Day 34: Leviticus 13-15

(The previous post concluded God's directions for the consecration of the priesthood. Chapter 11 began God's directions for sanitation: directions for dealing with the cleanliness of various animals as sources of food and the cleanliness of people involved in the birth of a person.)

(Chapters 13-15 continued the theme from chapters 11-16 which covered sanitation.)

Leviticus 13

(This chapter concerned the laws and tokens in discerning leprosy.)

(Verses 1-8: the method of examination for leprosy.)

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.

(The details for examining leprosy: priests judged; err on the side of unclean.)

(Verses 9-44: More on the diagnosis of leprosy.)

⁹ When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought unto the priest;
¹⁰ and the priest shall look; and, behold, if there be a white rising in the skin, and it have turned the hair white, and there be quick raw flesh in the rising,
¹¹ it is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean: he shall not shut him up, for he is unclean.
¹² And if the leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath the plague from his head even to his feet, as far as appeareth to the priest;
¹³ then the priest shall look; and, behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: it is all turned white: he is clean.
¹⁴ But whensoever raw flesh appeareth in him, he shall be unclean.
¹⁵ And the priest shall look on the raw flesh, and pronounce him unclean: the raw flesh is unclean: it is leprosy.
¹⁶ Or if the raw flesh turn again, and be changed unto white, then he shall come unto the priest;
¹⁷ and the priest shall look on him; and, behold, if the plague be turned into white, then the priest shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: he is clean.
¹⁸ And when the flesh hath in the skin thereof a boil, and it is healed,
¹⁹ and in the place of the boil there is a white rising, or a bright spot, reddish-white, then it shall be showed to the priest;
²⁰ and the priest shall look; and, behold, if the appearance thereof be lower than the skin, and the hair thereof be turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy, it hath broken out in the boil.
²¹ But if the priest look on it, and, behold, there be no white hairs therein, and it be not lower than the skin, but be dim; then the priest shall shut him up seven days:
²² And if it spread abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague.
²³ But if the bright spot stay in its place, and be not spread, it is the scar of the boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
²⁴ Or when the flesh hath in the skin thereof a burning by fire, and the quick flesh of the burning become a bright spot, reddish-white, or white;
²⁵ then the priest shall look upon it; and, behold, if the hair in the bright spot be turned white, and the appearance thereof be deeper than the skin; it is leprosy, it hath broken out in the burning: and the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.
²⁶ But if the priest look on it, and, behold, there be no white hair in the bright spot, and it be no lower than the skin, but be dim; then the priest shall shut him up seven days:
²⁷ and the priest shall look upon him the seventh day: if it spread abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.
²⁸ And if the bright spot stay in its place, and be not spread in the skin, but be dim; it is the rising of the burning, and the priest shall pronounce him clean: for it is the scar of the burning.
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.

(A scall was a "scab or skin eruption" that was in the hair or beard. Dandruff is a light version of this.)

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.
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 spots 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.

(A tetter was a "freckled spot or a harmless eruption of the skin.")

⁴⁰ And if a man's hair be fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean.
⁴¹ And if his hair be fallen off from the front part of his head, he is forehead bald; yet is he clean.
⁴² But if there be in the bald head, or the bald forehead, a reddish-white plague; it is leprosy breaking out in his bald head, or his bald forehead.
⁴³ Then the priest shall look upon him; and, behold, if the rising of the plague be reddish-white in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, as the appearance of leprosy in the skin of the flesh;
⁴⁴ he is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall surely pronounce him unclean; his plague is in his head.

(When leprosy was found on the head, it was "surely pronounced" or "utterly" unclean. God covered the details for diagnosing leprosy: like sin, it started as seemingly nothing and continued to grow until it took over the entire body.)

(Verses 45-46: The result of leprosy.)

⁴⁵ And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and the hair of his head shall go loose, and he shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
⁴⁶ All the days wherein the plague is in him he shall be unclean; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his dwelling be.

(The correct response to leprosy was: clothes torn, head bare, cry "Unclean, unclean," and live alone.)

(Verses 47-59: Leprosy in a garment.)

