Leviticus 13

Regulations About Defiling Skin Diseases

1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
2 "When a {person} has on his body's skin a swelling or an epidermal eruption or a spot and it becomes an infectious skin disease on his body's skin, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests.
3 And the priest shall examine the infection on his body's skin, and [if] [the] hair in the infection turns white and the appearance of the infection [is] deeper than his body's skin, it [is] an infectious skin disease, and the priest shall examine it, and he shall declare him unclean.
4 But if a spot [is] white on his body's skin and its appearance is not deeper than the skin and its hair does not turn white, then the priest shall confine the afflicted person [for] seven days.
5 And the priest shall examine it on the seventh day, and {if}, in his eyes, the infection has stayed [unchanged], the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall confine him [for] seven days [a] second [time].
6 And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day [for a] second [time], and {if} the infection has faded and the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall declare him clean--it [is] an epidermal eruption; and he shall wash his garments, and so he shall be clean.
7 But if the epidermal eruption spreads further on the skin after showing himself to the priest for his cleansing, then he shall appear [a] second [time] to the priest.
8 And the priest shall examine [it], and {if} the epidermal eruption has spread on the skin, then the priest shall declare him unclean--it is an infectious skin disease.
9 "When an infectious skin disease is on a person and he is brought to the priest,
10 the priest shall examine [it], and {if} a white swelling [is] on the skin and it turns [the] hair white and {raw flesh} [is] in the swelling,
11 it [is] a chronic infectious skin disease on his body's skin, and the priest shall declare him unclean; he shall not confine him, because he [is] unclean.
12 And if the infectious skin disease breaks out all over on the skin and the infectious skin disease covers all of the afflicted person's skin from his head to his feed, {so far as the priest can see},
13 then the priest shall examine [it], and {if} the infectious skin disease covers his whole body, then he shall pronounce the afflicted person clean--all of it has turned white; he is clean.
14 But {whenever} {raw flesh} appears on him, he shall become unclean.
15 And the priest shall examine the {raw flesh}, and he shall pronounce him unclean--the {raw flesh} [is] unclean; it [is] an infectious skin disease.
16 Or, when the {raw flesh} returns and it has changed to white, then he shall come to the priest,
17 and the priest shall examine him, and {if} the infection has changed to white, then the priest shall pronounce the afflicted person clean--he is clean.
18 "And when [someone's] body {has} a skin sore on his skin and it is healed
19 and a white swelling or a {pinkish} spot appears in the skin sore's place, then he shall show himself to the priest.
20 And the priest shall examine [it], and {if} its appearance [is] deeper than the skin and its hair has changed to white, then the priest shall declare him unclean--it is an infectious skin disease; it has broken out in the skin sore.
21 And if the priest examines it and {if} there is no white hair in it and it is not deeper than the skin and it [is] faded, then the priest shall confine him [for] seven days.
22 But if it has spread further on the skin, then the priest shall declare him unclean--it [is] an infection.
23 But if the spot has stayed [unchanged], it has not spread, it [is] the skin sore's scar, so the priest shall declare him clean.
24 "Or when a body {has} a burn-spot {from} fire on its skin and the {raw flesh} of the burn-spot [is] {pinkish} or white,
25 then the priest shall examine it, and {if} the hair turns white in the spot and its appearance [is] deeper than the skin, it [is] an infectious skin disease--it has broken out in the burn-spot; so the priest shall declare him unclean--it [is] an infectious skin disease.
26 But if the priest examines it and {if} there is not white hair in the spot and it is not deeper than the skin and it [is] faded, then the priest shall confine him [for] seven days.
27 And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day; if it has spread further on the skin, then the priest shall declare him unclean--it [is] an infectious skin disease.
28 But if it the spot has stayed [unchanged] in its place, it has not spread on the skin and it [is] faded, [then] it is the burn-spot's swelling, so the priest shall declare him clean, because it [is] the burn-spot's scar.
29 "And when a man or a woman {has} an infection on [the] head or in [the] beard,
30 then the priest shall examine the infection, and {if} its appearance [is] deeper than the skin and in it [is] thin bright red hair, then the priest shall declare it unclean--it [is] a diseased area of skin; it [is] an infectious skin disease of the head or the beard.
31 But if the priest examines the diseased area of the skin's infection and {if} its appearance is not deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall confine the afflicted person [with] the diseased area of skin [for] seven days.
32 And the priest shall examine the infection on the seventh day, and {if} the diseased area of skin has not spread and it does not have bright red hair in it and the diseased area of the skin's appearance is not deeper than the skin,
33 then he shall shave himself, but he shall not shave the diseased area of skin, and the priest shall confine [the person with] the diseased area of skin [a] second [time] [for] seven days.
34 And the priest shall examine the diseased area of skin on the seventh day, and {if} the diseased area has not spread on the skin and its appearance is not deeper than the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean, and he shall wash his garments, and he shall be clean.
35 But if the diseased area of skin has not spread further on the skin after his cleansing,
36 then the priest shall examine him, and {if} the diseased area of skin has spread on the skin, the priest shall not inspect [for] bright red hair--he is unclean.
37 But if, in his eyes, the diseased area of skin has stayed [unchanged] and black hair has grown in it, the diseased area of skin is healed--he is clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
38 "And when a man or a woman {has} spots on their body's skin, white spots,
39 then the priest shall examine [them], and {if} [the] spots on their body's skin [are] [a] faded white, it [is] a skin rash; it has broken out on the skin--it [is] clean.
40 "And if a man becomes bald, his head [is] bald, he [is] clean.
41 And if he becomes bald {from his forehead}, his head [is] bald, he [is] clean.
42 But if a {pinkish} infection occurs on the bald spot or on the bald forehead, it [is] an infectious skin disease that sprouts on his bald spot or on his bald forehead.
43 So the priest shall examine him, and {if} the infection's swelling [is] {pinkish} on his bald spot or on his bald forehead, like [the] appearance of an infectious skin disease [on] the body,
44 he [is] a man afflicted with a skin disease--he [is] unclean; the priest certainly shall declare him unclean--his infection [is] on his head.
45 "As for the person who is afflicted with a skin disease, his garments must be torn and his {hair} must [be allowed to] hang loosely, and he must cover [his] upper lip, and he must call out, 'Unclean! Unclean!'
46 [For] all [the] days [during] which the infection [is] on him, he shall be unclean; he must live alone; his dwelling [must be] {outside the camp}."

