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Leviticus15:13–18

The Cleansing of Men

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Leviticus 15:13–18 — The Cleansing of Men. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

13“When the man has been cleansed from his discharge, he must count…”+

13When 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, and he shall be clean.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·ḵî- haz·zāḇ yiṭ·har miz·zō·w·ḇōw wə·sā·p̄ar šiḇ·‘aṯ yā·mîm lōw lə·ṭā·ho·rā·ṯōw wə·ḵib·bes bə·ḡā·ḏāw wə·rā·ḥaṣ bə·śā·rōw ḥay·yîm bə·ma·yim wə·ṭā·hêr

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-when the-one-with-the-issue becomes-clean from his-flux, then-he-shall-count seven days for his-cleansing, and-shall-wash his-clothes, and-bathe his-flesh in living water, and-he-shall-be-clean.

Where the English smooths the original

  • הַזָּב֙ BSB “the man” renders הַזָּב (haz·zāḇ), which is not “man” at all but a substantival participle of zûwb, “to flow” — literally “the flowing-one,” the discharger. The Hebrew names the person by his condition; the English supplies a neutral noun the original withholds.
  • יִטְהַ֤ר “Has been cleansed” translates the Qal יִטְהַר (yiṭ·har) of ṭāhēr, “to become clean / pure.” As the voices stress, here it means only recovered, healed of the flux (Ellicott, Keil, Geneva’s gloss “e”) — the bodily stoppage, not the ceremonial status, which is not reached until v. 13’s rites are done. The same verb closes the verse (v. 15, וְטָהֵר) in its full ceremonial sense; English uses one word for the two stages.
  • וְסָ֨פַר “He must count off” renders וְסָפַר (wə·sā·p̄ar), Qal of sāp̄ar, whose root sense is “to score with a mark, to tally” (Strong). The Hebrew pictures the man notching off each clear day; Gill and Jarchi insist these must be “seven pure days,” any relapse resetting the count from zero.
  • חַיִּ֖ים “Fresh water” softens מַיִם חַיִּים (mayim ḥayyîm) — literally “living water,” ḥay meaning “alive.” Ellicott flags the exactness: alone among the defiled, this man must bathe not in a mere collection of water but “in a fountain or in spring water,” running and alive. The idiom (cf. Leviticus 14:5) is the same one John’s Gospel will take up for the Spirit (John 7:38).
  • בְּשָׂר֛וֹ “Himself” flattens בְּשָׂרוֹ (bə·śā·rōw), “his flesh” (bāśār). Ellicott argues that throughout this section “flesh” carries a euphemistic, bodily-specific sense (so vv. 2–3, 7), distinguished from its plain meaning only in v. 16, where the text deliberately adds kol (“all his flesh”). The English “himself” erases the distinction the Hebrew is careful to keep.
Word by word16 · parsed+
וְכִֽי־wə·ḵî-WhenH3588
√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction
הַזָּב֙haz·zāḇthe manH2100
√ zûwb — to flow freely (as water), iArticleVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular
הַזָּב — “the flowing-one,” the discharger, named by the participle of zûwb (in only 41 verses). This is the same sufferer of vv. 2–3; the unit now turns from defilement to its cure.
יִטְהַ֤רyiṭ·harhas been cleansedH2891
√ ṭâhêr — to be pure (physical sound, clear, unadulteratedVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
Qal of ṭāhēr, “to become clean.” Here it means healed, not yet ceremonially pure — “recovered of his infirmity” (Ellicott), “it is ceased from him” (Gill, citing the Targum of Jonathan and Jarchi). The cessation begins the clock; it does not stop it.
מִזּוֹב֔וֹmiz·zō·w·ḇōwfrom his dischargeH2101
√ zôwb — a seminal or menstrual fluxPreposition-mNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular
זוֹב (zôwb) — “flux, issue,” a rare noun (only 10 verses), the keyword of the whole chapter (vv. 2, 3, 15, 19, 25–33). The discharge itself, the thing that must wholly cease before the seven days may begin.
וְסָ֨פַרwə·sā·p̄arhe must count offH5608
√ çâphar — properly, to score with a mark as a tally or record, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular
sāp̄ar, “to count / tally.” The same seven-day probation imposed on the healed leper (Leviticus 14, cf. JFB: “like a leprous person he underwent a week’s probation”). Maimonides (per Gill) required the count to restart at any relapse.
שִׁבְעַ֥תšiḇ·‘aṯsevenH7651
√ shebaʻ — seven (as the sacred full one)Numbermasculine singular construct
שִׁבְעַת — “seven,” the sacred full number (Strong: “seven, as the sacred full one”). Seven clear days to prove the healing is complete before purification proceeds.
יָמִ֛יםyā·mîmdaysH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Nounmasculine plural
ל֜וֹlōwfor his
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
לְטָהֳרָת֖וֹlə·ṭā·ho·rā·ṯōwcleansingH2893
√ ṭohŏrâh — ceremonial purificationPreposition-lNounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine singular
וְכִבֶּ֣סwə·ḵib·beswashH3526
√ kâbaç — to trampleConjunctive wawVerbPielConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular
Piel of kāḇas, “to wash by treading / fulling” (Strong: “to trample”). Garments are trodden clean, not merely rinsed — a stronger, deliberate cleansing than the body’s bathing.
בְּגָדָ֑יוbə·ḡā·ḏāwhis clothesH899
√ beged — a covering, iNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine singular
וְרָחַ֧ץwə·rā·ḥaṣand batheH7364
√ râchats — to lave (the whole or a part of a thing)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular
rāḥaṣ, “to bathe, to lave.” The whole body washed in living water — the verb that recurs in vv. 16 and 18, the basic act of purification.
בְּשָׂר֛וֹbə·śā·rōwhimselfH1320
√ bâsâr — flesh (from its freshness)Nounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular
חַיִּ֖יםḥay·yîmin freshH2416
√ chay — aliveAdjectivemasculine plural
חַיִּים (ḥayyîm) — “living,” qualifying the water. Spring or running water, not standing; the single most-specific requirement of the rite. Gill reads it typologically as “the fountain opened in Christ” (Zechariah 13:1).
בְּמַ֥יִםbə·ma·yimwaterH4325
√ mayim — waterPreposition-bNounmasculine plural
וְטָהֵֽר׃wə·ṭā·hêrand he shall be cleanH2891
√ ṭâhêr — to be pure (physical sound, clear, unadulteratedConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular
ṭāhēr again — now the full ceremonial verdict: “and he shall be clean,” i.e. (Poole) “admitted to converse with men, and with God in public ordinances.” The verse runs from healing (v. 2’s ṭāhēr) to standing (this ṭāhēr).
The Voices✦ public domain+
Bathe his flesh in running water. —Or, more literally, living water. It will be seen that whilst all other defiled persons and things were to be immersed in a collection of water, the restored man who had suffered from the issue in question was ordered to bathe in a fountain or in spring water.
The mere cessation of the issue does not make him clean: he must wait seven days, etc., preparatory to his offering sacrifice.
and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water; typical of the fountain opened in Christ to wash in for sin and uncleanness, even the fountain of his blood, which cleanses from all sin; and in which both the persons and garments of the saints are washed and made white: and shall be clean; in a ceremonial sense; as all that are washed from their sins in the blood of Christ are clean in a spiritual and evangelical sense.
Shall be clean, i.e. admitted to converse with men, and with God in public ordinances.
is {e} cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean. (e) That is, be restored to his old state, and be healed of it.
The Geneva gloss (e) is the 1599 marginal note, quoted with its lettered key intact; it fixes the sense of “cleansed” in v. 13 as bodily healing, not ceremonial status.
14“On the eighth day he is to take two turtledoves or two young pig…”+

