^13:29“When a man or a woman has an infection on the head or in the beard,⁸⁴^13:30the priest is to examine the infection,⁸⁵ and if⁸⁶ it appears to be deeper than the skin⁸⁷ and the hair in it is reddish yellow and thin, then the priest is to pronounce the person unclean.⁸⁸ It is scall,⁸⁹ a disease of the head or the beard.⁹⁰^13:31But if the priest examines the scall infection and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin,⁹¹ and there is no black hair in it, then the priest is to quarantine the person with the scall infection for seven days.⁹²^13:32The priest must then examine the infection on the seventh day, and if⁹³ the scall has not spread, there is no reddish yellow hair in it, and the scall does not appear to be deeper than the skin,⁹⁴^13:33then the individual is to shave himself,⁹⁵ but he must not shave the area affected by the scall,⁹⁶ and the priest is to quarantine the person with the scall for another seven days.⁹⁷^13:34The priest must then examine the scall on the seventh day, and if⁹⁸ the scall has not spread on the skin and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin,⁹⁹ then the priest is to pronounce him clean.¹⁰⁰ So he is to wash his clothes and be clean. ^13:35If, however, the scall spreads further¹⁰¹ on the skin after his purification, ^13:36then the priest is to examine it, and if¹⁰² the scall has spread on the skin the priest is not to search further for reddish yellow hair.¹⁰³ The person¹⁰⁴ is unclean. ^13:37If, as far as the priest can see, the scall has stayed the same¹⁰⁵ and black hair has sprouted in it, the scall has been healed; the person is clean. So the priest is to pronounce him clean.¹⁰⁶

Read in Logos

Footnotes

84 Heb “And a man or a woman if there is in him an infection in head or in beard.” The shift here is from diseases that are on the (relatively) bare skin of the body to the scalp area of the male or female head or the bearded area of the male face.
85 Heb “and the priest shall see the infection.”
86 Heb “and behold.”
87 Heb “its appearance is deep ‘from’ (comparative מִן, min, “deeper than”) the skin.”
88 This is the declarative Piel of the verb טָמֵא (tame’; cf. the note on v. above).
89 The exact identification of this disease is unknown. Cf. “dry scall”; “a scale”; , , “an itch”; “a contagious skin disease.” For a discussion of “scall” disease in the hair, which is a crusty scabby disease of the skin under the hair that also affects the hair itself, see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (), , and J. Milgrom, Leviticus (), 1:. The Hebrew word rendered “scall” (נֶתֶק, neteq) is related to a verb meaning “to tear; to tear out; to tear apart.” It may derive from the scratching and/or the tearing out of the hair or the scales of the skin in response to the itching sensation caused by the disease.
90 Heb “It is scall. It is the disease of the head or the beard.”
91 Heb “and behold there is not its appearance deep ‘from’ (comparative מִן, min, meaning “deeper than”) the skin.”
92 Heb “and the priest will shut up the infection of the scall seven days.”
93 Heb “and behold” (so , ).
94 Heb “and the appearance of the scall is not deep ‘from’ (comparative מִן, min, meaning “deeper than”) the skin.”
95 The shaving is done by the one who has the infection. Although , have the passive “he shall be shaven” here, most modern English versions have the reflexive “shall shave himself” (so ).
96 Heb “but the scall shall he not shave” (so , ); “except for the diseased area.”
97 Heb “and the priest will shut up the scall a second seven days.”
98 Heb “and behold” (so , ).
99 Heb “and its appearance is not deep ‘from’ (comparative מִן, min, meaning “deeper than”) the skin.”
100 This is the declarative Piel of the verb טָהֵר (taher, cf. the note on v. above).
101 Heb “And if spreading (infinitive absolute) it spreads further (finite verb).” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see §113.p.
102 Heb “and behold.”
103 Heb “the priest shall not search to the reddish yellow hair.”
104 Heb “he”; the referent (the affected person) is specified in the translation for clarity (likewise in the following verse).
105 Heb “and if in his eyes the infection has stood.”
106 This is the declarative Piel of the verb טָהֵר (taher, cf. the note on v. above).