Regulations About Contaminated Fabrics

47 "And when the garment {has} an infectious skin disease on it, on a wool garment or on a linen garment,
48 or on woven material or on a linen fabric, or on wool or on leather or on any work of leather,
49 and [if] the infection is yellowish green or reddish on the garment or on the leather or on the woven material or on the fabric or on any leather object, it [is] an infectious skin disease and it shall be shown [to] the priest.
50 And the priest shall examine the infection, and he shall confine the infected article [for] seven days.
51 And he shall examine the infection on the seventh day; if the infection has spread on the garment or on the woven material or on the fabric or on the leather, for any work for which the leather is used, the infection [is] a destructive skin disease--it [is] unclean.
52 And he shall burn the garment or the woven material or the fabric, {whether wool or linen}, or any leather object that {has} the infection, because it [is] an infectious skin disease, [which is] destructive--it must be burned in the fire.
53 "But if the priest examines [it] and {if} the infection has not spread on the garment or on the woven material or on the fabric or on any leather object,
54 then the priest shall command, and {someone} shall wash that on which the infection [is], and he shall confine it [a] second [time] [for] seven days.
55 And the priest shall examine [it] after the infection has been washed off, and {if} the infection has not changed its outward appearance and the infection has not spread, it [is] unclean; he must burn it in the fire; it [is] a fungus on its back or on its front.
56 But if the priest examines [it] and {if} the infection [is] faded after it has been washed off, then he shall tear it from the garment or from the leather or from the woven material or from the fabric.
57 And if it appears again on the garment or on the woven material or on the fabric or on any leather object, it [is] spreading; you must burn in the fire that which [has] the infection in it.
58 And the garment or the woven material or the fabric or any leather object that he might wash and the infection is removed from them then shall be washed [a] second [time], and it shall be clean."
59 This [is] the regulation of the infectious skin disease in the wool garment or the linen or the woven material or the fabric or any leather object to declare it clean or to declare it unclean.

Leviticus 13 Commentary

Chapter 13

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)

Verses 1-17 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?

Verses 18-44 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, ver. ( 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.

Verses 45-46 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.

Verses 47-59 The garment suspected to be tainted with leprosy was not to be burned immediately. If, upon search, it was found that there was a leprous spot, it must be burned, or at least that part of it. If it proved to be free, it must be washed, and then might be used. This also sets forth the great evil there is in sin. It not only defiles the sinner's conscience, but it brings a stain upon all he has and all that he does. And those who make their clothes servants to their pride and lust, may see them thereby tainted with leprosy. But the robes of righteousness never fret, nor are moth-eaten.

Footnotes 116

Chapter Summary

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, Le 13:1-3 of the bright spot and scab, Le 13:4-8 of the rising or swelling, Le 13:9-17 of the bile or hot ulcer, Le 13:18-23 of the hot burning or inflammation, Le 13:24-28 of the plague of the scall, Le 13:29-37 of bright spots or blisters, Le 13:38,39 and of shedding the hair, and baldness, Le 13:40-44 of what the leper was to do, and to be done unto, Le 13:45,46 of the leprosy in garments made of linen, woollen, or of skin, Le 13:47-59.

Leviticus 13 Commentaries

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.