Leviticus 15:13-18

Purity Regulations for Male Bodily Discharges

15:13 “‘When the man with the discharge becomes clean from his discharge he is to count off for himself seven days for his purification, and he must wash his clothes, bathe in fresh water, ¹  and be clean. 15:14 Then on the eighth day he is to take for himself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, ²  and he is to present himself ³  before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent and give them to the priest, 15:15 and the priest is to make one of them a sin offering ⁴  and the other a burnt offering. ⁵  So the priest ⁶  is to make atonement for him before the Lord for ⁷  his discharge.

15:16 “‘When a man has a seminal emission, ⁸  he must bathe his whole body in water ⁹  and be unclean until evening, 15:17 and he must wash in water any clothing or leather that has semen on it, and it will be unclean until evening. 15:18 When a man has sexual intercourse with a woman and there is a seminal emission, ¹⁰  they must bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

[15:13]  ¹ tn For the expression “fresh water” see the note on Lev 14:5 above.

[15:14]  ² tn Heb “from the sons of the pigeon,” referring either to “young pigeons” or “various species of pigeon” (contrast J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:168 with J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 14; cf. Lev 1:14 and esp. 5:7-10).

[15:14]  ³ tc The MT has the Qal form of the verb בּוֹא (bo’) “to come” here, but the LXX (followed generally by the Syriac and Tg. Ps.-J.) reflects the Hiphil form of the same verb, “to bring” as in v. 29 below. In v. 29, however, there is no additional clause “and give them to the priest,” so the Hiphil is necessary in that context while it is not necessary here in v. 14.

[15:15]  ⁴ sn See the note on Lev 4:3 regarding the term “sin offering.”

[15:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the priest shall make them one a sin offering and the one a burnt offering.” See the note on Lev 1:3 regarding the “burnt offering.”

[15:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “And the priest.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.

[15:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “from”; see the note on 4:26.

[15:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “And a man when a lying of seed goes out from him”; KJV, ASV “any man’s seed of copulation”; NIV, NRSV, TEV, NLT “an emission of semen.”

[15:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he shall bathe all his flesh in water.”

[15:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And a woman who a man lies with her a lying of seed.”