1And Jehovah will speak to Moses, and to Aaron, saying, 2When to a man there shall be a lifting up in the skin of his flesh, or a scab, or brightness, and it was in the skin of his flesh for the stroke of leprosy; and he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons the priests. 3And the priest saw the stroke in the skin of the flesh: and the hair in the stroke turned white, and the sight of the stroke deep from the skin of his flesh, it is the stroke of leprosy: and the priest saw him and defiled him. 4And if the brightness it white in the skin of his flesh, and its sight not deep from the skin, and the hair not turned white; and the priest shut up the stroke seven days. 5And the priest saw him in the seventh day: and behold, the stroke stood; in his eyes, the stroke spread not in the skin, and the priest shut him up the second seven days. 6And the priest saw him in the seventh day, the second time, and behold, the stroke dim, and the stroke spread not in the skin, and the priest cleansed him: it is a scab: and he washed his garments and was clean. 7And if spreading, the scab shall spread in the skin, after his being seen to the priest for his cleansing, and he was seen the second time to the priest 8And the priest saw, and behold, the scab spread in the skin, and the priest defiled him: it is leprosy. 9When the stroke of leprosy shall be in a man, and he shall be brought to the priest: 10And the priest saw, and behold, a lifting up white in the skin, and it turned the hair white, and the quickening of living flesh in the lifting up: 11It is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh, and the priest shall defile him; he shall not shut him up for he is unclean. 12And if breaking out, the leprosy shall break out in the skin, and the leprosy covered all the skin, the stroke from his head and even to his feet, to all the sight of the eyes of the priest: 13And the priest saw, and behold, the leprosy covered all his flesh, and he cleansed the stroke: all of it turned white: he is clean. 14In the day of seeing in him the living flesh, he shall be unclean. 15And the priest saw the living flesh, and he defiled him: the living flesh it is unclean: it is leprosy. 16Or when the living flesh shall turn back and turn to white, he shall be brought to the priest 17And the priest saw him, and behold, the stroke turned to white; and the priest cleansed the stroke: he is clean. 18And when the flesh shall be in it, in his skin, a burning sore, and was healed, 19And there was in the place of the burning sore a white rising, or brightness, white, reddish, and he was seen to the priest; 20And the priest saw, and behold, the sight low from the skin, and its hair turned white: and the priest defiled him: it is the stroke of leprosy broken out in the burning sore. 21And if the priest shall see it, and behold, no white hair in it, and it not low from the skin, and it was dim; and the priest shut him up seven days: 22And if spreading, it shall spread in the skin, and the priest defiled him: it the stroke. 23And if the brightness shall stand still, lowest, spreading not, it the scar of the burning sore; and the priest cleansed him. 24Or when there shall be flesh in his skin a burning of fire, and there was a quickening of the burning, a brightness reddish white, or white; 25And the priest saw it, and behold, the hair in the brightness was turned white, and the sight was deep from the skin; it leprosy in the burning broken out: and the priest defiled him: it the stroke of leprosy. 26And if the priest shall see it, and behold, no white hair in the burning, and it not being low from the skin, and it was dim; and the priest shut him up seven days. 27And the priest saw him in the seventh day: if spreading, it shall spread in the skin, and the priest shall defile him: it the stroke of leprosy. 28And if the brightness shall stand still, the lowest, spreading not in the skin, and it was dim; it a rising of the burning, and the priest cleansed him: for it a scar of the burning. 29And when a man or woman there shall be in him a stroke upon the head, or in the beard; 30And the priest saw the stroke, and behold, its sight deep from the skin, and in it thin, yellow hair; and the priest defiled him: it a scall, it a leprosy of the head, or of the beard. 31And when the priest shall see the stroke of the scall, and behold, its sight not deep from the skin, and no black hair in it; and the priest shut up the stroke of the scall seven days. 32And the priest saw the stroke in the seventh day: and behold, the scab spread not, and there was no yellow hair in it, and the sight of the scall not deep from the skin; 33And he was shaved, and the scall he shall not shave, and the priest shut up the scall seven days the second time 34And the priest saw the scall in the seventh day, and behold, the scall spread not in the skin, and its sight not deep from the skin; and the priest cleansed him; and he washed his garments and was clean. 35And if spreading, the scall shall spread in the skin after his purification; 36And the priest saw him: and behold, the scall spread in the skin, the priest shall not search for yellow hair; he is unclean. 37And if in his eyes the scall stood still, and black hair sprang up in it, the scall was healed; he is clean: and the priest cleansed him. 38And when a man or woman shall be in the skin of their flesh a brightness, a white brightness; 39And the priest saw, and behold, in the skin of their flesh a brightness, a dim white; it is a white scurf breaking out in the skin: he is clean. 