Leviticus 15:4

Lev 15:4 Every bed, whereon he lieth that hath the issue, is unclean: and every thing, whereon he sitteth, shall be unclean.

Ver. 4. Every bed.] Sin is more catching than any plague, and more defiling than any out house; {Mar 7:23} Paul found it as noisome to his soul as a dead body to his sense, {Rom 7:24} or as the sanies; {a} of a plague sore to a rich robe. Job abhors himself for it in dust and ashes. {Job 40:4} And Isaiah looks upon himself as an undone man by reason of it. {Isa 6:5}

{a} A thin fetid pus mixed with serum or blood, secreted by a wound or ulcer.

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.

Lev 15:4. Every bed whereon he lieth, &c. — Thus, such persons were cut off from all communications with mankind, and were shunned and avoided by every one, as an abomination. And this could not but tend to render them all extremely careful not to bring upon themselves so loathsome a disease.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(4) Every bed, whereon he lieth.—So severely did the canonical law deal with these cases that they interpreted the defilement communicated to the bed, and hence also to his seat and saddle, by the patient in five different ways: by standing, sitting, lying, hanging, or leaning on it. The patient’s polluting power is so great that even if the bed, seat, or saddle is under a stone, he defiles it through the stone by any of these actions. If he stood upon two beds, placing one foot upon each, he defiled both.

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

Every bed whereon he lieth that hath the issue is unclean,.... Which he constantly makes use of; so the Targum of Jonathan, which is peculiar to him, and appointed and appropriated for him to lie upon. Jarchi says, every bed that is fit to lie upon, thou is appropriated to another service; but, he adds meaning is, which he shall lie upon (or continue to lie upon); for it is not said, which he hath laid upon, but which he lieth upon, and is used by him continually; according to the Misnah (u), a man that has an issue defiles a bed five ways, so as to defile a man, and to defile garments; standing, sitting, lying, hanging, and leaning:

and everything whereon he sitteth shall be unclean; which is appropriated to sit upon; and so the Targum, as before, what is his proper peculiar seat, what he is used to sit upon, and is fit for that purpose: and it is observed by some Jewish writers (w) that a vessel that is not fit to sit upon is excluded, as if a man was to turn up a bushel, or any other measure, to sit upon it; see Tit 1:15.

(u) Zabim, c. 2. sect. 4. (w) Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Niddah, c. 6. sect. 3.

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

Every thing, Heb. vessel, by which the Hebrews understand all sorts of household stuff.

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

4. Every bed — The inconveniences of ceremonial impurity are strikingly set forth in this and the following verses. The only posture in which the man did not communicate ceremonial impurity was standing without touching any vessel or utensil. The obstruction to social intercourse, business, and trade must have exceeded one’s conception. The man, while under this disability, could neither sit nor lie down without spreading impurity; nor could he eat or drink without defiling the vessel which he touched; while the grasp of friendship polluted the person of his friend and incapacitated him for the public offices of religion and for communion with his kindred until he had washed his clothes and bathed himself, and waited for the friendly shades of evening to emancipate him from ceremonial bondage. Till his purification he was to be excluded from the camp. Num_5:2. In contrast with this burdensome ritual Christianity is appropriately called “the law of liberty.”

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

Every bed upon which he lay, and everything upon which he sat, was defiled in consequence; also every one who touched his bed (Lev 15:5), or sat upon it (Lev 15:6), or touched his flesh, i.e., his body (Lev 15:7), was unclean, and had to bathe himself and wash his clothes in consequence.

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.)

unclean

The bed or anything that the man sits on that other people must not touch are spoken of as if they were physically unclean. (See: Metaphor)

Whoever touches his bed ... be unclean

The person whom other people may not touch is spoken of as if he were physically unclean. (See: Metaphor)

until evening

"until sunset"

translationWords

clean

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

כל המשכב EVERY PLACE OF REPOSE — This means: everything that is fitted for sleeping on (thus excluding a door or plank etc.). One might, however, think that it includes anything intended for some other action also, as long as it can be used for sleeping and he actually slept upon it! It, however, states אשר ישכב — it does not state אשר שכב, “upon which one has slept" but אשר ישכב, “upon which one sleeps usually" — i.e. that which is intended to be used for this always, thus excluding that of which people can say to him, “Get up and let us to our work [with that upon which you are lying]" (Sifra, Metzora Parashat Zavim, Chapter 1 1-3).

אשר ישב [EVERYTHING] WHEREON HE SITTETH — It is not said here ‎יָשַׁב ‎‏ אשר, "on which he has sat", but אשר יֵשֵׁב, “on which one sits usually" — it speaks therefore of something that is intended to be used for this always (Sifra, Metzora Parashat Zavim, Chapter 1 3; Shabbat 59a).

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.