Leviticus 13:45

The Life of the Person with Skin Disease

13:45 “As for the diseased person who has the infection, ¹  his clothes must be torn, the hair of his head must be unbound, he must cover his mustache, ²  and he must call out ‘Unclean! Unclean!’

Ezekiel 24:17

24:17 Groan in silence for the dead, ³  but do not perform mourning rites. ⁴  Bind on your turban ⁵  and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lip ⁶  and do not eat food brought by others.” ⁷ 

Ezekiel 24:22

24:22 Then you will do as I have done: You will not cover your lip or eat food brought by others. ⁸ 

[13:45]  ¹ tn Heb “And the diseased one who in him is the infection.”

[13:45]  ² tn Heb “and his head shall be unbound, and he shall cover on [his] mustache.” Tearing one’s clothing, allowing the hair to hang loose rather than bound up in a turban, and covering the mustache on the upper lip are all ways of expressing shame, grief, or distress (cf., e.g., Lev 10:6 and Micah 3:7).

[24:17]  ³ tn Or “Groan silently. As to the dead….” Cf. M. Greenberg’s suggestion that דֹּם מֵתִים (dom metim) be taken together and דֹּם be derived from ָדּמַם (damam, “to moan, murmur”). See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:508.

[24:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “(For) the dead mourning you shall not conduct.” In the Hebrew text the word translated “dead” is plural, indicating that mourning rites are in view. Such rites would involve outward demonstrations of one’s sorrow, including wailing and weeping.

[24:17]  ⁵ sn The turban would normally be removed for mourning (Josh 7:6; 1 Sam 4:12).

[24:17]  ⁶ sn Mourning rites included covering the lower part of the face. See Lev 13:45.

[24:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “the bread of men.” The translation follows the suggestion accepted by M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 2:509) that this refers to a meal brought by comforters to the one mourning. Some repoint the consonantal text to read “the bread of despair” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:56), while others, with support from the Targum and Vulgate, emend the consonantal text to read “the bread of mourners” (see D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:784).

[24:22]  ⁸ tn See v. 17.