1
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
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OLD TESTAMENT
All chapters Leviticus 14
The Holy Bible · EnglishOpen an explanation beneath verses with notes. Your notes and highlights stay on this device.
2
“This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest,
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3
and the priest shall go out of the camp. The priest shall examine him. Behold, if the plague of leprosy is healed in the leper,
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 3. Camp. The leper was not left to his own judgment to mix with society, as soon as he perceived himself cleansed. He had to send for a priest; and one of the most discerning among those who made it their employment to study in the court of the tabernacle, was commissioned to examine him. Grotius.—The sacrifice was offered without the camp, ( Calmet.) if it may be called a sacrifice. Menochius.—That of Christ’s body was not yet instituted, which supplies all the rest. Saint Augustine c. adv. i. 19. Worthington.
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4
then the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two living clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop.
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 4. Sparrows. Hebrew tsipporim. Septuagint “little birds,” which the law only determines must be clean; such probably as might be procured most easily. The leper was to present them, and kill one. But the priest sprinkled with its blood the other bird, which was tied with a scarlet ribband to the cedar-wood and hyssop, in such a manner that its head and wings were not much wet, as it as to fly away. Calmet.—The cedar prevents putrefaction, the hyssop is very odoriferous, the scarlet and the bird denote beauty and life, which qualities the leper must acquire. So the penitent regains the virtues he had lost, with interest. Tirinus.
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5
The priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water.
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 5. Living waters. That is, waters taken from a spring, brook, or river: ( Challoner.) not stagnant or rain water.
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6
As for the living bird, he shall take it, the cedar wood, the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water.
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7
He shall sprinkle on him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird go into the open field.
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 7. Rightly. According to law. Bible.—The number seven is used to denote perfection, verse 15, and so forth Menochius.—Field. An emblem of the liberty which the leper would soon enjoy. Bible.—The pagans cast over their head the things which had been used for their purification. Virg. Ec. viii. 102. Fer cineres, Amarilli, foras, rivoque fluenti—Transque caput jace, ne respexeris.—There were afraid to trample upon them. Gell. x. 15. Metam. xiii. 954. There were also accustomed to set birds at liberty in honour of their gods. Demosthenes accuses Conon of having eaten those which had been used in his purification. Bonfrere believes that Moses does not here prescribe any sacrifice. Why then is a priest employed to make these aspersions? Calmet.
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8
“He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water; and he shall be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, but shall dwell outside his tent seven days.
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 8. Body, even to the feet. Isaiah 7:20. Bible.—Probably with a pair of scissors. Calmet.—The Egyptians priests did so every third day, that nothing impure might be concealed. Herod. ii. 37. The greatest caution was requisite to prevent the return of the leprosy; and therefore, after the first purification, (verse 4,) the leper is not allowed to go home, till a sufficient time has elapsed to ascertain whether he be radically healed, and then he must offer a sacrifice, verse 10. Bible.—But why so many prescriptions for a disease so involuntary, ( Calmet.) which must have caused the unhappy sufferer so much pain? Bible.—The Rabbins assert, that the leprosy was sent to punish some secret transgression, particularly some pride or detraction; as they maintain, that every illness is in punishment of some offence. Abarbanel. Grotius.—If was often the effect of intemperance or negligence; and the sacrifices were exacted, to make some reparation to God for remaining in the camp and near the tabernacle, at the commencement of the disorder. Calmet.—This foul cutaneous disease was also very infectious, and the law was designed to impress people with a horror of it, and to teach them to prevent its ravages as much as possible. Bible.—A sparrow is slain, and the hair shaved, to indicate that all sinful affections must be cut off by the true penitent, while the sparrow, which is sent away into the desert, reminds him that he must live a stranger to pleasure, and perfectly mortified. D.—Days; without having any communication with his wife. Lyran.
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9
It shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows. He shall shave off all his hair. He shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his body in water. Then he shall be clean.
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10
“On the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without defect, one ewe lamb a year old without defect, three tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, and one log of oil.
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 10. A sextary; Hebrew log: a measure of liquids, which was the twelfth part of a hin; and held about as much as six eggs. Challoner.—For each of the victims a sacrifice of flour and oil was required. Bible.
1 ephah is about 22 liters or about 2/3 of a bushel
a log is a liquid measure of about 300 ml or 10 ounces
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11
The priest who cleanses him shall set the man who is to be cleansed, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
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12
“The priest shall take one of the male lambs, and offer him for a trespass offering, with the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 12. Offered. Hebrew “elevated, or waved,” as Exodus 29:24.
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13
He shall kill the male lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the place of the sanctuary; for as the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass offering. It is most holy.
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 13. Place; on the left hand of the altar of holocausts. Calmet. 1:11. This sacrifice is different from that for sin, verse 19. Calmet.
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14
The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 14. Taking of the blood, and so forth These ceremonies, used in the cleansing of a leper, were mysterious and very significative. The sprinkling seven times with the blood of the little bird, the washing himself and his clothes, the shaving his hair and his beard, signify the means which are to be used in the reconciliation of a sinner, and the steps by which he is to return to God, that is by the repeated application of the blood of Christ; the washing his conscience with the waters of compunction; and retrenching all vanities and superfluities, by employing all that is over and above what is necessary in alms deeds. The sin-offering, and the holocaust or burnt-offering, which he was to offer at his cleansing, signify the sacrifice of a contrite and humble heart, and that of adoration in spirit and truth, with gratitude and thankfulness, for the forgiveness of sins, with which we are ever to appear before the Almighty. The touching the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot, first with the blood of the victim, and then with the remainder of the oil, which had been sprinkled seven times before the Lord, signify the application of the blood of Christ, and the unction of the sevenfold grace of the Holy Ghost to the sinner’s right ear, that he may duly hearken to and obey the law of God; and to his right hand and foot, that the works of his hands, and all the steps or affections of his soul, signified by the feet, may be rightly directed to God. Challoner. See Calmet. 8:23.—These ceremonies might serve to call to the leper’s recollection the benefit which he had received, and to distinguish him from others. Calmet.