14On 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.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

haš·šə·mî·nî ū·ḇay·yō·wm yiq·qaḥ- lōw šə·tê ṯō·rîm ’ōw šə·nê bə·nê yō·w·nāh ū·ḇā lip̄·nê Yah·weh ’el- pe·ṯaḥ ’ō·hel mō·w·‘êḏ ū·nə·ṯā·nām ’el- hak·kō·hên

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-on-the-day the-eighth he-shall-take for-himself two turtledoves or two sons-of-a-pigeon, and-come before Yahweh to the-entrance of the-Tent of-Meeting, and-give-them to the-priest.

Where the English smooths the original

  • יִֽקַּֽח־ BSB “he is to take” renders יִקַּח־לוֹ (yiq·qaḥ-lōw), literally “he shall take for himself.” Ellicott notes the added lōw is “simply a Hebrew pleonastic way for saying ‘he shall take’” — the dative-of-interest the English drops, marking the offering as the man’s own act and cost.
  • תֹרִ֔ים “Turtledoves” translates תֹּרִים (tōrîm, from tôr, “a ring-dove”), paired with בְּנֵי יוֹנָה (“sons of a pigeon,” young pigeons). Ellicott observes the striking thing: elsewhere two birds are the poor man’s concession (Leviticus 5:7; 12:8), but here “the meanest offering was prescribed for all alike,” rich and poor — no costlier option allowed.
  • פֶּ֙תַח֙ “The entrance” renders פֶּתַח (peṯaḥ), “an opening, a doorway.” Gill and Ellicott specify: not into the tabernacle, from which he was still barred, but to its threshold, the eastern gate — facing west toward the Holy of Holies, and so reckoned “before the LORD.” The English “entrance” keeps the spatial exactness the rite depends on.
Word by word20 · parsed+
הַשְּׁמִינִ֗יhaš·šə·mî·nîOn the eighthH8066
√ shᵉmîynîy — eightArticleNumberordinal masculine singular
הַשְּׁמִינִי — “the eighth” day, the ordinal that governs the rite. The same eighth-day pattern as the leper’s cleansing (Leviticus 14:23) and the consecration of priests (Leviticus 8:33–9:1): the day after a complete seven, the day of approach.
וּבַיּ֣וֹםū·ḇay·yō·wmdayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine singular
יִֽקַּֽח־yiq·qaḥ-he is to takeH3947
√ lâqach — to take (in the widest variety of applications)VerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
לוֹ֙lōw
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
שְׁתֵּ֣יšə·têtwoH8147
√ shᵉnayim — twoNumberfeminine dual construct
תֹרִ֔יםṯō·rîmturtledovesH8449
√ tôwr — a ring-dove, often (figuratively) as a term of endearmentNounfeminine plural
תּוֹר (tôr, turtledove) — a rare bird-word (only 14 verses), paired below with yônāh. The two together form the verbal chain of the sacrificial system (Leviticus 1:14; 5:7; 12:6–8; 14:22).
א֥וֹ’ōworH176
√ ʼôw — desire (and so probably in Proverbs 31:4)Conjunction
שְׁנֵ֖יšə·nêtwoH8147
√ shᵉnayim — twoNumbermasculine dual construct
בְּנֵ֣יbə·nêyoungH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural construct
יוֹנָ֑הyō·w·nāhpigeonsH3123
√ yôwnâh — a dove (apparently from the warmth of their mating)Nounfeminine singular
יוֹנָה (yônāh) — “dove / pigeon,” here “sons of a pigeon,” young birds. The humblest blood-sacrifice; Gill notes that here it was “the offering of poor and rich” alike.
וּבָ֣א׀ū·ḇācomeH935
√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular
לִפְנֵ֣יlip̄·nêbeforeH6440
√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-lNouncommon plural construct
לִפְנֵי יְהוָה — “before the face of Yahweh.” The man may not enter, yet at the threshold, facing the Presence, he is reckoned to stand “before the LORD” (Ellicott, Gill).
יְהוָ֗הYah·wehthe LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
אֶל־’el-atH413
√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition
פֶּ֙תַח֙pe·ṯaḥthe entranceH6607
√ pethach — an opening (literally), iNounmasculine singular construct
פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד — “the entrance of the Tent of Meeting,” the appointed place of all such presentations (cf. Leviticus 1:3; 12:6). In the Second Temple, the Nicanor gate.
אֹ֣הֶל’ō·helto the TentH168
√ ʼôhel — a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance)Nounmasculine singular
מוֹעֵ֔דmō·w·‘êḏof MeetingH4150
√ môwʻêd — properly, an appointment, iNounmasculine singular
וּנְתָנָ֖םū·nə·ṯā·nāmand give themH5414
√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singularthird person masculine plural
אֶל־’el-toH413
√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition
הַכֹּהֵֽן׃hak·kō·hênthe priestH3548
√ kôhên — literally one officiating, a priestArticleNounmasculine singular
הַכֹּהֵן (hak·kōhēn) — “the priest,” the necessary mediator. The man brings; the priest alone may offer (v. 15).
The Voices✦ public domain+
It is very striking that whilst in other cases it was only the poor who, out of consideration, were allowed two turtledoves or two young pigeons (see Leviticus 5:7 ; Leviticus 12:8 ; Leviticus 14:22 ), in the case before us the meanest offering was prescribed for all alike who suffered from this infirmity, without giving them the choice of bringing a more costly sacrifice.
and come before the Lord unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; not into the tabernacle, where he was not admitted till the sacrifice was offered, and atonement made; but he was to stand at the door of the tabernacle, at the eastern gate; and so fronting the west, where stood the holy of holies, the place of the divine Majesty, he is said to come before the Lord, presenting himself to him to be cleansed:
Like a leprous person he underwent a week's probation, to make sure he was completely healed. Then with the sacrifices prescribed, the priest made an atonement for him, that is, offered the oblations necessary for the removal of his ceremonial defilement, as well as the typical pardon of his sins.
On the eighth day he was to bring two turtle-doves or young pigeons, in order that the priest might prepare one as a sin-offering and the other as a burnt-offering, and make an atonement for him before the Lord for his issue.
15“The priest is to sacrifice them, one as a sin offering and the o…”+

