Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical terms, the concept of "discharge" is primarily associated with ceremonial cleanliness and the laws given to the Israelites regarding bodily emissions. These laws are detailed in the Old Testament, particularly in the book of Leviticus, and they reflect the broader theme of holiness and purity that is central to the Mosaic Law.
Old Testament ContextThe primary passages concerning discharge are found in
Leviticus 15. This chapter outlines the regulations for both men and women regarding bodily discharges, which were considered sources of ceremonial impurity. The text distinguishes between different types of discharges, including those that are natural and those that are abnormal or diseased.
For men,
Leviticus 15:2-3 states: "When any man has a bodily discharge, the discharge is unclean. This uncleanness is due to his discharge, whether his body allows the discharge to flow or blocks it." The passage goes on to describe the necessary purification rituals, which include washing and waiting periods, to restore ceremonial cleanliness.
For women, the laws address both menstrual discharges and other types of discharges.
Leviticus 15:19-20 says: "When a woman has a discharge and the discharge from her body is blood, she shall be in her menstrual impurity for seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening." The chapter further details the purification process for women after their menstrual period or other discharges.
Theological SignificanceThe laws concerning discharge are part of the broader Levitical code, which emphasizes the distinction between the holy and the common, the clean and the unclean. These regulations served to remind the Israelites of God's holiness and their need for purity in approaching Him. The physical act of cleansing and the waiting periods symbolized the spiritual preparation required to be in the presence of a holy God.
The concept of discharge and the associated laws also highlight the fallen state of humanity and the pervasive nature of sin and impurity. The need for purification rituals underscores the separation between God and man due to sin, pointing to the ultimate need for redemption and atonement.
New Testament PerspectiveIn the New Testament, the focus shifts from ceremonial laws to the spiritual realities they foreshadowed. Jesus Christ, through His life, death, and resurrection, fulfills the requirements of the Law, including those concerning purity and cleanliness. In
Mark 5:25-34, the account of the woman with the issue of blood illustrates this transition. The woman, who had suffered from a discharge for twelve years, was healed by her faith in Jesus. This healing not only restored her physically but also ceremonially, as she was no longer considered unclean.
The New Testament teaches that believers are cleansed through faith in Christ, who provides a once-for-all purification from sin.
Hebrews 10:22 encourages believers to "draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."
Practical ImplicationsWhile the specific laws regarding discharge are not applicable to Christians today, the principles behind them remain relevant. Believers are called to live lives of holiness and purity, recognizing the seriousness of sin and the need for continual spiritual cleansing. The concept of discharge serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining a right relationship with God through confession, repentance, and reliance on the cleansing power of Jesus Christ.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
v. t.) To relieve of a charge, load, or burden; to empty of a load or cargo; to unburden; to unload; as, to discharge a vessel.
2. (v. t.) To free of the missile with which anything is charged or loaded; to let go the charge of; as, to discharge a bow, catapult, etc.; especially, said of firearms, -- to fire off; to shoot off; also, to relieve from a state of tension, as a Leaden jar.
3. (v. t.) To of something weighing upon or impeding over one, as a debt, claim, obligation, responsibility, accusation, etc.; to absolve; to acquit; to clear.
4. (v. t.) To relieve of an office or employment; to send away from service; to dismiss.
5. (v. t.) To release legally from confinement; to set at liberty; as, to discharge a prisoner.
6. (v. t.) To put forth, or remove, as a charge or burden; to take out, as that with which anything is loaded or filled; as, to discharge a cargo.
7. (v. t.) To let fly, as a missile; to shoot.
8. (v. t.) To set aside; to annul; to dismiss.
9. (v. t.) To throw off the obligation of, as a duty or debt; to relieve one's self of, by fulfilling conditions, performing duty, trust, and the like; hence, to perform or execute, as an office, or part.
10. (v. t.) To send away (a creditor) satisfied by payment; to pay one's debt or obligation to.
11. (v. t.) To give forth; to emit or send out; as, a pipe discharges water; to let fly; to give expression to; to utter; as, to discharge a horrible oath.
12. (v. t.) To prohibit; to forbid.
13. (v. i.) To throw off or deliver a load, charge, or burden; to unload; to emit or give vent to fluid or other contents; as, the water pipe discharges freely.
14. (n.) The act of discharging; the act of relieving of a charge or load; removal of a load or burden; unloading; as, the discharge of a ship; discharge of a cargo.
15. (v. t.) Firing off; explosive removal of a charge; explosion; letting off; as, a discharge of arrows, of artillery.
16. (v. t.) Act of relieving of something which oppresses or weighs upon one, as an obligation, liability, debt, accusation, etc.; acquittance; as, the discharge of a debtor.
17. (v. t.) Act of removing, or getting rid of, an obligation, liability, etc.; fulfillment, as by the payment of a debt, or the performance of a trust or duty.
18. (v. t.) Release or dismissal from an office, employment, etc.; dismissal; as, the discharge of a workman by his employer.
19. (v. t.) Legal release from confinement; liberation; as, the discharge of a prisoner.
20. (n.) The state of being discharged or relieved of a debt, obligation, office, and the like; acquittal.
21. (v. t.) That which discharges or releases from an obligation, liability, penalty, etc., as a price of ransom, a legal document.
22. (n.) A flowing or issuing out; emission; vent; evacuation; also, that which is discharged or emitted; as, a rapid discharge of water from the pipe.
Greek
670. apophortizomai -- todischarge a cargo... to
discharge a cargo. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: apophortizomai Phonetic
Spelling: (ap-of-or-tid'-zom-ahee) Short Definition: I unload,
discharge...630. apoluo -- to set free, release
... depart. 630 (from 575 , "away from" and 3089 , "to loose, release") -- properly,
to let go; release (discharge), dismiss. This term...