40And if a man when his head shall become bald, he being bald; he is clean. 41And if from the side of his face his head shall become bald, he is bald; he is clean. 42And when there shall be in his baldness behind, or in his baldness in front, a stroke, reddish white, it is a leprosy broken out in his baldness behind, or in his baldness in front 43And the priest saw it, and behold, the rising of the stroke, a reddish white, in his baldness behind, or in his baldness in front, as the sight of leprosy, in the skin of the flesh; 44He a leprous man, he unclean: he being unclean the priest shall defile him; his stroke in his head. 45And the leprous in whom the stroke, his garments shall be rent, and his head shall be uncovered, and upon the lips he shall be covered, and he shall cry, Unclean, unlcean. 46All the days which the stroke is in him, he shall be unclean: he is unclean: he shall dwell separately; without the camp is his dwelling. 47When a garment the stroke of leprosy shall be in it, whether in the garment of wool or in the garment of linen; 48Or in the warp, or in the woof, to the linen or to the wool: or in the skin, or in any work of skin: 49And the stroke was greenish, or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in any vessel of skin; it is the stroke of leprosy, and it was seen to the priest 50And the priest saw the stroke, and shut up the stroke seven days. 51And he saw the stroke in the seventh day: when the stroke spread in the garment, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in the skin, and all which made of skin for work; the stroke a painful leprosy; it unclean. 52And he burnt the garment, or the warp, or the woof, or in wool, or in linen, or any vessel of skin which shall be in it the stroke: for it a painful leprosy; in fire shall it be burnt 53And if the priest shall see, and behold, the stroke spread not in the garment, or in the warp or in the woof, or in any vessel of skin; 54And the priest commanded, and they washed that in which was the stroke, and he shut it up seven days, the second time. 55And the priest saw after the washing, the stroke, and behold, the stroke turned not its eye, and the stroke spread not; it unclean; in fire thou shalt burn it; it a hollow in his baldness behind, or in his baldness in front 56And if the priest saw, and behold, the stroke dim after washing it: he rent it out of the garment or from the skin, or from the warp, or from the woof. 57And if it shall be seen still in the garment, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in any vessel of skin; it is breaking out: in the fire thou shalt burn it, that in which is the stroke. 58And the garment, or the warp or the woof, or any vessel of skin which thou shalt wash, and the stroke departed from them, and it was washed the second time, and it was clean. 59This the law of the stroke of leprosy of the garment of wool, or of linen, or the warp or the woof, or every vessel of skin, to cleanse it or to defile it
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 2 THE LAWS AND TOKENS IN DISCERNING LEPROSY. (Lev. 13:1-59)
When a man shall have in the skin, &c.--The fact of the following rules for distinguishing the plague of leprosy being incorporated with the Hebrew code of laws, proves the existence of the odious disease among that people. But a short time, little more than a year (if so long a period had elapsed since the exodus) when symptoms of leprosy seem extensively to have appeared among them; and as they could not be very liable to such a cutaneous disorder amid their active journeyings and in the dry open air of Arabia, the seeds of the disorder must have been laid in Egypt, where it has always been endemic. There is every reason to believe that this was the case: that the leprosy was not a family complaint, hereditary among the Hebrews, but that they got it from intercourse with the Egyptians and from the unfavorable circumstances of their condition in the house of bondage. The great excitement and irritability of the skin in the hot and sandy regions of the East produce a far greater predisposition to leprosy of all kinds than in cooler temperatures; and cracks or blotches, inflammations or even contusions of the skin, very often lead to these in Arabia and Palestine, to some extent, but particularly in Egypt. Besides, the subjugated and distressed state of the Hebrews in the latter country, and the nature of their employment, must have rendered them very liable to this as well as to various other blemishes and misaffections of the skin; in the production of which there are no causes more active or powerful than a depressed state of body and mind, hard labor under a burning sun, the body constantly covered with the excoriating dust of brick fields, and an impoverished diet--to all of which the Israelites were exposed while under the Egyptian bondage. It appears that, in consequence of these hardships, there was, even after they had left Egypt, a general predisposition among the Hebrews to the contagious forms of leprosy--so that it often occurred as a consequence of various other affections of the skin. And hence all cutaneous blemishes or blains--especially such as had a tendency to terminate in leprosy--were watched with a jealous eye from the first [GOOD, Study of Medicine]. A swelling, a pimple, or bright spot on the skin, created a strong ground of suspicion of a man's being attacked by the dreaded disease.
