Bible Commentaries

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Leviticus 14

Introduction

1  The rites and sacrifices in cleansing the leper.
33  The signs of leprosy in a house.
48  The cleansing of that house.

Verse 2

This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:
the law
54-57, 13:59
in the day
Numbers 6:9
He shall
Matthew 8:2-4, Mark 1:40-44, Luke 5:12-14, 17:14

Verse 3

And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper;
go forth
Lepers were obliged to live in a detached situation, separate from other people, and to keep themselves actually at a distance from them. They were distinguished by a peculiar dress; and if any person approached, they were bound to give him warning, by crying out, Unclean! unclean!
out of
13:46
be healed
Exodus 15:26, 2 Kings 5:3,7,8,14, Job 5:18, Matthew 10:8, 11:5, Luke 4:27, 7:22, Luke 17:15,16-19, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Verse 4

Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
two birds
or, sparrows. The word tzippor, from the Arabic zaphara, to fly, is used in the Scriptures to denote birds of every species, particularly small birds. But it is often used in a more restricted sense, as the Hebrew writers assert, to signify the sparrow. Aquinas says the same; and Jerome renders it here the sparrow. So the Greek [strouthia] in Matthew and Luke, which signifies a sparrow, is rendered by the Syriac translator tzipparin, the same as the Hebrew tzipporim. Nor is it peculiar to the Hebrews to give the same name to the sparrow and to fowls of the largest size; for Nicander calls the hen [strouthos katoikados] the domestic sparrow, and both Plautus and Ausonius call the ostrich, passer marinus, "the marine sparrow." It is evident, however, that the word in this passage signifies birds in general; for if the sparrow was a clean bird, there was no necessity for commanding a clean one to be taken, since every one of the species was ceremonially clean; but if it was unclean, then it could not be called clean.
1:14, 5:7, 12:8
cedar
6,49-52, Numbers 19:6
scarlet
Hebrews 9:19
hyssop
Exodus 12:22, Numbers 19:18, Psalms 51:7

Verse 5

And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:
earthen vessel
50, Numbers 5:17, 2 Corinthians 4:7, 5:1, 13:4, Hebrews 2:14

Verse 6

As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:
the living bird
John 14:19, Romans 4:25, 5:10, Philippians 2:9-11, Hebrews 1:3, Revelation 1:18
dip them
51-53, Zechariah 13:1, Revelation 1:5

Verse 7

And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.
sprinkle
Numbers 19:18,19, Isaiah 52:15, Ezekiel 36:25, John 19:34, Hebrews 9:13,19,21, Hebrews 10:22, 12:24, 1 Peter 1:2, 1 John 5:6
seven times
51, 4:6,17, 8:11, 16:14,19, 2 Kings 5:10,14, Psalms 51:2,7, Ephesians 5:26,27
pronounce
13:13,17
let
16:22, Daniel 9:24, Micah 7:19, Hebrews 9:26
into the open field
Heb. upon the face of the field.

Verse 8

And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.
wash his
11:25, 13:6, 15:5-8, Exodus 19:10,14, Numbers 8:7, Revelation 7:14
wash himself
8:6, 1 Peter 3:21, Revelation 1:5,6
and shall
Numbers 12:15
seven days
8:33-35, 13:5

Verse 9

But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.
shave all
Numbers 6:9, 8:7
wash his flesh
Lictenstein states that "among the Koossas, (a nation of South Africa,) there are certain prevailing notions respecting moral [ceremonial] uncleanness. All children are unclean till they are admitted among grown-up persons (which happens with the males through the various ceremonies attending circumcision); all lying-in women are unclean for the first month; all men who have lost their wives, for a fortnight, and all widows for a month; a mother who has lost a child, for two days; all persons who have been present at a death, the men returning from a battle, etc. No one may have intercourse with such an unclean person, till he has washed himself, rubbed his body with fresh paint, and rinsed his mouth with milk. But he must not do this till after the lapse of a certain time, fixed by general consent for each particular case, and during this time he must wholly refrain from washing, painting, or drinking milk."

