During a Bible study session in my church some days ago, we discussed the importance of spiritual uncleanness after beginning the session with 2 Corinthians 7:1, which talks about self-purification: “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”
One lady in the group asked me if it was unclean for her to attend a church service during her menstruation days. The topic brought up a heated debate on what the Bible said about uncleanness.
Some felt menstruation was a form of uncleanness, while others argued that uncleanness is not physical but spiritual. Given my theology background and extensive knowledge of the scriptures, I answered the questions satisfactorily and ended the debate.
So, what is the biblical meaning of uncleanness?
Biblically, uncleanness refers to someone who is physically or morally unclean, making them impure, per the Mosaic Law. In the Old Testament, the law highlights two kinds of uncleanness, which are moral and ceremonial. Moral uncleanness resulted from immoral behaviors, while ceremonial was more of physical uncleanness. In Numbers 19, the priest could become ceremonially unclean after sprinkling blood from a clean heifer seven times outside the camp, where God would visit to protect them from enemies. Eleazar was required to clean his clothes and take a bath with water. He remained ceremonially unclean till evening.
In this article, I invite you to delve into the biblical meaning of uncleanness and uncover answers to questions such as what the Bible says about uncleanliness, which verses talk about uncleanliness, and what it means to be unclean in the Old Testament.
Read along to find answers to these questions and so much more.
What does the Bible say about uncleanliness?
The Bible talks about two kinds of uncleanness: moral and ceremonial uncleanness. The emphasis is more on ceremonial uncleanness, as Israelites must be clean when approaching God.
For instance, according to the Mosaic Law in Numbers 19, the priest became ceremonially unclean after sprinkling blood from a pure heifer seven times outside the camp, where God would visit to protect them from enemies.
Eleazar was required to clean his clothes and take a bath with water. He remained ceremonially unclean till evening. Therefore, uncleanness referred to the Israelites distancing themselves from impurities that went against the law of God.
In Leviticus 20:21, a man marrying his brother’s wife was moral uncleanness because it attracted punishment, unlike ceremonial uncleanness: “If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.”
If a man married, they would be cursed not to bear children.
According to the Bible, anything against God’s holy law is considered unclean. Israelites consecrated themselves before the presence of God because God was holy.
According to the Law of Moses, anything that was unclean was not suitable for the worship of God. For instance, impure people were not allowed to enter the Tabernacle.
In Leviticus 11, several aspects are mentioned that can make somebody unclean. God instructs the Israelites through Moses and Aaron about clean and impure foods.
Impure foods include animals lacking divided hooves, sea creatures lacking fins and scales, birds such as owls, bats, and eagles, flying insects walking on four limbs, and animals moving along the ground like lizards.
The Bible also mentions ways people become unclean: touching bodies of impure dead creatures, touching items such as garments where unclean carcasses have fallen, eating food from a pot with unclean beasts inside, and eating meat from dead animals.
There are also passages in the Bible that require Christians to be spiritually and physically clean.
For instance, Leviticus 15:1- 18 outlines these aspects: clean and unclean food, coming into contact with a dead body, discharge in men, and periods in women.
The Bible also gives instructions to follow in cleansing someone who is ceremonially unclean and has encountered an impure person.
For instance, in Leviticus 15:1-18, any man with a discharge or a woman on her period was required to clean themselves by bathing with clean water and washing their clothes and anything else they sat on or touched.
Bible verses about uncleanliness
In Leviticus 15:1-18, the Bible mentions discharges that cause uncleanness. According to the verse, men with bodily discharges are considered unclean, and everything they touch or sit on is considered unclean.
For instance, the bed he slept in was impure, and if anyone sat on such a bed of discharge, they were supposed to wash their garments.
The verse further mentions that an unclean man threw spit on you, or if he rode on anything and you touched those things, you were to wash your garments and shower.
Furthermore, if the man came in contact with a clay pot or any wooden art, he had to break it and clean it with water. The Bible further mentions that any man emitting semen was to wash their body and would remain unclean till evening.
In Deuteronomy 23:9-14, the Bible talks about uncleanness during camping. The soldiers emitting any discharge were required to stay outside the camp and cleanse themselves until evening when they could return.
In the campsite, they covered their excrement to keep the campsite clean because God was holy and could visit to protect them against their enemies.
Mathew 8:1-4 reads, “When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, ‘See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.'”
The Bible mentions that anyone with leprosy was considered unclean. Even Jesus followed the law by asking the man to present himself to the priest with sacrifices required for cleansing for him to be declared clean.
Other verses about leprosy as uncleanness include Mark 1:40 and Luke 5:12.
In Mathew 23:27, according to Jesus’ teachings, the Pharisees were unclean since they looked righteous outside, but inside, they were hypocrites: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”
Galatians 5:19 mentions uncleanness as an act of the flesh and warns that those unclean will not inherit the Kingdom of God: “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
In Mark 5:1-18, Jesus cursed out the spirits of a demon-possessed man living among tombs and considered unclean according to the people of Gerasenes.
Because these spirits were impure, the people possessed were often chained.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, sexual immorality is considered unclean, and anyone who goes against the instructions against being impure rejects God since he did not call people to be tainted.
