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Leviticus
Chapter Thirteen
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 13
In
this chapter an account is given of the various sorts of leprosy, and the rules
by which they were to be judged of, Leviticus 13:1 of
the bright spot and scab, Leviticus 13:4 of
the rising or swelling, Leviticus 13:9 of
the bile or hot ulcer, Leviticus 13:18 of
the hot burning or inflammation, Leviticus 13:24 of
the plague of the scall, Leviticus 13:29 of
bright spots or blisters, Leviticus 13:38 and
of shedding the hair, and baldness, Leviticus 13:40 of
what the leper was to do, and to be done unto, Leviticus 13:45 of
the leprosy in garments made of linen, woollen, or of skin, Leviticus 13:47.
Leviticus 13:1. And
the Lord
spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:
YLT 1And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, and unto
Aaron, saying,
And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron,.... Aaron is
addressed again, though left out in the preceding law, because the laws
concerning leprosy chiefly concerned the priests, whose business it was to
judge of it, and cleanse from it; and so Ben Gersom observes, mention is made
of Aaron here, because to him and his sons belonged the affair of leprosies, to
pronounce unclean or clean, to shut up or set free, and, as Aben Ezra says,
according to his determination were all the plagues or strokes of a man, who
should be declared clean or unclean:
saying; as follows.
Leviticus 13:2.
2 “When a man has on the
skin of his body a swelling, a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes on the
skin of his body like a leprous[a] sore, then
he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests.
YLT 2`When a man hath in the skin of his flesh a
rising, or scab, or bright spot, and it hath become in the skin of his flesh a
leprous plague, then he hath been brought in unto Aaron the priest, or unto one
of his sons the priests;
When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh,.... Rules are
here given, by which a leprosy might be judged of; which, as a disease, was
frequent in Egypt, where the Israelites had dwelt a long time, and from whence
they were just come; and is doubtless the reason, as learned men have observed,
that several Heathen writers make the cause of their expulsion from Egypt, as
they choose to call it, though wrongly, their being infected with this distemper;
whereas it was the reverse, not they, but the Egyptians, were incident to itF26Est
elephas morbus-----gignitur Aegypto. Lucret. l. 6. ver. 1112. . Moreover, the
leprosy here spoken of seems not to be the same with that disease, or what we
now call so, though some have thought otherwise; it being rather an uncleanness
than a disease, and the business of a priest, and not a physician to attend
unto; and did not arise from natural causes, but was from the immediate hand of
God, and was inflicted on men for their sins, as the cases of Miriam, Gehazi,
and Uzziah show; and who by complying with the rites and ceremonies hereafter
enjoined, their sins were pardoned, and they were cleansed; so that as their
case was extraordinary and supernatural, their cure and cleansing were as
remarkable: besides, this impurity being in garments and houses, shows it to be
something out of the ordinary way. And this law concerning it did not extend to
all men, only to the Israelites, and such as were in connection with them, such
as proselytes. It is saidF1Misn. Negaim, c. 3. sect. 1. , all are
defiled with the plague (of leprosy) except an idolater and a proselyte of the
gate; and the commentators sayF2Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. ,
even servants, and little ones though but a day old; that is, they are polluted
with it, and so come under this law. Now the place where this disorder appears
is "in the skin of the flesh"; that is, where there is a skin, and
that is seen; for there are some places, the Jewish writersF3Misn.
Negaim. c. 6. sect. 8. & Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. say, are not
reckoned the skin of the flesh, or where that is not seen, and such places are
excepted, and they are these; the inside of the eye, of the ear, and of the
nose: wrinkles in the neck, under the pap, and under the arm hole; the sole of
the foot, the nail, the head and beard: and this phrase, "in the skin of
his flesh", is always particularly mentioned; and when there appeared in
it
a rising, scab, or bright spot; the scab that is placed
between the rising or swelling, and the bright spot, belongs to them both, and
is a kind of an accessory, or second to each of them: hence the Jews
distinguish the scab of the swelling, and the scab of the bright spot; so that
these make four in all, as they observeF4Misn. ib. c. 1. sect. 1. .
And to this agrees what Ben Gersom on this text remarks; the bright spot is,
whose whiteness is as the snow; the rising or swelling is what is white, as the
pure wool of a lamb of a day old; the scab is what is inferior in whiteness to the
rising, and is as in the degree of the whiteness of the shell or film of an
egg; and this is the order of these appearances, the most white is the bright
spot, after that the rising, and after that the scab of the bright spot, and
after that the scab of the rising or swelling; and, lo, what is in whiteness
below the whiteness of this (the last) is not the plague of leprosy:
and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of
leprosy; either of the above appearances in the skin, having somewhat in
them similar to the leprosy, or which may justly raise a suspicion of it,
though it is not clear and manifest:
then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or unto one of his
sons the priests; for, as Jarchi notes, there was no pollution nor purification of
the leprosy, but by the mouth or determination of a priest. And a good man that
was desirous, and made conscience of observing the laws of God, when he
observed anything of the above in him, and had any suspicion of his case, would
of himself go, and show himself to the priest; but if a man did not do this,
and any of his neighbours observed the appearances on him, brought him to the
priest whether he would or not, according to the text:
he shall be brought: that is, as Aben Ezra
explains it, whether with or without his will; for he that sees in him one of
the signs, shall oblige him to come to the priest; and who observes, that by
Aaron the priest is meant, the priest anointed in his room; and by his sons the
priests, the common priests, who are found without the sanctuary; such as the
priests of Anathoth, but who were not of those that were rejected.
Leviticus 13:3.
3 The priest shall examine
the sore on the skin of the body; and if the hair on the sore has turned white,
and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is
a leprous sore. Then the priest shall examine him, and pronounce him unclean.
YLT 3and the priest hath seen the plague in the
skin of the flesh, and the hair in the plague hath turned white, and the
appearance of the plague [is] deeper than the skin of his flesh -- it [is] a
plague of leprosy, and the priest hath seen him, and hath pronounced him
unclean.
And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh,.... Whether
it be a swelling, scab, or a bright spot that appears, and judge of it by the
following rules, and none but a priest might do this:
and when the hair in the plague is turned white; it arising in
a place where hair grows, and which hair is not naturally white, but of another
colour, but changed through the force of the plague; and there were to be two
hairs at least, which were at first black, but turned white; so Jarchi and Ben
Gersom: and these hairs, according to the MisnahF5Negaim, c. 4.
sect. 4. , must be white at bottom; if the root (or bottom) is black, and the
head (or top) white, he is clean; if the root white, and the head black, he is
defiled; for hairs turning white is a sign of a disorder, of weakness, of a
decay of nature, as may be observed in ancient persons:
and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his
flesh; appears plainly to view to be more than skin deep, to have
corroded and eat into the flesh below the skin:
it is a plague of leprosy; when these two signs
were observed, hair turned white, and the plague was more than skin deep, then
it was a plain case that it was the leprosy of which See Gill on Matthew 8:2, Matthew 8:3, Luke 5:12. This was
an emblem of sin, and the corruption of nature, which is an uncleanness, and
with which every man is defiled, and which renders him infectious, nauseous,
and abominable; and of which he is only to be cured and cleansed by Christ, the
great High Priest, through his blood, which cleanses from all sin. The above
signs and marks of leprosy may be observed in this; the white hair denoting a
decay of strength, see Hosea 7:9 may be
seen in sinners, as in the leper, who are without moral and spiritual strength
to keep the law of God, to do anything that is spiritually good, to regenerate,
renew, convert, and sanctify themselves, or to bring themselves out of the
state of pollution, bondage, and misery, in which they are; and, like the
leprosy, sin lies deep in man; it is in his flesh, in which dwells no good
thing, and in which there is no soundness; it does not lie merely in outward
actions, but it is in the heart, which is desperately wicked; for the inward
part of man is very wicked:
and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean; and so should
be obliged to rend his clothes, make bare his head, put a covering on his upper
lip, and cry, unclean, unclean; dwell alone without the camp, and at a proper
time bring the offering for his cleansing, and submit to the several rites and
ceremonies prescribed, Leviticus 13:45.
Leviticus 13:4.
4 But if the bright spot is
white on the skin of his body, and does not appear to be deeper than the
skin, and its hair has not turned white, then the priest shall isolate the
one who has the sore seven days.
YLT 4`And if the bright spot is white in the skin
of his flesh, and its appearance is not deeper than the skin, and its hair hath
not turned white, then hath the priest shut up [him who hath] the plague seven
days.
If the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh,.... The
Targum of Jonathan is, white as chalk in the skin of his flesh; but other
Jewish writers make the whiteness of the bright spot to be the greatest of all,
like that of snow; See Gill on Leviticus 13:2,
and in sight be not deeper than the skin, and the hair
thereof be not turned white; though it be a bright spot, and be very white,
yet these two marks not appearing, it cannot be judged a leprosy, at most it is
only suspicious: wherefore
then the priest, shall shut up him that hath the plague
seven days; in whom the bright spot is, and of whom there is a suspicion of
the plague of leprosy, but it is not certain; and therefore, in order to take
time, and get further knowledge, the person was to be shut up from all company
and conversation for the space of seven days; by which time it might be
supposed, as Ben Gersom observes, that the case and state of the leprosy (if it
was one) would be altered; and Aben Ezra remarks, that most diseases change or
alter on the seventh day.
