Leviticus 13:9–28

A Swelling on the Skin

13:9 “When someone has a diseased infection,30 he must be brought to the priest. 13:10 The priest will then examine it,31 and if32 a white swelling is on the skin, it has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the swelling,33 13:11 it is a chronic34 disease on the skin of his body,35 so the priest is to pronounce him unclean.36 The priest37 must not merely quarantine him, for he is unclean.38 13:12 If, however, the disease breaks out39 on the skin so that the disease covers all the skin of the person with the infection40 from his head to his feet, as far as the priest can see,41 13:13 the priest must then examine it,42 and if43 the disease covers his whole body, he is to pronounce the person with the infection clean.44 He has turned all white, so he is clean.45 13:14 But whenever raw flesh appears in it46 he will be unclean, 13:15 so the priest is to examine the raw flesh47 and pronounce him unclean48—it is diseased. 13:16 If, however,49 the raw flesh once again turns white,50 then he must come to the priest. 13:17 The priest will then examine it,51 and if52 the infection has turned white, the priest is to pronounce the person with the infection clean53—he is clean.

A Boil on the Skin

13:18 “When someone’s body has a boil on its skin54 and it heals, 13:19 and in the place of the boil there is a white swelling or a reddish white bright spot, he must show himself to the priest.55 13:20 The priest will then examine it,56 and if57 it appears to be deeper than the skin58 and its hair has turned white, then the priest is to pronounce the person unclean.59 It is a diseased infection that has broken out in the boil.60 13:21 If, however,61 the priest examines it, and62 there is no white hair in it, it is not deeper than the skin, and it has faded, then the priest is to quarantine him for seven days.63 13:22 If64 it is spreading further65 on the skin, then the priest is to pronounce him unclean.66 It is an infection. 13:23 But if the bright spot stays in its place and has not spread,67 it is the scar of the boil, so the priest is to pronounce him clean.68

A Burn on the Skin

13:24 “When a body has a burn on its skin69 and the raw area of the burn becomes a reddish white or white bright spot, 13:25 the priest must examine it,70 and if71 the hair has turned white in the bright spot and it appears to be deeper than the skin,72 it is a disease that has broken out in the burn.73 The priest is to pronounce the person unclean.74 It is a diseased infection.75 13:26 If, however,76 the priest examines it and77 there is no white hair in the bright spot, it is not deeper than the skin,78 and it has faded, then the priest is to quarantine him for seven days.79 13:27 The priest must then examine it on the seventh day, and if it is spreading further80 on the skin, then the priest is to pronounce him unclean. It is a diseased infection.81 13:28 But if the bright spot stays in its place, has not spread on the skin,82 and it has faded, then it is the swelling of the burn, so the priest is to pronounce him clean,83 because it is the scar of the burn.

