Leviticus 13: Laws and Rituals of the Covenant

Leviticus: Part 13 of 27

Regulations About Infectious Skin Diseases

1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

It will be party time when he shuts up.

2 “When anyone has a swelling or a rash or a bright spot on his skin that may become an infectious skin disease, he must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest.

And who is to know if it ‘may become an infectious skin disease’?  Even now, nobody can be sure of such things.

3 The priest is to examine the sore on his skin, and if the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be more than skin deep, it is an infectious skin disease. When the priest examines him, he shall pronounce him ceremonially unclean.

What if the person is a blonde to begin with?  Oh, what? No blondes in the Middle East at that time?  So blondes are left out of this book or are they just unclean to begin with?

4 If the spot on his skin is white but does not appear to be more than skin deep and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest is to put the infected person in isolation for seven days.

Priest, judge, butcher, cook and now doctor…

5 On the seventh day the priest is to examine him, and if he sees that the sore is unchanged and has not spread in the skin, he is to keep him in isolation another seven days.

6 On the seventh day the priest is to examine him again, and if the sore has faded and has not spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a rash. The man must wash his clothes, and he will be clean.

Starch, fold and iron?

7 But if the rash does spread in his skin after he has shown himself to the priest to be pronounced clean, he must appear before the priest again.

8 The priest is to examine him, and if the rash has spread in the skin, he shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infectious disease.

9 “When anyone has an infectious skin disease, he must be brought to the priest.

10 The priest is to examine him, and if there is a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white and if there is raw flesh in the swelling,

11 it is a chronic skin disease and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. He is not to put him in isolation, because he is already unclean.

Pronounce him unclean but NOT put him in isolation?  That’s not a great way to stop the spread of the disease.

12 “If the disease breaks out all over his skin and, so far as the priest can see, it covers all the skin of the infected person from head to foot,

13 the priest is to examine him, and if the disease has covered his whole body, he shall pronounce that person clean. Since it has all turned white, he is clean.

Disease has covered his whole body, but he’s clean?  I don’t think Medicare will cover a visit to a quack like you.  :)

14 But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he will be unclean.

Raw flesh can be clean.

15 When the priest sees the raw flesh, he shall pronounce him unclean. The raw flesh is unclean; he has an infectious disease.

16 Should the raw flesh change and turn white, he must go to the priest.

What if it turns green?

17 The priest is to examine him, and if the sores have turned white, the priest shall pronounce the infected person clean; then he will be clean.

18 “When someone has a boil on his skin and it heals,

19 and in the place where the boil was, a white swelling or reddish-white spot appears, he must present himself to the priest.

20 The priest is to examine it, and if it appears to be more than skin deep and the hair in it has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is an infectious skin disease that has broken out where the boil was.

One minute white is good and the next it is bad.

21 But if, when the priest examines it, there is no white hair in it and it is not more than skin deep and has faded, then the priest is to put him in isolation for seven days.

Why wait till it is getting better to put him in isolation?

22 If it is spreading in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is infectious.

23 But if the spot is unchanged and has not spread, it is only a scar from the boil, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

24 “When someone has a burn on his skin and a reddish-white or white spot appears in the raw flesh of the burn,

25 the priest is to examine the spot, and if the hair in it has turned white, and it appears to be more than skin deep, it is an infectious disease that has broken out in the burn. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infectious skin disease.

26 But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in the spot and if it is not more than skin deep and has faded, then the priest is to put him in isolation for seven days.

Again, why put someone who is obviously getting better into isolation and not the so-called ‘unclean’?

27 On the seventh day the priest is to examine him, and if it is spreading in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infectious skin disease.

28 If, however, the spot is unchanged and has not spread in the skin but has faded, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scar from the burn.

29 “If a man or woman has a sore on the head or on the chin,

30 the priest is to examine the sore, and if it appears to be more than skin deep and the hair in it is yellow and thin, the priest shall pronounce that person unclean; it is an itch, an infectious disease of the head or chin.

31 But if, when the priest examines this kind of sore, it does not seem to be more than skin deep and there is no black hair in it, then the priest is to put the infected person in isolation for seven days.

Why does it have to have a hair in it?