Leviticus 13:5.
5 And the priest shall
examine him on the seventh day; and indeed if the sore appears to be as
it was, and the sore has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall
isolate him another seven days.
YLT 5`And the priest hath seen him on the seventh
day, and lo, the plague hath stood in his eyes, the plague hath not spread in
the skin, and the priest hath shut him up a second seven days.
And the priest shall look on him the seventh day,.... In the
day, and not in the night, as Maimonides, but not on the seventh day, if it
happened to be on the sabbathF6Misn. Negaim, c. 1. sect. 4. , then
it was put off till after it; and, according to the Jewish canonsF7Misn.
ib. c. 2. sect. 2. , they do not look upon plagues in the morning, nor in the
evening, nor in the middle of a house, nor on a cloudy day, nor at noon, but at
the fourth, fifth, eighth, and ninth hours:
and, behold, if the plague in his sight be at a stay; it appears to
the priest, according to the strictest view he can take of it, that it is in
the same state and condition it was, neither better nor worse:
and the plague spread not in
the skin: is not greater or larger than it was, though not less:
then the priest shall shut him up seven days more; such abundant
care was taken, lest after all it should prove a leprosy.
Leviticus 13:6.
6 Then the priest shall
examine him again on the seventh day; and indeed if the sore has faded, and
the sore has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean;
it is only a scab, and he shall wash his clothes and be clean.
YLT 6`And the priest hath seen him on the second
seventh day, and lo, the plague is become weak, and the plague hath not spread
in the skin -- and the priest hath pronounced him clean, it [is] a scab, and he
hath washed his garments, and hath been clean.
And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day,.... On the
second seventh day, at the end of a fortnight from his being first presented to
him, and shut up:
and, behold, if the plague be somewhat dark; the spot be
not so bright, or so white as it was at first; though Aben Ezra observes, that
indeed many wise men say, that כהה is as חשך, signifying dark, and the testimony or proof they bring
is Genesis 27:1 but
according to my opinion, adds he, the word is the reverse of פשה, to spread; and the sense is, if the plague does not
spread itself in another place; and so some translators render it
"contracted", or "contracts itself"F8כהה "contracta est", Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator; "contraxerit sese", some in Vatablus. : and this seems best
to agree with what follows:
and the plague spread not in the skin; but is as it
was when first viewed, after waiting fourteen days, and making observations on
it:
the priest shall pronounce him clean; that is, from
leprosy, otherwise there was an impure disorder on him, a scabious one:
it is but a scab; which is the name,
Jarchi says, of a clean plague or stroke, that is, in comparison of the
leprosy, otherwise such cannot be said with any propriety to be clean. Ben
Gersom better explains it, it is a white scab, but not of the kind of leprosy,
although it is found as the whiteness of the bright spot; but there are not
seen in it the signs of leprosy, the hair is not turned white, nor has the
plague increased:
and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean; for seeing he
was obliged to be shut up, as Jarchi observes, he is called unclean, and stood
in need of dipping, that is, his body and his clothes into water; so the people
of God, though they are justified by the righteousness of Christ, and are pronounced
clean through it, yet since they have their spots and scabs, they have need to
have their conversation garments continually washed in the blood of the Lamb.
Leviticus 13:7.
7 But if the scab should at
all spread over the skin, after he has been seen by the priest for his
cleansing, he shall be seen by the priest again.
YLT 7`And if the scab spread greatly in the skin,
after his being seen by the priest for his cleansing, then he hath been seen a
second time by the priest;
But if the scab spread much abroad in the skin,.... Or
"in spreading spread"F11פשה תפשה "diffundendo diffuderit se", Montanus,
Drusius, Piscator. ; spreads, and proceeds to spread more and more:
after that he hath been seen of the priest for his cleansing: even after he
had been viewed upon the first presentation of him to him, and after he had
been twice seen by him by the end of two weeks, in which he was shut up, and
after he had been pronounced clean, and had washed his clothes for his
purification:
he shall be seen of the priest again; either he
shall go to him of himself, or be brought to him, to be reviewed and pass under
afresh examination.
Leviticus 13:8.
8 And if the priest
sees that the scab has indeed spread on the skin, then the priest shall
pronounce him unclean. It is leprosy.
YLT 8and the priest hath seen, and lo, the scab
hath spread in the skin, and the priest hath pronounced him unclean; it [is]
leprosy.
And if the priest see that, behold, the scab spreadeth in
the skin,.... Is not at a stay, as when he looked at it a second and third
time:
then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; a leprous
person; to be absolutely so, as Jarchi expresses it; and so obliged to the
birds (to bring birds for his cleansing), and to shaving, and to the offering
spoken of in this section, as the same writer observes:
it is a leprosy: it is a clear and plain
case that it was one, and no doubt is to be made of it, it is a spreading
leprosy: as sin is; it spreads itself over all the powers and faculties of the
soul, and over all the members of the body; and it spreads more and more in every
stage of life, unless and until grace puts a stop to it.
Leviticus 13:9. 9 “When
the leprous sore is on a person, then he shall be brought to the priest.
YLT 9`When a plague of leprosy is in a man, then
he hath been brought in unto the priest,
When the plague of leprosy is in a man,.... He has
all the signs of it, and it is pretty manifest both to himself and others that
it is upon him:
then he shall be brought unto the priest; by his
friends and neighbours, if he is not willing to come of himself: a sinner
insensible of the leprosy of sin, and of his unclean and miserable state
through it, has no will to come to Christ the great High Priest for cleansing;
but one that is sensible of it, and of Christ's ability to help and cleanse
him, will come freely and gladly, and importunately seek to him for it; though
indeed such an one is brought by powerful and efficacious grace to him, yet not
against, but with his full will; see John 5:40; compare
with this Matthew 8:1.
Leviticus 13:10. 10 And
the priest shall examine him; and indeed if the swelling on the
skin is white, and it has turned the hair white, and there is a
spot of raw flesh in the swelling,
YLT 10and the priest hath seen, and lo, a white
rising in the skin, and it hath turned the hair white, and a quickening of raw
flesh [is] in the rising, --
And the priest shall see him,.... Look at him, and
closely and narrowly inspect and examine his case:
and, behold, if the rising be white in the skin; this is
another appearance of the leprosy; the preceding were a bright spot, and the
scab of it; but this a rising or white swelling in the skin, as white as pure
wool, as the Targum of Jonathan:
and it have turned the hair white; to the whiteness of an
egg shell, or the film of it, as the same Targum; that is, hath turned the hair
of another colour, into white which was before black:
and there be quick raw flesh in the rising, or swelling;
or "the quickening" or "quickness of live flesh"F12מהית בשר חי
"vivacitas carnis vivae", Montanus, Vatablus. either such as we call
proud flesh, which looks raw and red; or sound flesh, live flesh being opposed
to that which is mortified and putrid; and so Jarchi renders it by
"saniment", a French word for "soundness": and the
Septuagint version, in this and all other places where the word is used,
renders it "sound": this clause may be considered disjunctively, as
by Gersom, "or there be quick raw flesh"; for either the hair turning
white, or quick raw flesh, one or the other, and one without the other was a
sign of leprosy, so Jarchi observes; even this is a sign of uncleanness, the
white hair without the quick flesh, and the quick flesh without the white hair:
this may seem strange that quick and sound flesh should be a sign of the
leprosy and its uncleanness; though it should be observed, it is such as is in
the rising or swelling: and in things spiritual, it is a bad sign when men are
proud of themselves and have confidence in the flesh; when in their own opinion
they are whole and sound, and need no physician; when they trust in themselves
that they are righteous, and boast of and have their dependence on their own
works; he appears to be in the best state and frame that cried out as David
did, that there is "no soundness in his flesh", Psalm 38:3.
Leviticus 13:11. 11 it is an old
leprosy on the skin of his body. The priest shall pronounce him unclean, and
shall not isolate him, for he is unclean.
YLT 11an old leprosy it [is] in the skin of his
flesh, and the priest hath pronounced him unclean; he doth not shut him up, for
he [is] unclean.
It is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh,.... An
inveterate one, of long standing and continuance, an obstinate one, not to be
cured by medicine; as this sort of leprosy was, and therefore the person was
sent not to a physician, but to the priest: the leprosy of sin is an old
disease, brought by man into the world with him, and continues with him from
his youth upwards, and nothing but the grace of God and blood of Christ can
remove it:
and the priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall not shut him
up; there being no doubt at all of it being a leprosy, and of his
uncleanness, and therefore no need to shut him up for further examination, but
to turn him out of the camp till his purification was over:
for he is unclean; in a ceremonial sense,
and was obliged to the law for cleansing, such as after given.