15The 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.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

hak·kō·hên wə·‘ā·śāh ’ō·ṯām ’e·ḥāḏ ḥaṭ·ṭāṯ wə·hā·’e·ḥāḏ ‘ō·lāh hak·kō·hên wə·ḵip·per ‘ā·lāw lip̄·nê Yah·weh miz·zō·w·ḇōw

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-shall-make-them the-priest, one a-sin-offering and-the-other a-burnt-offering; and-shall-make-atonement for-him the-priest before Yahweh because-of his-flux.

Where the English smooths the original

  • וְעָשָׂ֤ה “Is to sacrifice” renders וְעָשָׂה (wə·‘ā·śāh), the ordinary verb ‘āśāh, “to do / make.” Hebrew says the priest makes the birds into the two offerings — “shall offer them, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering” (Geneva). The English “sacrifice” is interpretively right but narrows the broad verb of doing.
  • חַטָּ֔את חַטָּאת (ḥaṭṭā’ṯ), “sin offering,” names the same victim and the same word for both the wrong and its expiation (Strong: “an offence… and its penalty, occasion, sacrifice, or expiation”). Poole and Gill are careful: the issue was “not as if this was in itself a sin,” yet a sin offering is required — atonement for a defilement of nature, not a deed.
  • וְכִפֶּ֨ר “Will make atonement” renders וְכִפֶּר (wə·ḵip·per), Piel of kāp̄ar, whose root sense is “to cover” (Strong: “to cover, specifically with bitumen”). The English theological term is right, but conceals the underlying picture of a covering laid over the unclean man before the LORD.
Word by word13 · parsed+
הַכֹּהֵ֔ןhak·kō·hênThe priestH3548
√ kôhên — literally one officiating, a priestArticleNounmasculine singular
וְעָשָׂ֤הwə·‘ā·śāhis to sacrificeH6213
√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular
Qal of ‘āśāh, “to do / make / offer.” The priest makes the two birds the prescribed pair of offerings — the same economy as the new mother’s and the poor leper’s (Leviticus 12:8; 14:22).
אֹתָם֙’ō·ṯāmthemH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person masculine plural
אֶחָ֣ד’e·ḥāḏoneH259
√ ʼechâd — properly, united, iNumbermasculine singular
חַטָּ֔אתḥaṭ·ṭāṯas a sin offeringH2403
√ chaṭṭâʼâh — an offence (sometimes habitual sinfulness), and its penalty, occasion, sacrifice, or expiationNounfeminine singular
חַטָּאת (ḥaṭṭā’ṯ) — “sin offering.” Required even though the flux was “not in itself a sin” (Poole, Gill): a ceremonial uncleanness expiated as sin, “typical of the atonement by the blood and sacrifice of Christ” (Gill).
וְהָאֶחָ֖דwə·hā·’e·ḥāḏand the otherH259
√ ʼechâd — properly, united, iConjunctive waw, ArticleNumbermasculine singular
עֹלָ֑ה‘ō·lāhas a burnt offeringH5930
√ ʻôlâh — a step or (collectively, stairs, as ascending)Nounfeminine singular
עֹלָה (‘ōlāh) — “burnt offering,” from a root meaning “to ascend, go up” (Strong): the offering that rises whole in smoke, the gift of self-surrender that accompanies the sin offering.
הַכֹּהֵ֛ןhak·kō·hênIn this way the priestH3548
√ kôhên — literally one officiating, a priestArticleNounmasculine singular
וְכִפֶּ֨רwə·ḵip·perwill make atonementH3722
√ kâphar — to cover (specifically with bitumen)Conjunctive wawVerbPielConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular
Piel of kāp̄ar, “to cover / make atonement.” The hinge-act of the rite: the priest covers, and the man, once excluded (cf. v. 31; Numbers 5:2; 2 Samuel 3:29), is restored to the holy.
עָלָ֧יו‘ā·lāwforH5921
√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPrepositionthird person masculine singular
לִפְנֵ֥יlip̄·nê[the man] beforeH6440
√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-lNouncommon plural construct
יְהוָ֖הYah·wehthe LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
מִזּוֹבֽוֹ׃סmiz·zō·w·ḇōwbecause of his dischargeH2101
√ zôwb — a seminal or menstrual fluxPreposition-mNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular
מִזּוֹבוֹ (miz·zō·w·ḇōw) — “because of his flux,” the rare noun zôwb closing the verse exactly as it opened the unit (v. 13). The atonement is made for the very condition that defiled him.
The Voices✦ public domain+
And the priest shall make an atonement. —That is, for the sinful act which has brought about the infirmity. The severity with which people were treated who had contracted this disease may further be seen from the fact that they had to remain without the camp ( Numbers 5:1-4 ).
Not as if this was in itself a sin, but only a punishment of sin; though ofttimes it was sinful, as being a fruit of a man’s intemperance and immoderate lust.
which, though not in itself sinful, yet might be occasioned by sin, for which the atonement was made: or, however, it was a ceremonial uncleanness, and therefore a ceremonial expiation must he made for it, typical of the atonement by the blood and sacrifice of Christ, by which all kinds of sin is expiated and removed.
in order that the priest might prepare one as a sin-offering and the other as a burnt-offering, and make an atonement for him before the Lord for his issue.
16“When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole bod…”+

16When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean until evening.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

kî- ṯê·ṣê mim·men·nū wə·’îš šiḵ·ḇaṯ- zā·ra‘ wə·rā·ḥaṣ kāl- bə·śā·rōw bam·ma·yim ’eṯ- wə·ṭā·mê ‘aḏ- hā·‘ā·reḇ

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-a-man, when goes-out from-him an-emission of-seed, then-he-shall-bathe all his-flesh in-the-water, and-be-unclean until the-evening.

