Leviticus13
King James Version · Public Domain
1And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying,
2When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests:
3And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.
4If the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh, and in sight be not deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be not turned white; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague seven days:
5And the priest shall look on him the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague in his sight be at a stay, and the plague spread not in the skin; then the priest shall shut him up seven days more:
6And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague be somewhat dark, and the plague spread not in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean: it is but a scab: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.
7But if the scab spread much abroad in the skin, after that he hath been seen of the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen of the priest again:
8And if the priest see that, behold, the scab spreadeth in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a leprosy.
9When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought unto the priest;
10And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the rising be white in the skin, and it have turned the hair white, and there be quick raw flesh in the rising;
11It is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall not shut him up: for he is unclean.
12And if a leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath the plague from his head even to his foot, wheresoever the priest looketh;
13Then the priest shall consider: and, behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: it is all turned white: he is clean.
14But when raw flesh appeareth in him, he shall be unclean.
15And the priest shall see the raw flesh, and pronounce him to be unclean: for the raw flesh is unclean: it is a leprosy.
16Or if the raw flesh turn again, and be changed unto white, he shall come unto the priest;
17And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the plague be turned into white; then the priest shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: he is clean.
18The flesh also, in which, even in the skin thereof, was a boil, and is healed,
19And in the place of the boil there be a white rising, or a bright spot, white, and somewhat reddish, and it be shewed to the priest;
20And if, when the priest seeth it, behold, it be in sight lower than the skin, and the hair thereof be turned white; the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague of leprosy broken out of the boil.
21But if the priest look on it, and, behold, there be no white hairs therein, and if it be not lower than the skin, but be somewhat dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days:
22And if it spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague.
23But if the bright spot stay in his place, and spread not, it is a burning boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
24Or if there be any flesh, in the skin whereof there is a hot burning, and the quick flesh that burneth have a white bright spot, somewhat reddish, or white;
25Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if the hair in the bright spot be turned white, and it be in sight deeper than the skin; it is a leprosy broken out of the burning: wherefore the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.
26But if the priest look on it, and, behold, there be no white hair in the bright spot, and it be no lower than the other skin, but be somewhat dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days:
27And the priest shall look upon him the seventh day: and if it be spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.
28And if the bright spot stay in his place, and spread not in the skin, but it be somewhat dark; it is a rising of the burning, and the priest shall pronounce him clean: for it is an inflammation of the burning.
29If a man or woman have a plague upon the head or the beard;
30Then the priest shall see the plague: and, behold, if it be in sight deeper than the skin; and there be in it a yellow thin hair; then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a dry scall, even a leprosy upon the head or beard.
31And if the priest look on the plague of the scall, and, behold, it be not in sight deeper than the skin, and that there is no black hair in it; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague of the scall seven days:
32And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague: and, behold, if the scall spread not, and there be in it no yellow hair, and the scall be not in sight deeper than the skin;
33He shall be shaven, but the scall shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up him that hath the scall seven days more:
34And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the scall: and, behold, if the scall be not spread in the skin, nor be in sight deeper than the skin; then the priest shall pronounce him clean: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.
35But if the scall spread much in the skin after his cleansing;
36Then the priest shall look on him: and, behold, if the scall be spread in the skin, the priest shall not seek for yellow hair; he is unclean.
37But if the scall be in his sight at a stay, and that there is black hair grown up therein; the scall is healed, he is clean: and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
38If a man also or a woman have in the skin of their flesh bright spots, even white bright spots;
39Then the priest shall look: and, behold, if the bright spots in the skin of their flesh be darkish white; it is a freckled spot that groweth in the skin; he is clean.
40And the man whose hair is fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean.
41And he that hath his hair fallen off from the part of his head toward his face, he is forehead bald: yet is he clean.
42And if there be in the bald head, or bald forehead, a white reddish sore; it is a leprosy sprung up in his bald head, or his bald forehead.
43Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if the rising of the sore be white reddish in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, as the leprosy appeareth in the skin of the flesh;
44He is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head.
45And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
46All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.