Leviticus 13:12. 12 “And
if leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of
the one who has the sore, from his head to his foot, wherever the priest
looks,
YLT 12`And if the leprosy break out greatly in the
skin, and the leprosy hath covered all the skin of [him who hath] the plague,
from his head even unto his feet, to all that appeareth to the eyes of the
priest,
And if a leprosy break out abroad in the skin,.... Or, if
flowering it flowersF13פרוח תפרח ανθουσα
εξανθηση, Sept. "florendo floruerit", Montanus; so
Drusius & Tigurine version. ; the man that has it on him looks like a plant
or tree covered with white flowers, being spread all over him in white
swellings, bright spots or scabs, as it follows:
and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath the
plague, from his head even to his foot; such an one as the leper
was that came to Christ for healing, said to be full of leprosy, Luke 5:12; and such
in a mystical sense is every sinner, whether sensible of it or not, even from
the Crown of the head to the sole of the foot, full of the wounds, bruises, and
putrefying sores of sin, Isaiah 1:6,
wheresoever the priest looketh; that is, he cannot look
any where upon any part of him but he sees the signs of the leprosy on him; and
from whence the Jewish writers gather, that a priest that inspects leprous
persons ought to have a clear sight, and to have both his eyes, and that the
inspection should not be made in a dark house.
Leviticus 13:13. 13 then
the priest shall consider; and indeed if the leprosy has covered all his
body, he shall pronounce him clean who has the sore. It has all
turned white. He is clean.
YLT 13then hath the priest seen, and lo, the
leprosy hath covered all his flesh, and he hath pronounced [him who hath] the
plague clean; it hath all turned white; he [is] clean.
Then the priest shall consider,.... Look wistly upon it,
and well weigh the matter in his own mind, that he may make a true judgment and
pronounce a right sentence:
and, behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh; from head to
foot, so that no quick, raw, or sound flesh appear in him:
he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague; not clean
from a leprosy he is covered with; but that he is free from pollution by it,
and under no obligation to bring his offering, or to perform, or have performed
on him any of the rites and ceremonies used in cleansing of the leper:
it is all turned white; his skin and flesh with
white bright spots, scabs and swellings, and no raw and red flesh appears:
he is clean; in a ceremonial sense: this may seem
strange, that one that had a bright spot, or a white swelling, or a scab that
spreads, a single one of these, or here and there one, should be unclean, and
yet, if covered over with them, should be clean; the reason in nature is,
because this shows a good healthful inward constitution, which throws out all
its ill humours externally, whereby health is preserved; as we see in persons
that have the measles or smallpox, or such like distempers, if they stick in
the skin, and only here and there one rises up in a tumour, and to an head, it
is a bad sign; but if they come out kindly and well, though they cover the
whole body, things are very promising: the mystical or spiritual meaning of
this is, that when a man sees himself to be a sinful creature, all over covered
with sin, and no part free, and disclaims all righteousness of his own to
justify him before God, but wholly trusts to, and depends upon the grace of God
for salvation, and the righteousness of Christ for his acceptance with God; he
becomes clean through the grace of God and the blood and righteousness of
Christ.
Leviticus 13:14. 14 But
when raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean.
YLT 14`And in the day of raw flesh being seen in
him he is unclean;
But when raw flesh appeareth in him,.... Between the white
spots, scabs, or swellings, or in the midst of them:
he shall be unclean; be pronounced unclean,
and be subject to all the prescriptions of the law concerning lepers.
Leviticus 13:15. 15 And
the priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him to be unclean; for
the raw flesh is unclean. It is leprosy.
YLT 15and the priest hath seen the raw flesh, and
hath pronounced him unclean; the raw flesh is unclean, it [is] leprosy.
And the priest shall see the raw flesh,.... Or when
he sees it, the person being brought to him to be viewed:
and pronounce him to be unclean; or shall pronounce him
to be unclean:
for the raw flesh is
unclean; made a man so in a ceremonial sense; See Gill on Leviticus 13:10,
it is a leprosy; wherever any quick raw
flesh appears in a swelling.
Leviticus 13:16. 16 Or
if the raw flesh changes and turns white again, he shall come to the priest.
YLT 16Or when the raw flesh turneth back, and hath
been turned to white, then he hath come in unto the priest,
Or if the raw flesh turn again,.... Changes its colour,
from redness, which is in raw flesh:
and be changed unto white: and does not look ruddy
as flesh in common does, nor red and fiery, as raw and proud flesh, but is
white, of the same colour with the swelling or scab:
he shall come unto the priest; again, and show himself,
even though he was before by him pronounced clean.
Leviticus 13:17. 17 And
the priest shall examine him; and indeed if the sore has turned white,
then the priest shall pronounce him clean who has the sore. He is
clean.
YLT 17and the priest hath seen him, and lo, the
plague hath been turned to white, and the priest hath pronounced clean [him who
hath] the plague; he [is] clean.
And the priest shall see him,.... Review him, and
examine him thoroughly:
and, behold, if the plague be turned into white; the raw flesh
in the swelling, which looked red, is become white:
then the priest shall pronounce him clean that hath
the plague; that was supposed to have the plague of leprosy; but upon a
review, and on this change of things, has not, he shall declare him free from
it:
he is clean; and under no obligation to the laws and
rites concerning it.
Leviticus 13:18. 18 “If
the body develops a boil in the skin, and it is healed,
YLT 18`And when flesh hath in it, in its skin, an
ulcer, and it hath been healed,
The flesh also, in which, even in the skin thereof, was a
boil,.... Or hot ulcer, by which, says MaimonidesF14In
Misn. Negaim, c. 6. sect. 8. you may understand any stroke by a stone, stick,
or iron, or any other thing: and in the MisnahF15Ib. c. 9. sect. 1.
, it is asked, what is an ulcer (or boil)? a stroke by wood, stone, pitch, or
hot water; all that is from the force of fire is an ulcer:
and is healed; by the use of medicine, and the part, in
all appearance, as well and as sound as ever.
Leviticus 13:19. 19 and
in the place of the boil there comes a white swelling or a bright spot,
reddish-white, then it shall be shown to the priest;
YLT 19and there hath been in the place of the ulcer
a white rising, or a bright white spot, very red, then it hath been seen by the
priest,
And in the place of the boil there be a white rising,.... In the
place where the boil was, a white swelling appears:
or a bright spot, white, and somewhat reddish; white and red
mixed, as the Targum of Jonathan; and so Aben Ezra interprets the word
"reddish", of the bright spot being mixed of two colours, or part of
it so; and such a mixed colour of white and red, Gersom observes, is usual in a
swelling, and adds, we are taught how to judge of these appearances, according
to a tradition from Moses, which is this: take a cup full of milk, and put in
it two drops of blood, and the colour of it will be as the colour of the bright
spot, white and reddish; and if you put into it four drops, its colour will be
as the colour of the rising (or swelling) reddish; and if you put into it eight
drops, its colour will be as the colour of the scab of the bright spot, more
reddish; and if you put into it sixteen drops, its colour will be as the colour
of the scab of the swelling, very red: hence it appears, says he, that the
bright spot is whitest with its redness, and after that the swelling, and next
the scab of the bright spot, and then the scab of the swelling; but BochartF16Hierozoic.
par. 2. l. 5. c. 6. col. 689. is of opinion that the word is wrongly rendered
"reddish", which, he thinks, contradicts the account of the bright
spot being white, and especially as the word for "reddish" has its
radicals doubled, which always increase the signification; and therefore if the
word bears the sense of redness, it should be rendered "exceeding
red", which would be quite contrary to the spot being white at all;
wherefore from the use of the word in the Arabic language, which signifies
white, bright, and glittering; See Gill on Lamentations 4:7;
he chooses to read the words, "or a bright spot, white and exceeding
glittering": but this word we render reddish and white, being read
disjunctively, Leviticus 13:24;
seems to contradict this observation of his:
and it be shewed to the priest; to look upon and pass
his judgment on it.
Leviticus 13:20. 20 and
if, when the priest sees it, it indeed appears deeper than the skin, and
its hair has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is
a leprous sore which has broken out of the boil.
YLT 20and the priest hath seen, and lo, its
appearance [is] lower than the skin, and its hair hath turned white, and the
priest hath pronounced him unclean; it [is] a plague of leprosy -- in an ulcer
it hath broken out.
And if, when the priest seeth it,.... And has thoroughly
viewed it and considered it:
behold, it be in sight lower than the skin; having eaten
into and taken root in the flesh under the skin:
and the hair thereof be turned white; which are the
signs of leprosy before given, Leviticus 13:3,
the priest shall pronounce him unclean; not fit for
company and conversation, but obliged to conform to the laws concerning
leprosy:
it is a plague of leprosy broken out of the boil; which was
there before: this is an emblem of apostates and apostasy, who having been
seemingly healed and cleansed, return to their former course of life, and to
all the impurity of it, like the dog to its vomit, and the swine to its
wallowing in the mire, Proverbs 26:11; and
so their last state is worse than the first, Matthew 12:45, as
in this case; at first it was a boil, and then thought to be cured, and
afterwards arises out of it a plague of leprosy.
