Leviticus 13:18-20

A Boil on the Skin

13:18 “When someone’s body has a boil on its skin ¹  and it heals, 13:19 and in the place of the boil there is a white swelling or a reddish white bright spot, he must show himself to the priest. ²  13:20 The priest will then examine it, ³  and if ⁴  it appears to be deeper than the skin ⁵  and its hair has turned white, then the priest is to pronounce the person unclean. ⁶  It is a diseased infection that has broken out in the boil. ⁷ 

Deuteronomy 28:27

28:27 The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, eczema, and scabies, all of which cannot be healed.

Deuteronomy 28:35

28:35 The Lord will afflict you in your knees and on your legs with painful, incurable boils – from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.

Job 2:7

Job’s Integrity in Suffering

2:7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and he afflicted ⁸  Job with a malignant ulcer ⁹  from the sole of his feet to the top of his head. ¹⁰ 

Revelation 16:2

16:2 So ¹¹  the first angel ¹²  went and poured out his bowl on the earth. Then ¹³  ugly and painful sores ¹⁴  appeared on the people ¹⁵  who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.

[13:18]  ¹ tc Heb (MT) reads, “And flesh if/when there is in it, in its skin, a boil.” Smr has only “in it,” not “in its skin,” and a few medieval Hebrew mss as well as the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate have only “in its skin” (cf. v. 24 below), not “in it.” It does not effect the meaning of the verse, but one is tempted to suggest that “in it” (בוֹ, vo) was added in error as a partial dittography from the beginning of “in its skin” (בְעֹרוֹ, vÿ’oro).

[13:19]  ² tn Some English versions translate “it shall be shown to [or “be seen by”] the priest,” taking the infection to be the subject of the verb (e.g., KJV, NASB, RSV, NRSV). Based on the Hebrew grammar there is no way to be sure which is intended.

[13:20]  ³ tn Heb “and the priest shall see.” The pronoun “it” is unexpressed, but it should be assumed and it refers to the infection (cf. the note on v. 8 above).

[13:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “and behold.”

[13:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “and behold its appearance is low (שָׁפָל, shafal) ‘from’ (comparative מִן, min, “lower than”) the skin.” Compare “deeper” in v. 3 above where, however, a different word is used (עָמֹק, ’amoq), and see the note on “swelling” in v. 1 above (cf. J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 192; note that, contrary to the MT, Tg. Onq. has עָמֹק in this verse as well as v. 4). The alternation of these two terms (i.e., “deeper” and “lower”) in vv. 25-26 below shows that they both refer to the same phenomenon. Some have argued that “this sore was lower than the surrounding skin” (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:773, 788), in which case “swelling” would be an inappropriate translation of שְׂאֵת (sÿ’et) in v. 19. It seems unlikely, however, that the surface of a “boil” would sink below the surface of the surrounding skin. The infectious pus etc. that makes up a boil normally causes swelling.

[13:20]  ⁶ tn The declarative Piel of the verb טָמֵא (tame’, cf. the note on v. 3 above).

[13:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “It is an infection of disease. In the boil it has broken out.” For the rendering “diseased infection” see the note on v. 2 above.

[2:7]  ⁸ tn The verb is נָכָה (nakhah, “struck, smote”); it can be rendered in this context as “afflicted.”

[2:7]  ⁹ sn The general consensus is that Job was afflicted with a leprosy known as elephantiasis, named because the rough skin and the swollen limbs are animal-like. The Hebrew word שְׁחִין (shÿkhin, “boil”) can indicate an ulcer as well. Leprosy begins with such, but so do other diseases. Leprosy normally begins in the limbs and spreads, but Job was afflicted everywhere at once. It may be some other disease also characterized by such a malignant ulcer. D. J. A. Clines has a thorough bibliography on all the possible diseases linked to this description (Job [WBC], 48). See also HALOT 1460 s.v. שְׁחִין.

[2:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “crown.”

[16:2]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the directions given by the voice from the temple.

[16:2]  ¹² tn Grk “the first”; the referent (the first angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:2]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[16:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “ulcerated sores”; the term in the Greek text is singular but is probably best understood as a collective singular.

[16:2]  ¹⁵ tn Grk ‘the men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") and refers to both men and women.