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Leviticus 13

59 verses

TL;DR

Leviticus 13 outlines detailed procedures for diagnosing, treating, and declaring people and objects affected by various forms of leprosy and skin conditions, emphasizing cleanliness and separation.

Summary

The chapter begins with God instructing Moses and Aaron about identifying skin afflictions that resemble leprosy. Priests examine the skin to determine if the lesion is a scab, a true leprosy, or an inflammation, using criteria such as color, depth, hair change, and spread. Depending on the diagnosis, individuals may be declared clean after specific periods, must wash clothes, or be deemed unclean and isolated. The text also covers skin conditions in infants, hair loss, and various skin spots, differentiating between harmless spots and disease. It extends the rules to clothing and items made of skin or woven fabrics, detailing when they must be washed or burned. Throughout, the emphasis is on ritual purity, public health, and the priest’s role as judge.

Outline
  1. Diagnostic criteria for leprosy and related skin afflictions
  2. Procedures for declaring clean or unclean and isolation measures
  3. Rules for contaminated clothing and skin products
Themes
Ritual purity and public healthAuthority of priestly judgmentSeparation of the holy from the unclean
Keywords
cleanlinessuncleanpriestleprosyplagueisolationwashingburning
People
MosesAaronpriests
Places
camp
Things
leprosyplaguescabburning boilclothingwashingburning
Key Verses
  • Leviticus 13:10: shows the priest’s examination of a white, hair-turned lesion indicating true leprosy
  • Leviticus 13:13: declares a person clean when the entire skin turns white, illustrating remission
  • Leviticus 13:45: details the ritual isolation and mourning garment for a leper, highlighting social consequences
Questions
  • What criteria does the priest use to distinguish a leprosy from a harmless spot?
  • How does Leviticus 13 balance public health concerns with religious ritual?
  • What are the social implications for someone declared unclean?
  • Why are certain items burned rather than washed?
  • How does the text treat infants and women differently?
Sentiment

neutral
The passage presents legal and ritual procedures without explicit emotional tone.