1. Mark 5:25 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What does the Old Testament Law teach on menstruation?

Mark 5:25 (ESV)

25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years,

Leviticus 15:19–33 says that when a woman has her monthly period, she is ritually unclean for seven days afterwards. To have contact with her or anything she sits on will make that person unclean until the evening. Those, like this woman, who have a menstrual disorder remain in a state of permanent uncleanness. This means that the woman’s suffering is not limited to the physical pain of her condition. It also isolates her from her community, which is a source of great shame.1