Where the English smooths the original

  • שִׁכְבַת־ “An emission” renders שִׁכְבַת־זֶרַע (šiḵ·ḇaṯ-zera‘), literally “a lying-down of seed.” šᵉḵāḇāh is a rare noun (only 9 verses), from šāḵaḇ, “to lie down,” used “of dew, or for the sexual act” (Strong). The clinical English misses the Hebrew’s reticent, layered idiom for the thing itself.
  • כָּל־ “His whole body” renders כָּל־בְּשָׂרוֹ — “all his flesh.” Ellicott makes this the interpretive key of the section: precisely here, where bāśār is meant in its plain bodily sense, the writer “designedly added (ĕth kol) ‘all,’” to distinguish it from the euphemistic “flesh” of vv. 2–13. The little word kol carries the whole distinction the English “whole body” renders but does not explain.
  • וְטָמֵ֥א “Will be unclean” translates וְטָמֵא (wə·ṭā·mê), Qal of ṭāmē’, “to be foul, ceremonially or morally” (Strong). This is the lightest grade of impurity in the chapter — gone “until evening,” needing only bathing, no sacrifice — set against the seven-day, sacrifice-bearing defilement of the flux (vv. 13–15).
Word by word14 · parsed+
כִּֽי־kî-WhenH3588
√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction
תֵצֵ֥אṯê·ṣê. . .H3318
√ yâtsâʼ — to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proximVerbQalImperfectthird person feminine singular
מִמֶּ֖נּוּmim·men·nū. . .H4480
√ min — properly, a part ofPrepositionthird person masculine singular
וְאִ֕ישׁwə·’îša manH376
√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personConjunctive wawNounmasculine singular
אִישׁ (’îš) — “a man,” an individual male; the new, second case begins (so Pulpit: “the second case of an issue”). The grammar fronts the subject: and a man, when this happens to him…
שִׁכְבַת־šiḵ·ḇaṯ-has an emissionH7902
√ shᵉkâbâh — a lying down (of dew, or for the sexual act)Nounfeminine singular construct
שִׁכְבַת (šᵉḵāḇāh) — “a lying-down,” a rare noun (only 9 verses) almost always in this construct with zera‘. Its rarity makes it the verbal anchor binding this verse to Numbers 5:13 and Leviticus 19:20.
זָ֑רַעzā·ra‘of semenH2233
√ zeraʻ — seedNounmasculine singular
זֶרַע (zera‘) — “seed,” the same word for offspring and for the agricultural sowing (cf. Leviticus 12:2’s tazrî‘a); here, the involuntary nocturnal emission (Poole, Gill, citing Deuteronomy 23:10).
וְרָחַ֥ץwə·rā·ḥaṣhe must batheH7364
√ râchats — to lave (the whole or a part of a thing)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular
כָּל־kāl-his wholeH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
בְּשָׂר֖וֹbə·śā·rōwbodyH1320
√ bâsâr — flesh (from its freshness)Nounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular
בְּשָׂרוֹ with kol — “all his flesh,” the plain bodily sense (Ellicott; Geneva’s gloss “f”: “all his body”). The full-body bathing the lighter impurity requires.
בַּמַּ֛יִםbam·ma·yimwith waterH4325
√ mayim — waterPreposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine plural
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
וְטָמֵ֥אwə·ṭā·mêand he will be uncleanH2930
√ ṭâmêʼ — to be foul, especially in a ceremial or moral sense (contaminated)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular
ṭāmē’, “to be unclean.” The mildest defilement of the chapter: cleared by water and the passing of a day, with no offering — “so as that they should not dare to approach the sanctuary for that day” (Benson).
עַד־‘aḏ-untilH5704
√ ʻad — as far (or long, or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until) or degree (equally with)Preposition
הָעָֽרֶב׃hā·‘ā·reḇeveningH6153
√ ʻereb — duskArticleNounmasculine singular
הָעֶרֶב (hā·‘ereḇ) — “the evening,” dusk (Strong). The boundary of the impurity; Benson: “until even — that is, till next day began.” Sundown, not midnight, ends the uncleanness.
The Voices✦ public domain+
The man who sustained it had simply to immerse his whole body in water the following morning, and remain unclean till sundown. Similar rites were performed by the ancients under the same circumstances.
And be unclean until the even — So as that they should not dare to approach the sanctuary for that day; until even — That is, till next day began. This law served both to preserve a due regard to natural purity, and to restrain the immoderate use of the marriage-bed.
in his sleep, which is called nightly pollution , which, though involuntary, might arise from some lustful dream or imagination. But if it was voluntary, and by a man’s own procurement when awake, it was esteemed abominable, and a degree of murder. See Genesis 38:9 .
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.
17“Any clothing or leather on which there is an emission of semen m…”+

17Any clothing or leather on which there is an emission of semen must be washed with water, and it will remain unclean until evening.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·ḵāl be·ḡeḏ wə·ḵāl ‘ō·wr ‘ā·lāw ’ă·šer- yih·yeh šiḵ·ḇaṯ- zā·ra‘ wə·ḵub·bas bam·ma·yim wə·ṭā·mê ‘aḏ- hā·‘ā·reḇ

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-any garment and-any skin on which there-is an-emission of-seed, shall-be-washed with-the-water, and-be-unclean until the-evening.

