“When a man or woman has a plague on the head or on the beard, then the priest shall examine the plague; and behold, if its appearance is deeper than the skin, and the hair in it is yellow and thin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is an itch. It is leprosy of the head or of the beard. If the priest examines the plague of itching, and behold, its appearance isn’t deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall isolate the person infected with itching seven days. On the seventh day the priest shall examine the plague; and behold, if the itch hasn’t spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and the appearance of the itch isn’t deeper than the skin, then he shall be shaved, but he shall not shave the itch. Then the priest shall isolate the one who has the itch seven more days.
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Leviticus 13:29-33 sits inside this longer paragraph.
“When a man or woman has a plague on the head or on the beard, then the priest shall examine the plague; and behold, if its appearance is deeper than the skin, and the hair in it is yellow and thin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is an itch. It is leprosy of the head or of the beard. If the priest examines the plague of itching, and behold, its appearance isn’t deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall isolate the person infected with itching seven days. On the seventh day the priest shall examine the plague; and behold, if the itch hasn’t spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and the appearance of the itch isn’t deeper than the skin, then he shall be shaved, but he shall not shave the itch. Then the priest shall isolate the one who has the itch seven more days. On the seventh day, the priest shall examine the itch; and behold, if the itch hasn’t spread in the skin, and its appearance isn’t deeper than the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash his clothes and be clean. But if the itch spreads in the skin after his cleansing, then the priest shall examine him; and behold, if the itch has spread in the skin, the priest shall not look for the yellow hair; he is unclean. But if in his eyes the itch is arrested and black hair has grown in it, then the itch is healed. He is clean. The priest shall pronounce him clean.
Parallel Translations
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“When a man or woman has a plague on the head or on the beard,
then the priest shall examine the plague; and behold, if its appearance is deeper than the skin, and the hair in it is yellow and thin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is an itch. It is leprosy of the head or of the beard.
If the priest examines the plague of itching, and behold, its appearance isn’t deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall isolate the person infected with itching seven days.
On the seventh day the priest shall examine the plague; and behold, if the itch hasn’t spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and the appearance of the itch isn’t deeper than the skin,
then he shall be shaved, but he shall not shave the itch. Then the priest shall isolate the one who has the itch seven more days.
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If a man or woman have a plague upon the head or the beard;
Then the priest shall see the plague: and, behold, if it be in sight deeper than the skin; and there be in it a yellow thin hair; then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a dry scall, even a leprosy upon the head or beard.
And if the priest look on the plague of the scall, and, behold, it be not in sight deeper than the skin, and that there is no black hair in it; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague of the scall seven days:
And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague: and, behold, if the scall spread not, and there be in it no yellow hair, and the scall be not in sight deeper than the skin;
He shall be shaven, but the scall shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up him that hath the scall seven days more:
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And when a man or woman hath a plague upon the head or upon the beard,
then the priest shall look on the plague; and, behold, if the appearance thereof be deeper than the skin, and there be in it yellow thin hair, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a scall, it is leprosy of the head or of the beard.
And if the priest look on the plague of the scall, and, behold, the appearance thereof be not deeper than the skin, and there be no black hair in it, then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague of the scall seven days.
And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague; and, behold, if the scall be not spread, and there be in it no yellow hair, and the appearance of the scall be not deeper than the skin,
then he shall be shaven, but the scall shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up him that hath the scall seven days more.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Commandments (1)
The laws of the Torah, each cited and shown as a primary source.
Cross-references (21)
- Leviticus 13:30 (v32) then the priest shall examine the plague; and behold, if its appearance is deeper than the skin, and the hair in it is yellow and thin,…
- 1 Kings 8:38 (v29) whatever prayer and supplication is made by any man, or by all your people Israel, who shall each know the plague of his own heart, and…
- 1 Kings 12:28 (v29) So the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said to them, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look and behold…
- 2 Chronicles 6:29 (v29) whatever prayer and supplication is made by any man, or by all your people Israel, who will each know his own plague and his own sorrow,…
- Psalms 53:4 (v29) Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and don’t call on God?
Show all 21 cross-references
- Isaiah 1:5 (v29) Why should you be beaten more, that you revolt more and more? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
- Isaiah 5:20 (v29) Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for…
- Isaiah 9:15 (v29) The elder and the honorable man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail.
