Catholic Commentary on Leviticus 15

"You must keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling place, which is among them." (Leviticus 15:31)

Bodily Discharges

Leviticus 15 addresses the ritual uncleanness associated with bodily discharges, both normal and pathological, in men and women. The regulations may seem excessive in their detail, but the theological principle is stated plainly: You must keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling place, which is among them. The concern is not hygiene but proximity to the holy: God dwells in the midst of his people, and the conditions under which they approach his dwelling matter. The purity system is the architecture of a people learning that the holy God is not indifferent to how they live and present themselves.

A woman in the Gospel who has had a haemorrhage for twelve years, excluded from worship by the regulations of Leviticus 15, touches the hem of Jesus's garment. She is healed. Jesus does not declare himself defiled by her touch; instead, his purity overflows and cleanses her uncleanness. The Catechism identifies this as the paradigm of Christ's relationship to the purity laws: he does not abolish them but fulfils them from within, by being the source of cleanness rather than a recipient of uncleanness (CCC 582).

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, the woman with the haemorrhage reached out and touched the edge of his cloak. She had been excluded for twelve years by the very law that defined her condition. Jesus made her the occasion of a teaching: your faith has healed you. Whatever has excluded you from the community, reach out. His cleanness is greater than your uncleanness.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, your cleanness overflows to make the unclean clean. Touch every area of our lives that we have kept from you out of shame. You are not defiled by our reaching. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

15
The Uncleanness of Men
(Deuteronomy 23:9–14)
And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Say to the Israelites, ‘When any man has a bodily discharge, the discharge is unclean. This uncleanness is from his discharge, whether his body allows the discharge to flow or blocks it. So his discharge will bring about uncleanness.
 
Any bed on which the man with the discharge lies will be unclean, and any furniture on which he sits will be unclean. Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening. Whoever sits on furniture on which the man with the discharge was sitting must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
 
Whoever touches the body of the man with a discharge must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening. If the man with the discharge spits on one who is clean, that person must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
 
Any saddle on which the man with the discharge rides will be unclean. 10 Whoever touches anything that was under him will be unclean until evening, and whoever carries such things must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
 
11 If the man with the discharge touches anyone without first rinsing his hands with water, the one who was touched must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening. 12 Any clay pot that the man with the discharge touches must be broken, and any wooden utensil must be rinsed with water.
The Cleansing of Men
 
13 When the man has been cleansed from his discharge, he must count off seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe himself in fresh water,* 15:13 Or flowing water or living water and he shall be clean. 14 On the eighth day he is to take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, come before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the priest. 15 The priest is to sacrifice them, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for the man before the LORD because of his discharge.
 
16 When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean until evening. 17 Any clothing or leather on which there is an emission of semen must be washed with water, and it will remain unclean until evening. 18 If a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both must bathe with water, and they will remain unclean until evening.
The Uncleanness of Women
 
19 When a woman has a discharge consisting of blood from her body, she will be unclean due to her menstruation for seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening. 20 Anything on which she lies or sits during her menstruation will be unclean, 21 and anyone who touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
 
22 Whoever touches any furniture on which she was sitting must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening. 23 And whether it is a bed or furniture on which she was sitting, whoever touches it will be unclean until evening.
 
24 If a man lies with her and her menstrual flow touches him, he will be unclean for seven days, and any bed on which he lies will become unclean.
 
25 When a woman has a discharge of her blood for many days at a time other than her menstrual period, or if it continues beyond her period, she will be unclean all the days of her unclean discharge, just as she is during the days of her menstruation. 26 Any bed on which she lies or any furniture on which she sits during the days of her discharge will be unclean, like her bed during her menstrual period. 27 Anyone who touches these things will be unclean; he must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
The Cleansing of Women
 
28 When a woman is cleansed of her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean. 29 On the eighth day she is to take two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 30 The priest is to sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her before the LORD for her unclean discharge.
 
31 You must keep the children of Israel separate from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling My tabernacle, which is among them.
 
32 This is the law of him who has a discharge, of the man who has an emission of semen whereby he is unclean, 33 of a woman in her menstrual period, of any male or female who has a discharge, and of a man who lies with an unclean woman.’ ”

*15:13 15:13 Or flowing water or living water