Discovery BoxLeviticus 14:40-57
Context14:40 then the priest is to command that the stones that had the infection in them be pulled and thrown 1 outside the city 2 into an unclean place. 14:41 Then he is to have the house scraped 3 all around on the inside, 4 and the plaster 5 which is scraped off 6 must be dumped outside the city 7 into an unclean place. 14:42 They are then to take other stones and replace those stones, 8 and he is to take other plaster and replaster the house.
14:43 “If the infection returns and breaks out in the house after he has pulled out the stones, scraped the house, and it is replastered, 9 14:44 the priest is to come and examine it, and if 10 the infection has spread in the house, it is a malignant disease in the house. It is unclean. 14:45 He must tear down the house, 11 its stones, its wood, and all the plaster of the house, and bring all of it 12 outside the city to an unclean place. 14:46 Anyone who enters 13 the house all the days the priest 14 has quarantined it will be unclean until evening. 14:47 Anyone who lies down in the house must wash his clothes. Anyone who eats in the house must wash his clothes.
14:48 “If, however, the priest enters 15 and examines it, and the 16 infection has not spread in the house after the house has been replastered, then the priest is to pronounce the house clean because the infection has been healed. 14:49 Then he 17 is to take two birds, a piece of cedar wood, a scrap of crimson fabric, and some twigs of hyssop 18 to decontaminate 19 the house, 14:50 and he is to slaughter one bird into a clay vessel over fresh water. 20 14:51 He must then take the piece of cedar wood, the twigs of hyssop, the scrap of crimson fabric, and the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and in the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 14:52 So he is to decontaminate the house with the blood of the bird, the fresh water, the live bird, the piece of cedar wood, the twigs of hyssop, and the scrap of crimson fabric, 14:53 and he is to send the live bird away outside the city 21 into the open countryside. So he is to make atonement for the house and it will be clean.
14:54 “This is the law for all diseased infections, for scall, 22 14:55 for the diseased garment, 23 for the house, 24 14:56 for the swelling, 25 for the scab, 26 and for the bright spot, 27 14:57 to teach when something is unclean and when it is clean. 28 This is the law for dealing with infectious disease.” 29
[14:40] 1 tn Heb “and the priest shall command and they shall pull out the stones which in them is the infection, and they shall cast them.” The second and third verbs (“they shall pull out” and “they shall throw”) state the thrust of the priest’s command, which suggests the translation “that they pull out…and throw” (cf. also vv. 4a, 5a, and 36a above), and for the impersonal passive rendering of the active verb (“be pulled and thrown”) see the note on v. 4 above.
[14:40] 2 tn Heb “into from outside to the city.”
[14:41] 3 tn Or, according to the plurality of the verb in Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Targums, “Then the house shall be scraped” (cf. NAB, NLT, and the note on v. 40).
[14:41] 4 tn Heb “from house all around.”
[14:41] 5 tn Heb “dust” (so KJV) or “rubble”; NIV “the material”; NLT “the scrapings.”
[14:41] 6 tn Heb “which they have scraped off.” The MT term קִיר (qir, “wall” from קָצָה, qatsah, “to cut off”; BDB 892), the original Greek does not have this clause, Smr has הקיצו (with uncertain meaning), and the BHS editors and HALOT 1123-24 s.v. I קצע hif.a suggest emending the verb to הִקְצִעוּ (hiqtsi’u, see the same verb at the beginning of this verse; cf. some Greek
[14:41] 7 tn Heb “into from outside to the city.”
[14:42] 8 tn Heb “and bring into under the stones.”
[14:43] 9 tn Heb “after he has pulled out the stones, and after scraping (variant form of the Hiphil infinitive construct, GKC 531) the house, and after being replastered (Niphal infinitive construct).”
[14:44] 10 tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “If he sees that the mark has indeed spread.”
[14:45] 11 tn Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Tg. Ps.-J. have the plural verb, perhaps suggesting a passive translation, “The house…shall be torn down” (cf. NAB, NIV, TEV, NLT, and see the note on v. 4b above).
[14:45] 12 tn Once again, Smr, LXX, and Syriac have the plural verb, perhaps to be rendered passive, “shall be brought.”
[14:46] 13 tn Heb “the one who comes into.”
[14:46] 14 tn Heb “he,” referring to the priest (see v. 38). The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:48] 15 tn Heb “And if the priest entering [infinitive absolute] enters [finite verb]” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.
[14:48] 16 tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “and the mark has not indeed spread.”
[14:49] 17 tn The pronoun “he” refers to the priest mentioned in the previous verse.
[14:49] 18 tn Regarding these ritual materials, see the note on v. 4 above.
[14:49] 19 tn Regarding the Piel of חָטָא (khata’, cf. v. 52) meaning to “decontaminate” or “perform a decontamination,” see the notes on Lev 8:15 and 9:15.
[14:50] 20 tn See the note on v. 5 above.
[14:53] 21 tn Heb “to from outside to the city.”
[14:54] 22 tn Heb “and for the scall”; NASB “a scale”; NIV “any infectious skin disease.” Cf. Lev 13:29-37.
[14:55] 23 sn Cf. Lev 13:47-59.
[14:55] 24 sn Cf. Lev 14:33-53.
[14:56] 25 sn Cf. Lev 13:9-28, 43.
[14:56] 27 sn Cf. Lev 13:4, 18-28, 38-39. For explanations of all these terms for disease in Lev 14:56 see 13:2.
[14:57] 28 tn Heb “to teach in the day of the unclean and in the day of the clean.”
[14:57] 29 tn Heb “This is the law of the disease.” Some English versions specify this as “skin disease” (e.g., NIV, NLT), but then have to add “and (+ infectious NLT) mildew” (so NIV) because a house would not be infected with a skin disease.
