Leviticus 15:20-24 · Bible study
Leviticus 15:20-24 Commentary: Ritual Impurity and the Boundaries of Holiness
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore the purity laws for menstruation in Leviticus 15:20, 24, their cultural background, theological meaning, and pastoral relevance today.
Research Summary
- Meaning: This passage sets out the rules of uncleanness caused by a menstruating woman, including the transmission of impurity to objects and people, and the special case of intercourse during her period.
- Key words: niddah (menstruous impurity), central to understanding the condition as ceremonial, not moral; shakhov yishkav (certainly lie), infinitive absolute emphasizing the action of intercourse.
- Main debate: Whether verse 24 refers to accidental or willful intercourse; most see it as unintentional, while Leviticus 20:18 addresses the willful act with the death penalty.
- Theological theme: Holiness requires separation from bodily manifestations of mortality; the rules teach reverence for life, sex, and the presence of God.
- Best use: In a series on Old Testament purity laws, illustrating how everyday life was bounded by rituals that pointed to God’s holiness and the need for purification.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
20Anything on which she lies or sits during her menstruation will be unclean,
21and anyone who touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
22Whoever touches any furniture on which she was sitting must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
23And whether it is a bed or furniture on which she was sitting, whoever touches it will be unclean until evening.
24If 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.
WEB World English Bible 2000
20“‘Everything that she lies on in her impurity shall be unclean. Everything also that she sits on shall be unclean.
21Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
22Whoever touches anything that she sits on shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
23If it is on the bed, or on anything she sits on, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until the evening.
24“‘If any man lies with her, and her monthly flow is on him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed he lies on shall be unclean.
KJV King James Version 1769
20And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.
21And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
22And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
23And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.
24And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
20And everything that she lieth upon in her impurity shall be unclean: everything also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.
21And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
22And whosoever toucheth anything that she sitteth upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
23And if it be on the bed, or on anything whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.
24And if any man lie with her, and her impurity be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
20`And anything on which she lieth in her separation is unclean, and anything on which she sitteth is unclean;
21and any one who is coming against her bed doth wash his garments, and hath bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening.
22`And any one who is coming against any vessel on which she sitteth doth wash his garments, and hath washed with water, and been unclean till the evening.
23`And if it is on the bed, or on the vessel on which she is sitting, in his coming against it, he is unclean till the evening.
24`And if a man really lie with her, and her separation is on him, then he hath been unclean seven days, and all the bed on which he lieth is unclean.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
20And everything that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean; and everything that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.
21And whoever toucheth her bed shall wash his garments, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even.
22And whoever toucheth any object that she sat upon shall wash his garments, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even.
23And if it be on the bed, or on anything whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.
24And if a man lie with her at all, and the uncleanness of her separation come upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
20Every one that toucheth her, shall be unclean until the evening.
21And every thing that she sleepeth on, or that she sitteth on in the days of her separation, shall be defiled.
22He that toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes: and being himself washed with water, shall be unclean until the evening.
23Whosoever shall touch any vessel on which she sitteth, shall wash his clothes: and himself being washed with water, shall be defiled until the evening.
24If a man copulateth with her in the time of her flowers, he shall be unclean seven days: and every bed on which he shall sleep, shall be defiled.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Leviticus 15:20
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Leviticus 15:20, 24 describes a system of ritual uncleanness connected to normal bodily functions, not moral sin. The key word niddah (menstruous impurity) occurs throughout, marking the woman’s condition as one that renders objects and people ceremonially unclean. Cambridge Bible notes that similar precautions existed in other ancient religions. Gill and Barnes stress that verse 24 distinguishes between an accidental occurrence (seven days’ uncleanness) and the willful act condemned in Leviticus 20:18. Keil & Delitzsch explain that the seven-day period for menstruation (though the flow often lasts fewer days) is tied to the symbolic number seven, representing completeness. No commentator treats this as a medical or hygienic law in the modern sense; rather, it is about maintaining the holiness of the community and the sanctuary. The regulations taught Israel that human life, in all its frailty and mortality, is set apart for God, and contact with what signifies death requires a ritual boundary.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Accidental intercourse view: The seven-day penalty is softer than death in Lev 20:18, implying the couple did not know or intend the act; supported by Aben Ezra and many commentators.
- Willful but lesser offense view: Some argue that verse 24 simply sets the uncleanness duration for any such act, while Lev 20:18 adds the legal penalty for proven willful violations.
- Non-intercourse view (minority): A few read verse 24 as only sharing the bed, not intercourse, but most (Keil & Delitzsch, Gill) reject this based on the phraseology and parallel texts.
