Leviticus 18:19 kjv
Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.
Leviticus 18:19 nkjv
'Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness as long as she is in her customary impurity.
Leviticus 18:19 niv
"?'Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.
Leviticus 18:19 esv
"You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness.
Leviticus 18:19 nlt
"Do not have sexual relations with a woman during her period of menstrual impurity.
Leviticus 18 19 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Lev 20:18 | If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and uncovers her nakedness... both shall be cut off from their people. | Penalty for violating this specific law |
| Lev 15:19-24 | Detailed laws regarding a woman's menstrual impurity (niddah) and its defiling nature to anything or anyone she touches. | Context for niddah state and ritual impurity |
| Ezek 18:6 | He does not defile his neighbor's wife and does not approach a woman in her impurity. | Example of a righteous man avoiding this sin |
| Ezek 22:10 | In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they humble women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity. | Listing Jerusalem's sins, including this one |
| 2 Sam 11:4 | David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. Now she had just been purifying herself from her uncleanness. | Indirect reference to niddah period and purification timing. |
| Lam 1:17 | Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her; the LORD has commanded against Jacob that his neighbors should be his foes; Jerusalem has become among them a niddah. | Jerusalem described as impure (niddah) due to sin. |
| Lev 18:6 | None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the LORD. | General prohibition on illicit sexual relations |
| Lev 18:24-30 | Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things... for by all these the nations whom I am driving out before you have become unclean. | Warning against adopting pagan defiling practices |
| Deut 27:20 | Cursed be anyone who lies with his father's wife, because he has uncovered his father's nakedness. | Broad context of curses for sexual sins in Leviticus 18. |
| Ex 20:14 | "You shall not commit adultery." | Broader moral law context of sexual purity |
| Lev 17:11 | For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls... | Theological basis for blood's significance in purity laws. |
| Lev 11:44-45 | For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. | Overarching theme of God's holiness and Israel's call to reflect it. |
| Lev 19:2 | "Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy." | Reinforcement of the holiness theme. |
| Mark 7:15 | There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him. | New Covenant shift: focus on inner heart defilement, not ritual. |
| Acts 10:15 | And the voice came to him again a second time, "What God has made clean, do not call common." | Principle of ceremonial impurity superseded for believers. |
| Rom 14:14 | I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself... | Reinforces the shift from outward ritual defilement. |
| Col 2:16-17 | Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. | Old Covenant rituals as shadows, fulfilled in Christ. |
| Heb 9:13-14 | For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ... | Christ's blood purifies conscience, surpassing ceremonial rituals. |
| Heb 13:4 | Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. | New Covenant principle of honorable marriage and sexual purity. |
| 1 Cor 6:18-20 | Flee from sexual immorality... For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. | Call for sexual purity based on believers' identity in Christ. |
| 1 Cor 7:3-5 | The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does... | Discussion of marital intimacy, without specific mention of menstrual periods as a prohibited time. |
| 1 Thess 4:3-5 | For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor... | Command to live sexually pure lives in holiness. |
| 1 Pet 1:15-16 | But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." | New Covenant continuation of the Holiness Code principle. |
| Eph 5:3 | But sexual immorality and all impurity and covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. | High standard of purity expected from believers. |
Leviticus 18 verses
Leviticus 18 19 Meaning
Leviticus 18:19 prohibits a man from having sexual intercourse with a woman while she is in her menstrual period. This commandment is part of the broader set of purity and holiness laws given to Israel, aiming to distinguish them from the corrupt practices of surrounding nations and establish a sacred standard for life before God. Engaging in such an act was considered ritually defiling.
Leviticus 18 19 Context
Leviticus 18 is part of the "Holiness Code" (Leviticus 17-26), a section of the Pentateuch that outlines how Israel, as God's chosen people, must live in holiness to reflect God's own character. The chapter specifically details prohibited sexual relationships, presented as a list of abominations (to'evah), acts considered detestable by God. The prohibitions serve to set Israel apart from the surrounding cultures, particularly those of Egypt and Canaan, whose defiled practices Israel was commanded not to imitate (Lev 18:3). The list includes incest, adultery, homosexuality, bestiality, and specifically, sexual relations during a woman's menstrual impurity. The severe consequences of these acts, including defilement of the land and expulsion (Lev 18:24-30), underscore their gravity.
