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14:1–32 Chapter 14 details the ritual processes involved for cleansing someone or something contaminated by skin ailments. As in ch. 13, the Hebrew term tsara'ath is used generically for surface afflictions of various kinds, though the term has been traditionally (and incorrectly) translated as “leprosy” (see note on 13:1–59). The first section (vv. 1–32) specifically explains the cleansing ritual for a person.

Leprosy AYBD

Leper ISBE

14:3–8 This passage describes the first phase of the purification process, which takes place outside the camp. It begins when the priest is notified that a victim of tsara'ath appears to have been healed (compare Matt 8:2–4; note on Lev 14:1–32). The priest must go outside the camp to examine the person (13:45–46) and confirm that healing occurred (v. 3). If the unclean skin disease was healed, the priest needed two birds, cedar wood, hyssop, and red yarn to proceed with the purification ritual (v. 4). The ritual continued with the slaughter of one of the birds (v. 5). The bird’s blood was mixed with water; then, the living bird, the cedar wood, hyssop, and yarn were dipped in the mixture. The person being cleansed was sprinkled with the mixture seven times and the living bird was released—symbolically carrying away the impurity (v. 7). Once this was done, the person being purified had to wash clothes, shave off all hair, and bathe. Then, the person could reenter the camp but not return home for the first seven days (v. 8).

14:3 the skin disease’s infection The Hebrew term tsara'ath is used here and throughout chs. 13–14 to designate an open-ended category of unclean skin diseases or surface discoloration. See note on 13:1–59.

14:4 and he shall take The Hebrew phrasing here is terse and unclear about who is providing the sacrifice. The verb is technically a third person singular, and the closest third person subject is the priest.

The most straightforward translation of these initial phrases of the verse would read “and the priest will command and he will take.” In English grammar, this phrasing indicates the priest is the subject of “take” as well as “command.” This reading seems unusual since it involves the priest uttering a command to himself. The person seeking cleansing could be the one providing the sacrifice, so the priest commands the person who wants to be cleansed to bring two birds. However, that possibility is difficult since the one needing to be cleansed is also the indirect object of “take.” Furthermore, he is unlikely to have the means to provide the sacrifice himself, and, until he is purified, anything he was in contact with would become impure and unfit for sacrifice. The most likely way to construe the phrasing here is that the priest is commanding other priests or Levites to bring the items needed for the purification ritual. Many English translations use an infinitive (“to take”) or passive construction (“be brought”) to reflect the likelihood that it is neither the priest nor the one in need of cleansing who are performing this action.

two living, clean birds The birds are not sacrifices. The type of bird is not mentioned; it is never explicitly called an offering; and the dead bird is not said to be burned on the altar. The birds used for burnt offerings or purification offerings had to be pigeons or turtledoves (1:14; 5:7). The only explicit requirement for these birds is that they are ritually clean.

The slaughter of one bird and the release of the other is similar to the ritual procedure for the Day of Atonement, where one goat is sacrificed as a chatta'th and the other is released, carrying away the sins of the community (compare vv. 4–7 with 16:7–10).

cedar wood and a crimson thread and hyssop These items are regularly involved in purification rituals (vv. 49; Num 19:6). The red heifer ritual from Num 19 also requires the use of cedarwood, hyssop, and crimson yarn (see note on Num 19:1–22).

The ritual procedures for purifying a person declared unclean by skin diseases (tsara'ath) are very elaborate. The complexity of the procedures illustrates that religious purity was a serious concern.

14:5 over fresh water Refers to water taken from a natural, flowing source like a river or spring. The Hebrew idiom is “living water,” alluding to the movement of natural, fresh water.

14:7 he shall spatter the blood seven times The blood is sprinkled on the person to be cleansed (compare Exod 24:8). The blood of a purification (sin) offering was applied to the altar (Lev 4:30), so the handling of the blood here also indicates this ritual is not a sacrifice. The ritual slaughter of the red heifer also takes place outside the camp and involves a sevenfold sprinkling of blood (compare Num 19:4 and note).

he shall send the living bird Since the release of the bird symbolized the impurity being carried away, the bird was probably not a domesticated sacrificial bird like the pigeon or turtledove. Use of domesticated birds would have exposed the community to the possibility that the bird would return and bring back the impurity.

14:9–20 The second phase of the purification ritual took place inside the camp. On the last day of the seven-day waiting period, the person repeated the process of shaving all hair, washing clothes, and bathing. On the eighth day, the cleansing was finalized with sacrifices and offerings (compare Lev 12:6–7).

