Leviticus 15:18

18 "'If a man has sexual relations with a woman and semen comes out, both people must bathe in water; 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 "'If semenn goes out from a man, he must bathe in water; he will be unclean until evening.
17 If the fluid gets on any clothing or leather, it must be washed with water; it will be unclean until evening.
18 "'If a man has sexual relations with a woman and semen comes out, both people must bathe in water; they will be unclean until evening.
19 "'When a woman has her monthly period, she is unclean for seven days; anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening.
20 Anything she lies on during this time will be unclean, and everything she sits on during this time will be unclean.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.