Leviticus 13:20

20 The cohen is to examine it; if he sees that it appears to be more than skin-deep, and its hair has turned white, then the cohen is to pronounce him unclean - the disease of tzara'at has broken out in the boil.

Leviticus 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.

Leviticus 13:20 In-Context

18 "If a person has on his skin a boil that heals

19 in such a way that in place of the boil there is a white swelling or a reddish-white bright spot, it is to be shown to the cohen.

20 The cohen is to examine it; if he sees that it appears to be more than skin-deep, and its hair has turned white, then the cohen is to pronounce him unclean - the disease of tzara'at has broken out in the boil.

21 But if the cohen looks at it and doesn't see any white hairs in it, and it isn't more than skin-deep but appears faded, the cohen is to isolate him for seven days.

22 If it spreads on the skin, the cohen is to declare him unclean; it is the disease.