Leviticus 13:1-8

LAWS CONCERNING LEPROSY 13:114:57
EXAMINATION AND ITS RESULT 13:1-46
a. THE SYMPTOMS OF LEPROSY, WHETHER PROCEEDING DIRECTLY FROM ERUPTIONS IN THE SKIN, OR CAUSED BY A BOIL OR BURN 13:1-8
TEXT 13:1-8

1

And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

2

When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it become in the skin of his flesh the plague of leprosy, then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests:

3

and the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and if the hair in the plague be turned white, and the appearance of the plague be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is the plague of leprosy; and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.

4

And if the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh, and the appearance thereof be not deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be not turned white, then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague seven days:

5

and the priest shall look on him the seventh day: and, behold, if in his eyes the plague be at a stay, and the plague be not spread in the skin, then the priest shall shut him up seven days more:

6

and the priest shall look on him again the seventh day; and, behold, if the plague be dim, and the plague be not spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean: it is a scab: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

7

But if the scab spread abroad in the skin, after that he hath showed himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall show himself to the priest again:

8

and the priest shall look; and, behold, if the scab be spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is leprosy.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 13:1-8

238.

Why are both Moses and Aaron addressed?

239.

List the three kinds of appearances related to leprosy.

240.

Two symptoms must be present for leprosy to be present. What were they? Cf. Leviticus 13:3.

241.

What condition must prevail in the case of the bright spot?

242.

There are two seven-day quarantine periods. What are they?

243.

The priest has a heavy responsibilitythe suspected person can be released as curedwhat must he do to be pronounced clean?

244.

What seems to be the one deciding factor in identifying leprosy? Cf. Leviticus 13:7-8.

PARAPHRASE 13:1-8

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, If anyone notices a swelling in his skin, or a scab or boil or pimple with transparent skin, leprosy is to be suspected. He must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons for the spot to be examined. If the hair in this spot turns white, and if the spot looks to be more than skin-deep, it is leprosy, and the priest must declare him a leper. But if the white spot in the skin does not seem to be deeper than the skin and the hair in the spot has not turned white, the priest shall quarantine him for seven days. At the end of that time, on the seventh day, the priest will examine him again, and if the spot has not changed and has not spread in the skin, then the priest must quarantine him seven days more. Again on the seventh day the priest will examine him, and if the marks of the disease have become fainter and have not spread, then the priest shall pronounce him cured; it was only a scab, and the man need only wash his clothes and everything will be normal again. But if the spot spreads in the skin after he has come to the priest to be examined, he must come back to the priest again, and the priest shall look again, and if the spot has spread, then the priest must pronounce him a leper.

COMMENT 13:1-8
a. FIRST CASE 13:1-8

Leviticus 13:1-2 Since the laws of leprosy chiefly concerned the priests, who had to examine the symptoms and decide if leprosy was present or not, the Lord addressed Aaron as well as Moses. There are three places where leprosy can develop: (1) manLeviticus 13:2-46; (2) clothesLeviticus 13:47-59; (3) housesLeviticus 14:33-57. In the next two Chapter s we will discuss all of these. In the case of man, there are seven different circumstances under which it might develop. The first one in Leviticus 13:2-6 refers to development without any apparent cause. If one of the following three symptoms occur, a visit to the priest was in order: (1) A swelling or a swollen spot; (2) a scab or small tumor; (3) a bright or glossy pimple. The color of the swelling (according to tradition) should be like an eggshell or white wool; the bright spot should be as white as snow or the plaster on the wall.

Harold Fowler has given us some very helpful information on the general subject of leprosy:
Leprosy is an infectious condition produced by microbe discovered and described by A. G. Hansen in 1874. Hansen's disease is contagious, its infection being thought to arise from direct contact with infected skin and mucous membranes, although not very readily communicated by casual contact. Seemingly it is not hereditary. Nerve involvement is attended with anesthesia, tingling and pain of the parts affected. In those forms of leprosy where nodular growths are the most prominent features the small bones of the hands and feet are destroyed and often drop off. Modern medicine has discovered treatments for leprosy of the various types (lepramatous, tuberculoid and non-specific) and control through early diagnosis, isolation and some drugs that show encouraging results, although complete cure is not yet promised. Spontaneous arresting of the disease and temporary cures have occurred. However, treatment is often necessary for years. (See UWRE, 2954; ISBE, 1867)
Some affirm, however, that Hansen's disease is not the biblical leprosy. There are several complications to our problem of identifying precisely the leprosy of the Bible:

1.

