Leviticus 13:20

20 and the priest shall look, and if it appears to be lower than the skin and the hair thereof is turned white; the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a plague of leprosy broken out of 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 And when in the flesh, in the skin thereof, there was a boil and is healed,

19 and in the place of the boil there is a white rising or a bright spot, white, and somewhat reddish, it shall be shown to the priest;

20 and the priest shall look, and if it appears to be lower than the skin and the hair thereof is turned white; the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a plague of leprosy broken out of the boil.

21 But if the priest considers it and there appear to be no white hairs in it and it is not lower than the skin, but somewhat dark, then the priest shall shut him up seven days;

22 and if it spreads much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague.