Leviticus 15:11

11 If the man with the discharge touches anyone without [first] rinsing his hands in water,[a] the person who was touched is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening.

Leviticus 15:11 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 15:11

And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue
Not only he that touched him that had the issue, but whomsoever, and indeed whatsoever he touched, as the Targum of Jonathan, the Septuagint, and Arabic versions, were unclean; (See Gill on Leviticus 15:4); and hath not rinsed his hands in water;
which is to be understood, not of the man that is touched, but of him that toucheth; and is interpreted by the Jewish writers, generally, of bathing the whole body; according to Aben Ezra, the simple sense is, every clean person, whom he that hath an issue touches and hath rinsed his hands, he is indeed unclean, but not his garments; and if his hands are not rinsed his garments are unclean, and this is as he that touches all that is under him; wherefore it follows: he shall wash his clothes
that is, if a man is touched, as the Targum of Jonathan, and not a thing, as directed and prescribed in the above cases instanced in; all which are designed to instruct men to abstain from conservation with impure persons in doctrine and practice.

Leviticus 15:11 In-Context

9 Any saddle the man with the discharge rides on will be unclean.
10 Whoever touches anything that was under him will be unclean until evening, and whoever carries such things is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening.
11 If the man with the discharge touches anyone without [first] rinsing his hands in water, the person who was touched is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening.
12 Any clay pot that the man with the discharge touches must be broken, while any wooden utensil must be rinsed with water.
13 "When the man with the discharge has been cured of it, he is to count seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe his body in fresh water; he will be clean.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Ex 30:19; Mt 15:2; Mk 7:3
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