Leviticus 13:6

6 and he shall behold him in the seventh day; if the leprosy is then dark, and waxeth not in the flesh, the priest shall cleanse him, that is, shall deem him to be clean, for it is a scab; and the man shall wash his clothes, and he shall be clean. (and he shall examine him again on the seventh day; if the leprosy is then dark, and hath not grown, or not spread, in the flesh, the priest shall pronounce him to be clean, for it is a scab; and the man shall wash his clothes, and so he shall be clean.)

Leviticus 13:6 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 13:6

And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day,
&c.] On the second seventh day, at the end of a fortnight from his being first presented to him, and shut up:

and, behold, [if] the plague [be] somewhat dark;
the spot be not so bright, or so white as it was at first; though Aben Ezra observes, that indeed many wise men say, that (hhk) is as (Kvx) , signifying dark, and the testimony or proof they bring is ( Genesis 27:1 ) but according to my opinion, adds he, the word is the reverse of (hvp) , to spread; and the sense is, if the plague does not spread itself in another place; and so some translators render it "contracted", or "contracts itself" F8: and this seems best to agree with what follows:

and the plague spread not in the skin;
but is as it was when first viewed, after waiting fourteen days, and making observations on it:

the priest shall pronounce him clean;
that is, from leprosy, otherwise there was an impure disorder on him, a scabious one:

it [is] but a scab;
which is the name, Jarchi says, of a clean plague or stroke, that is, in comparison of the leprosy, otherwise such cannot be said with any propriety to be clean. Ben Gersom better explains it, it is a white scab, but not of the kind of leprosy, although it is found as the whiteness of the bright spot; but there are not seen in it the signs of leprosy, the hair is not turned white, nor has the plague increased:

and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean;
for seeing he was obliged to be shut up, as Jarchi observes, he is called unclean, and stood in need of dipping, that is, his body and his clothes into water; so the people of God, though they are justified by the righteousness of Christ, and are pronounced clean through it, yet since they have their spots and scabs, they have need to have their conversation garments continually washed in the blood of the Lamb.


FOOTNOTES:

F8 (hhk) "contracta est", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "contraxerit sese", some in Vatablus.

Leviticus 13:6 In-Context

4 Soothly if the shining whiteness that is in the skin, neither (it) is lower than the tother flesh, and the hairs be of the former colour, the priest shall close him seven days (then the priest shall enclose him for seven days);
5 and the priest shall behold him in the seventh day, and soothly if the leprosy wax not further, neither passeth the former terms in the flesh, again the priest shall close him again seven other days; (and the priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and if the leprosy hath not grown, or not spread, nor it hath passed the original borders in the flesh, the priest shall enclose him again for seven more days;)
6 and he shall behold him in the seventh day; if the leprosy is then dark, and waxeth not in the flesh, the priest shall cleanse him, that is, shall deem him to be clean, for it is a scab; and the man shall wash his clothes, and he shall be clean. (and he shall examine him again on the seventh day; if the leprosy is then dark, and hath not grown, or not spread, in the flesh, the priest shall pronounce him to be clean, for it is a scab; and the man shall wash his clothes, and so he shall be clean.)
7 That if the leprosy waxeth again, after that he is seen of the priest, and is yielded to cleanness, he shall be brought again to the priest, (But if the leprosy groweth again, or spreadeth, after that he was seen by the priest, and was pronounced clean, he shall be brought again to the priest,)
8 and he shall be deemed to be of uncleanness. (and the priest shall pronounce him to be unclean.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.