- Micah 3:11 (v29) Her leaders judge for bribes, and her priests teach for a price, and her prophets of it tell fortunes for money: yet they lean on Yahweh,…
- Matthew 6:23 (v29) But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the…
- Matthew 13:14-15 (v29) In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, ‘By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, and…
- Matthew 23:5 (v32) But they do all their works to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad, enlarge the fringes of their garments,
- Luke 18:9-12 (v32) He spoke also this parable to certain people who were convinced of their own righteousness, and who despised all others. “Two men went up…
- John 16:2-3 (v29) They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time comes that whoever kills you will think that he offers service to God. They will do…
- Acts 22:3-4 (v29) “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict…
- Acts 26:9-10 (v29) “I myself most certainly thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. I also did this in Jerusalem. I…
- Romans 2:23 (v32) You who glory in the law, do you dishonor God by disobeying the law?
- 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (v29) Even if our Good News is veiled, it is veiled in those who are dying, in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the…
- 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 (v29) Because of this, God sends them a working of error, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be judged who didn’t believe the…
- Leviticus 13:34-37 (v30) On the seventh day, the priest shall examine the itch; and behold, if the itch hasn’t spread in the skin, and its appearance isn’t deeper…
- Leviticus 14:54 (v30) This is the law for any plague of leprosy, and for an itch,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v30 Which was not wont to be there, or else…
Which was not wont to be there, or else smaller than in any other part of the body.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On v30 Lev 13:30 Then the priest shall see the plague:…
Lev 13:30 Then the priest shall see the plague: and, behold, if it [be] in sight deeper than the skin; [and there be] in it a yellow thin hair; then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it [is] a dry scall, [even] a leprosy upon the head or beard.
Ver. 30. A yellow thin hair.] Which is a true sign of a scall.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv30, 31, 33 The leprosy in the body turned the hair white,…
The leprosy in the body turned the hair white, in the head or beard it turned it yellow. And if a man’s hair was yellow before, this might easily be distinguished from the rest, either by the thinness or smallness of it, which is here noted, or by its peculiar kind of yellow, for there are divers kinds or degrees of the same colour manifestly differing one from another, as in green colours, &c.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv29–33 If a man or a woman hath a plague…
If a man or a woman hath a plague upon the head or the beard. Any breaking out in those parts a swelling, scab, or spot, on a man's beard or on a woman's head; or on the head of either man or woman; or on a woman's beard, if she had any, as some have had though not common.
If a man or a woman hath a plague upon the head or the beard. Any breaking out in those parts a swelling, scab, or spot, on a man's beard or on a woman's head; or on the head of either man or woman; or on a woman's beard, if she had any, as some have had though not common.
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Leviticus 13:30
lev 13:30
lev 13:30
lev 13:30Then the priest shall see the plague,.... The person on whom it is shall come or be brought unto him; and he shall look upon it and examine it:
and, behold, if it be in sight deeper than the skin; which is always one sign of leprosy:
and there be in it a yellow thin hair; like the appearance of thin gold, as the Targum of Jonathan; for, as Ben Gersom says, its colour is the colour of gold; and it is called thin in this place, because short and soft, and not when it is long and small; and so it is said, scabs make unclean in two weeks, and by two signs, by thin yellow hair, and by spreading, by yellow hair, small, soft, and short (t): now this is to be understood, not of hair that is naturally of a yellow or gold colour, as is the hair of the head and beard of some persons, but of hair changed into this colour through the force of the disease; and so Jarchi interprets it, black hair turned yellow; in other parts of the body, hair turned white was a sign of leprosy, but here that which was turned yellow or golden coloured: Aben Ezra observes, that the colour expressed by this word is, in the Ishmaelitish or Arabic language, the next to the white colour:
then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; declare him a leper, and unfit for company, and order him to do and have done for him the things after expressed, as required in such a case:
it is a dry scall; or "wound", as the Septuagint version; "nethek", which is the word here used, Jarchi says, is the name of a plague that is in the place of hair, or where that grows; it has its name from plucking up; for there the hair is plucked away, as Aben Ezra and Ben Gersom note:
even a leprosy upon the head or beard; as the head is the seat of knowledge, and the beard a sign of manhood, and of a man's being arrived to years of discretion; when wisdom and prudence are expected in him; this sort of leprosy may be an emblem of errors in judgment, of false doctrines and heresies imbibed by persons, which eat as doth a canker, and are in themselves damnable, and bring ruin and destruction on teachers and hearers, unless recovered from them by the grace of God.