Where the English smooths the original

  • ע֔וֹר “Leather” renders עוֹר (‘ōwr), “skin (as naked).” Ellicott distinguishes it carefully from cloth: “everything which a man wears or lies upon made of skin, in contradistinction to the ordinary garments made of stuffs.” The English “leather” is right but loses the wider sense — any skin-thing, worn or lain upon.
  • וְכֻבַּ֥ס “Must be washed” renders וְכֻבַּס (wə·ḵub·bas), the Pual (passive intensive) of kāḇas, “to wash by treading.” The passive is precise: the garment is washed — the law names the required result, not the washer. The same defilement that the man bathes off himself (v. 16) must be trodden out of the cloth and skin he touched.
  • וְטָמֵ֥א “Will remain unclean” renders וְטָמֵא עַד־הָעֶרֶב, literally “and-be-unclean until the evening.” The Hebrew applies to the object the very formula used of the man in v. 16 — garment and skin share his day-long impurity exactly. Keil: the emission defiled “not only the man himself, but any garment or skin upon which any of it had come.”
Word by word14 · parsed+
וְכָל־wə·ḵālAnyH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeConjunctive wawNounmasculine singular construct
בֶּ֣גֶדbe·ḡeḏclothingH899
√ beged — a covering, iNounmasculine singular
בֶּגֶד (beged) — “a garment, a covering” (Strong). Cloth clothing, paired below with ‘ōwr (skin); together they cover whatever the man wore or lay on.
וְכָל־wə·ḵāl. . .H3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeConjunctive wawNounmasculine singular construct
ע֔וֹר‘ō·wror leatherH5785
√ ʻôwr — skin (as naked)Nounmasculine singular
עוֹר (‘ōwr) — “skin / leather.” Ellicott: things of skin, “in contradistinction to the ordinary garments made of stuffs” (cf. Leviticus 13:48). Both contract and must shed the uncleanness.
עָלָ֖יו‘ā·lāwonH5921
√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPrepositionthird person masculine singular
אֲשֶׁר־’ă·šer-whichH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
יִהְיֶ֥הyih·yehthere isH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
שִׁכְבַת־šiḵ·ḇaṯ-an emissionH7902
√ shᵉkâbâh — a lying down (of dew, or for the sexual act)Nounfeminine singular construct
שִׁכְבַת זֶרַע — “emission of seed,” repeating v. 16’s rare construct; the rule simply extends the man’s impurity to what it touched.
זָ֑רַעzā·ra‘of semenH2233
√ zeraʻ — seedNounmasculine singular
וְכֻבַּ֥סwə·ḵub·basmust be washedH3526
√ kâbaç — to trampleConjunctive wawVerbPualConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular
Pual of kāḇas, “to be washed by treading.” The passive intensive: the contaminated cloth and skin are fulled clean. Ellicott hears the apostle borrow this very picture — “hating even the garments spotted by the flesh” (Jude 1:23).
בַּמַּ֖יִםbam·ma·yimwith waterH4325
√ mayim — waterPreposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine plural
וְטָמֵ֥אwə·ṭā·mêand it will remain uncleanH2930
√ ṭâmêʼ — to be foul, especially in a ceremial or moral sense (contaminated)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular
ṭāmē’ — “unclean,” the same lightest grade as v. 16, cleared by washing and the passing of the day.
עַד־‘aḏ-untilH5704
√ ʻad — as far (or long, or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until) or degree (equally with)Preposition
הָעָֽרֶב׃פhā·‘ā·reḇeveningH6153
√ ʻereb — duskArticleNounmasculine singular
הָעֶרֶב (hā·‘ereḇ) — “the evening.” The object’s impurity ends at the same sundown as the man’s.
The Voices✦ public domain+
That is, everything which a man wears or lies upon made of skin, in contradistinction to the ordinary garments made of stuffs (see Leviticus 13:48 ) with which it is associated. Any one of these thus defiled was cleansed by washing. It is from this circumstance that the apostle borrows the expression “hating even the garments spotted by the flesh” ( Jude 1:23 ).
Every garment - Compare Jde 1:23.
And every garment, and every skin,.... Or that is made of skin, which a man wears, or lies upon, see Leviticus 13:48 , whereon is the seed of copulation; or on any other, for, as Gersom says, there is the same law concerning the rest of vessels, seeing this is a principal uncleanness, and defiles vessels;
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.
18“If a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, bo…”+

18If 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.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’îš ’ō·ṯāh yiš·kaḇ wə·’iš·šāh ’ă·šer šiḵ·ḇaṯ- zā·ra‘ wə·rā·ḥă·ṣū ḇam·ma·yim wə·ṭā·mə·’ū ‘aḏ- hā·‘ā·reḇ

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-a-woman with-whom a-man lies, an-emission of-seed — they-shall-both-bathe with-the-water, and-be-unclean until the-evening.

Where the English smooths the original

  • יִשְׁכַּ֥ב “Lies with” renders יִשְׁכַּב (yiš·kaḇ), Qal of šāḵaḇ, “to lie down… for rest, sexual connection, decease or any other purpose” (Strong). The verb shares its root with the noun šᵉḵāḇāh (“emission”) of the same verse — a wordplay the English cannot show: the lying and the lying-down of seed spoken with one root.
  • שִׁכְבַת־ שִׁכְבַת־זֶרַע (šiḵ·ḇaṯ-zera‘) is again the operative phrase. Keil insists the grammar is exact: “it was not the concubitus as such which defiled… but the emission of seed in the coitus.” The English “if a man lies with a woman and there is an emission” preserves this; many readers, says Keil, “erroneously suppose” the act itself defiled.
  • וְרָחֲצ֣וּ “Both must bathe” renders וְרָחֲצוּ (wə·rā·ḥă·ṣū), the plural of rāḥaṣ — and וְטָמְאוּ (wə·ṭā·mə·’ū), “and they shall be unclean,” also plural. The verbs turn common: both wash, both are unclean. The Hebrew’s shift from the singular man (vv. 16–17) to the shared plural marks marriage’s mutuality even in the law of impurity.
Word by word12 · parsed+
אִ֛ישׁ’îšIf a manH376
√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personNounmasculine singular
אִישׁ (’îš) with אִשָּׁה (’iššāh) — “a man” and “a woman.” The third case (Pulpit), conjugal union; Ellicott: “even when… intercourse between man and woman lawfully married… it pollutes both.”
אֹתָ֖הּ’ō·ṯāh. . .H854
√ ʼêth — properly, nearness (used only as a preposition or an adverb), nearPrepositionthird person feminine singular
יִשְׁכַּ֥בyiš·kaḇlies withH7901
√ shâkab — to lie down (for rest, sexual connection, decease or any other purpose)VerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
Qal of šāḵaḇ, “to lie with.” Sexual union; the same root underlies the “emission” (šᵉḵāḇāh) named in the verse. Poole guards the limit: this is not a general defilement of the marriage-bed, which Scripture calls “undefiled” (Hebrews 13:4).
וְאִשָּׁ֕הwə·’iš·šāha womanH802
√ ʼishshâh — a womanConjunctive wawNounfeminine singular
אֲשֶׁ֨ר’ă·šerH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
שִׁכְבַת־šiḵ·ḇaṯ-and there is an emissionH7902
√ shᵉkâbâh — a lying down (of dew, or for the sexual act)Nounfeminine singular construct
שִׁכְבַת זֶרַע — “emission of seed,” the precise cause of the defilement (Keil), not the marital act itself.
זָ֑רַעzā·ra‘of semenH2233
√ zeraʻ — seedNounmasculine singular
וְרָחֲצ֣וּwə·rā·ḥă·ṣūboth must batheH7364
√ râchats — to lave (the whole or a part of a thing)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person common plural
Plural of rāḥaṣ, “they shall bathe.” The verb goes plural: husband and wife together undergo the same washing.
בַמַּ֔יִםḇam·ma·yimwith waterH4325
√ mayim — waterPreposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine plural
וְטָמְא֖וּwə·ṭā·mə·’ūand they will remain uncleanH2930
√ ṭâmêʼ — to be foul, especially in a ceremial or moral sense (contaminated)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person common plural
Plural of ṭāmē’, “they shall be unclean.” Shared impurity, shared remedy; Cambridge: “as unclean they could not take part in the service of the sanctuary” (cf. Exodus 19:15; 1 Samuel 21:5).
עַד־‘aḏ-untilH5704
√ ʻad — as far (or long, or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until) or degree (equally with)Preposition
הָעָֽרֶב׃hā·‘ā·reḇeveningH6153
√ ʻereb — duskArticleNounmasculine singular
הָעֶרֶב — “the evening,” the same sundown-boundary closing all three lighter cases (vv. 16, 17, 18). The unit ends where each minor defilement ends: at dusk, with the next day clean.
The Voices✦ public domain+
The law of pollution was not designed to put a check upon marriage, since matrimony is a Divine institution ( Genesis 1:27-28 ; Genesis 2:21-25 ), but it is intended to prevent husband and wife from making an immoderate use of their conjugal life, and thus to preserve them in health and vigour by prescribing such constant purifications after it.
yet to affirm that the use of it in other cases did generally defile the persons, and make them unclean till even, is contrary to the whole current of Scripture, which affirms the marriage-bed to be undefiled, Hebrews 13:4 , to the practice of the Jews, which is a good comment upon their own laws, and to the light of nature and reason.
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.
Verse 18. - The third case of an issue (cf. Exodus 19:15 ; 1 Samuel 21:5 ; 1 Corinthians 7:5 ).
The Pulpit Commentary numbers the chapter's defilements: this conjugal case is the third, set beside David's men kept ceremonially fit (1 Samuel 21:5) and Paul's counsel on marital abstinence for prayer (1 Corinthians 7:5).
As unclean they could not take part in the service of the sanctuary. Similar limitations are found Exodus 19:15 ; 1 Samuel 21:5 f.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