Leviticus 13:21. 21 But if the priest examines
it, and indeed there are no white hairs in it, and it is not deeper than
the skin, but has faded, then the priest shall isolate him seven days;
YLT 21`And if the priest see it, and lo, there is
no white hair in it, and it is not lower than the skin, and is become weak,
then hath the priest shut him up seven days;
But if the priest look on it,.... Upon a person in a
like case as first described, having had a boil, and that healed, and
afterwards a white swelling, or a bright spot in the place of it:
and, behold, there be no white hairs therein; not two hairs
turned white, as Gersom interprets it:
and if it be not lower than the skin; the bright
spot not lower than the skin; not having got into the flesh, only skin deep:
the Targum of Jonathan is, not lower in whiteness than the skin; for the bright
spot is described as white, and so the rising or swelling, Leviticus 13:19,
but be somewhat dark; or rather
"contracted"; to which spreading is opposed in the next verse; See
Gill on Leviticus 13:6,
then the priest shall shut him up seven days; to wait and
see whether it will spread or not: a boil and burning, the Jews say, make a man
unclean in one week, and by two signs, the white hair, and the spreading; by
the white hair, both at the beginning and at the end of the week after
dismission, and by spreading at the end of the week after itF17Misn.
Negaim, c. 3. sect. 4. .
Leviticus 13:22. 22 and
if it should at all spread over the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him
unclean. It is a leprous sore.
YLT 22and if it spread greatly in the skin, then
hath the priest pronounced him unclean, it [is] a plague;
And if it spread much abroad in the skin,.... Upon
viewing it on the seventh day, though it is not expressed, the swelling or
bright spot; or "in spreading spread"; See Gill on Leviticus 13:7;
which Ben Gersom interprets, not of the skin of the flesh, but of the ulcer:
then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; even though
there are no white hairs in it, nor is it lower than the skin, yet is not at a
stand or contracted, but spreading:
it is a plague; or stroke; it is one
sort of a leprosy, and such an one as makes a man unclean in a ceremonial
sense.
Leviticus 13:23. 23 But
if the bright spot stays in one place, and has not spread, it is
the scar of the boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
YLT 23and if in its place the bright spot stay -- it
hath not spread -- it [is] an inflammation of the ulcer; and the priest hath
pronounced him clean.
But if the bright spot stay in his place, and spread not,.... Continues
as it was when first viewed:
it is a burning boil; but not a plague of
leprosy:
and the priest shall pronounce him clean; as clear of a
leprosy, and so not bound by the law of it, though attended with an
inflammation or burning ulcer.
Leviticus 13:24. 24 “Or
if the body receives a burn on its skin by fire, and the raw flesh of
the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish-white or white,
YLT 24`Or when flesh hath in its skin a fiery
burning, and the quickening of the burning, the bright white spot, hath been
very red or white,
Or if there be any flesh, in the skin whereof there is
a hot burning,.... Or "a burning of fire"F18מכות אש "adustio
ignis", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Termellius, Piscator. : it is
asked, what is a burning? that which is burnt with a coal or with hot ashes;
all that is from the force of fire is burningF19Misn. Negaim, c. 9.
sect. 1. & Maimon. in ib. c. 6. sect. 8. ; that is, whatever sore, pustule,
or blister, is occasioned by fire touching the part, or by anything heated by
fire:
and the quick flesh that burneth have a white bright spot,
somewhat reddish, or white; the Targum of Jonathan is, a white spot
mixed with red, or only white; and so Aben Ezra interprets the last clause:
this seems to set aside Bochart's interpretation of the word
"adamdemeth", which we render "somewhat reddish", and be,
very white, bright, and glittering since white is here opposed unto it; though
it may be, the sense is, that the flesh burnt has a bright white spot in it,
exceeding glittering; or however, at least, a white one: by the "quick
flesh" that burneth, Gersom says, is meant the weak, the tender flesh which
is renewed there, after it is healed from the purulent matter in it.
Leviticus 13:25. 25 then
the priest shall examine it; and indeed if the hair of the bright spot has
turned white, and it appears deeper than the skin, it is leprosy broken
out in the burn. Therefore the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is
a leprous sore.
YLT 25and the priest hath seen it, and lo, the hair
hath turned white in the bright spot, and its appearance [is] deeper than the
skin; leprosy it [is], in the burning it hath broken out, and the priest hath
pronounced him unclean; it [is] a plague of leprosy.
Then the priest shall look upon it,.... And examine it,
whether it has the marks and signs of a leprosy or not, such as follow:
behold, if the hair in the bright spot be turned white; which before
was black, or of another colour from white, and is now, turned into the
whiteness of chalk, as the Targum of Jonathan:
and it be in sight deeper than the skin; the same
Targum is,"and its sight or colour is deeper in being white like snow,
more than the skin;'but this respects not the colour of it, as appearing to the
sight, but the depth of the spot, going below the skin into the flesh, which,
with the change of hair, are the two signs of leprosy, Leviticus 13:3,
it is a leprosy broken out of the burning; which sprung
from thence, and what that had issued in:
wherefore the priest shall pronounce him unclean; a leper, and
to be treated as such:
it is the plague of leprosy; being a plain case,
according to the rules by which it was to be judged of.
Leviticus 13:26. 26 But
if the priest examines it, and indeed there are no white hairs in the
bright spot, and it is not deeper than the skin, but has faded, then the
priest shall isolate him seven days.
YLT 26`And if the priest see it, and lo, there is
no white hair on the bright spot, and it is not lower than the skin, and it is
become weak, then the priest hath shut him up seven days;
But if the priest look on it,.... On the hot burning
and bright spot in it, in another person:
and, behold, there be no white hair on the white spot, and
it be no lower than the other skin; why the word
"other" should be supplied I know not, any more than in Leviticus 13:21,
but be somewhat dark; or
"contracted"; see Gill on Leviticus 13:21,
then the priest shall shut him up seven days; as in the
case of the burning boil or hot ulcer, as in Leviticus 13:21.
Leviticus 13:27. 27 And
the priest shall examine him on the seventh day. If it has at all spread over
the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a leprous
sore.
YLT 27and the priest hath seen him on the seventh
day, if it spread greatly in the skin, then the priest hath pronounced him
unclean; a plague of leprosy it [is].
And the priest shall look upon him the seventh day,.... When that
is come, any time on that day; not needing to wait until the end of it, or
till, the seven days are precisely up; the same is to be understood in all
places in this chapter where the like is used:
and if it be spread much
abroad in the skin; in the space of seven days:
then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is the
plague of leprosy: according to the law; so that it was necessary, in such a case
for him to conform to it in order to his cleansing.
Leviticus 13:28. 28 But
if the bright spot stays in one place, and has not spread on the skin,
but has faded, it is a swelling from the burn. The priest shall
pronounce him clean, for it is the scar from the burn.
YLT 28`And if the bright spot stay in its place, it
hath not spread in the skin, and is become weak; a rising of the burning it
[is], and the priest hath pronounced him clean; for it [is] inflammation of the
burning.
And if the bright spot stay in his place, and spread not in
the skin,.... If, after being shut up, seven days, it appears that the
spot is no larger than, when it was first viewed, but is as it was, and not at
all increased:
but it be somewhat dark; either not so bright as
it was, or more contracted:
it is a rising of the burning; or a swelling
of it, a swelling which sprung from it, and nothing else:
the priest shall pronounce him clean; from the
leprosy, and so set him at liberty to go where he will, and dwell and converse
with men as usual:
for it is an inflammation of the burning; or an
inflammation or blister occasioned by the burning, and no leprosy.
Leviticus 13:29. 29 “If
a man or woman has a sore on the head or the beard,
YLT 29`And when a man (or a woman) hath in him a
plague in the head or in the beard,
If a man or a woman hath a plague upon the head or the beard. Any breaking
out in those parts a swelling, scab, or spot, on a man's beard or on a woman's
head; or on the head of either man or woman; or on a woman's beard, if she had
any, as some have had though not common.
Leviticus 13:30. 30 then
the priest shall examine the sore; and indeed if it appears deeper than the
skin, and there is in it thin yellow hair, then the priest shall
pronounce him unclean. It is a scaly leprosy of the head or beard.
YLT 30then hath the priest seen the plague, and lo,
its appearance is deeper than the skin, and in it a thin shining hair, and the
priest hath pronounced him unclean; it [is] a scall -- it [is] a leprosy of the
head or of the beard.
