Leviticus 15:5
in Leviticus 15Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
KJV
And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
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This verse in Leviticus 15
Commentary
6 notes on this verseFor from the beginning "the spirit of God moved over the waters," and over and again Scripture testifies to the fact that water is purifying. It was with water that God washed away the sin of the world in the time of Noah. It was with water that every one who was unclean was purified in accordance with the law, and even their garments were washed with water.
This site's exposition
the LORD said to Moses and Aaron
on Leviticus 15:1-5
The chapter is spoken to Aaron as well as to Moses, because a priest must rule on these cases. The clean and unclean laws are addressed the same way at 11:1, 13:1 and 14:33.
This site's exposition
Anyone who touches his bed
Contact with the bed brings a lighter uncleanness than the man's own, cleared by washing and the evening. He stays unclean until evening even after washing.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The washing which is common to all persons is that of the baths, which usually cleanses away the filth of the body. There is also the washing of the Jews, which is more solemn than that of the baths but much inferior to the bath of grace. While this [baptismal] bath cleanses bodily filth, it does not merely remove the uncleanness of the body but also that which clings to a weak conscience.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And whosoever toucheth his bed,.... Is unclean. According to the Misnah (x), a bed defiles a man seven ways, so as to defile garments; standing, sitting, lying, hanging, and leaning, and by touching, and by bearing: shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water; in forty seahs of water, as the Targum of Jonathan: and be unclean until the even; be unfit for conversation with other men till the even, though both his body and clothes are washed. (x) Zabim, ut supra. (c. 2. sect. 4.)
When he was cured of the disease, yet he could not be cleansed from the pollution without a sacrifice, for which he was to prepare himself by seven days' expectation after he was perfectly clear from his distemper, and by bathing in spring water,
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִ֕ישׁ | veish | and anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִגַּ֖ע | yiga' | he will touch | H5060 → | 150 times |
| בְּמִשְׁכָּב֑וֹ | bemishkavo | <in> bed his | H4904 → | 46 times |
| יְכַבֵּ֧ס | yekhabes | he will wash | H3526 → | 51 times |
| בְּגָדָ֛יו | begadav | garments his | H899 → | 217 times |
| וְרָחַ֥ץ | verachatz | and he will wash | H7364 → | 72 times |
| בַּמַּ֖יִם | bamayim | with <the> water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| וְטָמֵ֥א | vetame' | and he will be unclean | H2930 → | 162 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הָעָֽרֶב׃ | haarev | the evening | H6153 → | 134 times |
וְאִ֕ישׁand anyone
veishH376 →1663 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יִגַּ֖עhe will touch
yiga'H5060 →150 times
בְּמִשְׁכָּב֑וֹ<in> bed his
bemishkavoH4904 →46 times
יְכַבֵּ֧סhe will wash
yekhabesH3526 →51 times
בְּגָדָ֛יוgarments his
begadavH899 →217 times
וְרָחַ֥ץand he will wash
verachatzH7364 →72 times
בַּמַּ֖יִםwith <the> water
bamayimH4325 →581 times
וְטָמֵ֥אand he will be unclean
vetame'H2930 →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
James 4:8Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
it leads to
- Psalms 145:18
The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth.
- Hebrews 10:22
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
- Malachi 3:7
Yet from the days of your fathers, you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Hosts. “But…
- Zechariah 1:3
So tell the people that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Return to Me, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of Hosts.’
- Isaiah 55:6–7
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- Psalms 145:18
Through
Revelation 7:14“Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the…
it leads to
- 1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
- Revelation 22:14
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates.
- Hebrews 13:12
And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate, to sanctify the people by His own blood.
- 1 John 1:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Leviticus
This page draws on John Chrysostom, BAPTISMAL INSTRUCTIONS 9.13; John Damascene, ORTHODOX FAITH 4.9; 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.