Grand Commentary — the unit, read wholesynthesis · verify+

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. From defilement to cure — the healed man counts his seven days — 13

After eleven verses of defilement (vv. 2–12), the chapter turns at last to its cure, and the voices agree on the crucial point of timing: the bodily stoppage is not the cleansing. Barnes states it flatly — “the mere cessation of the issue does not make him clean: he must wait seven days.” Ellicott reads the opening verb יִטְהַר (yiṭ·har) as meaning only “recovered or healed of his infirmity… as the real purification was not accomplished till he had performed the ritual.” Gill, leaning on Jarchi and Maimonides, presses the rigor: the seven must be “seven pure days, quite free from pollution,” any relapse restarting the count from the day of the last appearance. The one detail every commentator seizes is the water. Ellicott: alone among all the defiled, who were immersed in “a collection of water,” this restored man “was ordered to bathe in a fountain or in spring water” — מַיִם חַיִּים, living water. The Hebrew runs the whole verse from one ṭāhēr to another: from healed (v. 2) to admitted — “to converse with men, and with God in public ordinances” (Poole).

ii. The eighth day, and the meanest offering for all alike — 14–15

On the eighth day — the day after a complete seven, the day of approach in Leviticus (cf. 9:1; 14:23) — the man brings two birds to the threshold. Gill fixes the geography with care: “not into the tabernacle, where he was not admitted till the sacrifice was offered… but he was to stand at the door… and so fronting the west, where stood the holy of holies,” reckoned thereby to “come before the Lord.” Ellicott catches what is genuinely surprising: two turtledoves or pigeons are elsewhere the poor man’s concession (Leviticus 5:7; 12:8), but here “the meanest offering was prescribed for all alike… without giving them the choice of bringing a more costly sacrifice.” Rich and poor present the same humble pair. JFB draws the leper-parallel that governs the whole rite: “like a leprous person he underwent a week’s probation,” and then “the priest made an atonement for him… as well as the typical pardon of his sins.” The atonement-verb is כָּפַר (kāp̄ar), “to cover”; the sin offering is required, the voices stress, even though — Poole — the issue was “not as if this was in itself a sin.” Gill names the shadow it casts: “typical of the atonement by the blood and sacrifice of Christ, by which all kinds of sin is expiated and removed.”

iii. The lighter cases — a day, a washing, the falling of evening — 16–18

The chapter now drops to its mildest grade of impurity, three quick cases that need no sacrifice and no seven days — only water and the passing of a day “until evening.” Benson gives the rhythm: “unclean until the even… that is, till next day began.” At v. 16 the text does something the careful reader should notice: where “flesh” (בָּשָׂר) has carried a euphemistic, body-specific sense through the whole section, here, says Ellicott, “the sacred writer designedly added (ĕth kol) ‘all,’ so that it might be distinguished” — “all his flesh,” the plain whole body (Geneva’s gloss: “meaning, all his body”). The defilement spreads to things as well as persons (v. 17): Keil — “not only the man himself, but any garment or skin upon which any of it had come.” And Ellicott hears the New Testament borrow the very image: “hating even the garments spotted by the flesh” (Jude 1:23). The third case (v. 18) is conjugal, and here the grammar turns plural — “they shall both bathe… and be unclean.” Keil guards the precise reading: “it was not the concubitus as such which defiled, as many erroneously suppose, but the emission of seed.” Poole sets the fence firmly: to make the marriage-bed itself defiling is “contrary to the whole current of Scripture, which affirms the marriage-bed to be undefiled, Hebrews 13:4.”

iv. Why the law at all — health, holiness, and the watching God — 13–18

Across the whole unit the commentators offer two complementary readings of the law’s purpose, and keep them honestly apart. The first is practical and moral: Benson says the rule “served both to preserve a due regard to natural purity, and to restrain the immoderate use of the marriage-bed,” and Ellicott agrees the purifications were “intended to prevent husband and wife from making an immoderate use of their conjugal life… to preserve them in health and vigour.” The second is theological, and it is Matthew Henry’s whole-chapter key, the line that gathers the entire section: “These laws remind us that God sees all things, even those which escape the notice of men.” The flux, the night-emission, the marriage-bed at midnight — all hidden from human courts, all seen by the LORD, all brought under His holiness. Henry then names the gospel the law foreshadows: “The great gospel duties of faith and repentance are here signified, and the great gospel privileges of the application of Christ’s blood to our souls for our justification, and his grace for our sanctification.”