47The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment;
48Whether it be in the warp, or woof; of linen, or of woollen; whether in a skin, or in any thing made of skin;
49And if the plague be greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a plague of leprosy, and shall be shewed unto the priest:
50And the priest shall look upon the plague, and shut up it that hath the plague seven days:
51And he shall look on the plague on the seventh day: 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 plague is a fretting leprosy; it is unclean.
52He shall therefore burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woollen or in linen, or any thing of skin, wherein the plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it shall be burnt in the fire.
53And if the priest shall look, and, behold, the plague be not spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin;
54Then the priest shall command that they wash the thing wherein the plague is, and he shall shut it up seven days more:
55And the priest shall look on the plague, after that it is washed: and, behold, if the plague have not changed his colour, and the plague be not spread; it is unclean; thou shalt burn it in the fire; it is fret inward, whether it be bare within or without.
56And if the priest look, and, behold, the plague be somewhat dark after the washing of it; then he shall rend it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof:
57And if it appear still in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a spreading plague: thou shalt burn that wherein the plague is with fire.
58And the garment, either warp, or woof, or whatsoever thing of skin it be, which thou shalt wash, if the plague be departed from them, then it shall be washed the second time, and shall be clean.
59This is the law of the plague of leprosy in a garment of woollen or linen, either in the warp, or woof, or any thing of skins, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Leviticus 13.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Directions to the priest to judge concerning leprosy. (1–17). Further directions. (18–44). How the leper must be disposed of. (45, 46). The leprosy in garments. (47–59).
vv1-17
The plague of leprosy was an uncleanness, rather than a disease. Christ is said to cleanse lepers, not to cure them. Common as the leprosy was among the Hebrews, during and after their residence in Egypt, we have no reason to believe that it was known among them before. Their distressed state and employment in that land must have rendered them liable to disease. But it was a plague often inflicted immediately by the hand of God. Miriam's leprosy, and Gehazi's, and king Uzziah's, were punishments of particular sins; no marvel there was care taken to distinguish it from a common distemper. The judgment of it was referred to the priests. And it was a figure of the moral pollutions of men's minds by sin, which is the leprosy of the soul, defiling to the conscience, and from which Christ alone can cleanse. The priest could only convict the leper, (by the law is the knowledge of sin,) but Christ can cure the sinner, he can take away sin. It is a work of great importance, but of great difficulty, to judge of our spiritual state. We all have cause to suspect ourselves, being conscious of sores and spots; but whether clean or unclean is the question. As there were certain marks by which to know it was leprosy, so there are marks of such as are in the gall of bitterness. The priest must take time in making his judgment. This teaches all, both ministers and people, not to be hasty in censures, nor to judge anything before the time. If some men's sins go before unto judgment, the sins of others follow after, and so do men's good works. If the person suspected were found to be clean, yet he must wash his clothes, because there had been ground for the suspicion. We have need to be washed in the blood of Christ from our spots, though not leprosy spots; for who can say, I am pure from sin?
vv18-44
The priest is told what judgment to make, if there were any appearance of a leprosy in old sores; and such is the danger of those who having escaped the pollutions of the world are again entangled therein. Or, in a burn by accident, verse 24. The burning of strife and contention often occasions the rising and breaking out of that corruption, which proves that men are unclean. Human life lies exposed to many grievances. With what troops of diseases are we beset on every side; and thy all entered by sin! If the constitution be healthy, and the body lively and easy, we are bound to glorify God with our bodies. Particular note was taken of the leprosy, if in the head. If the leprosy of sin has seized the head; if the judgment be corrupted, and wicked principles, which support wicked practices, are embraced, it is utter uncleanness, from which few are cleansed. Soundness in the faith keeps leprosy from the head.
vv45-46
When the priest had pronounced the leper unclean, it put a stop to his business in the world, cut him off from his friends and relations, and ruined all the comfort he could have in the world. He must humble himself under the mighty hand of God, not insisting upon his cleanness, when the priest had pronounced him unclean, but accepting the punishment. Thus must we take to ourselves the shame that belongs to us, and with broken hearts call ourselves “Unclean, unclean;” heart unclean, life unclean; unclean by original corruption, unclean by actual transgression; unclean, therefore deserving to be for ever shut out from communion with God, and all hope of happiness in him; unclean, therefore undone, if infinite mercy do not interpose. The leper must warn others to take heed of coming near him. He must then be shut out of the camp, and afterward, when they came to Canaan, be shut out of the city, town, or village where he lived, and dwell with none but those that were lepers like himself. This typified the purity which ought to be in the gospel church.
