Leviticus 13:4

4 But if the mark on his skin is white, and does not seem to go deeper than the skin, and the hair on it is not turned white, then the priest will keep him shut up for seven days;

Leviticus 13:4 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 13:4

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 13:4 In-Context

2 If a man has on his skin a growth or a mark or a white place, and it becomes the disease of a leper, let him be taken to Aaron the priest, or to one of the priests, his sons;

3 And if, when the priest sees the mark on his skin, the hair on the place is turned white and the mark seems to go deeper than the skin, it is the mark of a leper: and the priest, after looking at him, will say that he is unclean.

4 But if the mark on his skin is white, and does not seem to go deeper than the skin, and the hair on it is not turned white, then the priest will keep him shut up for seven days;

5 And the priest is to see him on the seventh day; and if, in his opinion, the place on his skin has not become worse and is not increased in size, then the priest will keep him shut up for seven days more:

6 And the priest is to see him again on the seventh day; and if the mark is less bright and is not increased on his skin, then let the priest say that he is clean: it is only a skin-mark, and after his clothing has been washed he will be clean.