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

Set against the rule that Scripture alone is the final authority, four things stand out in this passage — offered as a reading to be tested, not a verdict to be trusted.

Healing is not the same as cleansing. The man’s flux stops, and he is still not clean (v. 13); seven counted days and a sacrifice stand between the cure and the restoration. Barnes states the bare datum — “the mere cessation of the issue does not make him clean.” The text quietly teaches that being better and being reconciled to the holy are two different things, and only the second opens the door to the sanctuary. Restoration to God is granted by atonement, never assumed from recovery.

Even what is no one’s fault still needs a covering. The sin offering of v. 15 is required for a condition the voices uniformly say was “not in itself a sin” (Poole, Gill). The law thus reads uncleanness as a state of fallen nature — something true of the body in a fallen world — not merely a tally of deeds. The holiness of God is exacting enough that the most involuntary frailty cannot simply walk into His presence; it must be covered (כָּפַר).

And the door is built low — the same low — for everyone. The single most striking provision here is that the chapter’s humblest offering, two birds, is prescribed for all alike, with no costlier option (Ellicott). Where other laws let the rich bring more, this one levels every Israelite to the same two doves. The way back to God is not graded by wealth. The God who draws the line of holiness builds one door, and builds it where the poorest can reach it.

The flux can stop and the man still stand outside the camp; what heals the body does not yet open the door — only the blood the priest covers him with does that.

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripturecross-refs · verify+

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The week's probation — the discharger cleansed like the leper structural / thematic — confirmed

The cure of vv. 13–15 is built on the same scaffold as the cleansing of the healed leper in Leviticus 14: a fixed waiting period, the washing of clothes, the bathing of the body, and finally the verdict “clean.” The Verifier confirms a dense lexical overlap between Leviticus 15:13 and Leviticus 14:8 on four content-words — כָּבַס (kāḇas, wash by treading, 48 vv), רָחַץ (rāḥaṣ, bathe, 71 vv), טָהֵר (ṭāhēr, be clean, 79 vv) and בֶּגֶד (beged, garment, 190 vv), plus the seven-day count. JFB names the parallel outright: “like a leprous person he underwent a week’s probation, to make sure he was completely healed.” The link is genuine and verbal-grade in its shared vocabulary, but its force is structural — a shared template of staged return-to-the-holy applied to two different defilements — rather than one text quoting the other, so it is tiered structural, not “verbal / quotation.”

Leviticus 15:13 · Leviticus 14:8

basis: Verifier (Lev 15:13 ↔ Lev 14:8): shared lexemes H3526 kâbaç (48 vv), H7364 râchats (71 vv), H2891 ṭâhêr (79 vv), H899 beged (190 vv), with H7651 shebaʻ and H4325 mayim — a real lexical cluster, but a shared purification template (leper / discharger), not a quotation, so tiered structural.

Shᵉkāḇāh — the rare seed-word that links the laws of the issue verbal / quotation — confirmed

The “emission of seed” of vv. 16–18 is named by the construct שִׁכְבַת־זֶרַע (šiḵ·ḇaṯ-zera‘), built on the noun šᵉḵāḇāh — and that noun is rare, occurring in only nine verses of the whole Hebrew Bible. The Verifier finds it shared, together with ṭāmē’ (unclean) and zera‘ (seed), between Leviticus 15:16 and two other laws: Numbers 5:13, the trial of the suspected wife (“and a man lie with her carnally… šᵉḵāḇaṯ-zera‘”), and Leviticus 19:20, the case of a betrothed bondwoman. Because the shared term is so uncommon, its co-occurrence is a true verbal chain rather than ordinary vocabulary — the same legal idiom for the same physical fact, deliberately reused across the purity and morality codes. Held honestly: these are parallel uses of a fixed phrase, not one verse citing another; the verbal tier rests on the rarity of šᵉḵāḇāh, as the Verifier records.

Leviticus 15:16 · Leviticus 15:18 · Numbers 5:13 · Leviticus 19:20

basis: Verifier (Lev 15:16 ↔ Num 5:13): shared rare lexeme H7902 shᵉkâbâh (only 9 vv) with H2930 ṭâmêʼ and H2233 zeraʻ; and (Lev 15:18 ↔ Lev 19:20): shared H7902 shᵉkâbâh with H7901 shâkab, H2233 zeraʻ, H802 ʼishshâh. The low frequency of shᵉkâbâh (9 vv) makes the shared phrase a genuine verbal chain across the legal codes.

Living water — the fountain the rite required structural / thematic — confirmed

Verse 13 alone, in this whole section, demands not standing water but מַיִם חַיִּים (mayim ḥayyîm), “living water.” The Verifier confirms the phrase is shared with Leviticus 14:5–6, the cleansing of the leper, where the bird is killed “over running water” — the same two words, ḥay (“living,” 450 vv) and mayim (“water,” 522 vv). Ellicott sends the reader straight there: “for the phrase ‘living water,’ see Leviticus 14:5; 14:50.” The motif of living, moving water as the medium of the deepest cleansings runs on through Scripture — Numbers 19:17 (the water of separation) and forward to the prophets and the Gospel, where the same idea becomes a name for the Spirit (Jeremiah 2:13; John 7:38). Gill reads the Levitical water itself as “typical of the fountain opened in Christ to wash in for sin and uncleanness.” The link to Leviticus 14 is lexical and confirmed; the wider stream is thematic, tiered structural because it is a shared image, not a quotation.

Leviticus 15:13 · Leviticus 14:5 · Numbers 19:17

basis: Verifier (Lev 15:13 ↔ Lev 14:5): shared lexemes H2416 chay (450 vv) + H4325 mayim (522 vv) — the 'living water' phrase. Held structural: a shared cleansing-image (discharger / leper / water of separation), not a quotation. The Numbers 19:17 and prophetic legs are thematic association on the same motif.

