Leviticus
Summary
Leviticus Chapter 13 provides detailed instructions for the priests to diagnose and manage various skin diseases and mildew on clothing. It describes the symptoms of conditions that would render a person "unclean," requiring them to be isolated from the camp to protect the health of the community. The priests were responsible for careful observation and quarantining, serving as the nation’s spiritual and physical health officers. A person declared unclean had to cry out "Unclean! Unclean!" to warn others, reflecting the serious and visible nature of being separated from the presence of God and the assembly.
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
"When anyone has a swelling or a rash or a bright spot on their skin that may be a defiling skin disease, they must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest.
The priest is to examine the sore on the skin, and if the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a defiling skin disease. The priest shall pronounce them ceremonially unclean.
If the spot on the skin is white but does not appear to be deeper than the skin and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest is to isolate them for seven days.
On the seventh day the priest is to examine them, and if the sore is unchanged and has not spread, he is to isolate them for another seven days.
If on the seventh day the sore has faded and not spread, the priest shall pronounce them clean; it is only a rash. They must wash their clothes and be clean.
But if the rash spreads after they have been pronounced clean, they must appear before the priest again.
The priest is to examine them, and if the rash has spread, he shall pronounce them unclean; it is a defiling skin disease.
"When anyone has a defiling skin disease, they must be brought to the priest.
The priest is to examine them, and if there is a white swelling that has turned the hair white and has raw flesh in it,
it is a chronic skin disease and the priest shall pronounce them unclean. He is not to isolate them, because they are already unclean.
If the disease breaks out all over their skin and covers the person from head to foot,
the priest is to examine them, and if it covers their whole body, he shall pronounce them clean. Since it has all turned white, they are clean.
But whenever raw flesh appears on them, they will be unclean.
The priest shall pronounce them unclean when he sees the raw flesh. Raw flesh is unclean; it is a defiling disease.
If the raw flesh changes and turns white, they must go to the priest.
The priest is to examine them, and if the sores have turned white, the priest shall pronounce them clean; then they will be clean.
"If anyone has a boil on their skin and it heals,
but in its place a white swelling or reddish-white spot appears, they must show themselves to the priest.
The priest is to examine it, and if it appears deeper than the skin and its hair has turned white, he shall pronounce them unclean; it is a defiling disease that has broken out in the boil.
But if the priest examines it and finds no white hair in it and it is not deeper than the skin and has faded, he is to isolate them for seven days.
If it is spreading in the skin, the priest shall pronounce them unclean; it is a defiling disease.
But if the spot is unchanged and has not spread, it is only a scar from the boil, and the priest shall pronounce them clean.
"When anyone has a burn on their skin and a reddish-white or white spot appears in the raw flesh of the burn,
the priest is to examine it, and if the hair in the spot has turned white and it appears deeper than the skin, it is a defiling disease that has broken out in the burn. The priest shall pronounce them unclean; it is a defiling skin disease.
But if the priest finds no white hair in the spot and it is not deeper than the skin and has faded, he is to isolate them for seven days.
On the seventh day the priest is to examine them, and if it is spreading in the skin, he shall pronounce them unclean; it is a defiling skin disease.
If, however, the spot is unchanged and has not spread in the skin and has faded, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce them clean; it is only a scar from the burn.
"If a man or woman has a sore on their head or chin,
the priest is to examine the sore, and if it appears deeper than the skin and the hair in it is yellow and thin, he shall pronounce them unclean; it is an itch, a defiling skin disease on the head or chin.
But if the priest examines the sore and finds that it does not appear deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, he is to isolate the affected person for seven days.
On the seventh day the priest is to examine the sore, and if the itch has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it and it does not appear deeper than the skin,
then the person must shave themselves, except for the itch, and the priest is to isolate them for another seven days.
On the seventh day the priest is to examine the itch, and if it has not spread in the skin and does not appear deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce them clean. They shall wash their clothes and be clean.
But if the itch spreads in the skin after they are pronounced clean,
the priest is to examine them, and if the itch has spread in the skin, he does not need to look for yellow hair; they are unclean.
If, however, the itch is unchanged and black hair has grown in it, the itch is healed. They are clean, and the priest shall pronounce them clean.
"When a man or woman has white spots on the skin,
the priest is to examine them, and if the spots are dull white, it is a harmless rash that has broken out on the skin; they are clean.
"A man who has lost his hair and is bald is clean.
If he has lost hair from the front of his scalp and has a bald forehead, he is clean.
But if he has a reddish-white sore on his bald head or forehead, it is a defiling disease breaking out on his head or forehead.
The priest is to examine him, and if the swollen sore on his head or forehead is reddish-white like a defiling skin disease,
the man is diseased and is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him unclean because of the sore on his head.
"Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’
As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.
"As for any fabric that has a defiling mould in it, whether it is wool or linen,
whether woven or knitted, or on leather or anything made of leather,
if the mould in the fabric or leather is greenish or reddish, it is a defiling mould and must be shown to the priest.
The priest is to examine the mould and isolate the affected object for seven days.
On the seventh day he is to examine the mould, and if it has spread in the fabric, the mould is a destructive one; the object is unclean.
He must burn the fabric or the leather object that has the spreading mould, because it is a destructive mould; the object must be burned.
But if the priest examines it and the mould has not spread in the fabric or leather,
he shall order that the affected object be washed and then isolate it for another seven days.
If after it is washed the mould has not changed its appearance, even if it has not spread, it is unclean. Burn it, whether the mould is on the inside or the outside.
If, when the priest examines it, the mould has faded after the object is washed, he is to tear the affected part out of the fabric or leather.
But if it reappears in the fabric or leather, it is spreading; whatever has the mould must be burned.
Any fabric or leather article that has the mould washed out of it must be washed a second time, and then it will be clean.
These are the regulations concerning a defiling mould in a fabric of wool or linen, or in any leather article, to determine whether it is clean or unclean.