Leviticus 15:18

18 And a woman, if a man shall lie with her with seed of copulation—they shall both bathe themselves in water and shall be unclean until evening.

Leviticus 15:18 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 15:18

The woman also with whom man shall lie [with] seed of
copulation
It seems to respect any congress of a man and woman, whether in fornication or adultery, or lawful marriage, and particularly the latter; for though marriage is honourable and holy, and carnal copulation in itself lawful, yet such is the sinfulness of nature, that as no act is performed without pollution, so neither that of generation, and by which the corruption of nature is propagated, and therefore required a ceremonial cleansing: they shall [both] bathe [themselves] in water, and be unclean until
the even;
so Herodotus F6 reports, that as often as a Babylonian man lay with his wife, he had used to sit by consecrated incense, and the woman did the same: and in the morning they were both washed, and did not touch any vessel before they had washed themselves; and he says the Arabians did the like: and the same historian relates F7 of the Egyptians, that they never go into their temples from their wives unwashed; see ( Exodus 19:15 ) ( 1 Samuel 21:4 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F6 Clio, sive, l. 1. c. 198.
F7 Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 64.

Leviticus 15:18 In-Context

16 And the man whose seed of copulation shall happen to go forth from him, shall then wash his whole body, and shall be unclean until evening.
17 And every garment, and every skin on which there shall be the seed of copulation shall both be washed with water, and be unclean until evening.
18 And a woman, if a man shall lie with her with seed of copulation—they shall both bathe themselves in water and shall be unclean until evening.
19 And the woman whosoever shall have an issue of blood, when her issue shall be in her body, shall be seven days in her separation; every one that touches her shall be unclean until evening.
20 And every thing whereon she shall lie in her separation, shall be unclean; and whatever she shall sit upon, shall be unclean.

The Brenton translation of the Septuagint is in the public domain.