What is clear: The passage establishes that a menstruating woman’s contact with objects and persons transmits ritual uncleanness, and that intercourse during her period results in a longer period of uncleanness.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The nature of uncleanness | All traditions agree that the woman’s uncleanness is ceremonial/ritual, not moral or sinful. It stems from a normal biological process and requires washing and waiting, not a sacrifice. | Some modern readers emphasize a health/hygiene rationale (Adam Clarke suggests it could prevent certain diseases in offspring), while most scholars (Cambridge, Keil & Delitzsch) insist the law is purely religious, building a symbolic boundary around mortality. |
| Intent and punishment | Commentators agree that <cite>Leviticus 15:24</cite> carries a seven-day uncleanness, while <cite>Leviticus 20:18</cite> prescribes death for willful intercourse during menstruation. | Whether verse 24 describes an act done in ignorance (Gill, Barnes, Keil) or one that is simply less aggravated. The former view is widespread, though the text itself does not explicitly state the man’s knowledge. |
| Relevance for Christians | Christians across traditions regard the ceremonial laws of Leviticus as fulfilled in Christ and not binding as law. | Some (e.g., historic Reformed) see them as typological shadows of spiritual cleansing; others (Catholic, Orthodox) see them in continuity with canonical penance and ritual purity in liturgy. The degree of direct application varies. |
| The woman's role | All agree the woman is not blamed or punished for her normal period; she is simply in a state that prevents contact with sacred space. | Feminist and some modern scholars critique these laws as marginalizing women, while others defend them as protective boundaries. Traditional commentators do not raise this critique but focus on the system’s symmetry with male discharges. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Leviticus 15 belongs to the Holiness Code (chapters 11, 15), which governs purity and impurity. In ancient Israel, the tabernacle was God’s dwelling place among the people, and any uncleanness risked defiling it (Leviticus 15:31). Bodily emissions, semen, blood, pus, rendered a person unclean because they represented the loss of life force and thus mortality. Menstruation, a normal biological rhythm, was treated similarly.
The uncleanness extended to everything the woman lay or sat on (vv. 20, 23). This made the impurity highly contagious and required vigilance. Anyone who touched such objects needed to wash clothes, bathe, and remain unclean until evening. Washing with water was a standard purification ritual elsewhere in the Law (e.g., Leviticus 15:5, 8). The evening marked a natural transition, restoring the person for the next day.
Verse 24 addresses a delicate situation: a man having intercourse with a menstruating woman. The Hebrew construction uses an infinitive absolute (shâkobh yishkav, “certainly lie”) to emphasize the action. Commentators such as Aben Ezra (cited by Gill) see this as an act done in ignorance, otherwise it carried the death penalty (Leviticus 20:18). The seven-day uncleanness for the man, rather than one day, underlined the severity of the contact. Keil & Delitzsch clarify that “lying with her” means intercourse, not merely sharing a bed, based on parallels in Genesis and Numbers.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Leviticus 15:20, 24. The Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint contain an additional clause in verse 3 (the initial case of a man with a discharge), but not in these verses. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts. The infinitive absolute shâkobh yishkav (certainly lie) in verse 24 is well attested and supports the emphatic sense.
Reception History
Within Judaism, these verses were expanded in the Mishnah (Niddah tractate) into detailed rules for women’s menstrual purity, shaping both Temple observance and later family life. Early Christian writers (e.g., Origen, Augustine) interpreted the laws allegorically as types of spiritual defilement from sin. Medieval Jewish commentators like Rashi and Ibn Ezra made literal, contextual readings. During the Reformation, Luther and Calvin saw the ceremonial law as a teacher of sin and a shadow of Christ’s purification. Modern interpreters, informed by anthropology and feminism, read the passage as a case study in how ancient Israel regulated the sacred by controlling contact with bodily functions. The laws are consistently understood as part of the covenant community’s preparation to approach a holy God.
Preaching This Verse
Three-Point Outline
- God cares about the whole of life, even the hidden, ordinary aspects. The laws about menstruation show that nothing is neutral before God. The physical, biological, and everyday are brought into the sphere of the holy.
- Purity rules teach boundaries that protect community and sanctuary. The extended contagion of uncleanness reminded Israel that God’s presence among them required careful separation. Ignoring these boundaries led to defilement and, ultimately, exclusion from worship.
- The distinction between known and unknown sin matters. Verse 24’s milder penalty (seven days) for what appears unintentional (vs. death in Leviticus 20:18) shows that God judges the heart. Our degree of knowledge and intention affects the gravity of sin.
Five-Point Outline
- The woman’s condition: normal but separating (vv. 19, 20)
- Contamination of objects: the reach of uncleanness (vv. 20, 23)
- Purification procedures: washing, waiting, restoration (vv. 21, 22)
- Intercourse during the period: a different level of contact (v. 24)
- The goal: keeping the tabernacle undefiled (cf. Leviticus 15:31)
Illustration Hooks
- A kitchen timer: V. 23 uses “until the evening”, a fixed time for uncleanness to lift. Like a timer that rings at a certain hour, the law gave a predictable path back to community.