Key Words
דָבַר: perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue
מֹשֶׁה: Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver
אַהֲרוֹן: Aharon, the brother of Moses
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
אָדָם: ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.)
עוֹר: skin (as naked); by implication, hide, leather
בָּשָׂר: flesh (from its freshness); by extension, body, person; also (by euphemistically) the pudenda of aman
שְׂאֵת: an elevation or leprous scab; figuratively, elation or cheerfulness; exaltation in rank or character
סַפַּחַת: the mange (as making the hair fall off)
בֹּהֶרֶת: a whitish spot on the skin
Cross References
Leviticus 13Miriam's sudden leprosy serves as a prominent historical example of the white skin symptom.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
King Uzziah's immediate leprosy outbreak on his forehead, judged by the priests under this law.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Moses commands Israel to strictly observe the priests' decisions regarding the plague of leprosy.
Establishes the identical diagnostic protocol for leprosy breaking out in an older healed ulcer or boil.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Identifies the rule of washing clothes after a suspected case is finally pronounced clean of leprosy.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Directly echoes the mandatory cry of the unclean: 'Depart ye; it is unclean! depart, depart!'
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Historical fulfillment of a king (Uzziah) dwelling in a several house, being cut off for leprosy.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Gehazi is struck with leprosy as white as snow, illustrating the extreme diagnostic sign.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Jesus commands the cleansed leper to show himself to the priest, honoring Levitical law.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
As the priest identifies but cannot cure leprosy, the law exposes but cannot save from sin.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Parallel procedure of a seven-day quarantine for a suspected, non-advancing spot of leprosy.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
The standard diagnostic threshold of depth in skin and hair color changes used in quarantine decisions.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Direct parallel showing how a stationary bright spot signifies a scar rather than an active infection.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Contrast of a spreading scall post-cleansing with the definitive evaluation on the seventh day.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
The baseline diagnostic criteria for the dry scall on the head or beard.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Completes the distinction between simple natural baldness and active leprosy on the forehead.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Prophetic parallel of covering the lips as a sign of extreme shame and mourning.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Contrasts priestly prohibition of unbared heads and rent clothes with the leper's mandatory mourning attire.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Isaiah adopts the leper's cry, confessing 'I am a man of unclean lips.'
Supported by Matthew Henry
Ten leprous men stood afar off, exemplifying the restriction to dwell outside the camp.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Divine command to put out of the camp every leper to maintain community purity.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
New Testament command to hate 'even the garment spotted by the flesh,' echoing leprous garments.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Naaman was a mighty warrior but a leper, highlighting the disease's socially isolating nature.
The priest's declarative authority to pronounce clean/unclean mirrors the ministerial keys of binding and loosing.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, executing the quarantine rule.
Prophetic imagery where burning and physical blemishes replace beauty as a sign of divine judgment.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Theological parallel of the head being sick, signifying corruption of judgment and wicked principles.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The spreading of false doctrine compared to the spreading of a canker or leprosy.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Ezekiel is told not to cover his lips, contrasting with standard leprous/mourning customs.
Miriam's temporary isolation outside the camp due to her sudden leprous affliction.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Four leprous men sitting outside the gate of Samaria, demonstrating the isolation law.
Applies the same term 'fretting leprosy' to contaminated houses as to garments here.
Injunction to burn abominable contaminated items completely in the fire.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Moses' hand turned leprous, white as snow, as an immediate sign from God.
Snares and sores from head to foot depict Israel's spiritual decay like spreading leprosy.
The complete breakout typifies the sinner's total confession of corruption, finding cleansing in Christ.