⁴⁷ The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment;
⁴⁸ whether it be in warp, or woof; of linen, or of woollen; whether in a skin, or in anything made of skin;
⁴⁹ if the plague be greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything of skin; it is the plague of leprosy, and shall be showed unto the priest.
⁵⁰ And the priest shall look upon the plague, and shut up that which hath the plague seven days:
⁵¹ and he shall look on the plague on the seventh day: if the plague be spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in the skin, whatever service skin is used for; the plague is a fretting leprosy; it is unclean.
⁵² And he shall burn the garment, whether the warp or the woof, in woollen or in linen, or anything of skin, wherein the plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it shall be burnt in the fire.
⁵³ And if the priest shall look, and, behold, the plague be not spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything of skin;
⁵⁴ then the priest shall command that they wash the thing wherein the plague is, and he shall shut it up seven days more:
⁵⁵ and the priest shall look, after that the plague is washed; and, behold, if the plague have not changed its color, and the plague be not spread, it is unclean; thou shalt burn it in the fire: it is a fret, whether the bareness be within or without.
⁵⁶ And if the priest look, and, behold, the plague be dim after the washing thereof, then he shall rend it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof:
⁵⁷ and if it appear still in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything of skin, it is breaking out: thou shalt burn that wherein the plague is with fire.
⁵⁸ And the garment, either the warp, or the woof, or whatsoever thing of skin it be, which thou shalt wash, if the plague be departed from them, then it shall be washed the second time, and shall be clean.
⁵⁹ This is the law of the plague of leprosy in a garment of woollen or linen, either in the warp, or the woof, or anything of skin, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.

(The details for leprosy in a garment: priest judged whether garment could pass on leprosy.)




Leviticus 14

(This chapter continued the theme of sanitation, specifically the rituals for the cleansing of a leper.)

(Verses 1-9: the first seven days of the ritual.)

¹ And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
² This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: he shall be brought unto the priest:
³ and the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look; and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper,
⁴ then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two living clean birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
⁵ And the priest shall command to kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water.
⁶ As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and 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:
⁷ And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let go the living bird into the open field.
⁸ And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water; and he shall be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, but shall dwell outside his tent seven days.
⁹ And it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.

(The first seven days resembled Jesus' death on cross: one bird killed (Jesus), one bird lived (Holy Spirit), hyssop like on cross, shaved all hair like a new born.)

(Verses 10-20: the eighth day.)

¹⁰ And on the eighth day he shall take two he-lambs without blemish, and one ewe-lamb a year old without blemish, and three tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour for a meal-offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.
¹¹ And the priest that cleanseth him shall set the man that is to be cleansed, and those things, before Jehovah, at the door of the tent of meeting.
¹² And the priest shall take one of the he-lambs, and offer him for a trespass-offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave-offering before Jehovah:
¹³ and he shall kill the he-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:
¹⁴ and the priest shall take of the blood of the trespass-offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.
¹⁵ And the priest shall take of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand;
¹⁶ and the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before Jehovah:
¹⁷ and of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass-offering:
¹⁸ and the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make atonement for him before Jehovah.
¹⁹ And the priest shall offer the sin-offering, and make atonement for him that is to be cleansed because of his uncleanness: and afterward he shall kill the burnt-offering;
²⁰ and the priest shall offer the burnt-offering and the meal-offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

(The details for the eighth day: two male lambs and oil just like when consecrating a priest. This ritual was rarely performed because few were cured from leprosy. So those who did had a "calling." More symbolism to being a follower of Jesus.)

(Verses 21-32: Provisions for the poor to fulfill the ritual for a cleansed leper.)

²¹ And if he be poor, and cannot get so much, then he shall take one he-lamb for a trespass-offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, and one tenth part of an ephah of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering, and a log of oil;
²² and two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin-offering, and the other a burnt-offering.
²³ And on the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tent of meeting, before Jehovah:
²⁴ and 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 Jehovah.
²⁵ And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass-offering; and the priest shall take of the blood of the trespass-offering, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.
²⁶ And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand;
²⁷ and the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before Jehovah:
²⁸ and the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass-offering:
²⁹ and the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before Jehovah.
³⁰ And he shall offer one of the turtle-doves, or of the young pigeons, such as he is able to get,
³¹ even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering, with the meal-offering: and the priest shall make atonement for him that is to be cleansed before Jehovah.
³² This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, who is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing.

(The process for a poor person: one lamb.)

(Verses 33-42: Diagnosis of leprosy in a house.)

³³ And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
³⁴ When ye are come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;
³⁵ then he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, There seemeth to me to be as it were a plague in the house.
³⁶ And the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest goeth in to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house:
³⁷ and he shall look on the plague; and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow streaks, greenish or reddish, and the appearance thereof be lower than the wall;
³⁸ then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days.
³⁹ And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look; and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house;
⁴⁰ then the priest shall command that they take out the stones in which the plague is, and cast them into an unclean place without the city:
⁴¹ and he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the mortar, that they scrape off, without the city into an unclean place:
⁴² and 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.

