Leviticus 15:18

18 " 'Suppose a man makes love to a woman. And suppose semen flows from his body and touches both of them. Then they must take a bath. They will 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 " 'Suppose semen flows from a man's body. Then he must wash his whole body with water. He will be "unclean" until evening.
17 " 'Suppose clothes or leather have semen on them. Then they must be washed with water. They will be "unclean" until evening.
18 " 'Suppose a man makes love to a woman. And suppose semen flows from his body and touches both of them. Then they must take a bath. They will be "unclean" until evening.
19 " 'Suppose a woman is having her regular period. Then for seven days she will not be pure. Anyone who touches her will be "unclean" until evening.
20 " 'Anything she lies on during her period will be "unclean." Anything she sits on will be "unclean."
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