Vayikra 13:20

20 And if, when the kohen examine it, hinei, it be in appearance deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be turned white; the kohen shall pronounce him tamei; it is a nega tzara’at broken out of the boil.

Vayikra 13:20 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 13:20

And if, when the priest seeth it
And has thoroughly viewed it and considered it: behold, it [be] in sight lower than the skin;
having eaten into and taken root in the flesh under the skin: and the hair thereof be turned white;
which are the signs of leprosy before given, ( Leviticus 13:3 ) ; the priest shall pronounce him unclean;
not fit for company and conversation, but obliged to conform to the laws concerning leprosy: it is a plague of leprosy broken out of the boil;
which was there before: this is an emblem of apostates and apostasy, who having been seemingly healed and cleansed, return to their former course of life, and to all the impurity of it, like the dog to its vomit, and the swine to its wallowing in the mire, ( Proverbs 26:11 ) ( 2 Peter 2:22 ) ; and so their last state is worse than the first, ( Matthew 12:45 ) ( Luke 11:26 ) , as in this case; at first it was a boil, and then thought to be cured, and afterwards arises out of it a plague of leprosy.

Vayikra 13:20 In-Context

18 The basar also, in which, even in the skin thereof, was a boil, and is healed,

19 And in the place of the boil there be a white swelling, or a bright spot, white, and somewhat reddish, and it be shown to the kohen;

20 And if, when the kohen examine it, hinei, it be in appearance deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be turned white; the kohen shall pronounce him tamei; it is a nega tzara’at broken out of the boil.

21 But if the kohen examine it, and, hinei, there be no white hair therein, and if it be not deeper than the skin, but be somewhat faded, then the kohen shall quarantine him shivat yamim;

22 And if it spread much abroad in the skin, then the kohen shall pronounce him tamei; it is a nega.