(How to diagnose leprosy in a house was similar to diagnosing leprosy in a garment.)

(Verses 43-53: Cleansing the house infested with leprosy.)

⁴³ And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken out the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plastered;
⁴⁴ then the priest shall come in and look; and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean.
⁴⁵ And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the mortar of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.
⁴⁶ Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even.
⁴⁷ And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes.
⁴⁸ And if the priest shall come in, and look, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plastered; then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.
⁴⁹ And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
⁵⁰ and he shall kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water:
⁵¹ and he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and 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:
⁵² and he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet:
⁵³ but he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open field: so shall he make atonement for the house; and it shall be clean.

(How a house that was unclean with leprosy was cleaned was also similar to cleaning a garment.)

(Verses 54-57: Summary of the laws of leprosy.)

⁵⁴ This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and for a scall,
⁵⁵ and for the leprosy of a garment, and for a house,
⁵⁶ and for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot;
⁵⁷ to teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.




Leviticus 15

(This chapter continued the theme of sanitation and was specifically concerned with the uncleanness of men and women by their issues and their cleansing.)

(Verses 1-15: Abnormal bodily discharge from a man.)

¹ And Jehovah spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying,
² Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath an issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean.
³ And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness.
⁴ Every bed whereon he that hath the issue lieth shall be unclean; and everything whereon he sitteth shall be unclean.
⁵ And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

(God spoke to Moses and Aaron regarding chronic discharges (illness): treated like a light version of leprosy. "Issue" came from the Hebrew word zowb which meant "a flow, issue, discharge, flux.")

⁶ And he that sitteth on anything whereon he that hath the issue sat shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
⁷ And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
⁸ And if he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean, then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
⁹ And what saddle soever he that hath the issue rideth upon shall be unclean.
¹⁰ And whosoever toucheth anything that was under him shall be unclean until the even: and he that beareth those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
¹¹ And whomsoever he that hath the issue toucheth, without having rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
¹² And the earthen vessel, which he that hath the issue toucheth, shall be broken; and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.
¹³ And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue, then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes; and he shall bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean.
¹⁴ And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, and come before Jehovah unto the door of the tent of meeting, and give them unto the priest:
¹⁵ and the priest shall offer them, the one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him before Jehovah for his issue.

(Verses 16-18: Normal bodily discharge from a man.)

¹⁶ And if any man's seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall bathe all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even.
¹⁷ And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even.
¹⁸ The woman also with whom a man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even.

(There was a cleansing ritual for anyone coming in contact with the discharge.)

(Verses 19-24: Impurity during menstruation for a woman.)

¹⁹ And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be in her impurity seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.
²⁰ And everything that she lieth upon in her impurity shall be unclean: everything also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.
²¹ And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
²² And whosoever toucheth anything that she sitteth upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
²³ And if it be on the bed, or on anything whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.
²⁴ And if any man lie with her, and her impurity be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.

(Coming in contact with the discharge from menstruation required a cleansing ritual.)

(Verses 25-30: Unusual or abnormal bodily discharge for a woman.)

²⁵ And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days not in the time of her impurity, or if she have an issue beyond the time of her impurity; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness she shall be as in the days of her impurity: she is unclean.
²⁶ Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her impurity: and everything whereon she sitteth shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her impurity.
²⁷ And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
²⁸ But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean.
²⁹ And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tent of meeting.
³⁰ And the priest shall offer the one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her before Jehovah for the issue of her uncleanness.

(Details for the cleansing ritual for unusual female discharges (bleeding other than menstruation): two birds sacrificed. One for sin and one for burnt offerings.)

(Verses 31-33: Summary of the laws of bodily discharge.)

³¹ Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is in the midst of them.
³² This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed of copulation goeth from him, so that he is unclean thereby;
³³ and of her that is sick with her impurity, and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and of the woman, and of him that lieth with her that is unclean.

(There was some thought that these laws were meant to distinguish the children of Israel from other nations where sex with temple prostitutes occurred. The seed and the blood were symbols of life and redemption, so they were included together in this chapter and people who had these issues were not sinful, they were considered unclean.)

(This post continued the theme from chapters 11-16 which covered sanitation: leprosy and the bodily issues of men and women.)

Day 35