then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, &c.--Like the Egyptian priests, the Levites united the character of physician with that of the sacred office; and on the appearance of any suspicious eruptions on the skin, the person having these was brought before the priest--not, however, to receive medical treatment, though it is not improbable that some purifying remedies might be prescribed, but to be examined with a view to those sanitary precautions which it belonged to legislation to adopt.
3 the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh, &c.--The leprosy, as covering the person with a white, scaly scurf, has always been accounted an offensive blemish rather than a serious malady in the East, unless when it assumed its less common and malignant forms. When a Hebrew priest, after a careful inspection, discovered under the cutaneous blemish the distinctive signs of contagious leprosy, the person was immediately pronounced unclean, and is supposed to have been sent out of the camp to a lazaretto provided for that purpose. If the symptoms appeared to be doubtful, he ordered the person to be kept in domestic confinement for seven days, when he was subjected to a second examination; and if during the previous week the eruption had subsided or appeared to be harmless, he was instantly discharged. But if the eruption continued unabated and still doubtful, he was put under surveillance another week; at the end of which the character of the disorder never failed to manifest itself, and he was either doomed to perpetual exclusion from society or allowed to go at large. A person who had thus been detained on suspicion, when at length set at liberty, was obliged to "wash his clothes," as having been tainted by ceremonial pollution; and the purification through which he was required to go was, in the spirit of the Mosaic dispensation, symbolical of that inward purity it was instituted to promote.
7 But if the scab spread much abroad in the skin--Those doubtful cases, when they assumed a malignant character, appeared in one of two forms, apparently according to the particular constitution of the skin or of the habit generally. The one was "somewhat dark" [
Lev 13:6] --that is, the obscure or dusky leprosy, in which the natural color of the hair (which in Egypt and Palestine is black) is not changed, as is repeatedly said in the sacred code, nor is there any depression in the dusky spot, while the patches, instead of keeping stationary to their first size, are perpetually enlarging their boundary. The patient laboring under this form was pronounced unclean by the Hebrew priest or physician, and hereby sentenced to a separation from his family and friends--a decisive proof of its being contagious.
9 if the rising be white--This BRIGHT WHITE leprosy is the most malignant and inveterate of all the varieties the disease exhibits, and it was marked by the following distinctive signs: A glossy white and spreading scale, upon an elevated base, the elevation depressed in the middle, but without a change of color; the black hair on the patches participating in the whiteness, and the scaly patches themselves perpetually enlarging their boundary. Several of these characteristics, taken separately, belong to other blemishes of the skin as well; so that none of them was to be taken alone, and it was only when the whole of them concurred that the Jewish priest, in his capacity of physician, was to pronounce the disease a malignant leprosy. If it spread over the entire frame without producing any ulceration, it lost its contagious power by degrees; or, in other words, it ran through its course and exhausted itself. In that case, there being no longer any fear of further evil, either to the individual himself or to the community, the patient was declared clean by the priest, while the dry scales were yet upon him, and restored to society. If, on the contrary, the patches ulcerated and quick or fungous flesh sprang up in them, the purulent matter of which, if brought into contact with the skin of other persons, would be taken into the constitution by means of absorbent vessels, the priest was at once to pronounce it an inveterate leprosy. A temporary confinement was them declared to be totally unnecessary, and he was regarded as unclean for life [DR. GOOD]. Other skin affections, which had a tendency to terminate in leprosy, though they were not decided symptoms when alone, were: "a boil" (
Lev 13:18-
Lev 13:23); "a hot burning,"--that is, a fiery inflammation or carbuncle (
Lev 13:24-
Lev 13:28); and "a dry scall" (
Lev 13:29-
Lev 13:37), when the leprosy was distinguished by being deeper than the skin and the hair became thin and yellow.
