Were women excluded from the Israelite priesthood because of their frequent ritual impurity caused by menstrual flow?
This idea is widely held, but it lacks Biblical support. No Bible text gives any indication that their monthly seven-day ritual impurity (Lev. 15:19-24) was the basis for women’s exclusion. In fact, men became ritually unclean more frequently than women did: not just once a month, but every time they had a natural or unnatural discharge of semen (Lev. 15:1-18). Women could have served at the temple on a rotating basis, like men, according to their ritual status (1 Chron. 24; Luke 1:5,9). What is more, the Bible tells us that women did serve in a limited role at the tabernacle (Ex. 38:8, 1 Sam. 2:22). If ritual impurity were the factor keeping them from serving as priests, it would also have disqualified them from ministering at the entrance to the tabernacle.
Related Questions
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- Were women excluded from the priesthood to avoid the dangers of the Canaanite fertility cults and sacred prostitution?
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