Chapter 13

1 The laws and tokens whereby the priest is to be guided in discerning the leprosy.

2. The skin of his flesh. This expression appears only once in the Bible, and it seems to refer to the outer layer of the skin, the epidermis.

Leprosy was prevalent in Egypt in olden times. It was doubtless there that Israel first came into actual contact with it. Yet, in mercy, God promised to protect them from the diseases of Egypt should they obey Him (Ex. 15:26).

A rising, a scab. Rather, “a swelling or an eruption” (RSV). Whenever this occurred the man was to be brought to Aaron or to one of the priests for examination. The expression, “he shall be brought,” implies a man’s natural reluctance to go himself, knowing what it would mean to him and his family were he found infected. For this reason, he was to “be brought.”

The plague of leprosy. The word “leprosy” is derived from a word that means “to strike down,” “to strike to the ground.” Leprosy was therefore a “stroke.” The Jews considered a person stricken with leprosy to be smitten of God.

In the time of Israel, leprosy was considered the most terrible of all afflictions. It was thought to be a direct punishment from God for evil done. Whoever was a sufferer from it—be he prince or peasant—was excluded from society and considered worthy of little sympathy or compassion, an outcast among men.

Some critics suggest that ch. 13 treats of seven different diseases, but that the writer, not being a physician, erroneously believed them to be various aspects of the same disease, and ignorantly called them all leprosy. There is no agreement among critics, however, as to what these seven diseases are. If modern scientists wish to differentiate between varying forms and stages of the plague and give them different names, such is their privilege. The Bible was written for common people and is not particularly concerned with modern, scientific definitions. It uses common terminology designed for the common man.

The Bible gives no information concerning the origin, contagiousness, or cure of the disease. It was considered, as stated above, a punishment for sin. This, indeed, appears to be the case with Miriam (Num. 12:10–15), Gehazi (2 Kings 5:27), and Uzuriah (2 Chron. 26:16–21). But whatever the cause, the sufferer was isolated, driven from home, not permitted to enter any walled city, excluded from the sanctuary, and not allowed to attend any gathering whatever. Upon the approach of another human being, he was to cover his lips and cry, “Unclean, unclean.” Should he enter any house or dwelling, it too became “unclean,” as did anyone who touched him.

The disease in its first stages was marked only with some slight spot upon the skin, which gave no pain or other inconvenience, but it persisted stubbornly. Sometimes months and even years, often many years, intervened between the first appearance of the spots and their full development. Sometimes the symptoms would nearly disappear and give hope of recovery, only to reappear and become more active than ever. In advanced stages the person presented a loathsome sight. The nose and fingers might drop off, the eyelids disappear, the sight completely vanish, and the sufferer look more like an apparition than a living being.

His was a living death. His voice became a grunt, his breath unbearable, his contorted joints buried in or completely dislocated by tubercles, and his body covered with black-blue or leaden-colored patches of raw flesh where the disease had not yet completed its work. The affliction spread until it reached some vital organ, and then culminated in the death of the victim. No more loathsome sight than that of a leper can be conceived. Forsaken by relatives and friends, he was a pitiful spectacle in every way. No wonder men considered him forsaken of God.

One of his sons. It was not necessary that the high priest do the examining. It might be done by any of the priests. According to the Talmud, those of the Levites who were debarred from serving as priests because of bodily imperfections could serve as examiners.

3. The priest shall look. He was to examine the infected area, for it might, or might not, be leprosy. There were two signs for which he was to look, white hair in the spot and a depression in the skin—Jews ordinarily have dark or black hair. Where these two conditions were found to exist, he was pronounced unclean.

4. Deeper. That is, below the outer skin. Leprosy had a deeper cause than the outer skin, but it was there that it first manifested itself.

11. Old leprosy. There would doubtless be cases where a man had failed to present himself to the priest at the first occurrence of any questionable sign of possible leprosy, and where the family had neglected to bring him to the priest, knowing what an unfavorable report would mean. When conditions could be hidden no longer, he went or was brought to the priest. If there was a swelling in the flesh, if the hair in the spot had turned white, and there was “quick raw flesh in the rising” it was “an old leprosy,” and the priest should immediately declare him unclean. There was no need to quarantine him for further observation; he need not be shut up for later examination.

13. Pronounce him clean. This case has caused much discussion. Two views have been held in regard to it: (1) Either the person did not have leprosy at all, but some harmless eruption, or (2) he had had leprosy and was cured. The first of these considerations would seem to be ruled out by the statements, “the leprosy cover all the skin” (v. 12), and “the leprosy have covered all his flesh.” However, it may be that this case of “leprosy” bore only superficial resemblance to what we know as leprosy today (see Additional Note at close of chapter).