Leviticus 18 19 Word analysis
- "You shall not approach": Hebrew: lo' tiqrav (לֹא תִקְרַב). The verb qarab (קרב) means "to draw near," "come close," or "approach." In this context, combined with "to uncover her nakedness," it is a common biblical euphemism for intimate sexual relations, emphasizing the forbidden nature of initiating any sexual activity. It implies a clear, direct prohibition from entering into marital intimacy during this time.
- "a woman": Hebrew: ishshah (אִשָּׁה). This is the generic term for "woman," indicating that this prohibition applies to any woman, whether one's wife or another, during this specific condition.
- "to uncover her nakedness": Hebrew: l'gallot 'ervatah (לְגַלּוֹת עֶרְוָתָהּ). This is a strong idiomatic phrase throughout Leviticus 18 and 20, consistently referring to sexual intercourse, often in forbidden contexts. 'Ervah (עֶרְוָה) signifies "nakedness" or "vulnerability," particularly in a shameful or illicit sense, and implies violating the sanctity of personal boundaries or prescribed sexual order. The action of "uncovering" indicates initiating or participating in the sexual act itself.
- "while she is in her menstrual impurity": Hebrew: b'niddatah (בְּנִדָּתָהּ). This phrase specifies the condition that triggers the prohibition.
- "in her impurity": Hebrew: b'niddatah (בְּנִדָּתָהּ), derived from niddah (נִדָּה), which literally means "separation," "exile," or "detachment." It refers specifically to a woman's state of ritual uncleanness due to menstruation. During this period, she was considered ritually separated and would transmit impurity to anything or anyone she touched. This uncleanness was primarily ritual, not moral or hygienic, indicating a state incompatible with direct participation in cultic life or specific activities, including sexual intimacy. The impurity was temporary and remedied by prescribed ritual bathing.
- Words-Group Analysis - "approach...to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual impurity": This entire phrase encapsulates a clear and specific prohibition against sexual relations with a menstruating woman. The theological foundation lies in the concept of ritual purity and the sanctity of life represented by blood (Lev 17:11). Menstrual blood, symbolizing potential life lost, imparted ritual impurity. Engaging in sexual activity during this state would desecrate the sexual act and incur impurity upon the man. This law reinforced the distinctness of Israel's holiness compared to the sexual promiscuity and disregard for sacredness common in pagan societies, which sometimes incorporated sexual acts in ritual impurity as part of fertility cults.
Leviticus 18 19 Bonus section
The specific law of niddah reflects an aspect of valuing life and blood in a unique way in ancient Israelite theology. The sacredness attributed to blood, being the seat of life, meant that its unsanctified presence or discharge was considered polluting in a ritual sense. While this law focuses on the man's responsibility to not "approach," some interpretations suggest that niddah laws implicitly provided a designated period of rest for women, distinguishing them from cultural practices that might disregard women's well-being during their cycle. In rabbinic tradition, the laws surrounding niddah became very detailed and strictly observed, encompassing not just sexual relations but a broader range of interactions between husband and wife, followed by ritual immersion (mikveh) for the woman at the conclusion of her period. While these specific ritual applications are not binding on New Covenant believers, the concept of intentionality in marital intimacy, respect for one another's bodies, and general principles of sexual holiness derived from Old Testament wisdom remain valuable in a Christian worldview.
Leviticus 18 19 Commentary
Leviticus 18:19 underscores the deep importance of holiness and ritual purity within Israelite society. The prohibition against sexual relations during menstruation (the niddah period) was not merely a matter of hygiene, but a significant aspect of covenant living. The presence of blood, signifying life itself (Lev 17:11), held sacred connotations, and its discharge outside of prescribed sacrificial rituals rendered a person or object ritually impure. Engaging in marital intimacy during niddah was an act that defied this ritual purity, leading to the spiritual defilement of the participants and, cumulatively, the land itself, inviting severe divine judgment. This specific law, like many in the Holiness Code, served to differentiate Israel's practices from the sexual license and depravity of the surrounding nations like the Canaanites (Lev 18:24-30), where such prohibitions were often absent or violated in pagan rituals. While the Old Covenant's ceremonial purity laws are fulfilled in Christ for believers (Mark 7:15, Heb 9:13-14), the underlying principles of sexual integrity, self-control, honor within marriage, and striving for holiness continue to resonate strongly within the New Covenant (Heb 13:4, 1 Cor 6:18-20, 1 Pet 1:15-16).