Zôwb — the issue named, and the curse invoked by it structural / thematic — confirmed

The keyword that opens and closes the cure (vv. 13, 15) is זוֹב (zôwb, “flux, issue”), a rare noun (10 verses), with its cognate verb זוּב (zûwb, “to flow,” 41 verses). The Verifier ties this unit to the chapter’s own summary in Leviticus 15:32 (“this is the law of him that hath an issue,” shared zûwb) and, more pointedly, to 2 Samuel 3:29 — where David, cursing the house of Joab, prays “let there not fail… one that hath an issue,” the very word of this law turned into an imprecation. Ellicott draws the connection by name: “when David in his great indignation wanted to invoke an imprecation upon his adversaries, he exclaimed ‘Let there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue.’” The shared rare verb is the lexical anchor; the connection is a shared term and its social weight (the discharger barred from the camp, Numbers 5:2), not a quotation, so it is held structural.

Leviticus 15:13 · Leviticus 15:32 · 2 Samuel 3:29

basis: Verifier (Lev 15:13 ↔ Lev 15:32 and ↔ 2 Sam 3:29): shared rare verb H2100 zûwb (41 vv) — the 'flowing/issue' word; Lev 15:13 also shares the rarer noun H2101 zôwb (10 vv) across ch. 15. Held structural: a shared keyword and the social stigma it names (Ellicott cites 2 Sam 3:29 by name), not a quotation of one verse by another.

The woman with the issue of blood — the law touched and fulfilled flagged — verify source

The same chapter’s law of the zāḇ (the man, vv. 1–15) and the zāḇāh (the woman, vv. 19–30) stands behind the Gospel scene of the woman who “had an issue of blood twelve years” and touched the hem of Jesus’ garment (Mark 5:25–34; Luke 8:43–48). Under Leviticus 15, her touch would have rendered Him unclean (cf. v. 19); instead, “immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up,” and her uncleanness did not pass to Him — His purity passed to her. Held honestly: this is a cross-Testament link. Mark and Luke are Greek, Leviticus Hebrew, so no shared Strong’s number can carry it; the Verifier finds no lexical overlap, and the connection must be argued from the shared law and its reversal in the Gospel, not asserted as verbal. It is flagged precisely so the basis — a typological fulfillment of this purity law — is shown for what it is and not dressed up as a lexical chain.

Leviticus 15:13 · Mark 5:25-34 · Luke 8:43-48

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek Mark/Luke ↔ Hebrew Leviticus): the Verifier finds NO shared original-language lexeme, so this cannot be tiered 'verbal.' The link is an argued typological fulfillment of the ch. 15 issue-law (the unclean touch that, reversed, cleanses rather than defiles) — flagged so the basis is shown as argued, not asserted from the lexical index.

Christ in the Unittypology · verify+

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

Living water — the fountain opened for uncleanness widely-held

Of all the defiled in this chapter, the healed discharger alone must bathe in מַיִם חַיִּים, “living water” (v. 13) — running, spring-fed, alive. Gill reads it as “typical of the fountain opened in Christ to wash in for sin and uncleanness, even the fountain of his blood, which cleanses from all sin.” The image runs straight to the prophet’s promise of “a fountain opened… for sin and for uncleanness” (Zechariah 13:1) and to the Lord’s own words: “out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). Offered as widely held: the early and Reformed readers alike saw in the law’s insistence on living, not stagnant, water a deliberate pointer to the only cleansing that is itself alive — the blood and the Spirit of Christ.

Leviticus 15:13 · Zechariah 13:1 · John 7:38

The sin offering for what was no sin — the Sinless bearing the unclean widely-held

The law requires a sin offering for a condition the voices agree was “not in itself a sin” (Poole, Gill) — atonement for the frailty of a fallen body, not for a deed. Gill names the type: the offering is “typical of the atonement by the blood and sacrifice of Christ, by which all kinds of sin is expiated and removed.” The pattern is the gospel in shadow: One who had no defilement of His own underwent the sin offering for defilement that was not, in the sufferer, moral guilt — “he made him to be sin who knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). The widely-held reading is that the chapter’s whole machinery of bird, blood, and covering points beyond itself to the single sacrifice that takes away what it could only cover.

Leviticus 15:15 · 2 Corinthians 5:21

What the law could only cover, the blood of Christ takes away novel

The rite ends, as the whole sacrificial system does, with the priest’s covering — כָּפַר (kāp̄ar, v. 15) — and the verdict “clean.” Offered as this tool’s own reading, to be tested: the ceremonial law could declare the discharger ceremonially clean, restoring him to the camp and the sanctuary, but it could not reach the deeper uncleanness of nature that the very sin offering implied. What two birds covered for a day, Hebrews says the blood of Christ at last cleanses — “how much more shall the blood of Christ… purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:13–14). The shadow named the problem — even the body’s involuntary flux bars one from the holy; the Substance solved it, opening access not for a day but forever (Hebrews 10:19–22). Held honestly: the Hebrews link is cross-Testament (Greek) and so cannot rest on a shared lexeme; it is an argued fulfillment, named here as this tool’s reading to be weighed against the text.

Leviticus 15:13 · Leviticus 15:15 · Hebrews 9:13-14 · Hebrews 10:19-22

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

The base text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). The named voices (✦) are quoted verbatim from public-domain commentaries on BibleHub — Ellicott, Benson, Henry, Barnes, Jamieson–Fausset–Brown, Poole, Gill, Geneva, Cambridge, Pulpit, and Keil & Delitzsch — each attributed in place. Where a verse offered no Poole note (vv. 14, 17) or only the same recurring whole-chapter note from Henry, the verse-page voices were chosen for distinctness, so that the four selected voices per verse do not repeat one another.

The literal renderings, the “where the English smooths the Hebrew” notes, the parses-as-read, and all synthesis (⚙) are this tool’s own fallible work; check them against a lexicon (BDB, HALOT) and a standard grammar. Three points are held with extra honesty. (1) Ellicott’s reading of “flesh” (bāśār) as euphemistic through vv. 2–13 and plain only at v. 16 (“all his flesh”) is his argument from the text, persuasive but interpretive; the parses simply read bāśār as “flesh.” (2) The thread to the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5 / Luke 8) and the reading of Christ in Hebrews 9–10 are cross-Testament links: because the New Testament is Greek and Leviticus Hebrew, no shared Strong’s number can carry them, so they are tiered on argued fulfillment, never on lexical identity. (3) The šᵉḵāḇāh chain (vv. 16, 18 ↔ Numbers 5:13; Leviticus 19:20) is tiered verbal because the shared word occurs in only nine verses — its rarity, recorded by the Verifier, is the basis. This unit contains no Joshua 1:5, so the Joshua → Hebrews 13:5 flag rule does not apply here. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)

= human, public-domain source, quoted and named. = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)