Leviticus 13:29-37

e. THE FIFTH CASE 13:29-37
TEXT 13:29-37

29

And when a man or woman hath a plague upon the head or upon the beard,

30

then the priest shall look on the plague; and, behold, if the appearance thereof be deeper than the skin, and there be in it yellow thin hair, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a scall, it is leprosy of the head or of the beard.

31

And if the priest look on the plague of the scall, and, behold, the appearance thereof be not deeper than the skin, and there be no black hair in it, then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague of the scall seven days:

32

and in the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague; and behold, if the scall be not spread, and there be in it no yellow hair, and the appearance of the scall be not deeper than the skin,

33

then he shall be shaven, but the scall shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up him that hath the scall seven days more:

34

and in the seventh day the priest shall look on the scall; and, behold, if the scall be not spread in the skin, and the appearance thereof be not deeper than the skin; then the priest shall pronounce him clean: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

35

But if the scall spread abroad in the skin after his cleansing,

36

then the priest shall look on him; and, behold, if the scall be spread in the skin, the priest shall not seek for the yellow hair; he is unclean.

37

But if in his eyes the scall be at a stay, and black hair be grown up therein; the scall is healed, he is clean: and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 13:29-37

254.

What is meant by the word scall in Leviticus 13:30 ff?

255.

What does thin yellow hair have to do with leprosy?

256.

Who do you suppose paid the expenses of the man or woman who was shut away from home and job for a possible 14 days? Discuss.

257.

When and why was a person to be shaved?

258.

The return or reactivating of the sore called for special treatmentwhat was it?

PARAPHRASE 13:29-37

If a man or woman has a sore on the head or chin, the priest must examine him; if the infection seems to be below the skin and yellow hair is found in the sore, the priest must pronounce him a leper. But if the priest's examination reveals that the spot seems to be only in the skin and that there is black hair in it, then he shall be quarantined for seven days, and examined again on the seventh day. If the spot has not spread and no yellow hair has appeared, and if the infection does not seem to be deeper than the skin, he shall shave off all the hair around the spot (but not on the spot itself) and the priest shall quarantine him for another seven days. He shall be examined again on the seventh day, and if the spot has not spread, and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him well, and after washing his clothes, he is free. Then the priest must examine him again and, without waiting to see if any yellow hair develops, declare him a leper, But if it appears that the spreading has stopped and black hairs are found in the spot, then he is healed and is not a leper, and the priest shall declare him healed.

COMMENT 13:29-37

Leviticus 13:29-37 The depression of the affected spot is a sure symptom of concern. This indicates that the flesh is affected and not just the skin. In other areas of the body white hair was an indication of leprosy, but on the head or beard, yellow or golden hair was a cause for concern. The word thin could also be translated short. The normally heavy black hair has been replaced by short yellow hair. There is much traditional material of those who exercised these laws during the time of the second Temple or the one Herod built for the Jews. C. D. Ginsburg says concerning this: By the -thin hair-' those authorities who came in contact with the disorder understood small or short hair. Hence they laid down the following rule: The condition of the hair constituting one of the signs of leprosy is its becoming short. But if it be long, though it is yellow as gold, it is no sign of uncleanness. Two yellow and short hairs, whether close to one another or far from each other, whether in the center of the affected spot or on the edge thereof, no matter whether the affection on the spot precedes the yellow hair, or the yellow hair precedes the affection on the spot, are symptoms of uncleanness.

The word scall means dryness, it describes the condition after the hair has fallen out and leaves the affected area somewhat bare.
Yellow hair by itself could be but a sign of an ordinary ulcer, hence a seven-day quarantine is necessary to allow the leprosy to develop or the ulcer to heal.
Shaving the area will make it much easier to examine and will give a clear indication of the color of the hair growing back. The spread of the afflicted area after a 14-day examination is a positive indication of leprosyno yellow hair need be consideredhe is a leper!
Probably even after such careful precautions some were pronounced unclean who did not have leprosy and some were freed who did have it, but the mistakes must have been at a minimum.

FACT QUESTIONS 13:29-37

306.

What is indicated by the depression of the flesh around a sore spot?

307.

Indicate where white and yellow hair were dangerous symptoms.

308.

Describe the careful regulations of those who administered this law in the time of our Lord.

309.

Why shave some people?

f. THE SIXTH CASE 13:38, 39
TEXT 13:38, 39

38

And when a man or a woman hath in the skin of the flesh bright spots, even white bright spots;

39

then the priest shall look; and, behold, if the bright spot in the skin of their flesh be of a dull white, it is a tetter, it hath broken out in the skin; he is clean.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 13:38, 39

259.

There is a difference in each of these cases or they would not be mentioned separately. What is the distinction here?

260.

The color of the spots is very important. Which color is dangerous?

PARAPHRASE 13:38, 39

If a man or a woman has white, transparent areas in the skin, but these spots are growing dimmer, this is not leprosy, but an ordinary infection that has broken out in the skin.

COMMENT 13:38, 39

Leviticus 13:38-39 A bothersome but harmless type of ringworm infection is here described. Such a problem lasted from two months to two years but it was not leprosy and would heal with treatment. If anyone had a choice of the seven cases, this would be the one.

FACT QUESTIONS 13:38, 39

310.

This could be a serious case. What decided it?

311.

Why no period of quarantine?