Leviticus 13:10

10 And 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[a] raw flesh in the rising;

Leviticus 13:10 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 13:10

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" F12 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", ( Psalms 38:3 Psalms 38:7 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F12 (yx rvb tyhm) "vivacitas carnis vivae", Montanus, Vatablus

Leviticus 13:10 In-Context

8 And if the priest see that, behold, the scab spreadeth in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a leprosy.
9 When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought unto the priest;
10 And 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;
11 It 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.
12 And 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;

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. quick...: Heb. the quickening of living flesh
The King James Version is in the public domain.