Seder 88: Lev 15---Ritual Impurity from Genital Discharges

 The book of Leviticus teaches that God is sovereign over every area of life.  We see that message in chapter 15, which deals with ritual impurity due to genital discharges.  

All commentators point out a chiastic structure in Leviticus 15:

A.  Abnormal male discharges (vv 2-15)

      B. Normal male discharges (vv 16-17)

            C.  Sexual intercouse between a man and a woman (v 18)

       B'  Normal female menstrual discharges (vv 19-24)

A':  Abnormal female discharges (vv 25-30)

As with other kinds of ritual impurity, there is a connection with death.  Those with an abnormal discharge cannot produce life, and normal discharges involve loss of life-giving fluids.  Even sexual intercouse, which produces life, is an activity for beings who are mortal.  Commentators typically make several points about the details in this chapter:  

• The abnormal male discharges may involve pus or mucus from an infection or perhaps an STD (although it's not believed that modern gonorrhea was present in the ANE).  
• Women in that culture would not have had as many menstrual periods as women in modern societies, since they would have reached puberty later, married earlier, and spent lots of time pregnant or nursing. 
• The provisions in this chapter do not imply that there is anything at all wrong with sex, but they do have the effect of completely separating sex and worship.  This was important in ancient Israel's context, since the Canaanites, in particular, had worship involing ritual sex.
• Verse 24 deals with a situation where a woman's menstrual period begins during sexual intercouse.  We will learn in Lev 18:19 that sexual intercouse during a period is forbidden.