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30	tn Heb “When there is an infection of disease in a man.” The term for “a man; a human being” (אָדָם, ’adam; see the note on Lev 1:2 and cf. v. 2 above) refers to any person among “mankind,” male or female. For the rendering “diseased infection” see the note on v. 2 above.
31	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).
32	tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV).
33	tn Heb “and rawness [i.e., something living] of living flesh is in the swelling”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “quick raw flesh.”
34	tn The term rendered here “chronic” is a Niphal participle meaning “grown old” (HALOT 448 s.v. II ישׁן nif.2). The idea is that this is an old enduring skin disease that keeps on developing or recurring.
35	tn Heb “in the skin of his flesh” as opposed to the head or the beard (v. 29; cf. v. 2 above).
36	tn This is the declarative Piel of the verb טָמֵא (tame’, cf. the note on v. 3 above).
37	tn Heb “he”; the referent (the priest) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
38	sn Instead of just the normal quarantine isolation, this condition calls for the more drastic and enduring response stated in Lev 13:45–46. Raw flesh, of course, sometimes oozes blood to one degree or another, and blood flows are by nature impure (see, e.g., Lev 12 and 15; cf. J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 191).
39	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.
40	tn Heb “all the skin of the infection,” but see v. 4 above.
41	tn Heb “to all the appearance of the eyes of the priest.”
42	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).
43	tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).
44	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).
45	tn Heb “all of him has turned white, and he is clean.”
46	tn Heb “and in the day of there appears in it living flesh.” Some English versions render this as “open sores” (cf. NCV, TEV, NLT).
47	tn Heb “and the priest shall see the living flesh.”
48	tn This is the declarative Piel of the verb טָמֵא (tame’; cf. the note on v. 3 above).
49	tn Heb “Or if/when.”
50	tn Heb “the living flesh returns and is turned/changed to white.” The Hebrew verb “returns” is שׁוּב (shuv), which often functions adverbially when combined with a second verb as it is here (cf. “and is turned”) and, in such cases, is usually rendered “again” (see, e.g., GKC 386–87 §120.g). Another suggestion is that here שׁוּב means “to recede” (cf., e.g., 2 Kgs 20:9), so one could translate “the raw flesh recedes and turns white.” This would mean that the new “white” skin “has grown over” the raw flesh (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 79).
51	tn Heb “and the priest shall see it.”
52	tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).
53	tn Heb “the priest 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).
54	tc Heb (MT) reads, “And flesh if/when there is in it, in its skin, a boil.” Smr has only “in it,” not “in its skin,” and a few medieval Hebrew mss as well as the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate have only “in its skin” (cf. v. 24 below), not “in it.” It does not effect the meaning of the verse, but one is tempted to suggest that “in it” (בוֹ, vo) was added in error as a partial dittography from the beginning of “in its skin” (בְעֹרוֹ, vé’oro).
55	tn Some English versions translate “it shall be shown to [or “be seen by”] the priest,” taking the infection to be the subject of the verb (e.g., KJV, NASB, RSV, NRSV). Based on the Hebrew grammar there is no way to be sure which is intended.
56	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).
57	tn Heb “and behold.”
58	tn Heb “and behold its appearance is low (שָׁפָל, shafal) ‘from’ (comparative מִן, min, “lower than”) the skin.” Compare “deeper” in v. 3 above where, however, a different word is used (עָמֹק, ’amoq), and see the note on “swelling” in v. 1 above (cf. J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 192; note that, contrary to the MT, Tg. Onq. has עָמֹק in this verse as well as v. 4). The alternation of these two terms (i.e., “deeper” and “lower”) in vv. 25–26 below shows that they both refer to the same phenomenon. Some have argued that “this sore was lower than the surrounding skin” (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:773, 788), in which case “swelling” would be an inappropriate translation of שְׂאֵת (sé’et) in v. 19. It seems unlikely, however, that the surface of a “boil” would sink below the surface of the surrounding skin. The infectious pus etc. that makes up a boil normally causes swelling.
59	tn The declarative Piel of the verb טָמֵא (tame’, cf. the note on v. 3 above).
60	tn Heb “It is an infection of disease. In the boil it has broken out.” For the rendering “diseased infection” see the note on v. 2 above.
61	tn Heb “and if.”
62	tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).
63	tn Heb “and the priest will shut him up seven days.”
64	tn Heb “and if.”
65	tn Heb “is indeed spreading.”
66	tn This is the declarative Piel of the verb טָמֵא (tame’, cf. the note on v. 3 above).
67	tn Heb “and if under it the bright spot stands, it has not spread.”
68	tn This is the declarative Piel of the verb טָהֵר (taher, cf. the note on v. 6 above).
69	tn Heb “Or a body, if there is in its skin a burn of fire.”
70	tn Heb “and the priest shall see it.”
71	tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV).
72	tn Heb “and its appearance is deep ‘from’ [comparative מִן (min) meaning ‘deeper than’] the skin.”
73	tn Heb “it is a disease. In the burn it has broken out.”
74	tn This is the declarative Piel of the verb טָמֵא (tame’; cf. the note on v. 3 above).
75	tn For the rendering “diseased infection” see the note on v. 2 above.
76	tn Heb “and if.”
77	tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “and indeed.”
78	tn Heb “and low it is not ‘from’ (comparative מִן, min, “lower than”) the skin.” See the note on v. 20 above. Cf. TEV “not deeper than the surrounding skin.”
79	tn Heb “and the priest will shut him up seven days.”
80	tn Heb “is indeed spreading.”
81	tn For the rendering “diseased infection” see the note on v. 2 above.
82	tn Heb “and if under it the bright spot stands, it has not spread in the skin.”
83	tn This is the declarative Piel of the verb טָהֵר (taher; cf. the note on v. 6 above).

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