"The Lord speaks to Moses and Aaron telling them what to do with people who have skin diseases and other afflictions within the camp. They must be declared clean or unclean depending upon certain signs and symptoms. If they are unclean, they must be quarantined and lived alone in a place outside the camp. Also, this chapter gives the law concerning a mildew contamination in wool or linen fabric, warp, or woof, or any leather article, in order to pronounce it clean or unclean."
Leviticus 13 Amplified Bible (AMP)
The Test for Leprosy
13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 “When a man has a swelling on the skin of his body, a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes the infection of [a]leprosy on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons the priests. 3 The priest shall look at the diseased spot on the skin of his body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears deeper than the skin of his body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him [ceremonially] unclean. 4 If the bright spot is white on the skin of his body and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair on it has not turned white, the priest shall [b]isolate the person who has the infection for seven days. 5 The priest shall examine it on the seventh day, and if in his estimation the infection has not changed and has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall isolate him for seven more days. 6 The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the infection has a more normal color and the spot has not spread on the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scab; and he shall wash his clothes and be clean.The Test for Leprosy
7 “But if the scab spreads farther on the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his [ceremonial] cleansing, he shall show himself to the priest again. 8 The priest shall look, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then he shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy.
9 “When a leprous infection is on a person, he shall be brought to the priest. 10 The priest shall examine him, and if there is a white swelling on the skin and it has turned the hair white and there is new raw flesh in the swelling, 11 it is a chronic leprosy on the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not isolate him because he is [clearly] unclean. 12 But if the [suspected] leprosy breaks out farther on the skin, and it covers all of the skin of the one who has the outbreak—from his head to his foot—wherever the priest looks, 13 the priest shall examine him. If the [suspected] leprosy has covered his entire body, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease; it has all turned white, and he is clean. 14 But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean. 15 The priest shall examine the raw flesh, and he shall pronounce him unclean; the raw flesh is unclean, it is leprosy. 16 But if the raw flesh turns again and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest, 17 and the priest shall examine him, and if the diseased part is changed to white, then the priest shall pronounce him who had the disease to be clean; he is clean.
18 “And when there is on the skin of the body [the scar of] a boil that is healed, 19 and in the place of the boil there is a white swelling or a bright spot, reddish white, then it shall be shown to the priest; 20 and the priest shall look, and if it looks deeper than the skin and the hair on it has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is the disease of leprosy; it has broken out in the boil. 21 But if the priest examines it and finds no white hair in it and it is not deeper than the skin and is dull in color, then the priest shall isolate him for seven days. 22 If it spreads farther on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a disease. 23 But if the bright spot remains where it is and does not spread, it is the scar of the boil, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
24 “Or if the body has on its skin a burn from fire and the new flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish white or white, 25 then the priest shall examine it, and if the hair in the bright spot has turned white, and it appears deeper than the skin, then leprosy has broken out in the burn. So the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is the disease of leprosy. 26 But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in the bright spot and it is not deeper than [the rest of] the skin but is dull in color, then the priest shall isolate him for seven days. 27 And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day; if it is spreading farther on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy. 28 But if the bright spot remains in its place and has not spread in the skin, but is dull in color, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean; for it is the scar of the burn.
29 “When a man or woman has a disease on the head or in the beard (face), 30 the priest shall examine the diseased place; if it appears to be deeper than the skin, with yellow, thin hair in it, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a scale, it is leprosy of the head or beard. 31 But if the priest examines the spot infected by the scale, and it does not appear deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, the priest shall isolate the person with the scaly infection for seven days. 32 On the seventh day the priest shall examine the diseased spot; if the scale has not spread and has no yellow hair in it, and the scale does not look deeper than the skin, 33 then he shall shave himself, but he shall not shave the scale; and the priest shall isolate the person with the scale for seven more days. 34 Then on the seventh day the priest shall look at the scale; if the scale has not spread on the skin and appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; he shall wash his clothes and be clean. 35 But if the scale spreads farther on the skin after his cleansing, 36 then the priest shall examine him, and if the scale has spread on the skin, the priest need not look for the yellowish hair; he is unclean. 37 If, in the priest’s estimation, the scale has remained [without spreading], and black hair has grown in it, the scale is healed; he is clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
38 “When a man or a woman has bright spots on the skin of the body, even white bright spots, 39 then the priest shall look, and if the bright spots on the skin of their bodies is a dull white, it is [only] a rash that has broken out on the skin; he is clean.
40 “If a man loses the hair on his head, he is bald, but he is clean. 41 And if he loses the hair on front of his head, he is bald on the forehead, but he is clean. 42 But if there is a reddish-white infection on the bald head or forehead, it is leprosy breaking out on his bald head or forehead. 43 Then the priest shall examine him, and if the diseased swelling is reddish-white on his bald head or forehead like the appearance of leprosy on the skin of the body, 44 he is a leprous man; he is unclean; the priest shall most certainly pronounce him unclean; his disease is on his head.
45 “As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered (disheveled), and he shall cover his mustache and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 He shall remain [ceremonially] unclean as long as the disease is on him; he is unclean. He shall live alone; he shall live outside the camp.