The required offerings for purification included three lambs (two males and a female) and a grain offering (v. 10). One of the male lambs was offered as an asham, or guilt offering (vv. 12–18; see note on 5:14–6:7). The other male lamb was offered as a burnt offering (v. 20; compare 1:10–13), and the female lamb was a purification offering (v. 19; compare 4:27–35). The grain offering was offered along with the burnt offering at the very end of the ritual (compare Num 15:3–4). The ritual involving the guilt (trespass) offering (asham in Hebrew) entails applying the blood to the person being cleansed. Blood is applied to the right ear lobe, the right thumb, and the right big toe (Lev 14:14–18). This procedure is similar to how Aaron and his sons were originally purified and consecrated for priestly service (see 8:22–29 and note).

14:9 he must shave off all his hair This verse specifies that the hair to be removed included all hair of the head and face, including the beard and eyebrows.

14:13 in the place where The appropriate place to slaughter a sacrificial animal is explicitly identified for the burnt offering (1:11). The instructions for other sacrifices then identify the place with reference to the burnt offering (4:24; 7:2).

The regulations for the purification offering connect the place of slaughter with the burnt offering (4:24), and rules about the guilt offering also connect it to the burnt offering (7:2). This verse blends 4:24 and 7:2 by explaining that this guilt offering is killed at the site where the purification offering and the burnt offering are killed. The association made between the purification offering and the guilt offering here also echoes the statement from 7:7.

a most holy thing This language classifies offerings that may be eaten but only by the priests. A similar statement appears in 7:6–7.

14:14 the guilt offering’s blood The blood symbolized purification from the ritual uncleanness that had affected the person’s body. Compare 8:23 and note.

14:17 on The oil is applied in addition to the blood, on the same locations.

14:18 shall make atonement Refers to purging the uncleanness caused by the disease. Regarding atonement, see note on 4:20.

Atonement LTW

K-p-r, “atone” NIDOTTE

14:21–32 Just as with other purification offerings, cheaper alternative offerings are allowed for this purpose as well (e.g., 5:7–13; 12:8). The sacrificial ritual is described again in this passage but with slight modifications for what animals were sacrificed. Instead of three lambs and a grain offering, the person may bring one lamb, two birds, and a smaller grain offering (vv. 21–22). The process of applying the blood of the guilt (trespass) offering (asham in Hebrew) to the person, described in vv. 14–18, is repeated essentially verbatim here (vv. 25–29).

14:21 one male lamb This aspect of the ritual is the same. In both cases, the asham or guilt offering is a male lamb (compare v. 12).

one-tenth of an ephah of The grain offering is a third of what was required for the regular ritual (v. 10).

14:22 two turtledoves The birds substitute for the two lambs for the burnt offering and purification offering. Compare 12:8. Birds were allowed for both types of offerings (1:14–17; 5:7–10).

14:33–57 Building materials could become contaminated just as cloth could (see 13:47–59 and note). If a house appeared contaminated, then the owner was to report it to the priest, who had to go and examine the house (vv. 34–35). Prior to the priest’s inspection, the entire contents of the house were to be removed (v. 36). As with cloth, the problem was likely some sort of mold, identified by greenish or reddish spots in the walls. The process to diagnose whether the contamination caused ritual uncleanness was essentially the same as that for an unclean skin disease (13:1–8): initial inspection, seven-day quarantine, and reinspection (vv. 37–39). If the discoloration had spread, then it was unclean (compare 13:5–6). Since the walls of a house were not living flesh, the remedy was removal of the contaminated building material and replacement with new stones and plaster (vv. 40–42). If the condition persisted after that remedy was applied, then the house had to be torn down (vv. 43–47). If the contamination did not return, the house was considered clean, and the priest would perform the cleansing ritual—essentially the same process as the first phase of purification for a person healed of tsara'ath (see vv. 3–8 and note).

14:34 the land of Canaan, which I am about to give to you The problem and purification rites described in the following verses apply to a settled population with stone houses.

mildew The application of the Hebrew term used here, tsara'ath, to plastered walls supports the understanding of it as a general word for surface afflictions, not a term for any one specific skin disease (see note on 13:1–59).

14:49 two birds See v. 4 and note. The birds were not sacrifices. The blood of the first purged the house of its uncleanness (v. 52). The release of the second symbolically carried away the impurity (v. 53).

14:54–57 These three verses provide a concluding summary for the entire discussion of unclean skin diseases and surface afflictions—all identified by the Hebrew word tsara'ath—found in 13:1–14:53.

14:54 infectious skin disease See note on v. 3.

the diseased area of skin The Hebrew word netheq is only found here and in 13:30–37. See note on 13:31.

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