38 If a man . . . or a woman have in the skin of their flesh bright spots--This modification of the leprosy is distinguished by a dull white color, and it is entirely a cutaneous disorder, never injuring the constitution. It is described as not penetrating below the skin of the flesh and as not rendering necessary an exclusion from society. It is evident, then, that this common form of leprosy is not contagious; otherwise Moses would have prescribed as strict a quarantine in this as in the other cases. And hereby we see the great superiority of the Mosaic law (which so accurately distinguished the characteristics of the leprosy and preserved to society the services of those who were laboring under the uncontagious forms of the disease) over the customs and regulations of Eastern countries in the present day, where all lepers are indiscriminately proscribed and are avoided as unfit for free intercourse with their fellow men.
40 bald . . . forehead bald--The falling off of the hair, when the baldness commences in the back part of the head, is another symptom which creates a suspicion of leprosy. But it was not of itself a decisive sign unless taken in connection with other tokens, such as a "sore of a reddish white color" [
Lev 13:43]. The Hebrews as well as other Orientals were accustomed to distinguish between the forehead baldness, which might be natural, and that baldness which might be the consequence of disease.
45 the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, &c.--The person who was declared affected with the leprosy forthwith exhibited all the tokens of suffering from a heavy calamity. Rending garments and uncovering the head were common signs of mourning. As to "the putting a covering upon the upper lip," that means either wearing a moustache, as the Hebrews used to shave the upper lip [CALMET], or simply keeping a hand over it. All these external marks of grief were intended to proclaim, in addition to his own exclamation "Unclean!" that the person was a leper, whose company every one must shun.
46 he shall dwell alone; without the camp--in a lazaretto by himself, or associated with other lepers (
2Kgs 7:3,
2Kgs 7:8).
47 The garment . . . that the . . . leprosy is in--It is well known that infectious diseases, such as scarlet fever, measles, the plague, are latently imbibed and carried by the clothes. But the language of this passage clearly indicates a disease to which clothes themselves were subject, and which was followed by effects on them analogous to those which malignant leprosy produces on the human body--for similar regulations were made for the rigid inspection of suspected garments by a priest as for the examination of a leprous person. It has long been conjectured and recently ascertained by the use of a lens, that the leprous condition of swine is produced by myriads of minute insects engendered in their skin; and regarding all leprosy as of the same nature, it is thought that this affords a sufficient reason for the injunction in the Mosaic law to destroy the clothes in which the disease, after careful observation, seemed to manifest itself. Clothes are sometimes seen contaminated by this disease in the West Indies and the southern parts of America [WHITLAW, Code of Health]; and it may be presumed that, as the Hebrews were living in the desert where they had not the convenience of frequent changes and washing, the clothes they wore and the skin mats on which they lay, would be apt to breed infectious vermin, which, being settled in the stuff, would imperceptibly gnaw it and leave stains similar to those described by Moses. It is well known that the wool of sheep dying of disease, if it had not been shorn from the animal while living, and also skins, if not thoroughly prepared by scouring, are liable to the effects described in this passage. The stains are described as of a greenish or reddish color, according, perhaps, to the color or nature of the ingredients used in preparing them; for acids convert blue vegetable colors into red and alkalis change then into green [BROWN]. It appears, then, that the leprosy, though sometimes inflicted as a miraculous judgment (
Num 12:10;
2Kgs 5:27) was a natural disease, which is known in Eastern countries still; while the rules prescribed by the Hebrew legislator for distinguishing the true character and varieties of the disease and which are far superior to the method of treatment now followed in those regions, show the divine wisdom by which he was guided. Doubtless the origin of the disease is owing to some latent causes in nature; and perhaps a more extended acquaintance with the archćology of Egypt and the natural history of the adjacent countries, may confirm the opinion that leprosy results from noxious insects or a putrid fermentation. But whatever the origin or cause of the disease, the laws enacted by divine authority regarding it, while they pointed in the first instance to sanitary ends, were at the same time intended, by stimulating to carefulness against ceremonial defilement, to foster a spirit of religious fear and inward purity.