Then the priest shall see the plague,.... The
person on whom it is shall come or be brought unto him; and he shall look upon
it and examine it:
and, behold, if it be in sight deeper than the skin; which is
always one sign of leprosy:
and there be in it a yellow
thin hair; like the appearance of thin gold, as the Targum of Jonathan;
for, as Ben Gersom says, its colour is the colour of gold; and it is called
thin in this place, because short and soft, and not when it is long and small;
and so it is said, scabs make unclean in two weeks, and by two signs, by thin
yellow hair, and by spreading, by yellow hair, small, soft, and shortF20Negaim,
c. 10. sect. 1. : now this is to be understood, not of hair that is naturally
of a yellow or gold colour, as is the hair of the head and beard of some
persons, but of hair changed into this colour through the force of the disease;
and so Jarchi interprets it, black hair turned yellow; in other parts of the
body, hair turned white was a sign of leprosy, but here that which was turned
yellow or golden coloured: Aben Ezra observes, that the colour expressed by
this word is, in the Ishmaelitish or Arabic language, the next to the white
colour:
then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; declare him a
leper, and unfit for company, and order him to do and have done for him the
things after expressed, as required in such a case:
it is a dry scall; or "wound", as
the Septuagint version; "nethek", which is the word here used, Jarchi
says, is the name of a plague that is in the place of hair, or where that
grows; it has its name from plucking up; for there the hair is plucked away, as
Aben Ezra and Ben Gersom note:
even a leprosy upon
the head or beard; as the head is the seat of knowledge, and the beard a sign of
manhood, and of a man's being arrived to years of discretion; when wisdom and
prudence are expected in him; this sort of leprosy may be an emblem of errors
in judgment, of false doctrines and heresies imbibed by persons, which eat as
doth a canker, and are in themselves damnable, and bring ruin and destruction
on teachers and hearers, unless recovered from them by the grace of God.
Leviticus 13:31. 31 But if the priest examines
the scaly sore, and indeed it does not appear deeper than the skin, and there
is no black hair in it, then the priest shall isolate the one who has
the scale seven days.
YLT 31`And when the priest seeth the plague of the
scall, and lo, its appearance is not deeper than the skin, and there is no
black hair in it, then hath the priest shut up [him who hath] the plague of the
scall seven days.
And if the priest look on the plague of the scall,.... As it may
appear in another person, brought to him for inspection and examination:
and, behold, it be not in the sight deeper than the skin; it do not
seem to be got into the flesh, or lower than the skin:
and that there is no black hair in it; or, "but
no black hair in it"; for, as Jarchi says, if there was a black hair in
it, he would be clean, and there would be no need of shutting up; for black
hair in scalls is a sign of cleanness, as it is said, Leviticus 13:37; it
would be a clear case that such a man had no leprosy on him; for black hair is
a token of a strong and healthful constitution; and there could remain no doubt
about it, and it would require no further trial and examination: Ben Gersom
says it means two black hairs; and further observes, that black hair in the
midst of a scall is a sign of cleanness; but this being wanting:
then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague of
the scall seven days; from the time of his viewing the scall; and so Ben Gersom, this
is the seventh day from the time of looking upon the scall.
Leviticus 13:32. 32 And
on the seventh day the priest shall examine the sore; and indeed if the
scale has not spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and the scale does not
appear deeper than the skin,
YLT 32`And the priest hath seen the plague on the
seventh day, and lo, the scall hath not spread, and a shining hair hath not
been in it, and the appearance of the scall is not deeper than the skin,
And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague,.... To see
whether it has got any deeper, or spread any further, and has any hair growing
in it, and of what colour, that he might be also able to judge whether it was a
leprosy or not:
and, behold, if the scall spread not; was neither
got into the flesh, nor larger in the skin:
and there be in it no yellow hair; that is, a thin yellow
hair, for such only, as Ben Gersom observes, was a sign of leprosy in scalls,
as in Leviticus 13:30;
and the same writer observes, that "and" is here instead of
"or", and to be read, "or there be in it no yellow hair";
since a scall was pronounced unclean, either on account of thin yellow hair, or
on account of spreading:
and the scall be not in sight deeper than the skin; but be just
as it was when first looked upon.
Leviticus 13:33. 33 he
shall shave himself, but the scale he shall not shave. And the priest shall
isolate the one who has the scale another seven days.
YLT 33then he hath shaved himself, but the scall he
doth not shave; and the priest hath shut up [him who hath] the scall a second
seven days.
He shall be shaven,.... His head or beard, where the scall was,
as Aben Ezra; and so Ben Gersom, who adds, the law is not solicitous whether
this shaving is by a priest or not; so it seems any one might shave him:
but the scall shall he not shave; that is, the hair that
is in it, but that was to continue and grow, that the colour of it might be
easily discerned at the end of seven other days; according to the Targums of
Onkelos and Jonathan, he was to shave round about it, but not that itself;
Jarchi says, he was to leave two hairs near itF21Misn. Negaim, c.
10. sect. 5. , that he might know whether it spread; for if it spread it would
go over the hairs, and into the part that was shaven; when it would be a clear
case it was a spreading leprosy: now, that there might be an opportunity of
observing this, whether it would or not, the following method was to be taken:
and the priest shall shut up him that hath the scall seven
days more; by which time it would be seen whether there was any increase or
decrease, or whether at a stand, and of what colour the hair was, by which
judgment might be made of the case.
Leviticus 13:34. 34 On
the seventh day the priest shall examine the scale; and indeed if the
scale has not spread over the skin, and does not appear deeper than the skin,
then the priest shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash his clothes and be
clean.
YLT 34And the priest hath seen the scall on the
seventh day, and lo, the scall hath not spread in the skin, and its appearance
is not deeper than the skin, and the priest hath pronounced him clean, and he
hath washed his garments, and hath been clean.
And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the scall,.... That is,
according to Ben Gersom, on the thirteenth day from the first inspection of him
by the priest:
and, behold, if the scall be not spread in the skin, nor be
in sight deeper than the skin; neither appears spread on the surface of
the skin, nor to have eaten into the flesh under it; also no thin yellow hair,
though it is not expressed, for that made a person unclean, though there was no
spreading:
then the priest shall pronounce him clean; free from a
leprosy:
and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean; there was no
need to say he shall wash them in water, as Aben Ezra observes, that is
supposed; and then he was looked upon as a clean person, and might go into the
sanctuary, and have conversation with men, both in a civil and religious way,
and not defile anything he sat upon.
Leviticus 13:35. 35 But
if the scale should at all spread over the skin after his cleansing,
YLT 35`And if the scall spread greatly in the skin
after his cleansing,
But if the scall spread much in his skin after cleansing. After he has
been declared clean by the priest; for it was possible that it might spread
after this, though so much precaution had been used, and so much time taken to
observe it: with this compare 2 Peter 1:9.
Leviticus 13:36. 36 then
the priest shall examine him; and indeed if the scale has spread over
the skin, the priest need not seek for yellow hair. He is unclean.
YLT 36and the priest hath seen him, and lo, the
scall hath spread in the skin, the priest seeketh not for the shining hair, he
is unclean;
Then the priest shall look on him,.... Again, and which is
no less than the fourth time; for notwithstanding his being pronounced clean,
he was still subject to the inspection of the priest, if any alteration
appeared:
and, behold, if the scall be spread in the skin; which was a
certain sign of a leprosy:
the priest shall not seek for yellow hair; or be
solicitous about that, whether there is any or not, for either one or the other
of these signs were sufficient to determine the case:
he is unclean; and so to be pronounced.
Leviticus 13:37. 37 But
if the scale appears to be at a standstill, and there is black hair grown up in
it, the scale has healed. He is clean, and the priest shall pronounce
him clean.
YLT 37and if in his eyes the scall hath stayed, and
black hair hath sprung up in it, the scall hath been healed -- he [is] clean --
and the priest hath pronounced him clean.
But if the scall be in his sight at a stay,.... If in a
few days, or in a short space of time after this, it should appear that the
scall is at a full stop, and does not spread any further at all:
and that there is black hair grown up therein; which is a
sign of health and soundness, and so of purity; yea, if it was green or red, so
be it, it was not yellow, according to Jarchi, it was sufficient:
the scall is healed; from whence it appears
that it had been a leprous scall, but was now healed, an entire stop being put
to the spread of it; and though yellow hairs might have appeared in it, yet, as
Gersom observes, two black hairs having grown up in it, it was a clear case
that the corruption of the blood had departed, and it had returned to its
former state:
he is clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean; he was clean
before, and is the reason why he pronounces him so; wherefore it is not the
sentence of the priest, but the truth of his case that makes him clean;
teaching, as Ainsworth observes, that the truth of a man's estate, discerned by
the word and law of God, made the man clean or unclean, and not the sentence of
the priest, if it swerved from the law.
Leviticus 13:38. 38 “If
a man or a woman has bright spots on the skin of the body, specifically
white bright spots,
YLT 38`And when a man or woman hath in the skin of
their flesh bright spots, white bright spots,
If a man also, or a woman,.... One or the other,
for the law concerning leprosy respecteth both:
have in the skin of their flesh bright spots; and them
only; not any rising or swelling, nor scab, nor scall, nor boil, nor burning,
only bright spots, a sort of freckles or morphew:
even white bright
spots; these, Ben Gersom observes, are white spots, but not plagues;
and which were in whiteness inferior to the four species of the plague of
leprosy, the white spot, the white swelling, and the scab of each.
Leviticus 13:39. 39 then
the priest shall look; and indeed if the bright spots on the skin of the
body are dull white, it is a white spot that grows on the
skin. He is clean.
