Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 15:28-33

28 But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean.

29 And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

30 And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before the Lord for the issue of her uncleanness.

31 Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.

32 This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed goeth from him, and is defiled therewith;

33 And of her that is sick of her flowers, and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and of the woman, and of him that lieth with her that is unclean.

Today concludes the case of women who have special conditions that cause perpetual bleeding outside of their regular menstrual cycles. After they were recovered, they would undergo the same ritual that was used for the man with a bodily discharge, and the second half of the rituals for a leper. Seven days of waiting, then on the eighth day taking two birds for a sin and a burnt offering. As mentioned before, this pattern matches that done for a newborn, signifying a rebirth into society.

This brings us to the end of the laws and rituals that govern ritual uncleanness and the return from that state. As we have observed multiple times, uncleanness did not mean sinful. Certainly, one could be unclean and sinful, but the former did not in-and-of-itself imply the latter. Being unclean was unfortunate and to some degree unavoidable. That being said, it was also a fact that those who engaged in unclean living were also likely to have some forms of ritual uncleanness more often. The same is true today, and we see how easy it becomes to judge unclean people as having done something wrong.

As with all things, this requires balance and wisdom. There isn’t anything wrong in noticing patterns and governing oneself with care, but at the same time compassion for the afflicted, whether sinful or not, must have its due, too. Especially since, as already mentioned, we all are unclean at some point. And not only innocently unclean either. We will all be in ugly, compromised, unclean states because of our selfishness, our deceit, and our sin. Obviously, that doesn’t lead us to condone it in others, but we should understand and have patience for it.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 15:25-27

25 And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean.

26 Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her separation: and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her separation.

27 And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

Yesterday we discussed the situation of a woman having her period, and the temporary uncleanness brought about by that. But that only covered the common case. There were abnormal cases also. When verse 25 says a woman might have “an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation,” it means she is having a persistent discharge of blood, and it isn’t due to her regular menstrual cycle. These are special medical conditions that we have names for today, such as Chronic Abnormal Uterine Bleeding.

This is exactly the sort of condition that the woman who “had an issue of blood twelve years” must have suffered from. She had been perpetually ritually unclean because of this condition, with all of the social and physical afflictions that would have come with that. Going out in public to touch the hem of Jesus’s garment was quite the bold action, one that could have potentially earned her revulsion and a scolding. But she trusted that it would make her whole and she dearly desired that. She was right, and Jesus was not offended that an unclean woman had touched him. Rather he commended her for her faith and told her to “go in peace.”

Like a man with an irregular discharge from his genitals, the woman with a long-standing issue of blood also required a special ritual at the temple after she became clean. In fact, it was the exact same ritual, and we will hear about it in tomorrow’s verses.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 15:19-24

19 And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.

20 And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.

21 And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

22 And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

23 And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.

24 And 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.

Now we shift our attention to a bodily discharge from a woman, as opposed to a man. The most obvious example of this, of course, is when she has her period. This is the situation that today’s verses cover, and we are told that she will be ritually unclean for the duration, and anyone or anything that touches her throughout this duration will need to be washed and then be clean again the next day.

It is important to note that the situation for the woman is the same as for the man. There are those that will take special offense that the Bible talks about a woman’s period as being an “unclean time,” while ignoring the fact that women were not singled out in this regard at all. We have already seen in this chapter that all people were subject to unclean times, and that there was no special shame in that condition. We even discussed yesterday how Jesus, while sinless, most probably was ritually unclean at times himself, and that is the greatest evidence of all that there is no condemnation in it.

But so far, we have talked only about a woman’s regular menstrual cycle. What if she had one of the conditions that made the discharge of blood much more prolonged, such as the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’s robes for healing? We will discuss that matter tomorrow.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 15:16-18

16 And if any man’s seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash 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 man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even.

Today’s verses are clearly referencing a man’s ejaculate, and the method for cleanliness around it is very simple. Any person or item that makes contact must be washed, and it will be considered clean again at the start of the next day. This notion of tomorrow being a clean new day is one that we still naturally hold in today’s culture. Especially in the modern era where the day changes in the middle of the night, so we go to sleep in the same day as our troubles and then rise reborn in the morning.

For this next bit of commentary, I want to assure you that I am not trying to be crude or sacrilegious in any way, but I find it worth considering that Jesus’s body presumably followed the standard biological functions, which would include the occasional nighttime emission, which would mean that even he would be ritually unclean at certain times. Far from trying to demean him, I think this demonstrates how our modern culture puts far more shame on the Biblical idea of being “unclean” than was ever intended.

Yes, of course, one could be made unclean by personal error, but it would also come by simply living life. It was an inevitable state. Being declared unclean was simply an appropriate recognition of the perpetual fallen state that we all find ourselves in, not in-and-of-itself a consignment of guilt. It was an invitation to consider that that state we live in is lower than God’s, and we should feel humbled by that fact, but not ashamed.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 15:13-15

13 And when he that hath an issue is 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.

14 And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before the Lord unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and give them unto the priest:

15 And the priest shall offer them, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord for his issue.

Yesterday I spoke about how society tends to avoid those who have unpleasantness oozing from them, whether it be physical, spiritual, emotional, or social. While we may not necessarily refer to people as “clean” and “unclean,” anymore, our natural instincts to distance ourselves matches the patterns described in the verses of this chapter.

