(The Lord speaking is red text)
Then the priest shall consider: and, behold, [if] the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce [him] clean [that hath] the plague: it is all turned white: he [is] clean.
then the cohen is to examine him, and if he sees that the tzara'at has covered his entire body, he is to pronounce the person with the sores clean -it has all turned white, and he is clean.
the priest shall examine him, and if the disease has covered his entire body, he is to pronounce the infected person clean. Since it has all turned white, he is clean.
then the priest shall look; and, behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: it is all turned white: he is clean.
Then the priest{H3548} shall consider{H7200}: and, behold, if the leprosy{H6883} have covered{H3680} all his flesh{H1320}, he shall pronounce him clean{H2891} that hath the plague{H5061}: it is all turned{H2015} white{H3836}: he is clean{H2889}.
1. Themes:
- Purity and Cleanliness: The verse reflects the theme of maintaining ritual purity within the Israelite community, which is essential for the people's spiritual well-being and their relationship with God.
- Divine Order: It illustrates the importance of divine order, where even seemingly counterintuitive declarations (declaring someone covered in a skin condition clean) are based on God's commandments as mediated through the priesthood.
- Trust in Authority: The instruction underscores the theme of trusting in the authority of the priest as the intermediary between God and the people regarding matters of health and purity.
2. Historical Context:
- The laws concerning leprosy in Leviticus 13 are part of the Holiness Code, which is a set of regulations given to Moses for the Israelites in the wilderness, intended to set them apart as a holy nation.
- Leprosy, or "tzaraath" in Hebrew, likely refers to a range of skin conditions and is not limited to what is known today as Hansen's disease (modern leprosy). These conditions were considered ritually unclean, and those affected were isolated from the community to prevent the spread of impurity.
- The priest's role was to diagnose such conditions and determine when an individual could be considered clean and thus rejoin the community. The criteria for cleanliness were not based on modern medical understanding but on religious and ritual considerations.
- The verse in question (Leviticus 13:13) presents a paradoxical situation where full coverage of the skin condition by white spots signifies a state of purity, possibly indicating that the condition is no longer spreading and the individual poses no further risk to the community according to the standards of the time.
In summary, Leviticus 13:13 deals with the ritual purity laws concerning skin diseases, emphasizing the role of the priest in maintaining the spiritual and physical health of the Israelite community according to the divine instructions given to Moses.
*This commentary is produced by Microsoft/WizardLM-2-8x22B AI model
Note: H = Hebrew (OT), G = Greek (NT)