Leviticus 13 · WEB
Laws Concerning Skin Diseases and Mildew
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Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
2"When a man has a swelling, a scab, or a bright spot on his body's skin, and it becomes the infection of leprosy in his body's skin, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons, the priests.
3The priest shall examine the plague on the skin of the body. If the hair in the plague has turned white, and the appearance of the plague is deeper than the body's skin, it is the plague of leprosy; so the priest shall examine him and pronounce him unclean.
4If the bright spot is white in the skin of his body, and its appearance isn't deeper than the skin, and its hair hasn't turned white, then the priest shall isolate the infected person for seven days.
5The priest shall examine him on the seventh day. Behold, if in his eyes the plague has remained the same and the plague hasn't spread in the skin, then the priest shall isolate him for another seven days.
6The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day. Behold, if the plague has faded and the plague hasn't spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. It is a scab. He shall wash his clothes, and be clean.
7But if the scab spreads on the skin, after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall show himself to the priest again.
8The priest shall examine him; and behold, if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is leprosy.
9When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought to the priest.
10The priest shall examine him. Behold, if there is a white swelling in the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the swelling,
11it is a chronic leprosy in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. He shall not isolate him, for he is already unclean.
12If the leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the infected person from his head even to his feet, as far as the priest can see,
13then the priest shall examine him. Behold, if the leprosy has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean of the plague. It has all turned white: he is clean.
14But when raw flesh appears in him, he shall be unclean.
15The priest shall examine the raw flesh, and pronounce him unclean: the raw flesh is unclean. It is leprosy.
16Or if the raw flesh turns again, and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest.
17The priest shall examine him. Behold, if the plague has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce the infected person clean. He is clean.
18"When the body has a boil on its skin, and it has healed,
19and in the place of the boil there is a white swelling, or a bright spot, reddish-white, then it shall be shown to the priest.
20The priest shall examine it. Behold, if its appearance is deeper than the skin, and its hair has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is the plague of leprosy. It has broken out in the boil.
21But if the priest examines it, and behold, there is no white hair in it, and it isn't deeper than the skin, but is faded, then the priest shall isolate him seven days.
22If it spreads in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a plague.
23But if the bright spot stays in its place, and hasn't spread, it is the scar from the boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
24"Or when the body has a burn from fire on its skin, and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish-white, or white,
25then the priest shall examine it. Behold, if the hair in the bright spot has turned white, and its appearance is deeper than the skin, it is leprosy. It has broken out in the burning, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is the plague of leprosy.
26But if the priest examines it, and behold, there is no white hair in the bright spot, and it isn't deeper than the skin, but has faded, then the priest shall isolate him seven days.
27The priest shall examine him on the seventh day. If it has spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is the plague of leprosy.
28If the bright spot stays in its place, and hasn't spread in the skin, but has faded, it is the swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean; for it is the scar from the burn.
29"When a man or woman has a plague on the head or on the beard,
30then the priest shall examine the plague. 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, a leprosy of the head or beard.
31If the priest examines the plague of the itch, 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 with the itch seven days.
32On the seventh day the priest shall examine the plague. 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,
33then he shall be shaved, but he shall not shave the itch. The priest shall isolate him who has the itch seven more days.
34On the seventh day the priest shall examine the itch. 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.
35But if the itch spreads in the skin after his cleansing,
36then the priest shall examine him. Behold, if the itch has spread in the skin, the priest shall not look for the yellow hair; he is unclean.
37But if in his eyes the itch is arrested, 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 a woman has bright spots in the skin of the body, even white bright spots,
39then the priest shall examine them. Behold, if the bright spots on the skin of their body are a dull white, it is a harmless rash that has broken out on the skin. He is clean.
40"If a man's hair has fallen from his head, he is bald. He is clean.
41If his hair has fallen off from the front part of his head, he is forehead-bald. He is clean.
42But if there is in the bald head, or the bald forehead, a reddish-white plague, it is leprosy breaking out in his bald head, or his bald forehead.
43Then the priest shall examine him. Behold, if the swelling of the plague is reddish-white in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, like the appearance of leprosy in the skin of the body,
44he is a leprous man. He is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean. His plague is on his head.
