Leviticus 14:54

Summary of Purification Regulations for Infections

14:54 “This is the law for all diseased infections, for scall, ¹ 

Leviticus 13:12

13:12 If, however, the disease breaks out ²  on the skin so that the disease covers all the skin of the person with the infection ³  from his head to his feet, as far as the priest can see, ⁴ 

Leviticus 14:57

14:57 to teach when something is unclean and when it is clean. ⁵  This is the law for dealing with infectious disease.” ⁶ 

Leviticus 13:13

13:13 the priest must then examine it, ⁷  and if ⁸  the disease covers his whole body, he is to pronounce the person with the infection clean. ⁹  He has turned all white, so he is clean. ¹⁰ 

Leviticus 14:3

14:3 The priest is to go outside the camp and examine the infection. ¹¹  If the infection of the diseased person has been healed, ¹² 

Leviticus 14:7

14:7 and sprinkle it seven times on the one being cleansed ¹³  from the disease, pronounce him clean, ¹⁴  and send the live bird away over the open countryside. ¹⁵ 

[14:54]  ¹ tn Heb “and for the scall”; NASB “a scale”; NIV “any infectious skin disease.” Cf. Lev 13:29-37.

[13:12]  ² tn Heb “And if spreading [infinitive absolute] it spreads out [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.

[13:12]  ³ tn Heb “all the skin of the infection,” but see v. 4 above.

[13:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “to all the appearance of the eyes of the priest.”

[14:57]  ³ tn Heb “to teach in the day of the unclean and in the day of the clean.”

[14:57]  ⁴ 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.

[13:13]  ⁴ 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).

[13:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

[13:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “he 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).

[13:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “all of him has turned white, and he is clean.”

[14:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he shall be brought to the priest and the priest shall go out to from outside to the camp and the priest shall see [it].” The understood “it” refers to the skin infection itself (see the note on 13:3 above). The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “And behold, the diseased infection has been healed from the diseased person.” The expression “diseased infection” has been translated as simply “infection” to avoid redundancy here in terms of English style.

[14:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “the one cleansing himself” (i.e., Hitpael participle of טָהֵר [taher, “to be clean”]).

[14:7]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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.