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.