But someone who has an unpleasant quality does not necessarily always remain so. Either the disease leaves his body, or he matures, or he develops his character, and he may become a welcome part of society again. Today’s verses reflect this aspect through the example of a man who has recovered from his symptoms of a sexually transmitted disease. Hopefully the man has not only healed from this one particular instance but has grown wiser and will behave better moving forward. Apparently, God is willing to give the man a second chance, and so, too, should society.

The sin and burnt offerings are standard, and it makes sense that we see them used here to make atonement for the man. What we do not see here is the narrative ritual of the two birds, one being slain and one being freed, such as we saw in the last chapter for leprosy recovery. It goes to show that leprosy was a special category of affliction, and I would argue represented something deeper and more sacred.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 15:8-12

8 And if he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

9 And what saddle soever he rideth upon that hath the issue shall be unclean.

10 And whosoever toucheth any thing that was under him shall be unclean until the even: and he that beareth any of those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

11 And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

12 And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.

Today’s verses continue to talk about a man who is unclean from a bodily discharge, most likely as a symptom of a sexually transmitted disease. The verses we have read today emphasize how the man who is unclean also makes that which he touches unclean, and anyone that touches what he has touched is also unclean.

This may seem a harsh rule, one prone to ostracization, but it is also an accurate representation of real-world patterns. It is not only true for physical discharges, either. There is all manner of spiritual, social, and emotional toxicity that we humans spew out, making an unpleasant place for others to reside. Think of someone who is frequently angry, someone who stirs up drama, someone who is constantly immature, someone who repeatedly makes up lies about others, someone who is perpetually narcissistic. It is a natural consequence that people tend to avoid them. This has always been and always will be the pattern of humanity.

This isn’t to say that there should be none willing to take on the burden of associating with such people, but it is appropriate to acknowledge that it really is a burden. A man that has bodily discharges from his sexually transmitted diseases is not a bad metaphor for everyone who regularly spews out any manner of spiritual, social, and emotional “dirtiness.” All that they touch, and all those that get pulled into their web of influence, are made unclean from the association.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 15:1-7

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean.

3 And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness.

4 Every bed, whereon he lieth that hath the issue, is unclean: and every thing, whereon he sitteth, shall be unclean.

5 And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

6 And he that sitteth on any thing whereon he sat that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

7 And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

Leviticus Chapter 15 launches into a subject that most people would probably rather skip over, but if this matter was good enough for God to teach from, it is good enough for us to learn from. It has to do with “issues” from the body, which of course means some sort of discharge that comes from a person, whether a man or a woman.

Verse 2 describes “a running issue out of his flesh,” and most scholars seem to agree that “his flesh” is euphemistic for the man’s genitals. This is further supported by verse 6’s concern with where the man “sits,” and later verses like 9 and 10. So, what would be a “running issue” from that region of the body? One might wonder about ejaculate, but that later on in this chapter that is referred to directly as “seed” or “seed of copulation,” so that rules that out. Scholars tend to agree that what these first verses are talking about is some emission caused by disease, which are particularly known to happen with certain sexually transmitted diseases. These verses seem to deal with men who are suffering side-effects of diseases contracted through sex.

Thus, if we find this whole subject gross and undesirable to dwell on, that is perfectly appropriate. Our physical revulsion is often well-tuned to guide us from danger and disease, and so too our spiritual revulsion should guide us from the acts that lead there.

Of course, while rarer, it is also possible to contract sexually transmitted diseases through innocent means, such as by non-sexual exposure or rape. Even in these cases, though, the dejected physical state is still real, the stain of fallen mortality is still upon us, and it does take some time to heal from that. Thus, anyone with these diseases, especially those who have obtained them by acts of sin, is in need of a time apart.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 13:29-37

29 If a man or woman have a plague upon the head or the beard;

30 Then the priest shall see the plague: and, behold, if it be in sight deeper than the skin; and there be in it a yellow thin hair; then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a dry scall, even a leprosy upon the head or beard.

31 And if the priest look on the plague of the scall, and, behold, it be not in sight deeper than the skin, and that there is no black hair in it; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague of the scall seven days:

32 And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague: and, behold, if the scall spread not, and there be in it no yellow hair, and the scall be not in sight deeper than the skin;

33 He shall be shaven, but the scall shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up him that hath the scall seven days more:

34 And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the scall: and, behold, if the scall be not spread in the skin, nor be in sight deeper than the skin; then the priest shall pronounce him clean: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

35 But if the scall spread much in the skin after his cleansing;

36 Then the priest shall look on him: and, behold, if the scall be spread in the skin, the priest shall not seek for yellow hair; he is unclean.

