Leviticus 15:11

11 And anyone whom the person who discharges might touch {without} rinsing off his hands with water shall wash his garments, and he shall wash [himself] with water, and he shall be unclean until the 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 And any saddle upon which the person who discharges rides becomes unclean.
10 And any person who touches anything that happened to be under him becomes unclean until the evening, and the person who carries them must wash his garments, and he shall wash [himself] with water, and he shall be unclean until the evening.
11 And anyone whom the person who discharges might touch {without} rinsing off his hands with water shall wash his garments, and he shall wash [himself] with water, and he shall be unclean until the evening.
12 But a clay vessel that the person who discharges touches must be broken, and any {wood object} must be rinsed with water.
13 " 'And when the person who discharges becomes clean from his body fluid discharge, he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing; then he shall wash his garments, and he shall wash his body with {fresh} water, and he shall be clean.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Literally "and not"
  • [b]. The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
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