2673. katargeo -- to render inoperative, abolish
... I bring to naught, sever, abolish Definition: (a) I make idle (inactive), make of
no effect, annul, abolish, bring to naught, (b) Idischarge, sever, separate...
3781. opheiletes -- a debtor
... sinner. 3781 (a masculine ) -- a ; someone under to pay back (discharge)
a debt. For the , 3781 ("being a ") where Christ paid ....
5055. teleo -- to bring to an end, complete, fulfill
... From telos; to end, ie Complete, execute, conclude,discharge (a debt) -- accomplish,
make an end, expire, fill up, finish, go over, pay, perform....
863. aphiemi -- to send away, leave alone, permit
... forgive, (d) I permit, suffer. 863 (from 575 , "away from" and , "send") --
properly, ; (discharge). Word Origin from apo and hiemi...
Strong's Hebrew
4917. mishlachath -- adischarge, deputation, sending... mishlachath. 4918 . a
discharge, deputation, sending. Transliteration: mishlachath
Phonetic Spelling: (mish-lakh'-ath) Short Definition: band.
...discharge, sending
...2101. zob -- an issue (of fluid)
... 2100, 2101. zob. 2102 . an issue (of fluid). Transliteration: zob Phonetic
Spelling: (zobe) Short Definition:discharge. Word Origin...
2100. zub -- to flow, gush
... root Definition to flow, gush NASB Word Usagedischarge (14), flow (1), flowed
(1), flowing (19), flows (1), gushed (2), has (1), has adischarge (1), pine...
6824. tsaphah -- an outflow
... 6823, 6824. tsaphah. 6825 . an outflow. Transliteration: tsaphah Phonetic
Spelling: (tsaw-faw') Short Definition:discharge. Word...
Library
Celsus Supposes that Men "Discharge the Duties of Life Until they...
... Chapter LVII. Celsus supposes that men "discharge the duties of life until
they are loosened from its? Celsus supposes that men...
OfDischarge from Tithes.
... A COMPENDIUM OF THE LAW RELATING TO TITHES. 7. OfDischarge from Tithes.
Mere non-payment of tithes, though for time immemorial, is...
Exhortations to theDischarge of Relative Duties.
... Chapter IX."Exhortations to thedischarge of relative duties. Ye husbands, love
your wives; and ye wives, your husbands. Ye children, reverence your parents....
If the Members Rise, must theyDischarge the Same Functions as Now...
... Chapter III."If the members rise, must theydischarge the same functions
as now? They say, then, if the body shall rise entire...
Whether Intellectual Knowledge is Derived from Sensible Things?
... et Vigil.) that Democritus held that knowledge is cause by a "discharge of images."
And the reason for this opinion was that both Democritus and the other...
Be Ye Therefore Perfect, Even as Your Father which is in Heaven is...
... God cannotdischarge us from the obligation to be perfect, as I have defined perfection.
If he were to attempt it, he would just so far give a license to sin....
On the Fifth Command in the Decalogue
... of things necessary for them to the uses of life according to their dignity, ought
to extend itself not only to the time when theydischarge this duty, but...
Ordination and Duties of the Clergy.
... and the word of teaching, may in meekness instruct Thy people, and sincerely serve
Thee with a pure mind and a willing soul, and may fullydischarge the holy...
The Helpless State of the Sinner under Condemnation.
... will come when the rigor of Divine justice will not be able to inflict any thing
more than thou hast endured, and when thou mayest claim thydischarge as a...
Whence it is not Right Either that those of the Clergy who have...
... But when they lapsed, as having carried themselves with ostentation, [2317] and
brought reproach upon themselves, they can no longerdischarge their sacred...
Thesaurus
Discharge (30 Occurrences)... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (vt) To relieve of a charge, load, or burden; to empty
of a load or cargo; to unburden; to unload; as, to
discharge a vessel.
...Continues (32 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 15:3 This shall be his uncleanness in hisdischarge: whether his body
runs with hisdischarge, or his body has stopped from hisdischarge, it is his...
Menstrual (9 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 15:19 "'If a woman has adischarge, and herdischarge in her flesh is
blood, she shall be in her impurity seven days: and whoever touches her shall...
Bathe (35 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 15:6 He who sits on anything whereon the man who has thedischarge sat
shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the...
Pay (212 Occurrences)
... 2. (vt) To satisfy, or content; specifically, to satisfy (another person) for service
rendered, property delivered, etc.; todischarge one's obligation to; to...
Shoot (51 Occurrences)
... 3. (vi) Todischarge, causing a missile to be driven forth; -- followed by a word
denoting the weapon or instrument, as an object; -- often with off; as, to...
Touches (55 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 15:7 "'He who touches the body of him who has thedischarge shall wash
his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening....
Flux (26 Occurrences)
... 5. (n.) A fluiddischarge from the bowels or other part; especially, an excessive
and morbiddischarge; as, the bloody flux or dysentery. See Bloody flux....
Thunder (48 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary. 1. (n.) The sound which follows a flash of lightning;
the report of adischarge of atmospheric electricity....
Sits (52 Occurrences)
... (WEB NAS RSV NIV). Leviticus 15:4 "'Every bed whereon he who has thedischarge lies
shall be unclean; and everything he sits on shall be unclean....
Resources
What are the bodily discharges mentioned in Leviticus 15, and why did they make a person unclean? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is a mikvah? | GotQuestions.orgWhat does it mean to endure hardship (2 Timothy 4:5)? | GotQuestions.orgDischarge: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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