37 But if the scall be in his sight at a stay, and that there is black hair grown up therein; the scall is healed, he is clean: and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

Today we shift from examining spots and wounds on the open skin, to ones that are hidden within the hair. Obviously, such spots are particularly nefarious, as they have the opportunity to grow and fester without detection. So, too, in our societies, some of our corruption will be covered because they live behind our sacred cows, thus forbidden to be scrutinized critically. For a long time, feminism has been such a covering, forbidding any sincere analysis into the temptations and diversions among women, though we have been very free to point them out among men. But skin under the hair is just as susceptible to corruption as skin in the open, and both must be evaluated.

Another interesting pattern in these verses is that the priest tries to judge the health of a person by certain markers (in this case, the presence of yellow hairs), and by that tries to make a determination as to whether a person is clean. But then, as we see in verses 35-37, it is possible for someone to not trip the triggers for an unclean pronouncement, but later it becomes clear that they are actually unclean.

So, too, in our society, certain behaviors may arise that seem strange, but perhaps innocuous. Since we see no clear sign of damage or perversion, we do not call it unclean, but in time the sinister quality of it becomes apparent. An example of this might be the ubiquitous messaging in children’s media that you must “be true to yourself.” It might have stood out as an overly repeated mantra but didn’t necessarily seem to be a problem…assuming it would have a well-balanced interpretation. But, of course, as the years have gone on, it has become apparent that “be true to yourself” is primarily used as an excuse for all manner of selfishness and for placing oneself at the top of the spiritual hierarchy, denigrating God, society, and family. At this point we are like the priest in verse 36 who must pronounce the area unclean, “yellow hair” or not!

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 12:1-5

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean.

3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.

4 And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.

5 But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days.

This chapter speaks about childbirth, and how the mother would go through a purifying period before participating in regular tabernacle ceremonies. These passages have been used as evidence by some that the Mosaic Law treated women and childbirth as shameful, given the use of terms like “unclean” and the requirement of a “sin” offering. And this has not only been the argument of those antagonistic to Christianity. Even believers have used passages such as these to suggest that we are born in sin, shameful from our very beginning, and that sex acts are inherently vile.

While I can see where such interpretations are coming from, I feel that they are unnecessarily negative. It would be very helpful to know how ancient Israelites felt about these requirements, and whether they felt ashamed of them. We do not have that information, so we must be careful to not assume how they must have felt about these requirements.

On the matter of uncleanliness, I wish to point out that unclean is not one and the same as guilty or evil. There were many things that could make one unclean, including things that a person would have no willful agency over. A man having a nighttime emission was unclean for a time. A man stumbling over the corpse of a pig was unclean for a time. It is more accurate to think of uncleanliness as the spiritual equivalent to getting mud on our clothes. Getting muddy is nothing for us to be ashamed of. Sometimes it just happens, and we are not lesser people because of it. And yet, while we are muddy, we still keep distant from formal functions, public events, and clean places. We know we have to take a bath and wash ourselves before we go to these sorts of places because there is just too much earth on us.

Being unclean in the Old Testament seems to be the same, but in the realm of the spirit. The things that make one unclean are do not need to be shameful or guilty, they just happen to leave too much “earth” on us. They are things that mark us with the residue of the mortal world. Given that perspective, it is hard to think of anything so mortal as giving birth, and it makes sense that that would therefore make one ritually, but not morally, unclean.

Not only does birth involve the bringing forth of a mortal soul, but as verse 5 specifically calls out, it involves a considerable discharge of mortal blood. Many have noted that the purifying period is doubled when having an infant girl, and that this is likely due to the fact that this act of childbirth is inseparably connected to the female sex. The bringing forth of another woman means bringing forth another vessel of mortality. It is both issue and future issue all in one, so two purification cycles.

In tomorrow’s verses we will hear about the offerings that would accompany a new child’s birth, including a sin offering. In that post I will address why I think this offering is also not so shameful as some seem to think.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 11:41-47

41 And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.

42 Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination.

43 Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.

44 For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

45 For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

46 This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth:

47 To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.

It is interesting that anything that moves on the belly (worms or snakes), or anything with a multitude of legs (centipedes and spider), or anything that creeps on all four (rats and lizards) are pronounced unclean, and also these are the sorts of creatures that naturally cause us the most anxious when we encounter them. Things that move in weird ways discomfort us. So, too, we sometimes see people orienting themselves around identities that God has forbidden, and these are often unnerving and uncomfortable to us as well. A man with prosthetic breasts and a falsetto voice is naturally unnerving, the same as one whose face is covered in tattoos using aggressive language. God’s laws of cleanliness tell us to trust our instincts, that our intuition is there for a reason, and we should listen to it.

In verse 44 God calls us to “sanctify ourselves” and “be holy.” Yes, we live in the world, and are unavoidably tarnished by it, but we are still to strive to be different and set apart. We should stand out as those consecrated to something higher. That upward reaching is the overarching symbol in all of the laws of clean and unclean animals. All of these symbols show that we should be striving for the supreme, the transcendent, the very best that we can be. Not that it will ever make us divine on its own, but it will orient us so that we may be caught by divinity as it passes us by.