Exodus 19:15 (WEB)
He said to the people, “Be ready by the third day. Don’t have sexual relations with a woman.”
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Exodus 19:15 (KJV)
And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.
Key words
- אַל־תִּגְּשׁוּ אֶל־אִשָּׁהal-tiggeshu el-ishshah · Hebrew
- 'come not at your wives' — abstain from relations for three days before God descends on Sinai.
Why it matters
Before the LORD comes down on Sinai, Israel must abstain from marital relations. Pitre cites this with 1 Samuel 21:4 to answer why Joseph would accept a life of abstinence (p 103): if the earthly temple required even priests to abstain before entering, and the old Ark could not be touched and lived, how much more the body of Mary, overshadowed by the Most High and made the new dwelling place of God.
Fathers and councils · 6
John Damascene
“Did not God, when He wished the Israelites to see Him, bid them purify the body?” — editor's note: Ex. xix. 15; Num. vi. 2.
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Jerome
“Moreover, when the people were about to receive the law on Mount Sinai they were commanded to keep away from their wives for three days.” — editor's note: Ex. xix. 15.
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Gregory of Nyssa
- Gregory of Nyssa, On Virginity On Virginity.24On Virginity
“If you long for God to manifest Himself to you, why do you not hear Moses, when he commands the people to be pure from the stains of marriage, that they may take in the vision of God.” — editor's note: Exod. xix. 15.
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Gregory of Nazianzus
“Their purification extended only to their dress, and a slight restriction of the belly, and a temporary continence.” — editor's note: Exod. xix. 10, 15.
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Clement of Alexandria
“He further expounds the Catholic idea of marriage, and rescues, from heretical adulteration, the precept of Moses (Ex. xix. 15); introducing a lucid parallel, with the Apostolic command, “Come out from among them, and be separate,” etc. He turns the tables on his foul…” — the author cites it
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Cyprian of Carthage
“Also in Exodus, when the Lord had commanded Moses that he should sanctify the people for the third day, he sanctified them, and added: “Be ye ready, for three days ye shall not approach to women.”” — editor's note: Ex. xix. 15.
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Cross-references · 9
Cited together in On Virginity On Virginity.24.
Cited together in On Virginity On Virginity.24.
Cited together in On Virginity On Virginity.24.
Cited together in On Virginity On Virginity.24.
Cited together in On Virginity On Virginity.24.
Cited together in On Virginity On Virginity.24.
Cited together in On Virginity On Virginity.24.
Cited together in On Virginity On Virginity.24.
Cited together in On Virginity On Virginity.24.