Verse 10

And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.
eighth day
23, 9:1, 15:13,14
take
Matthew 8:4, Mark 1:44, Luke 5:14
he lambs
1:10, John 1:29, 1 Peter 1:19
ewe lamb
4:32, Numbers 6:14
of the first year
Heb. the daughter of her year. three tenth.
23:13, Exodus 29:40, Numbers 15:9, 28:20
a meat offering
2:1, Numbers 15:4-15, John 6:33,51
log of oil
12,15,21,24

Verse 11

And the priest that maketh him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
8:3, Exodus 29:1-4, Numbers 8:6-11,21, Ephesians 5:26,27, Jude 1:24

Verse 12

And the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him for a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD:
trespass
5:2,3,6,7,18,19, 6:6,7, Isaiah 53:10
wave them
8:27-29, Exodus 29:24

Verse 13

And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place: for as the sin offering is the priest's, so is the trespass offering: it is most holy:
in the place
1:5,11, 4:4,24, Exodus 29:11
as the sin
7:7, 10:17
it is most holy
2:3, 7:6, 21:22

Verse 14

And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:
8:23,24, Exodus 29:20, Isaiah 1:5, Romans 6:13,19, 12:1, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 7:1, Philippians 1:20, 1 Peter 1:14,15, 2:5,9,10, Revelation 1:5,6

Verse 15

And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand:
Psalms 45:7, John 3:34, 1 John 2:20

Verse 16

And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD:
4:6,17, Luke 17:18, 1 Corinthians 10:31

Verse 17

And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering:
14, 8:30, Exodus 29:20,21, Ezekiel 36:27, John 1:16, Titus 3:3-6, 1 Peter 1:2

Verse 18

And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD.
the remnant
8:12, Exodus 29:7, 2 Corinthians 1:21,22, Ephesians 1:17,18
make an atonement
4:26,31, 5:16

Verse 19

And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering:
12, 5:1,6, 12:6-8, Romans 8:3, 2 Corinthians 5:21

Verse 20

And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean.
10, Ephesians 5:2

Verse 21

And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil;
poor
1:14, 5:7, 12:8, 1 Samuel 2:8, Job 34:19, Proverbs 17:5, 22:2, Luke 6:20, 21:2-4, 2 Corinthians 8:9,12, James 2:5,6
cannot
Heb. his hand reach not. one lamb.
to be waved
Heb. for a waving.

Verse 22

And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering.
two turtle doves
Tor, the turtle or ring-dove, so called by an onomatopoeia from its cooing, as in Greek [trugon], Latin, turtur and English, turtle. It is a species of the dove or pigeon, here called yonah, and in the Syriac yauno, from the verb to oppress, afflict, because of its being particularly defenceless, and exposed to rapine and violence. The dove is a genus of birds too well known to need a particular description; and of which there are several species besides the turtle-dove; as the wood pigeon, tame pigeon, and others. The dove is universally allowed to be one of the most beautiful objects in nature. The brilliancy of her plumage, the splendour of her eye, the innocence of her look, the excellence of her dispositions, and the purity of her manners, have been the theme of admiration and praise in every age. To the snowy whiteness of her wings, and the rich golden hues that adorn her neck, the inspired Psalmist alludes in most elegant strains. (Ps 68:13.) The voice of the dove is particularly tender and plaintive, and bears a striking resemblance to the groan of a person in distress; to which the inspired bards frequently allude. (Isa 38:14; 59:11; Eze 7:16.) Her native dwelling is in the caves or hollows of the rock; allusions to which fact also occur in the Sacred Writings, (So 2:14; Jer 48:28.) Her manners are as engaging as her form is elegant, and her plumage rich and beautiful. She is the chosen emblem of simplicity, gentleness, chastity, and feminine timidity, and for this reason, as well as from their abounding in the East, they were probably chosen as offerings by Jehovah.
Psalms 68:13, Song of Solomon 2:14, Isaiah 38:14, 59:11, Jeremiah 48:28, Ezekiel 7:16

Verse 23

Leviticus 14:11


Verse 24

Leviticus 14:10-13


Verse 25

And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:
14-20, Psalms 40:6, Ecclesiastes 5:1

Verse 29

And the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the LORD.
18,20, Exodus 30:15,16, John 17:19, 1 John 2:1,2, 5:6

Verse 30

And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get;
22, 12:8, 15:14,15, Luke 2:24, Romans 8:3

Verse 32

This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing.
2,54-57, 13:59
whose hand
10,21, Psalms 72:12-14, 136:23, Matthew 11:5, 1 Corinthians 1:27,28

Verse 34

When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;
When
23:10, 25:2, Numbers 35:10, Deuteronomy 7:2, 12:1,8, 19:1, 26:1, 27:3
which I
Genesis 12:7, 13:17, 17:8, Numbers 32:32, Deuteronomy 12:9,10, 32:49, Joshua 13:1
I put the plague of leprosy
It was probably from this text, that the leprosy has been in general considered to be a supernatural disease, inflicted immediately by God himself; but it cannot be inferred from this expression, as it is well known, that in Scripture, God is frequently represented as doing what, in the course of his providence, he only permits to be done.
Exodus 15:26, Deuteronomy 7:15, 1 Samuel 2:6, Proverbs 3:33, Isaiah 45:7, Amos 3:6, 6:11, Micah 6:9

