Leviticus 13:23

13:23 But if the bright spot stays in its place and has not spread, ¹  it is the scar of the boil, so the priest is to pronounce him clean. ² 

Leviticus 16:19

16:19 Then he is to sprinkle on it some of the blood with his finger seven times, and cleanse and consecrate it ³  from the impurities of the Israelites.

Leviticus 13:28

13:28 But if the bright spot stays in its place, has not spread on the skin, ⁴  and it has faded, then it is the swelling of the burn, so the priest is to pronounce him clean, ⁵  because it is the scar of the burn.

Leviticus 13:37

13:37 If, as far as the priest can see, the scall has stayed the same ⁶  and black hair has sprouted in it, the scall has been healed; the person is clean. So the priest is to pronounce him clean. ⁷ 

Leviticus 14:7

14:7 and sprinkle it seven times on the one being cleansed ⁸  from the disease, pronounce him clean, ⁹  and send the live bird away over the open countryside. ¹⁰ 

Leviticus 13:6

13:6 The priest must then examine it again on the seventh day, ¹¹  and if ¹²  the infection has faded and has not spread on the skin, then the priest is to pronounce the person clean. ¹³  It is a scab, ¹⁴  so he must wash his clothes ¹⁵  and be clean.

[13:23]  ¹ tn Heb “and if under it the bright spot stands, it has not spread.”

[13:23]  ² tn This is the declarative Piel of the verb טָהֵר (taher, cf. the note on v. 6 above).

[16:19]  ³ tn Heb “and he shall purify it and he shall consecrate it.”

[13:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “and if under it the bright spot stands, it has not spread in the skin.”

[13:28]  ⁶ tn This is the declarative Piel of the verb טָהֵר (taher; cf. the note on v. 6 above).

[13:37]  ⁷ tn Heb “and if in his eyes the infection has stood.”

[13:37]  ⁸ tn This is the declarative Piel of the verb טָהֵר (taher, cf. the note on v. 6 above).

[14:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “the one cleansing himself” (i.e., Hitpael participle of טָהֵר [taher, “to be clean”]).

[14:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he shall make him clean.” The verb is the Piel of טָהֵר (taher, “to be clean”), here used as a so-called “declarative” Piel (i.e., “to declare clean”; cf. 13:6, etc.).

[14:7]  ¹¹ sn The reddish color of cedar wood and the crimson colored fabric called for in v. 4 (see the note there, esp. the association with the color of blood) as well as the priestly commands to bring “two live” birds (v. 4a), to slaughter one of them “over fresh water” (literally “living water,” v. 5b), and the subsequent ritual with the (second) “live” bird (vv. 6-7) combine to communicate the concept of “life” and “being alive” in this passage. This contrasts with the fear of death associated with the serious skin diseases in view here (see, e.g., Aaron’s description of Miriam’s skin disease in Num 12:12, “Do not let her be like the dead one when it goes out from its mother’s womb and its flesh half eaten away”). Since the slaughtered bird here is not sacrificed at the altar and is not designated as an expiatory “sin offering,” this ritual procedure probably symbolizes the renewed life of the diseased person and displays it publicly for all to see. It is preparatory to the expiatory rituals that will follow (vv. 10-20, esp. vv. 18-20), but is not itself expiatory. Thus, although there are important similarities between the bird ritual here, the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:20-22), and the red heifer for cleansing from corpse contamination (Num 19), this bird ritual is different in that the latter two constitute “sin offerings” (Lev 16:5, 8-10; Num 19:9, 17). Neither of the birds in Lev 14:4-7 is designated or treated as a “sin offering.” Nevertheless, the very nature of the live bird ritual itself and its obvious similarity to the scapegoat ritual suggests that the patient’s disease has been removed far away so that he or she is free from its effects both personally and communally.

[13:6]  ¹¹ tn That is, at the end of the second set of seven days referred to at the end of v. 5, a total of fourteen days after the first appearance before the priest.

[13:6]  ¹² tn Heb “and behold.”

[13:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “he shall make him clean.” The verb is the Piel of טָהֵר (taher, “to be clean”). Here it is a so-called “declarative” Piel (i.e., “to declare clean”), but it also implies that the person is put into the category of being “clean” by the pronouncement itself (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 176; cf. the corresponding opposite in v. 3 above).

[13:6]  ¹⁴ tn On the term “scab” see the note on v. 2 above. Cf. NAB “it was merely eczema”; NRSV “only an eruption”; NLT “only a temporary rash.”

[13:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and he shall wash his clothes.”