32 On the seventh day the priest is to examine the sore, and if the itch has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it and it does not appear to be more than skin deep,

33 he must be shaved except for the diseased area, and the priest is to keep him in isolation another seven days.

Take away his Gillette!!!

34 On the seventh day the priest is to examine the itch, and if it has not spread in the skin and appears to be no more than skin deep, the priest shall pronounce him clean. He must wash his clothes, and he will be clean.

After seven days it would be a great idea to wash his clothes.  A very good idea.  :)

35 But if the itch does spread in the skin after he is pronounced clean,

36 the priest is to examine him, and if the itch has spread in the skin, the priest does not need to look for yellow hair; the person is unclean.

So the priest was wrong.  In that case I would be asking for a second opinion.

37 If, however, in his judgment it is unchanged and black hair has grown in it, the itch is healed. He is clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

38 “When a man or woman has white spots on the skin,

Woman? What?  You never mentioned them before.  I was starting to wonder what happened if they had a disease.  Let’s hope it doesn’t get too ridiculous now.  :O

What am I saying, it already is.  :)

39 the priest is to examine them, and if the spots are dull white, it is a harmless rash that has broken out on the skin; that person is clean.

40 “When a man has lost his hair and is bald, he is clean.

I’ve seen plenty of unclean baldies, so this doesn’t hold.

41 If he has lost his hair from the front of his scalp and has a bald forehead, he is clean.

I’ll remember to tell my doctor that when I start to go bald.  :)

42 But if he has a reddish-white sore on his bald head or forehead, it is an infectious disease breaking out on his head or forehead.

You just finished saying that a bald man is clean!

43 The priest is to examine him, and if the swollen sore on his head or forehead is reddish-white like an infectious skin disease,

44 the man is diseased and is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him unclean because of the sore on his head.

13:14 says a bald man is clean. Make up your freaking mind.

45 “The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’

Oh my, Monty Python images abound.  :)

46 As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.

Regulations About Mildew

47 “If any clothing is contaminated with mildew—any woolen or linen clothing,

48 any woven or knitted material of linen or wool, any leather or anything made of leather-

49 and if the contamination in the clothing, or leather, or woven or knitted material, or any leather article, is greenish or reddish, it is a spreading mildew and must be shown to the priest.

50 The priest is to examine the mildew and isolate the affected article for seven days.

Yes, make it live alone outside the camp.

51 On the seventh day he is to examine it, and if the mildew has spread in the clothing, or the woven or knitted material, or the leather, whatever its use, it is a destructive mildew; the article is unclean.

Maybe if the clothing was washed and kept clean it wouldn’t be unclean.

52 He must burn up the clothing, or the woven or knitted material of wool or linen, or any leather article that has the contamination in it, because the mildew is destructive; the article must be burned up.

If it had been washed instead of being isolated, it may not need to be burned up.

53 “But if, when the priest examines it, the mildew has not spread in the clothing, or the woven or knitted material, or the leather article,

54 he shall order that the contaminated article be washed. Then he is to isolate it for another seven days.

55 After the affected article has been washed, the priest is to examine it, and if the mildew has not changed its appearance, even though it has not spread, it is unclean. Burn it with fire, whether the mildew has affected one side or the other.

Burn it, it’s a witch!!!!

56 If, when the priest examines it, the mildew has faded after the article has been washed, he is to tear the contaminated part out of the clothing, or the leather, or the woven or knitted material.

57 But if it reappears in the clothing, or in the woven or knitted material, or in the leather article, it is spreading, and whatever has the mildew must be burned with fire.

The priests fingers?

58 The clothing, or the woven or knitted material, or any leather article that has been washed and is rid of the mildew, must be washed again, and it will be clean.”

If it is ‘rid of the mildew’ it is already clean.

59 These are the regulations concerning contamination by mildew in woolen or linen clothing, woven or knitted material, or any leather article, for pronouncing them clean or unclean.

Yes, there is value in being clean and ridding the community of disease, but this is supposed to be a ‘good book’ not a medical text.  Even if we consider it a good thing, it is ridiculous to include this without some kind of preventative measure such as keeping yourself, your belonging and your clothes clean to begin with.  Any ‘god’ worth the name would know such things.

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