹתָ֗הּ | ʾotah | with <the> her | H854 → | 929 times |
| וּתְהִ֤י | utehi | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| נִדָּתָהּ֙ | nidatah | menstruous impurity her | H5079 → | 29 times |
| עָלָ֔יו | ʾalav | on him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וְטָמֵ֖א | vetame' | and he will be unclean | H2930 → | 162 times |
| שִׁבְעַ֣ת | shivat | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| יָמִ֑ים | yamim | days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַמִּשְׁכָּ֛ב | hamishkav | <the> bed | H4904 → | 46 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִשְׁכַּ֥ב | yishkav | he will lie | H7901 → | 212 times |
| עָלָ֖יו | ʾalav | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יִטְמָֽא׃ פ | yitma' | it will be unclean | H2930 → | 162 times |
וְאִ֡םand if
veimH518 →1069 times
שָׁכֹב֩certainly <to lie>
shakhoH7901 →212 times
יִשְׁכַּ֨בhe will lie with
yishkavH7901 →212 times
אִ֜ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֹתָ֗הּwith <the> her
ʾotahH854 →929 times
וּתְהִ֤יand it will be
utehiH1961 →3559 times
נִדָּתָהּ֙menstruous impurity her
nidatahH5079 →29 times
עָלָ֔יוon him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
וְטָמֵ֖אand he will be unclean
vetame'H2930 →162 times
שִׁבְעַ֣תseven
shivatH7651 →394 times
יָמִ֑יםdays
yamimH3117 →2304 times
וְכָל־and every
vekholH3605 →5413 times
הַמִּשְׁכָּ֛ב<the> bed
hamishkavH4904 →46 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
יִשְׁכַּ֥בhe will lie
yishkavH7901 →212 times
עָלָ֖יוon it
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
יִטְמָֽא׃ פit will be unclean
yitma'H2930 →162 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
Hebrews 13:4Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
it leads to
- Genesis 2:24
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
- Proverbs 5:15–23
Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well.
- 1 Corinthians 7:2–16
But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.
- Galatians 5:19
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
- Genesis 2:24
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 Peter 4:2
Consequently, he does not live out his remaining time on earth for human passions, but for the will of God.
- Hebrews 11:13
All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the…
- 1 John 2:15–17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Leviticus

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
