What is the meaning of Leviticus 15:5?

Anyone who touches his bed

• The verse speaks of someone coming into physical contact with the bed of a man who has a bodily discharge (see the context in Leviticus 15:1-4).

• Physical contact with objects used by an unclean person transfers ceremonial impurity (Leviticus 15:19; Leviticus 11:24-25).

• The principle highlights how easily impurity spreads, underscoring God’s call to vigilance in matters of holiness (Haggai 2:11-14; 1 Corinthians 15:33).

• In the New Testament, Jesus willingly touches the unclean (Mark 1:40-42), demonstrating His power to cleanse what the Law only diagnosed.

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must wash his clothes

• Garments had to be laundered to remove any trace of defilement (Exodus 19:10; Numbers 19:7-8).

• Washing serves as an outward symbol of inward purity—an illustration later echoed in passages such as Revelation 7:14, where believers “washed their robes…in the blood of the Lamb.”

• By commanding this step, the Lord teaches personal responsibility: the one who came in contact must deal with the defilement, not ignore it.

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and bathe with water

• Full bodily washing follows the laundering of clothes (Leviticus 16:4; Acts 22:16).

• Water rites in the Law repeatedly point to God’s desire for a cleansed people (Ezekiel 36:25).

• Christian baptism pictures the same reality: cleansing from sin by identification with Christ’s death and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4), although the physical act itself does not save—faith in Christ does (Ephesians 2:8-9).

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and he will be unclean until evening

• Even after washing, ceremonial impurity lasted until sunset (Leviticus 11:24-25; Leviticus 22:6-7).

• The waiting period reinforced the seriousness of uncleanness and the need for divine declaration to restore full fellowship.

• Evening marked a new day in Hebrew reckoning (Genesis 1:5); thus, the individual starts the next day purified.

• This temporary uncleanness contrasts with the permanent cleansing offered through Christ, who removes sin “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10-14).

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summary

Leviticus 15:5 teaches that touching an unclean person’s bed imparts ceremonial impurity, requiring laundering, bathing, and waiting until evening. These steps underscore God’s holiness, humanity’s susceptibility to defilement, and the necessity of cleansing. While the Law dealt with external impurity, it anticipates the deeper, lasting purification fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who cleanses believers completely and welcomes them into continuous fellowship with God.