Leviticus 15:16-18

INVOLUNTARY EMISSION OF SEED 15:16-18
TEXT 15:16-18

16

And if any man's seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall bathe all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even.

17

And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even.

18

The woman also with whom a man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 15:16-18

321.

What caused this loss of seed?

322.

In what sense unclean? How to be cleansed?

323.

What else could be made unclean? How cleansed?

324.

Are we to understand from this text that the sex-act is here condemned? Discuss.

PARAPHRASE 15:16-18

Whenever a man's semen goes out from him, he shall take a complete bath and be unclean until the evening. Any clothing or bedding the semen spills on must be washed and remain ceremonially defiled until evening. After sexual intercourse, the woman as well as the man must bathe, and they are ceremonially defiled until the next evening.

COMMENT 15:16-18

Leviticus 15:16-18 Involuntary emission of seed.This defiled for the whole of the day, not only the man himself, but any garment or skin upon which any of it had come, and required for purification that the whole body should be bathed, and the polluted things washed.Leviticus 15:18. Sexual connection. If a man lie with a woman with the emission of seed, both shall be unclean till the evening, and bathe themselves in water. Consequently it was not the concubitus as such which defiled, as many erroneously suppose, but the emission of seed in the coitus. This explains the law and custom, of abstaining from conjugal intercourse during the preparation for acts of divine worship, or the performance of the same (Exodus 19:5; 1 Samuel 21:5-6; 2 Samuel 11:4), in which many other nations resembled the Israelites. (For proofs see Leyrer's article in Herzog'S Cyclopedia, and Knobel in loco, though the latter is wrong in supposing that conjugal intercourse itself defiled.)

FACT QUESTIONS 15:16-18

347.

No word of condemnation is here given, only a free admission of the physical impotence or weakness of man. Nonetheless cleansing must be made. Why?

348.

There is nothing wrong in the sex-act per se or as such; the prohibition here helps explain Exodus 19:5; 1 Samuel 21:5-6; 2 Samuel 11:4. How so?