45"The leper in whom the plague is shall wear torn clothes, and the hair of his head shall hang loose. He shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, 'Unclean! Unclean!'
46All the days in which the plague is in him he shall be unclean. He is unclean. He shall dwell alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.
47"The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it is a woolen garment, or a linen garment;
48whether it is in warp, or woof; of linen, or of wool; whether in a leather, or in anything made of leather;
49if the plague is greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the leather, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything made of leather; it is the plague of leprosy, and shall be shown to the priest.
50The priest shall examine the plague, and isolate the plague seven days.
51He shall examine the plague on the seventh day. If the plague has spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in the leather, whatever use leather is used for, the plague is a destructive mildew. It is unclean.
52He shall burn the garment, whether the warp or the woof, in wool or in linen, or anything of leather, in which the plague is; for it is a destructive mildew. It shall be burned in the fire.
53If the priest shall examine it, and behold, the plague hasn't spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything of leather,
54then the priest shall command that they wash the thing in which the plague is, and he shall isolate it seven more days.
55Then the priest shall examine it, after the plague is washed; and behold, if the plague hasn't changed its color, and the plague hasn't spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in the fire. It is a mildewed spot, whether the bareness is inside or outside.
56If the priest examines it, and behold, the plague has faded after it is washed, then he shall tear it out of the garment, or out of the leather, or out of the warp, or out of the woof.
57If it appears again in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything of leather, it is spreading. You shall burn that in which the plague is with fire.
58The garment, either the warp, or the woof, or whatever thing of leather it is, which you shall wash, if the plague has departed from them, then it shall be washed the second time, and it shall be clean."
59This is the law of the plague of mildew in a garment of wool or linen, either in the warp, or the woof, or anything of leather, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.
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Summary
Chapter 13 is the longest chapter in Leviticus's purity section, providing detailed priestly instructions for diagnosing and managing various skin diseases (often translated "leprosy" but encompassing many skin conditions) as well as mildew in garments. The priest serves as a medical-religious inspector, isolating suspected cases for observation. Confirmed cases result in the person being declared unclean, required to live outside the camp, and to warn others by calling out "Unclean! Unclean!" Infected garments must be burned. The chapter is about maintaining the holiness and health of the community.
Themes
- Community purity protects both individuals and the whole congregation
- The priest as the authoritative discerner of clean and unclean — a diagnostic and spiritual role
- The social cost of uncleanness — exclusion, isolation, public identification
- Sin, like skin disease, spreads, corrupts, and must be addressed before contaminating others
Key verses
- Lev 13:3 — “If the hair in the plague has turned white, and the appearance of the plague is deeper than the body's skin, it is the plague of leprosy; so the priest shall examine him and pronounce him unclean.”
- Lev 13:45-46 — “The leper in whom the plague is shall wear torn clothes, and the hair of his head shall hang loose. He shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, 'Unclean! Unclean!'... He shall dwell alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.”
- Lev 13:59 — “This is the law of the plague of mildew in a garment... to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.”
Context & background
The Hebrew term *tzara'at* (often translated "leprosy") encompasses a range of skin conditions, not necessarily the modern disease Hansen's disease (leprosy). The priestly role here was both medical and religious — in a community living in close quarters in the Sinai wilderness (modern Egypt), contagious disease posed serious communal risk. The social experience of the person declared unclean — isolation, torn clothes, disheveled hair, crying "Unclean!" — made the person an outcast. This is the background to the many healing narratives in the Gospels where Jesus touches and cleanses lepers, a dramatic reversal of this social and ritual exclusion.
Cross-references
- 2 Kgs 5:1-14 — Naaman the Syrian is cleansed of leprosy through the prophet Elisha
- Lev 14 — The corresponding chapter on cleansing and restoration of the leper
- Luke 17:11-19 — Jesus cleanses ten lepers; only one returns to give thanks
- Matt 8:1-4 — Jesus touches and cleanses a leper, then instructs him to show himself to the priest "as Moses commanded"
- Num 12:9-15 — Miriam is struck with leprosy as divine discipline and restored after Moses intercedes