The Biblical terminology identifying leprosy describes only the initial symptoms and discuss none of the later manifestations as a fully developed disease or attempt a medical description of its characteristics. The purpose of the Biblical terminology was originally for identifying and isolating the victims of this disease. It is worthy of note that there is no mention of treatment or remedy for the disease.

2.

The Biblical term leprosy in the critical passage (Leviticus 13:1-59) is obviously used in several senses, meaning, generally, skin disease and, precisely, leprosy (the real thing). It would seem that Moses in that passage is describing leprosy and then listing eight other skin diseases which might be confused for leprosy, but which, regarding ceremonial defilement, were clean.

3.

Any remarks derived from the Mosaic legislation would have to be tempered by the actual practice of the Jews in Jesus-' time, which may well have been quite different from that intended by Moses. For instance, while Moses required lepers to stay out of inhabited centers (Leviticus 13:46), this regulation may have been relaxed in later times so that lepers even entered a segregated portion of the synagogues, although not into the Temple. (Edersheim, Life, I, 493)

The chief emphasis of the Levitical legislation in the first place was the defilement which the disease brought to the sufferer, thus rendering him incapable of entering either the camp of Israel or of participating in the formal worship of Jehovah while in the grip of that disease. And it was by a sin offering that the ceremonial uncleanness was atoned for, upon one's cleansing from leprosy. (Leviticus 14:13-14; Leviticus 14:18 b - Leviticus 14:22) But the homiletic use of leprosy as a TYPE of sin is not biblical, although the similarities are striking. Were we to judge leprosy from the ancient Jewish standpoint of defilement, there could possibly be no lower state, nor worse defilement than this; however, estimating the disease from Christ's standpoint, there are certainly worse defilements than mere leprosy. (Study Matthew 15:1-39; Mark 7:1-37) Let it be remarked that though leprosy was atoned for by a sin, that is, a guilt offering, yet Jesus never declared the sins forgiven of a leper in connection with his disease, in the same way in which He apparently did not hold the demon-possessed as particularly guilty or sinful, or as He did in the case of others (Luke 7:47-50; Matthew 9:1-8). Yet, from the silence of the Scripture record, no real argument can be made, inasmuch as the Apostles recorded only what we have. But it must be made absolutely clear that leprosy today carries no spiritual contamination to any man as it did only to Jews under Moses-' law.

Leviticus 13:3 In this verse we have the principle used in all three of the above cases. Two indications of leprosy: (1) the ordinarily jet-black hair of the Hebrew has turned white in the area being examined; (2) the infection is deeper than the skin, i.e. it indicates by the soreness and a swollen condition that the flesh itself is affected. When these two symptoms are obvious, the priest must pronounce the sufferer unclean. By his pronouncement he actually makes him unclean, for such is the Hebrew meaning of the phrase. Whereas this is not primarily a homiletical commentary and whereas we recognize nowhere does the scripture link leprosy with sin, the comparison is at the same time very striking. Consider: (1) Both have a small beginning; (2) both are painless in early stages; (3) both are slow in growth; (4) both are insidious in progress; (5) both are resistless if not eradicated; (6) both have a hideous end.

Leviticus 13:4-8 These verses discuss the treatment of the bright (or white) spot. Keil says: But if the bright spot was white upon the skin, and its appearance was not deeper than the skin, and the place therefore was not sunken, nor the hair turned white, the priest was to shut up the leper, i.e. preclude him from intercourse with other men, for seven days, and on the seventh day examine him again. If he then found that the mole still stood, i.e. remained unaltered, -in his eyes,-' or in his view, that is it had not spread any further, he was to shut him up for seven more days. And if, on further examination upon the seventh day (fourteenth), he found that the mole had become paler, had lost its brilliant whiteness, and had not spread, he was to declare him clean, for it was a scurf, i.e. a mere skin eruption, and not true leprosy. The person who had been pronounced clean, however, was to wash his clothes, to change himself from even the appearance of leprosy, and then to be clean. But if the scurf had spread upon the skin, -after his (first) appearance before the priest with reference to his cleansing,-' i.e. to be examined concerning his purification, and if the priest noticed this on his second appearance, he was to declare him unclean, for in that case it was leprosy.

FACT QUESTIONS 13:1-8

288.

Why did God address Aaron as well as Moses?

289.

Name the three places where leprosy can develop.

290.

There are six different circumstances for the development of leprosy in man. Name the first one.

291.

Three symptoms call for a visit to the priest. What are they?

292.

How does A. G. Hansen and 1874 relate to leprosy?

293.

What are the problems in identifying the particular type of leprosy mentioned in the Bible?

294.

What are the two sure indications of the presence of leprosy?

295.

What is the subject of Leviticus 13:4-8?

296.

Describe the treatment for the bright spot.