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15
The priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand.
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16
The priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD.
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17
The priest shall put some of the rest of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering.
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 17. Blood. Septuagint and Syr. “upon the place of the blood,” on the person’s ear, thumb, and toe.
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18
The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, and the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD.
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19
“The priest shall offer the sin offering, and make atonement for him who is to be cleansed because of his uncleanness. Afterward he shall kill the burnt offering;
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20
then the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meal offering on the altar. The priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.
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21
“If he is poor, and can’t afford so much, then he shall take one male lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, and one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering, and a log of oil;
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 21. Offering. Hebrew “a trespass-offering to be waved,” verse 12. 24.—Oil. The same quantity of oil is required as verse 10. The rest is diminished two-thirds; only instead of the ewe and one lamb, two turtles or pigeons are substituted. Bible.
1 ephah is about 22 liters or about 2/3 of a bushel
a log is a liquid measure of about 300 ml or 10 ounces
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22
and two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to afford; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering.
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23
“On the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, before the LORD.
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24
The priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.
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25
He shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering. The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
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26
The priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand;
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27
and the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD.
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28
Then the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the trespass offering.
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29
The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the LORD.
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30
He shall offer one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, which ever he is able to afford,
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31
of the kind he is able to afford, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meal offering. The priest shall make atonement for him who is to be cleansed before the LORD.”
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 31. Trespass. Hebrew “sin,” verse 19. The Chal. and Septuagint agree with the original text. Menochius.
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32
This is the law for him in whom is the plague of leprosy, who is not able to afford the sacrifice for his cleansing.
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33
The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
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34
“When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put a spreading mildew in a house in the land of your possession,
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 34. If there. Hebrew “and I send the plague;” whence some infer, that this leprosy was an effect of God’s special indignation against the owners of the house. Muis, and so forth
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35
then he who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, ‘There seems to me to be some sort of plague in the house.’
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36
The priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest goes in to examine the plague, that all that is in the house not be made unclean. Afterward the priest shall go in to inspect the house.
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 36. Become. If any thing was left in the house, it was deemed unclean, as soon as the priest had declared that the house was infected; and therefore, all was to be removed before he came, ( Calmet.) and might be used without scruple, unless some marks of leprosy appeared afterwards on the garments. Calmet. 13:47.
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37
He shall examine the plague; and behold, if the plague is in the walls of the house with hollow streaks, greenish or reddish, and it appears to be deeper than the wall,
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 37. Paleness. Hebrew “greenish.” Bible.—Such spots are often observable in damp churches and cloisters, and cause the plaster to fall off. It is probable that little worms produce this effect. To prevent these vermin from spreading, Moses orders the whole house to be demolished and carried away, if it cannot be otherwise purified. Calmet.—Thus the plague is communicated not only by persons, but also by all the things which they have touched. The same signs of leprosy are found both in men and in houses. Menochius.
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38
then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days.
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39
The priest shall come again on the seventh day, and look. If the plague has spread in the walls of the house,
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40
then the priest shall command that they take out the stones in which is the plague, and cast them into an unclean place outside of the city.
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41
He shall cause the inside of the house to be scraped all over. They shall pour out the mortar that they scraped off outside of the city into an unclean place.
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 41. Scraped. Hebrew “he shall scrape.” But the Sam. copy has, more properly, “they shall scrape.” Houbig.
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42
They shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other mortar, and shall plaster the house.
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43
“If the plague comes again, and breaks out in the house after he has taken out the stones, and after he has scraped the house, and after it was plastered,
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44
then the priest shall come in and look; and behold, if the plague has spread in the house, it is a destructive mildew in the house. It is unclean.
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45
He shall break down the house, its stones, and its timber, and all the house’s mortar. He shall carry them out of the city into an unclean place.
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46
“Moreover he who goes into the house while it is shut up shall be unclean until the evening.
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47
He who lies down in the house shall wash his clothes; and he who eats in the house shall wash his clothes.
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48
“If the priest shall come in, and examine it, and behold, the plague hasn’t spread in the house, after the house was plastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.
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49
To cleanse the house he shall take two birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop.
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50
He shall kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water.
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51
He shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times.
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52
He shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, with the living bird, with the cedar wood, with the hyssop, and with the scarlet;
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53
but he shall let the living bird go out of the city into the open field. So shall he make atonement for the house; and it shall be clean.”
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 53. For the house, that it may be no more infected; and for the people, to whom it belongs, that they may carefully avoid offending God, the avenger of all sin. Hebrew “you shall make an atonement for the house,” or for the sins of its inhabitants. Bible.
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54
This is the law for any plague of leprosy, and for an itch,
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 54. Stroke. Hebrew “scurf,” ulcers, wounds, and so forth Calmet.—“The leprosy of the head or beard.” Chal. Montan. Tirinus.
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55
and for the destructive mildew of a garment, and for a house,
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56
and for a swelling, and for a scab, and for a bright spot;
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57
to teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean. This is the law of leprosy.
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ExplanationCommentary
Verse 57. Be known when. Hebrew “to teach in what day, and so forth… This is the law of leprosy.” Bible.
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