Leviticus 14:1-9

1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

2 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest.

3 And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look and seeing that the plague of leprosy is healed in the leper,

4 the priest shall command to take for the one that is to be purified two birds, alive and clean, and cedar wood and scarlet and hyssop;

5 and the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel upon living water;

6 then he shall take the living bird and the cedar wood, and the scarlet and the hyssop and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the living water;

7 and he shall sprinkle upon the one that is to be purified from the leprosy seven times and shall pronounce him clean and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.

8 And he that is to be purified shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and wash himself with water, and he shall be clean; and after that he shall come into the camp and shall dwell outside of his tent seven days.

9 But it shall be that on the seventh day he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows; finally he shall shave off all his hair, and he shall wash his clothes; also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.

Leviticus 14:1-9 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 14

This chapter treats of the purification of lepers, and the rules to be observed therein; and first what the priest was to do for his cleansing when brought to him, by making use of two birds, with cedar wood, scarlet and hyssop, as directed, Le 14:1-7; what he was to do for himself, shaving off all his hair, and washing his flesh and clothes in water, Le 14:8,9; the offerings to be offered up for him, two he lambs and one ewe lamb, and a meat offering, with a particular account of the use of the blood of the trespass offering, and of oil put upon the tip of his right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the great toe of his right foot, Le 14:10-20; but if poor, only one lamb was required, a meat offering of one tenth deal, and two turtle doves or two young pigeons, and blood and oil used as before, Le 14:21-32; next follow an account of leprosy in an house, and the signs of it, and the rules to judge of it, Le 14:33-48; and the manner of cleansing from it, Le 14:49-53; and the chapter is closed with a recapitulation of the several laws concerning the various sorts of leprosy in this and the preceding chapter, Le 14:54-57.