- Airport security lines: The multiple steps (wash clothes, bathe, wait) resemble the repeated checks before boarding a flight. Each stage ensured thorough purification before re-entry to sacred space.
- A garden fence: The rules created boundaries around the woman without isolating her in shame. She was still part of the household but had a defined space and routine, like a fenced-off garden that protects while still belonging to the property.
Questions Your Congregation Is Asking
- Does this law mean a woman is “dirty” or sinful for having her period? What does it say about God’s view of women?
- Why does touching objects require washing, but intercourse with the woman herself is worse? What’s the difference?
- How do these ancient purity laws apply to Christians who are not under the law of Moses?
Leading a Discussion
These verses from Leviticus can feel strange and distant from our lives. But they open a window into how God’s Old Testament people learned to approach Him with reverence. The laws about menstruation were not about shame but about holiness. In your group, work through what these rules teach about God, human bodies, and community.
Discussion Questions
- What stands out to you in these verses? What seems most different from how we think about cleanliness today?
- The woman’s uncleanness spreads to what she touches (bed, chair, clothing). Why do you think the law extends so far? What does this show about the nature of ritual impurity?
- Compare verse 21 (touching her bed = one day) with verse 24 (intercourse = seven days). What makes the second case more serious?
- According to commentators like Gill and Barnes, verse 24 may refer to an unexpected/ignorant act, while Leviticus 20:18 condemns willful sin. Does this distinction seem fair? What does it tell you about God’s patience?
- These rules were part of Israel’s worship system. How does Leviticus 15:31 (“that they die not in their uncleanness”) connect to the whole purpose of purity laws?
- If we believe Jesus’ sacrifice has fulfilled the ceremonial law, what value (if any) do these Old Testament passages have for followers of Christ today? (See Hebrews 9:13, 14.)
- How can we talk about topics like menstruation and bodily functions in church in a way that honors God and respects people, without being coarse or embarrassed?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Leviticus 15:4 | “‘Every bed on which he who has the discharge lies shall be unclean; and everything he sits on shall be unclean. |
| Leviticus 15:9 | “‘Whatever saddle he who has the discharge rides on shall be unclean. |
| Proverbs 2:16 | to deliver you from the strange woman, even from the foreigner who flatters with her words, |
| Proverbs 2:19 | None who go to her return again, neither do they attain to the paths of life. |
| Proverbs 5:3 | For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil, |
| Proverbs 5:13 | I haven’t obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor turned my ear to those who instructed me! |
| Proverbs 6:24 | to keep you from the immoral woman, from the flattery of the wayward wife’s tongue. |
| Proverbs 6:35 | He won’t regard any ransom, neither will he rest content, though you give many gifts. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that ancient common sense held that children conceived during a woman's period were often infected with leprous or scrofulous diseases. He reconciles the death penalty elsewhere with a seven-day separation here by distinguishing known versus unknown circumstances at the time of the act.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes notes that the phrase "this" refers to an unexpected event, specifically the heavy crime of intercourse during a woman's period. Such an act was to be punished by being cut off from the community, as the law commanded.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator notes that the uncleanness from a woman's normal period mirrors that of other discharges but requires no sacrifice. He then raises a textual puzzle: this verse may describe a different act than the one forbidden in Leviticus 18:19 and 20:18. This distinction shapes how the passage is interpreted.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes emphasize the strict ceremonial uncleanness that spreads from a woman during her monthly period. Any person or object that touches her bed or seat becomes unclean until evening and must wash. Even marital intimacy during this time brings a seven-day uncleanness, showing how fully the law separated these physical conditions from worship.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill notes that the woman's uncleanness during her separation extends to everything she lies or sits on, making those items defiling to anyone who touches them. He stresses that any man who unknowingly lies with her during this time becomes unclean for seven days, while willful violation carries the penalty of cutting off according to Leviticus 20:18.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch point out that the seven-day period for menstrual uncleanness was set by the symbolic meaning of the number seven, not by the actual duration of the flow. They also clarify that the man who lies with her in verse 24 refers specifically to accidental defilement during conjugal intercourse when her period unexpectedly begins, not to the willful sin condemned in other verses.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange sees these sexual purity laws as Moses translating moral conditions into ritual form, showing how uncleanness spreads subtly to everyone it touches. The effect is to place all people under the sentence of unclean, driving them toward the need for a universal atonement that no single offering can fully satisfy.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley highlights that the law treated the sin differently depending on whether it was done ignorantly or knowingly, with deliberate sin punished by death. He adds that such acts were not only morally corrupt but also physically harmful, producing weak or diseased children and bringing public dishonor on God and the faith.