Leviticus 14:49

49 And he shall take two birds and {cedar wood} and a {crimson thread} and hyssop to cleanse the house;

Leviticus 14:49 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 14:49

And he shall take to cleanse the house
The priest, or by his fellow priest, as Aben Ezra, though some interpret it of the master of the house; in ( Leviticus 14:49-53 ) , an account is given of the manner of cleansing a leprous house, which is the same with that of cleansing a leprous man, see notes on Le 14:4-7,
Two birds.
The birds here indeed are not described as "alive and clean", ( Leviticus 14:4 ) ; but both are plainly implied and the house is said to be cleansed with the blood of the slain bird, as well as with the living bird; and it was the upper door post of the house which was sprinkled seven times with it, but there were no sacrifices offered; in this case, as in the cleansing of the leper, the atonement for it was made by the other rites, which were sufficient to render it habitable again, and free for use, either of the owner or any other person; and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop. (See Gill on Leviticus 14:4).

Leviticus 14:49 In-Context

47 And the person who sleeps in the house must wash his garments, and the person who eats in the house shall wash his garments.
48 "And if the priest comes again and examines [the house] and {if} the infection has not spread in the house after being replastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the infection is healed.
49 And he shall take two birds and {cedar wood} and a {crimson thread} and hyssop to cleanse the house;
50 and he shall slaughter the first bird over fresh water on a clay vessel.
51 Then he shall take the {cedar wood} and the hyssop and {the crimson thread} and the living bird, and he shall dip them in the slaughtered bird's blood and in the fresh water, and he shall spatter [them] on the house seven times.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Literally "wood of cedar"
  • [b]. Literally "crimson thread of [the] worm"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.