Deuteronomy 24:8-9

Precautions in Leprosy. Israel shall diligently observe these as taught by the priests under divine command, remembering how God treated the leprous Miriam on the way from Egypt. Full of deuteronomic phrases; on take heed, see Deuteronomy 4:9; observe and do, Deuteronomy 4:6; observe todo, Deuteronomy 5:1; priests= Levites, Deuteronomy 18:1; as I have commanded, Deuteronomy 8:1; remember, Deuteronomy 7:18; Deuteronomy 25:17; in the way as ye came, etc., Deuteronomy 23:4 (5), Deuteronomy 25:17, etc. The accumulation of these formulas, as in several secondary passages, along with the changes between the Sg. and Pl. forms of address (confirmed by Sam., LXX), suggests that the passage has been expanded by editors. In 8 bread all the Torah (Sam., LXX) that the priests the Levites teach you. If 8 bis original to D this Torah need not be the detailed instructions on leprosy now found in P, Leviticus 13 f., but some earlier priestly Torah from which those have developed; but if 8 bis secondary its reference will be to Leviticus 13 f. Deuteronomy 24:9 refers to Miriam's seclusion from the camp, Numbers 12:14 f. (So even Calvin.)

Steuern. holds as original only the first clause of 8 and 9 a, and revives the opinion (as old as the Vulgate, and favoured by Michaelis, Knobel, etc.) that the law is a call, not to take such precautions ina plague of leprosy as are illustrated by Miriam's seclusion, but (by general obedience) to guard againstthe leprosy which fell on Miriam as the punishment for disobedience. Against this is the Heb. construction, in the plague of leprosy; so Steuern. suggests that the original reading was from the plague, etc. But all this interpretation renders the appeal to Miriam's case much less natural.