Verse 35

And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house:
a plague
Deuteronomy 7:26, Joshua 7:21, 1 Samuel 3:12-14, 1 Kings 13:34, Psalms 91:10, Proverbs 3:33, Zechariah 5:4

Verse 36

Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house:
empty
or, prepare. be not made.
1 Corinthians 15:33, 2 Timothy 2:17,18, Hebrews 12:15, Revelation 18:4

Verse 37

And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall;
13:3,19,20,42,49

Verse 38

Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days:
13:50

Verse 39

And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house;
13:7,8,22,27,36,51, The consideration of the circumstances will exhibit the importance and the propriety of the Mosaic ordinance on the subject of the house leprosy. 1. Moses ordained that the owner of a house, when any suspicious spots appeared on the walls, should be bound to give notice of it, in order that the house might be inspected, and that person, as in the case of the human leprosy, was to be the priest, whose duty it was. Now this would serve to check the mischief at its very origin, and make every one attentive to observe it. 2. On notice being given, the priest was to inspect the house, but the occupant had liberty to remove everything previously out of it; and that this might be done, the priest was empowered to order it ex officio; for whatever was found within a house declared unclean, became unclean along with it. 3. If, on the first inspection, the complaint did not appear wholly without foundation, but suspicious spots or dimples were actually to be seen, the house was to be shut up for seven days and then to be inspected anew. If, in this interval, the evil did not spread, it was considered as have been a circumstance merely accidental, and the house was not polluted; but if it had spread, it was not considered a harmless accident, but the real house leprosy; and the stones affected with it were to be broken out of the wall, and carried to an unclean place without the city, and the walls of the whole house here scraped and plastered anew. 4. If, after this, the leprosy broke out afresh, the whole house was to be pulled down, and the materials carried without the city. Moses therefore, never suffered a leprous house to stand. 5. If, on the other hand, the house being inspected a second time, was found clean, it was solemnly so declared, and offering made on the occasion; in order that every one might know for certain that it was not infected, and the public be freed from all fears on that score. By this law many evils were actually prevented--it would check the mischief in its very origin, and make every one attentive to observe it: the people would also guard against those impurities whence it arose, and thus the health be preserved and not suffer in an infected house. These Mosaic statues were intended to prevent infection by the sacred obligations of religion. Ceremonial laws many keep more conscientiously and sacredly than moral precepts.

Verse 40

Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city:
take away
Psalms 101:5,7,8, Proverbs 22:10, 25:4,5, Isaiah 1:25,26, Matthew 18:17, John 15:2, 1 Corinthians 5:5,6,13, Titus 3:10, 2 John 1:10,11, Revelation 2:2,6,14-16,20
without the city
Revelation 22:15

Verse 41

And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place:
into an unclean place
Job 36:13,14, Isaiah 65:4, Matthew 8:28, 24:51, 1 Timothy 1:20, Revelation 22:15

Verse 42

And they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other morter, and shall plaister the house.
Genesis 18:19, Joshua 24:15, 2 Chronicles 17:7-9, 19:5-7, 29:4,5, Psalms 101:6, Acts 1:20-26, 1 Timothy 5:9,10,21,22, 2 Timothy 2:2, Titus 1:5-9

Verse 43

And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plaistered;
Jeremiah 6:28-30, Ezekiel 24:13, Hebrews 6:4-8, 2 Peter 2:20,22, Jude 1:12

Verse 44

Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean.
13:51,52, Zechariah 5:4

Verse 45

And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.
break down
1 Kings 9:6-9, 2 Kings 10:27, 17:20-23, 18:4, 25:4-12,25,26, Jeremiah 52:13, Ezekiel 5:4, Matthew 22:7, 24:2, Romans 11:7-11, Revelation 11:2
into an unclean place

Verse 46

Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even.
shall be unclean
11:24,25,28, 15:5-8,10, 17:15, 22:6, Numbers 19:7-10,21,22

Verse 47

And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes.
wash his clothes
8,9

Verse 48

And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plaistered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.
shall come in
Heb. in coming in shall come in, etc. because.
3, Job 5:18, Hosea 6:1, Mark 5:29,34, Luke 7:21, 1 Corinthians 6:11

Verse 49

Leviticus 14:4-7


Verse 53

Leviticus 14:20


Verse 54

This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall,
the law
2,32, 6:9,14,25, 7:1,37, 11:46, 15:32, Numbers 5:29, 6:13, 19:14, Deuteronomy 24:8
scall
13:30,31

Verse 55

And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house,
the leprosy
13:47-59
of a house

Verse 56

And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot:
a rising
13:2

Verse 57

To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.
teach
10:10, Jeremiah 15:19, Ezekiel 44:23
when it is unclean, and when it is clean
Heb. in the day of the unclean, and in the day of the clean. this is.
Deuteronomy 24:8

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