In Romans 1:24-26, the Bible mentions that God gave those who worshipped images over to shameful, unclean lusts such as sexual immorality, which is considered unclean.
Since uncleanness is considered a sin before God, 1 John 1:5-8 says that the blood of Jesus cleanses all uncleanness by confessing your sins and walking in the light of Jesus.
Leviticus 13:1-46 talks about rules on defiling skin diseases. Any skin soreness was supposed to be brought to the priest for him to determine if it was clean or unclean.
People with chronic skin diseases were considered unclean and were to live in isolation.
For instance, if a man had a reddish-white swollen sore on the forehead, he was declared unclean because it was considered a defiling skin disease.
In Proverbs 20:9-11, nobody can claim to be clean. Furthermore, even children are considered unclean because of their actions: “Who can say, ‘I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin’?”
In Numbers 19:11- 22, anyone in contact with a dead body was considered unclean for seven days. They cleansed themselves since uncleanness was a defilement of the Tabernacle of God.
What did it mean to Be Unclean in the Old Testament?
Being unclean in the Old Testament meant that you were not fit to appear before the presence of God; you were not allowed to enter the Tabernacle or any other holy place.
From the beginning, the people of God understood that God was pleased with the clean offering. Being unclean in the Old Testament is mentioned in Genesis 7, where God instructs Noah to choose a pair of clean and dirty creatures for the ark.
In Genesis 8:20, Noah offers clean animals and birds as sacrifices and seals a covenant with God, who promises not to curse and destroy his creation again.
Uncleanness becomes profound in the book of Leviticus about the way Israelites were to worship God and what they were to eat.
In the book of Ezekiel 36:24-27, the Bible mentions that God will cleanse his people from uncleanness, including idol worship: “For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
Why did husband and wife become unclean after they had sexual relations?
During sexual relations, there was the emission of discharges. According to the scriptures, the husband and wife were considered unclean until evening, Leviticus 15:18: “When a man has sexual relations with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both of them must bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.”
This rule applied to married people who, after sexual intercourse, would emit semen, and this discharge led to them becoming unclean.
They were supposed to bathe with clean water, wash their clothes, and clean their beds. However, they would remain unclean until evening.
The husband and wife had to cleanse themselves because they could not approach God in that state of uncleanness since God was not considered a sexual being but a holy one.
What were the reasons for uncleanliness in the Old Testament?
The following were some of the reasons behind uncleanliness in the Old Testament. In Numbers 19:1-8, one reason for uncleanness was Eleazar sprinkled blood from a heifer without blemish outside the camp.
After this function, Eleazar was considered ceremonially unclean till evening.
In Leviticus 5:2-3, if you touched dead bodies or the carcass of an impure creature, it became a reason for the priest to declare you unclean.
Human excrement was also a reason for uncleanliness as the Israelites at the camp were required to cover their refuse because it could turn God away after seeing indecent sites when he visited them to offer protection against enemies.
Deuteronomy 23:12-14 states, “Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement. For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you.”
Animals with undivided hooves, fish without scales and fins, birds like vultures, and crawling creatures like lizards were prohibited in the Old Testament as touching their carcass made one ceremonially unclean, Leviticus 11.
Another reason for uncleanliness was when a woman gave birth. If she bore a son, she was considered to be ceremonially unclean for seven days and was supposed to wait for thirty-three days for her to be free from bleeding, and if it were a girl, she would wait for sixty-six days to become clean.
Leviticus 12:1-5 says, “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites: ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period. On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding.”
Additionally, a skin condition such as leprosy was also a reason for uncleanliness, Mathew 8:1-4. Other conditions that caused discharge from the body in men, including semen, were also a reason to be declared unclean, Leviticus 15:1-18.
In Leviticus 15:1-18, menstruation in women was a reason for uncleanliness. If anybody touched a woman in her menses, they also became unclean and had to clean clothes and shower.
If the period was more extended than expected, the woman was considered unclean for the rest of her life.
Another reason for uncleanliness was defiling molds, Leviticus 13: 47-59. The Bible mentions that if anyone had material with a defiling mold, they were to take it to the priest, who declared it unclean, and after seven days, they were supposed to destroy it.
Having certain sexual relations was also a reason for uncleanliness. For instance, in Leviticus 20:21, it was unclean for a man to marry their brother’s wife: “If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.”
What does it mean to be ceremonially unclean?
According to the scriptures, being ceremonially unclean was defined as defiling or causing something else to be dirty. In the Old Testament, places like camps could be ceremonially impure.
The priest examined animals meant for sacrifice to determine if they were ceremonially unclean, Leviticus 11.
According to the Law of Moses, people became ceremonially unclean because they came in contact with someone impure, such as touching a dead body.
Activities that caused people to be ceremonially unclean included leprosy and other contagious diseases, giving birth, bodily discharges, contact with dead bodies and unclean carcasses, periods in women, and skin conditions.