YLT 39and the priest hath seen, and lo, in the skin
of their flesh white weak bright spots, it [is] a freckled spot broken out in
the skin; he [is] clean.
Then the priest shall look,.... Upon the man or
woman that has these spots, and upon the spots themselves, and examine them of
what kind they are:
and, behold, if the bright spots in the skin of their flesh
be darkish white; their whiteness is not strong, as Jarchi observes; but dusky and
obscure, or "contracted"F23כהות
"costractae", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. ; small white spots,
not large and spreading:
it is a freckled spot that grows in the skin; a kind of
morphew, which the above writer describes as a sort of whiteness which appears
in the flesh of a ruddy man:
he is clean; from leprosy; this is observed, lest a
person that is freckled and has a morphew should be mistaken for a leprous
person; as every man that has some spots, failings, and infirmities, is not to
be reckoned a wicked man.
Leviticus 13:40. 40 “As
for the man whose hair has fallen from his head, he is bald, but
he is clean.
YLT 40`And when a man's head [is] polished, he [is]
bald, he [is] clean;
And the man whose hair is fallen off his head,.... That is,
from the back part of his head, from the crown of his head toward his neck
behind:
he is bald; in that spot of the head where the hair is
fallen off; and it denotes such a baldness as is occasioned by that, for it
signifies one that had hair, but it is fallen off; whereas the baldness after
spoken of is thought by some to be of such who never had any hair; though
others will have it, that this intends a person bald all over; but it seems
plain from what follows, that it designs one whose hair was fallen off behind,
and was bald on that part only; and it may be observed, that this is only said
of a man, not of a woman, because, as Aben Ezra remarks, she has much moisture
in her, and therefore her head does not become bald; hair being like to grass,
which flourishes in moist places:
yet is he clean; from the
leprosy, or from the scalls, as Jarchi observes, because he is not judged by
the signs of the head and beard, which are the place of hair, but by the signs
of leprosy in the skin of the flesh, i.e. by the raw flesh and spreading.
Leviticus 13:41. 41 He whose hair has fallen
from his forehead, he is bald on the forehead, but he is
clean.
YLT 41and if from the corner of his face his head
is polished, he [is] bald of the forehead; he [is] clean.
And he that hath his hair fallen off from the part of his head
towards his face,.... That is, from the crown of his head towards his forehead and
temples, the fore part of his head; and so the Misnic doctors distinguish
baldness, which is from the crown of the head descending behind to the channel
of the neck; and that here mentioned, which is from the crown of the head
descending to his face and forehead, over against the hair aboveF24Misn.
Negaim, c. 10. sect. 10. :
he is forehead bald; to distinguish him from
him that is bald behind:
yet is he clean; as the other:
these cases are observed, that it might not be concluded that every man that
shed his hair or was bald either before or behind was a leper, because the hair
of a leper used to fall off from him; if he had not the other signs of leprosy,
and which were the sure and true signs of it before mentioned.
Leviticus 13:42. 42 And
if there is on the bald head or bald forehead a reddish-white sore, it is
leprosy breaking out on his bald head or his bald forehead.
YLT 42`And when there is in the bald back of the
head, or in the bald forehead, a very red white plague, it [is] a leprosy
breaking out in the bald back of the head, or in the bald forehead;
And if there be,.... Or, "but if there be", or,
"when there shall be"F25וכי
"sin autem", V. L. "quum autem", Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator Drusius. , or shall appear to be:
in the bald head, or in the bald forehead, a white reddish sore; white and red
mixed, as the Targum of Jonathan, having something of both colours, neither a
clear white nor thorough red; though, according to Bochart, it should be
rendered "a white sore exceeding bright"; See Gill on Leviticus 13:19,
it is a leprosy sprung up in his bald head, or in his bald
forehead; the signs of which were raw flesh and spreading; so it is said
in the MisnahF26Ut supra. (Misn. Negaim, c. 10. sect. 10.)
,"those two sorts of baldness defile in two weeks, by two signs, by quick
raw flesh and by spreading;'if there was the bright spot and no quick flesh,
then he was to be shut up seven days, and looked upon at the end of them; and
if there was either quick flesh or a spreading, he was pronounced unclean, but
if neither, he was shut up seven days more; and if either of the above signs
appeared he was pronounced unclean, if not he was set free.
Leviticus 13:43. 43 Then
the priest shall examine it; and indeed if the swelling of the sore is
reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, as the appearance of
leprosy on the skin of the body,
YLT 43and the priest hath seen him, and lo, the
rising of the very red white plague in the bald back of the head, or in the
bald forehead, [is] as the appearance of leprosy, in the skin of the flesh,
Then the priest shall look upon it,.... The white reddish
sore:
and, behold, if the rising of the sore; or the
swelling of it:
be white reddish in his bald
head, or in his bald forehead; See Gill on Leviticus 13:42,
as the leprosy appeareth in the skin of the flesh; as in Leviticus 13:2;
having the signs of the leprosy there given; anyone of them, excepting the
white hair, which in this case could be no sign, there being none: Jarchi's
note is, according to the appearance of the leprosy, said in Leviticus 13:2; and
what is said in it is, it defiles by four appearances, and is judged in two
weeks; but not according to the appearance of the leprosy said of the boil, and
burning, which were judged in one week; nor according to the appearance of the
scalls, of the place of hair, which do not defile by the four appearances, the
rising or swelling, and the scab of it, the bright spot, and the scab of that.
Leviticus 13:44. 44 he
is a leprous man. He is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him
unclean; his sore is on his head.
YLT 44he [is] a leprous man, he [is] unclean; the
priest doth pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague [is] in his head.
He is a leprous man, he is unclean,.... And so to
be pronounced and accounted; only a leprous man is mentioned, there being no
leprous women, having this sort of leprosy, their hair not falling off, or they
becoming bald, usually; unless, as Ben Gersom observes, in a manner strange and
wonderful:
the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; as in any
other case of leprosy:
his plague is in his head; an emblem of such who
have imbibed bad notions and erroneous principles, and are therefore, like the
leper, to be avoided and rejected from the communion of the saints, Titus 3:10; and
shows that men are accountable for their principles as well as practices, and
liable to be punished for them.
Leviticus 13:45. 45 “Now
the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head
bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’
YLT 45`As to the leper in whom [is] the plague, his
garments are rent, and his head is uncovered, and he covereth over the upper
lip, and `Unclean! unclean!' he calleth;
And the leper in whom the plague is,.... Meaning
not he only that has the plague of leprosy in his head, but every sort of leper
before mentioned in this chapter:
his clothes shall be rent; not that he might the
more easily put on his clothes without hurting him, as some have thought; or
that the corrupt humours might evaporate more freely, for evaporation would
rather be hindered than promoted by being exposed to cold; nor that he might be
known and better avoided, for his cry after mentioned was sufficient for that;
but as a token of mourning: and so Aben Ezra having mentioned the former
reason, that he might be known by going in a different habit, adds, or the
sense is, as a token of mourning; for he was to mourn for the wickedness of his
actions; for, for his works came this plague of leprosy upon him; and so the
Jews in common understand it, not as a disease arising from natural causes, but
as a punishment inflicted by God for sin; wherefore this rite of rending the
garments was an emblem of contrition of heart, and of sorrow and humiliation
for sin, see Joel 1:13,
and his head bare; or "free" from cutting or
shaving, but shall let his hair grow; and so the Targum of Jonathan and Jarchi
interpret it; or free from any covering upon it, hat, or cap, or turban: Ben
Gersom observes, that the making bare the head, or freeing it, is taken
different ways; sometimes it is used of not shaving the head for thirty days,
and sometimes for the removal of the vail, or covering of the head it has been
used to; but in this place it cannot signify the nourishing of the hair, but
that his head ought to be covered: and so MaimonidesF1Hilchot Tumaat
Tzarat, c. 10. sect. 6. observes, that a leper should cover his head all the
days he is excluded, and this was a token of mourning also; see 2 Samuel 15:30,
and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip; as a mourner,
see Ezekiel 24:17.
Jarchi interprets it of both lips, upper and under, which were covered with a
linen cloth or vail thrown over the shoulder, and with which the mouth was
covered; and this was done, as Aben Ezra says, that the leper might not hurt
any with the breath of his mouth:
and shall cry, Unclean, unclean; as he passed along in
any public place, that everyone might avoid him, and not be polluted by him:
the Targum of Jonathan is,"a herald shall proclaim and say, Depart, depart
from the unclean.'So every sinner sensible of the leprosy of sin in his nature,
and which appears in his actions, should freely confess and acknowledge his
uncleanness, original and actual, the impurity of his heart and life, and even
of his own righteousness in the sight of God, and have recourse to Christ, and
to his blood, for the cleansing him from it.
Leviticus 13:46. 46 He
shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is
unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the
camp.
YLT 46all the days that the plague [is] in him he
is unclean; he [is] unclean, alone he doth dwell, at the outside of the camp
[is] his dwelling.