(t) Negaim, c. 10. sect. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv30, 31, 33 A yellow, thin hair - The leprosy in the…
A yellow, thin hair - The leprosy in the body turned the hair white, in the head or beard it turned it yellow. And if a man's hair was yellow before, this might easily be distinguished from the rest, either by the thinness or smallness of it, or by its peculiar kind of yellow, for there are divers kinds of the same colour manifestly differing from one another.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv29, 33 Verse 29. A plague upon the head or the…
Verse 29. A plague upon the head or the beard] This refers to a disease in which, according to the Jews, the hair either on the head or the chin dropped out by the roots.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv29–31 Lev 13:29. Upon the head or beard — Pliny…
Lev 13:29. Upon the head or beard — Pliny tells us, that a kind of disease came into Italy in the middle of the reign of Tiberius Cesar, which commonly began in the chin, and was therefore called mentagra, and was so filthy, that any death was preferable to it. It was a foul tetter, scab, or scurf, not unlike a ring-worm, which, from the chin, often ran over the face, the neck, the breast, and the hands. Was not this similar to this plague of leprosy in the beard and head here spoken of? Bishop Patrick thinks it was. And Maimonides tells us that, in this sort of leprosy, the hair on the head or beard fell off by the roots, and the place of the hair remained bare.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv30–31 Scall - As this is the name for another…
Scall - As this is the name for another disease not allied to the leprosy, it would have been better to retain the original word נתק netheq. It is a true elephantiasis, and is recognized by modern writers under the name of the Fox mange.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv30–31 Leprosy, or scurf. (Calmet) --- This species causes the…
Leprosy, or scurf. (Calmet) --- This species causes the hair to be yellow, and not white. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv29, 31, 33 29, 30. Beard — Since the woman has no…
29, 30. Beard — Since the woman has no beard, and since the beard could not have the leprosy, it is evident that the beard is by metonymy put for the chin.
Yellow thin hair — This is a new symptom. White hairs on the head or chin of an elderly person are natural, and hence they could not betoken leprosy. But yellow short hair on these parts is the peculiar mark of this scourge. Dr. Davidson, after carefully inspecting nearly a hundred lepers in Madagascar, says: “The hairs upon the part become yellow and stunted, and, after a time, fall off, leaving the hair bulbs empty and enlarged, especially on the face, so as to present one of the most diagnostic signs of the malady.”
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Dry scall — The word “dry” is not in the original. “Scall” occurs thirteen times in this chapter and once in the next, and nowhere else in the Bible. It signifies a scurf, scab, or mange. The Hebrews call it nethek, and describe it thus: “The plague of head or beard is, when the hair that is on them falleth off by the roots, and the place of the hair remaineth bare.” Since the scall is a different disease from leprosy it would have been better to have transferred the Hebrew nethek into our English version.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv29, 30, 33 Leprosy in the hair of the head or face…
Leprosy in the hair of the head or face (29–37)
The treatment is similar to that in the preceding cases, but two periods of confinement are prescribed, and the hair is to be shaven after the first seven days.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv29–33 (29) If a man or woman.—The fourth case, discussed…
(29) If a man or woman.—The fourth case, discussed in Lev_13:29-37, is leprosy on the head or chin. Cases where this distemper attacks first the hairy parts are not uncommon.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On v29 Vers. 29-37. The method of discriminating between a leprous…
Vers. 29-37. The method of discriminating between a leprous spot on the head or beard and an ulcer in the same place. The symptoms of leprosy are the same as before, except that the hairs in this case are of a reddish-yellow colour instead of white. The treatment is also the same, with the addition of shaving the head or beard except at the place where the suspicious spot has appeared. In verse 31 the priest is ordered to shut up (or bandage) the patient, if
(1) the spot be only in the upper cuticle, and
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(2) there is no black hair in it.
We should have expected rather from the second condition if there be black hair in it, or if there be no yellow hair in it; and Keil accordingly proposes to omit the negative or to change the word "black" for "yellow," the two words in the original being easily interchangeable. The present reading is. however. defensible. The fact of the spot being not below the cuticle was a very favorable symptom; there being no black hair was a very unfavourable symptom. Under these circumstances, the priest delays his judgment in the ordinary way.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv29, 31, 32 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues telling Moses and Aaron what the people must do when someone has a skin disease.
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the priest must pronounce him unclean
The man whom other people must not touch is spoken of as if he were physically unclean. (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
priest
clean
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v30 13:30 The scabby sore suggested a fungal infection in…
13:30 The scabby sore suggested a fungal infection in the scalp or beard, hidden by hair. The symptoms included loss of hair and crusty skin.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.