If you were ceremonially unclean, you had to undergo cleansing by bathing, isolation, and offering sacrifices. After the period declared for cleansing elapsed, you were required to present yourself to the priest who said you were clean after examination, Leviticus 13:1-46.
Another ceremonial uncleanliness was when a woman gave birth. If she bore a son, she was considered to be ceremonially unclean for seven days and was supposed to wait for thirty-three days for her to be free from bleeding, and if it were a girl, she would wait for sixty-six days to become clean, Leviticus 12:1-5.
In the New Testament, someone with leprosy was ceremonially unclean as Jesus instructs the leper to present himself to the priest and offer sacrifices for him to be declared clean, Mathew 8:1-4.
According to the New Testament, Pharisees emphasized the ceremonial washing of hands before eating. They condemned Jesus for eating with unclean people without following the Law of Moses.
However, in Mathew 15:1-10, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees by saying that people only become defiled by the words that come out of their mouths, not what they eat.
The Pharisees ignored the spiritual cleansing of sin and concentrated on evading ceremonial uncleanness.
Through the cloak, Jesus healed a woman who was ceremonially unclean due to bleeding for many years. Christians believe Jesus has power over uncleanness in these acts, Luke 8:43-48.
Through the Death and resurrection of Jesus, everyone who believes in Him is free from sin. Initially, Israelites used animal blood to cleanse ceremonially.
Still, now, with the blood of Jesus, Christians believe that the blood of Jesus, who was free from sin, made us clean, Revelation 1:5.
According to the New Testament, there is no ceremonial uncleanness regarding food. For instance, in Acts 10:12-15, Peter becomes hungry, and a voice tells him to kill and eat four-footed animals, reptiles, and birds that were earlier considered unclean.
What happened to the unclean people in the Old Testament?
According to the Old Testament, unclean people are not allowed to come into contact with holy places and touch things. They would not be allowed to bring tithe to the Tabernacle or eat consecrated food.
If you were unclean during the Passover, you must wait for a month before being allowed to celebrate, Numbers 9:6-7.
Unclean people, as a result of skin conditions and discharges in the camp, were sent away according to the scriptures in the Old Testament, Leviticus 5:1-4.
If you defiled yourself by following practices of unclean people, such as prohibited sexual relations, you were driven out of the land of Israelites, Leviticus 18:24.
In Leviticus 20:21, it was unclean for a man to marry their brother’s wife, and if he married that wife, he would not have children.
According to the scriptures, if a priest’s daughter became unclean from prostitution, she was burned, Leviticus 21:9.
How did one cleanse themselves to be considered clean again?
In Numbers 19:9-22, the Bible mentions that men considered unclean after gathering ashes of the burnt heifer were supposed to wash their clothes and remain unclean till evening.
If you come in contact with a dead body, you must purify yourself with water on the third and seventh day. If you touched you touched a human bone and ceremonially became unclean, a clean person would sprinkle a mixture of the burnt ashes with water over you and any other person who touched the unclean.
After spraying the water, this pure man washed their clothes.
In the New Testament, in Mathew 8:1-4, the Bible mentions that the man with leprosy was supposed to present himself to the priest with sacrifices required for cleansing for him to be declared clean.
However, according to Christian beliefs, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin, Revelation 1:5..
According to the scriptures, men with discharge washed their clothes and showered but remained unclean until evening, Leviticus 15.
If you come in contact with an impure man, you must also bathe and wash your clothes. For women to cleanse from discharge, they were supposed to count seven days after release and go to the priest on the eighth day with two doves and two pigeons for sacrifice.
Is the concept of uncleanliness found in the New Testament?
Yes. In the New Testament, the concept of uncleanliness emphasizes both ceremonial and spiritual uncleanliness.
According to Mark 7, Jesus encounters the Pharisees, who condemn the disciples for eating dinner without ceremonially cleansing their hands.
According to Jesus, what goes in the mouth is not unclean, but what comes out of the mouth in terms of words is what is considered unclean.
In the New Testament, someone with leprosy was ceremonially impure as Jesus instructed the leper to present himself to the priest and offer sacrifices for him to be declared clean, Mathew 8:1-4.
Jesus healed a woman who was ceremonially unclean due to bleeding for many years. For this reason, Christians believe that Jesus has power over uncleanness, Luke 8:43-48.
According to the New Testament, there is no ceremonial uncleanness regarding food. For instance, in Acts 10:12-15, Peter becomes hungry, and a voice tells him to kill and eat four-footed animals, reptiles, and birds that were earlier considered unclean.
The Jews could not mix or eat in the homes of Gentiles because the Gentiles were considered unclean. However, through Jesus, the Apostles accepted the Gentiles, Galatians 2.
According to Christians, the Holy Spirit helps us to distinguish between pure and impure decision-making.
As a theologian, I have always been curious to learn more about the Christian Faith. That is why I pursued a Certificate in Christian Studies, Certificate in Christian Foundations and a Masters in Theology. I also have an immersive experience in editing for numerous websites. I have worked as an editor for over a decade and am currently the editor-in-chief at Christian Faith Guide. I enjoy working as an editor and feel privileged to share my expertise and help spread God’s word. You can read more about me on the about us page.