All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be
defiled,.... Reckoned an unclean person, and avoided as such:
he is unclean; in a ceremonial sense,
and pronounced as such by the priest, and was to be looked upon as such by
others during the time of his exclusion and separation, until he was shown to the
priest and cleansed, and his offering offered:
he shall dwell alone; in a separate house or
apartment, as Uzziah did, 2 Chronicles 26:21;
none were allowed to come near him, nor he to come near to any; yea, according
to Jarchi, other unclean persons might not dwell with him:
without the camp shall his habitation be; without the
three camps, as the same Jewish writer interprets it, the camp of God, the camp
of the Levites, and the camp of Israel: so Miriam, when she was stricken with
leprosy, was shut out of the camp seven days, Numbers 12:14. This
was observed while in the wilderness, but when the Israelites came to inhabit
towns and cities, then lepers were excluded from thence; for they defiled, in a
ceremonial sense, every person and thing in a house they came into, whether
touched by them or not. So BartenoraF2In Misn. Celim, c. 1. sect. 4.
so in Misn. Negaim, c. 13. sect. 7, 11, 12. observes, that if a leprous person
goes into any house, all that is in the house is defiled, even what he does not
touch; and that if he sits under a tree, and a clean person passes by, the
clean person is defiled; and if he comes into a synagogue, they make a separate
place for him ten hands high, and four cubits broad, and the leper goes in
first, and comes out last. The Persians, according to HerodotusF3Clio,
sive, l. 1. c. 138. , had a custom much like this; he says, that if any of the
citizens had a leprosy or a morphew, he might not come into the city, nor be
mixed with other Persians (or have any conversation with them), for they say he
has them because he has sinned against the sun: and there was with us an
ancient writ, called "leproso amovendo"F4See the
Supplement to Chambers's Dictionary, in the word "Leprosy". , that
lay to remove a leper who thrust himself into the company of his neighbours in
any parish, either in the church, or at other public meetings, to their
annoyance. This law concerning lepers shows that impure and profane sinners are
not to be admitted into the church of God; and that such who are in it, who
appear to be so, are to be excluded from it, communion is not to be had with
them; and that such, unless they are cleansed by the grace of God, and the
blood of Christ, shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven; for into that shall
nothing enter that defiles, or makes an abomination, or a lie; see 1 Corinthians 5:7 Revelation 21:27.
Leviticus 13:47. 47 “Also,
if a garment has a leprous plague[b] in it, whether
it is a woolen garment or a linen garment,
YLT 47`And when there is in any garment a plague of
leprosy, -- in a garment of wool, or in a garment of linen,
The garments also, that the plague of leprosy is in,.... Whether
this sort of leprosy proceeded from natural causes, or was extraordinary and
miraculous, and came immediately from the hand of God, and was peculiar to the
Jews, and unknown to other nations, is a matter of question; the latter is
generally asserted by the Hebrew writers, as MaimonidesF5Hilchot
Tumaat Tzarat, c. 16. sect. 10. , Abraham SebaF6Tzeror Hammor, fol.
99. 3. , and othersF7Ramban, Bechai, Isaac Arama, & alii, apud
Muisium in loc. ; but others are of opinion, and Abarbinel among the Jews, that
it might be by the contact or touch of a leprous person. Indeed it must be
owned, as a learned manF8Scheuchzer. Physica Sacra, vol. 2. p. 326.
observes, that the shirts and clothes of a leper must be equally infectious,
and more so than any other communication with him; and the purulent matter
which adheres thereunto must needs infect; such who put on their clothes; for
it may be observed, that it will get between the threads of garments, and stick
like glue, and fill them up, and by the acrimony of it corrode the texture itself;
so that experience shows that it is very difficult to wash such a garment
without a rupture, and the stains are not easily got out: and it must be
allowed that garments may be scented by diseases, and become infectious, and
carry a disease from place to place, as the plague oftentimes is carried in
wool, cotton, silk, or any bale goods; but whether all this amounts to the case
before us is still a question. Some indeed have endeavoured to account for it
by observing, that wool ill scoured, stuffs kept too long, and some particular
tapestries, are subject to worms and moths which eat them, and from hence think
it credible, that the leprosy in clothes, and in skins here mentioned, was
caused by this sort of vermin; to which, stuffs and works, wrought in wool in
hot countries, and in times when arts and manufactures were not carried to the
height of perfection as now, might probably be more exposedF9Calmet's
Dictionary, in the word "Leper". ; but this seems not to agree with
this leprosy of Moses, which lay not in the garment being eaten, but in the
colour and spread of it:
whether it be a woollen
garment or a linen garment: and, according to the Misnic doctorsF11Misn.
Celaim, c. 9. sect, 1. , only wool and linen were defiled by leprosy; Aben Ezra
indeed says, that the reason why no mention is made of silk and cotton is
because the Scripture speaks of what was found (then in use), as in Exodus 23:5;
wherefore, according to him, woollen and linen are put for all other garments;
though, he adds, or it may be the leprosy does not happen to anything but wool
and linen; however, it is allowed, as Ben Gersom observes, that when the
greatest part of the cloth is made of wool or linen, it was defiled by it: the
Jewish canon is, if the greatest part is of camels hair, it is not defiled; but
if the greatest part is of sheep, it is; and if half to half (or equal) it is
defiled; and so flax, and hemp mixed togetherF12Ib. Negaim, c. 11.
sect. 2. ; the same rule is to be observed concerning them.
Leviticus 13:48. 48 whether
it is in the warp or woof of linen or wool, whether in leather or in
anything made of leather,
YLT 48or in the warp, or in the woof, of linen or
of wool, or in a skin, or in any work of skin,
Whether it be in the warp, or woof, of linen, or of woollen,.... When
these are woven and mixed together, it seems difficult, if not impossible, to
judge whether the plague of leprosy was in the one or in the other; one would
think it should be unavoidably in both; wherefore Castalio renders the words,
whether "in the outer part of it, or in the inner"; in the outside or
inside, or what we call the right side or the wrong side of the cloth: but to
me it seems that the warp and woof, whether of linen or woollen, are here
distinguished not only from garments made of them, but from the cloth itself,
of which they are made, and even to be considered before they are wrought
together in the loom; and, according to the Jews, when upon the spindleF13Misn.
Negaim, c. 11. sect. 8. :
whether in a skin, or anything made of skin; that is,
whether in unwrought skin, which is not made up in anything, or in anything
that is made of skins, as tents, bottles, &c. but skins of fishes,
according to the Jewish traditions, are excepted; for so they sayF14Misn.
Negaim, c. 11. sect. 1. , sea skins, i.e. skins of fishes, are not defiled by
plagues (of leprosy); for which the commentatorsF15Maimon. &
Bartenora in Misn. Edait, c. 7. sect. 8. give this reason, that as wool and
linen are of things which grow out of the earth, so must the skins be; that is,
of such animals as live by grass, that springs out of the earth; but if
anything was joined unto them, which grew out of the earth, though but a
thread, that received uncleanness, it was defiled.
Leviticus 13:49. 49 and
if the plague is greenish or reddish in the garment or in the leather, whether
in the warp or in the woof, or in anything made of leather, it is a
leprous plague and shall be shown to the priest.
YLT 49and the plague hath been very green or very
red in the garment, or in the skin, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in any
vessel of skin, it [is] a plague of leprosy, and it hath been shewn the priest.
And if the plague be greenish or reddish the garment, or in the
skin,.... Either of these two colours were signs of leprosy in
garments; but it is not agreed whether stronger or weaker colours are designed;
the radicals of both these words being doubled, according to some, and
particularly Aben Ezra, lessen the sense of them; and so our translators
understand it; but, according to Ben Gersom, the signification is increased
thereby, and the meaning is, if it be exceeding green or exceeding red; and
this is evidently the sense of the MisnahF16Misn. Negaim, c. 11.
sect. 4. ; garments are defiled by green in greens, and by red in reds, that
is, by the greenest and reddest; the green, the commentators sayF17Maimon.
& Bartenora in Misn. Edaiot, c. 7. sect. 8. , is like that of the wings of
peacocks and leaves of palm trees, and the red like crimson or scarlet; and now
these garments or skins, in which the green or red spots appeared, must be
white, and not coloured or dyed: the canon runs thusF18Misn. ut
supra, (c 11) sect. 3,4. ; skins and garments dyed are not defiled with plagues
(of leprosy); a garment whose warp is dyed, and its woof white, or its woof
dyed, and its warp white, all goes according to the sight; that is, according
to what colour to the eye most prevails, whether white or dyed:
either in the warp or in the woof, or in anything of the skin; the same held
good of these as of a garment, or anything else made of them:
it is a plague of leprosy; it has the signs of one,
and gives great suspicion that it is one:
and shall be shewed unto the priest; by the person in whose
possession it is, that it may be examined and judged of whether it is a leprosy
or no.
Leviticus 13:50. 50 The
priest shall examine the plague and isolate that which has the plague
seven days.
YLT 50`And the priest hath seen the plague, and
hath shut up [that which hath] the plague, seven days;
And the priest shall look upon the plague,.... The green
or red spot in the garment, &c.
and shut up it that hath the plague seven days; the woollen
or linen garment, the warp or the woof, or skins, and those things that were
made of them.