47 “When a garment has a mark of leprosy in it, whether it is a wool garment or a linen garment, 48 whether in woven or knitted material or in the warp (lengthwise strands) or woof (crosswise strands) of linen or of wool, or in a skin or on anything made of leather, 49 if the mark is greenish or reddish in the garment or in the leather or in the warp or woof or in any article made of leather, it is an infestation of leprosy and shall be shown to the priest. 50 The priest shall examine the mark and shall quarantine the article with the mark for seven days. 51 He shall examine the mark on the seventh day; if it has spread in the garment, whether in the warp or the woof, or in the leather, whatever the leather’s purpose, the mark is a malignant leprosy; it is unclean. 52 So he shall burn the garment, whether the warp or woof, in wool or linen, or on anything made of leather in which the mark occurs; for it is a malignant leprosy; it shall be burned in the fire.
53 “But if the priest sees that the mark has not spread in the garment, either in the warp or the woof, or on anything made of leather, 54 then the priest shall order that they wash the thing in which the mark occurs, and he shall quarantine it for seven more days. 55 The priest shall examine the article with the mark after it has been washed, and if the mark has not changed color, even though the mark has not spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in the fire; it is a corroding mildew, whether on the top or on the front of it.
56 “If the priest looks and the mark has faded after it is washed, he shall tear it out of the garment, or the leather, or out of the warp or woof. 57 If it still appears in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or on anything made of leather, it is an outbreak; you shall burn the marked part in the fire. 58 The garment, whether the warp or the woof, or anything made of leather from which the mildew has departed after washing, shall then be washed a second time and it will be [ceremonially] clean.”
59 This is the law for a leprous disease in a garment of wool or linen, either in the warp or woof, or on anything made of leather, to pronounce it clean or unclean.
Footnotes: Leviticus 13:2 Hansen’s disease (leprosy) was well-recognized in many ancient civilizations, but from the details of the disease in Lev 13, it is thought by many that other skin disorders may also have been categorized as “leprosy.” The term is derived from a Greek word (lepra) which was applied to several kinds of skin diseases.
Leviticus 13:4 Lit shut him up.
- QUARANTINE. Here, we read and learn about protocols on how the priest will deal with skin diseases, like rashes and leprosy, even baldness. We learned what is clean and what is considered unclean. The priest is like a 'doctor' or 'medical practitioner' here, he examines but he doesn't treat them, he just puts them in quarantine. After some days, they were to observe and assess again.
- A GREAT CALLING. It seems that priests really do have a great task and responsibility for all the people. With that, God helps them by setting and establishing very clear commandments regarding it.
- WHAT IS LEPROSY?
"Leprosy is an infectious disease that causes severe, disfiguring skin sores and nerve damage in the arms, legs, and skin areas around the body. The disease has been around since ancient times, often surrounded by terrifying, negative stigmas and tales of leprosy patients being shunned as outcasts.
However, leprosy is actually not that contagious. You can catch it only if you come into close and repeated contact with nose and mouth droplets from someone with untreated leprosy.
What Causes Leprosy?
Leprosy is caused by a slow-growing type of bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae). Leprosy is also known as Hansen's disease, after the scientist who discovered M. leprae in 1873.
What Are the Symptoms of Leprosy?
Leprosy primarily affects the skin and the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord, called the peripheral nerves. It may also strike the eyes and the thin tissue lining the inside of the nose.
The main symptom of leprosy is disfiguring skin sores, lumps, or bumps that do not go away after several weeks or months. The skin sores are pale-colored.
Nerve damage can lead to:
-Loss of feeling in the arms and legs
-Muscle weakness"
- GREATEST HEALER. Leprosy seems a frightening and terrible disease. Still, the most terrible disease that we have is our 'sin nature', and all of our sins. Who can heal us and deliver us? Only the blood of the Lamb. Only the Lord Jesus Christ, who has defeated sin and death on the cross.
"Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:4-5
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:4-5
After reading, I always check out the Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik (very helpful!):
a. The priest shall examine the sore on the skin of the body: In this sense, the priests served as public health officers and diagnosed the disease from this carefully defined criteria, not from intuition or guessing.
b. It is leprosy: Leprosy was dealt with so seriously because it was such a horrible disease, and it was also a dramatic picture of sin and its spiritual operation in human beings.
i. When leprosy first appears on your skin, it begins as small, red spots. Before too long they get bigger, and start to turn white, with a shiny or scaly appearance. Pretty soon the spots spread over the entire body and the hair begins to fall out - first from the head, then even from the eyebrows. As things get worse, the finger nails and toenails become loose; they start to rot and eventually fall off. Then the joints of fingers and toes begin to rot and start to fall off piece by piece. The gums start shrinking and can't hold teeth anymore, so each of them is lost. Leprosy keeps eating away at the face until the nose is literally lost, and the palate and even eyes rot - and the victim wastes away until death.
ii. Leprosy is like sin in many ways. There are some good reasons why many ancient rabbis considered a leper as someone already dead. Leprosy is like sin in that:
- It begins as nothing.
- It is painless in its first stages.
- It grows slowly.
- It often remits for a while and then returns.
- It numbs the senses - one cannot feel in the afflicted area.
- It causes decay and deformity.
- It gives a person a repulsive appearance.
i. Jewish custom said that you should not even greet a leper, and you had to stay six feet away from a leper. One Rabbi bragged that he would not even buy an egg on a street where he saw a leper, and another boasted that he threw rocks at lepers to keep them far from him. Rabbis didn't even allow a leper to wash his face.
ii. But Jesus was different. He loved lepers; He touched them and healed them when they had no hope at all (Matthew 8:1-4 and Luke 17:11-19).
Reference and credits to https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Lev/Lev-13.cfm © 2004 David Guzik
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