Leviticus 13:16-17

13:16 If, however, ¹  the raw flesh once again turns white, ²  then he must come to the priest. 13:17 The priest will then examine it, ³  and if ⁴  the infection has turned white, the priest is to pronounce the person with the infection clean ⁵  – he is clean.

[13:16]  ¹ tn Heb “Or if/when.”

[13:16]  ² tn Heb “the living flesh returns and is turned/changed to white.” The Hebrew verb “returns” is שׁוּב (shuv), which often functions adverbially when combined with a second verb as it is here (cf. “and is turned”) and, in such cases, is usually rendered “again” (see, e.g., GKC 386-87 §120.g). Another suggestion is that here שׁוּב means “to recede” (cf., e.g., 2 Kgs 20:9), so one could translate “the raw flesh recedes and turns white.” This would mean that the new “white” skin “has grown over” the raw flesh (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 79).

[13:17]  ³ tn Heb “and the priest shall see it.”

[13:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

[13:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “the priest shall pronounce the infection clean,” but see v. 4 above. Also, this is another use of the declarative Piel of the verb טָהֵר (taher, cf. the note on v. 6 above).