Why Was Sex During Menstruation Forbidden in Leviticus 18?

Why Was Sex During Menstruation Forbidden in Leviticus 18?

Leviticus 18:19 (ESV): "You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness."

This law is listed right alongside others about incest, adultery, child sacrifice, and Y@G intercourse. All of them are said to be the “abominations” for which the land vomited out the nations (vv. 24–28).

If menstruation was only a “ceremonial impurity,” why would it be included with moral evils like incest and child sacrifice?

1. The Gentiles Were Doing It

Verse 24 says:

“Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean.”

This includes sex during menstruation. But the Gentiles had no ceremonial law, so they weren’t disobeying Torah. They were doing something viewed as wrong in God’s eyes even before Sinai. This suggests that menstrual sex was seen as inherently inappropriate in the ancient Hebrew mindset—not just ceremonially.

2. Menstrual Impurity and the Tabernacle

In Leviticus 15, menstruation makes a woman unclean for 7 days. Anyone who touches her is unclean. But this uncleanness, required no animal sacrifice—only bathing and waiting. It

was temporary and routine. However, Leviticus 18 brings this into a different category. Now it's not just about ritual impurity—it’s tied to moral defilement of the land, like adultery or child sacrifice.

3. The Real Issue: Holiness and Boundaries

In ancient Israel, boundaries around blood and sex. Life and death were all deeply spiritual. To cross them at the wrong time or in the wrong way was seen as threatening the order God had set. So even though Gentiles had no Torah, some acts were seen as violations of natural or sacred boundaries—hence called "abominations."

The Problem With Moral vs. Ceremonial Distinction

If menstrual sex is listed with incest and idolatry,

And Gentiles did it, making them “unclean,” then we can’t just call it “ceremonial.” We’re stuck with one of two options:

1. All of Leviticus 18 is moral → But that includes laws most Christians ignore today (e.g., sex during menstruation).

2. Leviticus 18 mixes moral and ceremonial laws → But that’s an interpretive cheat. The text itself doesn’t divide them.

So… if menstrual sex made the Gentiles unclean, and it’s not just ceremonial, then why do most Christians dismiss it, but keep others? This inconsistency shows that picking and choosing from Leviticus 18 based on modern ideas of “moral” vs “ceremonial” is unjustified.

Conclusion 

The Gentiles weren’t under ceremonial law. Yet they were condemned for doing things like menstrual sex, same-sex intercourse, and incest—all grouped together. That means the purity code of Leviticus was not just about temple rituals. It reflected a sacred worldview about order, boundaries, and life itself. But under the New Covenant, we’re not judged by that system anymore (Romans 6:14; Galatians 3:25). Instead, we live by the Spirit, not written code.