Leviticus 15:15-17
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
15 who shall offer them up, the one as a purification offering and the other as a burnt offering. Thus shall the priest make atonement before the Lord for the man because of his discharge.
16 [a]When a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until evening.(A) 17 Any piece of cloth or leather with semen on it shall be washed with water and be unclean until evening.
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- 15:16–18 Menstrual blood, semen, and other impurities in Lv 11–15 are considered “impure” either because they are force of life whose “loss” represents death or because, as uniquely human conditions, they are symbolically incompatible with the deity and the divine abode, the sanctuary. Lv 15:16 refers to a spontaneous nocturnal emission, and either because this marks life and death boundaries or because of its uniquely human (versus divine) character, any contact with it renders the object or person ritually unclean. Thus, in 15:18 it is not the marital act itself that is polluting, but only semen.
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