Leviticus 15:13

Lev 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.

Ver. 13. Bathe his flesh.] This taught them to run to that open fountain, that kings’ bath. {Zec 13:1 Eze 36:29}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15:13-15 In contrast to the man with a skin disease (see 13:46), a man with a bodily discharge was apparently allowed to live at home. He did not have to undergo the more elaborate cleansing ritual described in ch 14. He simply had to wait seven days after the discharge ceased, wash (15:13), and present the least expensive animal sacrifice of two birds—one as a sin offering and the other as a whole burnt offering.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

That is, be restored to his old state, and be healed thereof.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing--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.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(13) And when he . . . is cleansed of his issue.—That is, recovered or healed of his infirmity (see Lev_15:28), as the real purification was not accomplished till he had performed the ritual prescribed in this and in the two following verses. He is, however, not to perform these rites as soon as he finds that the issue has ceased, but has to wait seven clear days, so as to afford sufficient time to ascertain whether the infirmity had actually disappeared. If any vestige of it was seen during these seven days, or even at the end of the seventh day, and after he was baptized, he had again to count seven other days.

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. For the phrase “living water,” see Lev_14:5; Lev_14:50. It is more than probable that the term “flesh” has here, too, the euphemistic sense in which it has hitherto been used in this section. (See Lev_15:2-3; Lev_15:7.) This derives support from the fact that whenever bathing of the body is ordered, the phrase for it throughout this section is uniformly “bathe in water” simply, which occurs no less than ten times (Lev_15:5-8; Lev_15:10-11; Lev_15:18; Lev_15:21-22; Lev_15:27), and where the Authorised Version has in all cases inserted himself in italics. This, moreover, seems to be confirmed by the fact that in the only passage in this section where the expression “flesh” is used in its literal sense for “body” (see Lev_15:16), the sacred writer designedly added (ĕth kol) “all,” so that it might be distinguished from the euphemistic sense in which it is used in all the other passages in this section, This, however, would not exclude the bathing of the body as well, but, on the contrary, premises it.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. When the man is physically cured, he has yet to observe the rules for ritual purification, and to offer sacrifices, a Sin-Offering and a Burnt-Offering.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue,.... That is, it is ceased from him, as the Targum of Jonathan and Jarchi explain it; for otherwise, according to the ceremonial law, he was not yet cleansed, until he had done everything next prescribed; but when he perceived there was an entire stop put to his disorder:

then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing; by which time it would appear whether he was thoroughly rid of it or not; and these seven days, as Jarchi observes, must be seven pure days, quite free from pollution, and continued in a constant course, without interruption; for, as Gersom says, if he saw any impurity in anyone of these days it did not come into the account: nay, according to Maimonides (b), he must begin to number again from the day of the last appearance:

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.

(b) Hilchot Mechosre Capharah, c. 3. sect. 1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The mere cessation of the issue does not make him clean: he must wait seven days, etc., preparatory to his offering sacrifice.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Is cleansed of his issue; when his issue is not only stopped in part, or for a season, but hath wholly ceased.

For his cleansing, to wit, for the use of the ceremonies prescribed in such cases. See Num 19:11,12. Shall be clean, i.e. admitted to converse with men, and with God in public ordinances.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

13-15. When he… is cleansed — When by any means his issue was healed and his physical purity was restored he was to pass through a ceremonial cleansing after seven days by washing his clothes and bathing his flesh in running, that is, living, water, and by presenting to the priest two turtle doves, or two young pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. For the order see Introduction, (5.) The sin offering was required because all natural evil springs more or less directly from moral evil or sin.

An atonement… for his issue — The physical defilement needed to be covered from the eye of Infinite Purity, and its moral cause needed expiation, in addition to the satisfaction which should be rendered for duties omitted during the period of uncleanness. Jesus Christ “bare our sicknesses.” Mat_8:17, note. If we “are complete in him,” (Col_2:10,) both body and soul, diseased by sin, are to be ultimately restored by the great Physician.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

When he is cleansed - When his issue hath wholly ceased.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

When he was cleansed, i.e., recovered from his issue, he was to wait seven days with regard to his purification, and then wash his clothes and bathe his body in fresh water, and be clean. 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.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

is cleansed from his flow

The man recovering from his sickness is spoken of as if he becomes physically clean. This can be stated in active form. AT: "recovers from his flow" (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)

Then he will be clean

The man whom other people may touch is spoken of as if he were physically clean. (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

dove

Yahweh

tent of meeting

priest

sin offering

burnt offering

atonement

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

וכי יטהר means WHEN HE CEASETH [FROM HIS ISSUE] (Sifra, Metzora Parashat Zavim, Chapter 5 1).

שבעת ימים לטהרתו [THEN SHALL HE NUMBER TO HIMSELF] SEVEN DAYS FROM THE DATE WHEN HE CEASED — i. e. seven days clean (free) from the uncleanness resulting from the issue, i. e. in which he sees no issue, and all of them (of the seven days) must be consecutive (Sifra, Metzora Parashat Zavim, Chapter 5 6).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.