Leviticus 13:51. 51 And he shall examine the
plague on the seventh day. If the plague has spread in the garment, either in
the warp or in the woof, in the leather or in anything made of leather,
the plague is an active leprosy. It is unclean.
YLT 51and he hath seen the plague on the seventh
day, and the plague hath spread in the garment, or in the warp, or in the woof,
or in the skin, of all that is made of skin for work; the plague [is] a
fretting leprosy, it [is] unclean.
And he shall look on the plague on the seventh day,.... To see
whether there is any alteration in it in that space of time:
if the plague be spread in the garment, either in the warp or in
the woof, or in a skin, or in any work that is made of skin; the green and
red spot be spread more and more in either of them, whether the colour remains
the same or not, be changed, the green into red, or the red into green, yet if
there was a spreading, it was a sign of leprosy. According to the Jewish canonF19Misn.
Negaim, c. 11. sect. 3, 4. , if the plague was green and spread red, or red and
spread green, it was unclean; that is, as BartenoraF20In ib.
explains it, if it was red in the size of a bean, and at the end of the week
the red had spread itself to green; or if at the beginning it was green like a
bean, and at the end of the week had spread itself to the size of a shekel, and
the root or spread of it was become red:
the plague is a fretting leprosy; according to
Jarchi, a sharp and pricking one, like a thorn; which signification the word
has in Ezekiel 28:24. Ben
Gersom explains it, which brings a curse, corruption, and oldness into the
thing in which it is; an old "irritated, exasperated" leprosy, as
BochartF21Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 45. col. 493. , from the use
of the word in the Arabic tongue, translates it:
it is unclean; and the garment or thing
in which it is.
Leviticus 13:52. 52 He
shall therefore burn that garment in which is the plague, whether warp or woof,
in wool or in linen, or anything of leather, for it is an active
leprosy; the garment shall be burned in the fire.
YLT 52`And he hath burnt the garment, or the warp,
or the woof, in wool or in linen, or any vessel of skin in which the plague is;
for it [is] a fretting leprosy; with fire it is burnt.
He shall therefore burn that garment,.... That
there may be no more use of it, nor profit from it; and this was done without
the city, as Ben Gersom asserts:
whether in warp or woof, in woollen or in linen, or anything of
skin,
wherein the plague is; all and either of them
were to be burnt:
for it is a fretting leprosy; See Gill on Leviticus 13:51,
it shall be burnt in the fire; which may teach both to
hate the garment spotted with the flesh, and to put no trust in and have no
dependence on a man's own righteousness, which is as filthy rags, and both are
such as shall be burnt, and the loss of them suffered, even when a man himself
is saved, yet so as by fire, 1 Corinthians 3:15.
Leviticus 13:53. 53 “But
if the priest examines it, and indeed the plague has not spread in the
garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in anything made of leather,
YLT 53`And if the priest see, and lo, the plague
hath not spread in the garment, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in any
vessel of skin,
And if the priest shall look,.... On the seventh day
as before, after shutting up:
and, behold, the plague be not spread in the garment, either in
the warp, or in the woof, or in anything of skin; but is at an entire
stay, that it may be hoped it is not a fretting leprosy: so when men do not
proceed to more ungodliness, as wicked men commonly do, but there is a stop put
to their vicious life and conversation, it is an hopeful sign of future good.
Leviticus 13:54. 54 then
the priest shall command that they wash the thing in which is the
plague; and he shall isolate it another seven days.
YLT 54then hath the priest commanded, and they have
washed that in which the plague [is], and he hath shut it up a second seven
days.
Then the priest shall command that they wash the thing
wherein the plague is,.... The priest did not wash it himself, but
ordered others to do it; and this was either the part in which the plague was,
or the whole garment or skin in which it was; which may be typical of the
washing of the garments of men in the blood of Christ, which cleanses from all
sin, Revelation 7:14,
and he shall shut it up seven days more: the garment
or skin in which the leprosy was, or suspected to be, to see what alteration
would be made by that time through the washing, whether the colour would be
altered, or whether it would spread any more or not.
Leviticus 13:55. 55 Then
the priest shall examine the plague after it has been washed; and indeed if
the plague has not changed its color, though the plague has not spread, it is
unclean, and you shall burn it in the fire; it continues eating away, whether
the damage is outside or inside.
YLT 55And the priest hath seen [that which hath]
the plague after it hath been washed, and lo, the plague hath not changed its
aspect, and the plague hath not spread, -- it [is] unclean; with fire thou dost
burn it; it [is] a fretting in its back-part or in its front-part.
And the priest shall look on the plague after it is washed,.... That is,
on the second seventh day, or thirteenth day from his first inspection of it:
and, behold, if the plague has not changed its colour; and
the plague be not spread, it is unclean, thou shalt burn it in the fire; if it remains
just as it was at first, very green or very red, and has not diminished of its
colour at all, nor changed from one colour to another, although it should not
have spread itself, yet it is defiled, and to be burnt without the camp, as
before; that which spreads itself here and there, it is to be burnt:
it is after inward, whether it be bare within
or without; that is, whether it be threadbare on the wrong or right side of
the garment, the nap being eaten off by the leprosy; which shows it to be a
fretting, eating, and corroding one: in the Hebrew text it is, "in the
boldness of the hinder", or "in the baldness of the fore part";
they are the same words which are used of the boldness of the back part and
fore part of the head, Leviticus 13:42;
the nap being off either of the outer and right side of the cloth, or of the
inner and wrong side, made it look like a bald head, whether before or behind.
Leviticus 13:56. 56 If
the priest examines it, and indeed the plague has faded after washing
it, then he shall tear it out of the garment, whether out of the warp or out of
the woof, or out of the leather.
YLT 56`And if the priest hath seen, and lo, the
plague [is] become weak after it hath been washed, then he hath rent it out of
the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof;
And if the priest look, and, behold, the plague be somewhat
dark after the washing of it,.... Is become of a weaker colour, either
not quite so green, or not quite so red as it was, or is
"contracted", and does not spread itself; see Gill on Leviticus 13:6; but
is rather become less:
then he shall rend it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or
out of the warp, or out of the woof; that is, that piece
which has the plague in it, and burn it, as Jarchi says; that so the whole may
not be lost, which is otherwise pure, and clean, and free from any infection.
The manner of expression confirms what I have observed on Leviticus 13:48;
that the warp and woof are considered as separate things, and as before they
are wove together, or wrought into one garment. This rending out may denote the
denying of ungodliness and worldly lusts, the parting with right eye and right
hand sins, and having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.
Leviticus 13:57. 57 But
if it appears again in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in
anything made of leather, it is a spreading plague; you shall
burn with fire that in which is the plague.
YLT 57and if it still be seen in the garment, or in
the warp, or in the woof, or in any vessel of skin, it [is] a fretting; with
fire thou dost burn it -- that in which the plague [is].
And if it appear still in the garment, either in the warp, or in
the woof, or in anything of skin,.... After the piece has
been rent out, in another part of the garment, &c. where before it was not
seen:
it is a spreading plague; or leprosy; a
flourishing one, as the word signifies, a growing and increasing one:
thou shalt burn that wherein the plague is with fire; according to
Aben Ezra, only that part in which the plague was; but Jarchi says the whole
garment; with whom Ben Gersom seems to agree, who reads the words, thou shall
burn it, with that in which the plague is; the whole garment, skin, warp, or
woof, along with the part in which the leprosy is.
Leviticus 13:58. 58 And
if you wash the garment, either warp or woof, or whatever is made of leather,
if the plague has disappeared from it, then it shall be washed a second time,
and shall be clean.
YLT 58`And the garment, or the warp, or the woof,
or any vessel of skin which thou dost wash when the plague hath turned aside
from them, then it hath been washed a second time, and hath been clean.
And the garment, either warp or woof, or whatsoever thing of skin it
be, which thou shalt wash,.... After it had been shut up seven days,
and viewed by the priest again: if the plague be departed from them: upon a
review of them:
then it shall be washed the second time, and shall be clean; and so
reckoned even thoroughly clean, and used; this denotes the thorough washing and
cleansing of sinners by the blood of Jesus, see Psalm 51:2; this
washing was by dipping; and so the Targum renders it; and Jarchi observes, that
all washings of garments, which are for dipping, they interpret by the same
word.
Leviticus 13:59. 59 “This
is the law of the leprous plague in a garment of wool or linen, either
in the warp or woof, or in anything made of leather, to pronounce it clean or
to pronounce it unclean.”
YLT 59`This [is] the law of a plague of leprosy
[in] a garment of wool or of linen, or of the warp or of the woof, or of any
vessel of skin, to pronounce it clean or to pronounce it unclean.'
This is the law of the plague of leprosy,.... The rules
by which it was to be judged of; whether or no it was
in a garment of woollen, or linen, either the warp or woof, or any
thing of skins; which include everything in which this sort of leprosy was:
to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean; either to
declare it free from the plague of the leprosy, or as infected with it, and so
accordingly dispose of it.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)