Leviticus 13:46

"“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!’"

Key Reflection

In Leviticus 13:46, a leper is instructed to wear torn clothes and let their hair hang loose as signs of uncleanness, commands that highlight their separation from the community. The leper was also required to cover their upper lip and repeatedly declare “Unclean! Unclean!” This ritual not only marked them as ritually impure but also served to warn others to keep a distance, reinforcing the social stigma associated with leprosy in ancient Israelite society.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Dwell alone -More properly, dwell apart; that is, separated from the people. Though thus excluded from general contact with society, it is not likely that lepers ceased to be objects of sympathy and kindness, such as they now are in those Christian and Moslem countries in which the leprosy prevails. That they associated together in the holy land, as they do at present, is evident from2 Kings 7:3;Luke 17:12. It has been conjectured that a habitation was provided for them outside Jerusalem, on the hill Gareb (Bezetha), which is mentioned only inJeremiah 31:39. Without the camp -Compare the margin reference. A leper polluted everything in the house which he entered.

More from Leviticus 13

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Go deeper with Bible.talk - your AI Bible study companion