18. And is healed. The fourth type of suspected leprosy arose from an abscess or boil. Such a spot is peculiarly subject to infection. The procedure for diagnosis was similar to that of the first case (vs. 2–8).

24. A hot burning. The fifth type of suspected leprosy developed from a burn, which, like a boil, made the skin susceptible to infection. The inspection by the priest and the general procedure for diagnosis are the same as in the previous case (vs. 18–23).

29. Upon the head. The sixth type of suspected leprosy was in the hair or the beard.

38. Bright spots. This is merely a harmless eruption upon the skin, but is included lest some might mistake it for leprosy and so cause undue anxiety to the person and the family. The “freckled spot” is not infectious.

42. In the bald head. Baldness of the head does not constitute uncleanness. But infection may take place there as well as other places, and if a spot appears, it is to be dealt with as in the other cases. The spot in this case is reddish-white, accompanied by a swelling.

45. His clothes shall be rent. A leper wore garments of mourning, and was supposed to act as if death had already gained the victory over him. Rent garments were the customary sign of calamity and deep sorrow (Job 1:20; 2:12; Matt. 26:65). His head was to be “bare,” or rather, unkempt. The hair was neither cut nor combed, and the appearance disheveled. In the latter stages of the disease the eyelids, ears, and nose sloughed off, and the cheek bones became exposed. The victim was about as loathsome a sight as could be imagined. Should he seek refuge under a tree, anyone in the shade of the same tree was considered defiled.

The leper was to dwell alone, without the camp, and could under no circumstances enter a city. He was dependent on charity for a living. Leprosy was truly a “living death.”

47. The garment. That is, any article of clothing. The garments worn by the Israelites were mostly made of wool or linen. Under certain climatic conditions moldy spots might appear upon them.

51. Fretting leprosy. That is, “malignant leprosy” (RSV).

additional note on chapter 13

Many of the symptoms listed in this chapter for various types of “leprosy” are different from the symptoms of the disease now commonly known by that name. Furthermore, Mosaic provisions for ceremonial cleansing imply that those suffering from some forms of “leprosy” recovered in a short time. Until recently no way was known to treat true leprosy successfully.

The word translated “leprosy” is from the Heb. s\araФ, which means to “strike down.” A person afflicted with “leprosy” was stricken down, presumably as a divine punishment for sinful acts. This was true in the cases of Miriam (Num. 12:10), Gehazi (2 Kings 5:27), Uzziah (2 Kings 15:5). In other cases mentioned in the OT it is not clear whether this principle holds true (2 Kings 5:1; 7:3). Gesenius considers that s\araФ is interchangeable with garaФ, and thus contains the idea of scabbiness. The Greek word lepros, from which our word leprosy comes, meant “scaly,” “scabby,” “rough.” Modern leprosy, elephantiasis graecorum, is of three kinds, lepra tuberculoides, characterized by tubercles, lepra maculosa, characterized by spots or streaks, and lepra anaesthetica, or that which affects the nervous system.

It seems most probable that the “leprosy” of Lev. 13 is a general term descriptive of various skin diseases, such as psoriasis and vitiligo, as well as true leprosy. Most of the symptoms here described more closely resemblelepra mosaica, or psoriasis. The “rising” mentioned in v. 2 may be similar to the tubercles characteristic of lepra tuberculoides or possibly lepra anaesthetica. The “bright spot” repeatedly mentioned is thought by some to resemble vitiligo, a tropical disease of which this is a distinctive symptom. In vitiligo the hairs of the affected parts turn white, as in v. 3. The disease begins as small patches, spreads, and often involves large areas of the skin. It is harmless, but disfigures the appearance, particularly of those with a swarthy complexion.

The fact that there are variations in the symptoms of the “leprosy” mentioned in this chapter, further supports the idea that several diseases which strikingly affected the skin are included under the general term “leprosy.” In a day when medical science as such did not exist it would have been a difficult thing for the priests to give a differential diagnosis of various diseases affecting the skin, when they were in many respects similar, and for which there were no specific names. Moses apparently grouped these related diseases under one general head, s\araФ, which our English versions have translated “leprosy.”

The idea of quarantining those afflicted with contagious diseases seems to have originated with the Hebrew people, a safeguard given them by God Himself. It has been thought by some that the Biblical idea of segregating persons having “leprosy” led to the medieval practice of isolating those with true leprosy. Some commentators have held that true leprosy originated in Egypt, but its origin is unknown. Long before Israelite times it was widespread in the Far East, India, and Africa, and around the Mediterranean coasts.

The “leprosy” in the walls of houses or garments took the form of red-green streaks or spots. This seems to have been a mildew or a fungus, and although different from the “leprosy” in human beings, probably indicated that the house was not a safe dwelling place. Affected clothing might also perhaps spread a fungus disease to human beings.

Ellen G. White comments

45 DA 262, 776

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