The Priest's Examination of Skin and Cloth

The law the Lord gave to Moses and Aaron in this chapter is not about medicine. It is about diagnosis, separation, and the authority of the priest to declare what is clean and what is unclean. The instructions are precise, repetitive, and exhaustive, covering the skin, the scalp, the beard, and even the fabric a man wears. The priest does not heal. He looks, waits, and judges.

The first case begins with a man who has a rising, a scab, or a bright spot on his skin. He is brought to Aaron or one of his sons. The priest looks. If the hair in the spot has turned white and the spot appears deeper than the surrounding skin, the priest pronounces him unclean. That is leprosy. But if the spot is white, not deeper, and the hair has not turned white, the priest shuts the man up for seven days. On the seventh day, he looks again. If the plague has not spread and remains dim, the priest shuts him up another seven days. On the second seventh day, if the plague is dim and has not spread, the priest pronounces him clean. It is only a scab. The man washes his clothes and is clean.

But if the scab spreads after the man has shown himself to the priest, he must come again. The priest looks. If it has spread, he is unclean. It is leprosy. The law does not allow the priest to guess or to rely on the man's own report. He must see with his own eyes, and he must follow the sequence of waiting and reexamination.

When the plague is an old leprosy—a white rising, hair turned white, and raw flesh in the swelling—the priest pronounces him unclean immediately. No quarantine. The man is already unclean. But if the leprosy breaks out and covers all the skin from head to foot, the priest looks and, if the whole body is white, pronounces him clean. The raw flesh is the sign of uncleanness. If raw flesh appears, he is unclean. If the raw flesh turns white again, he comes to the priest, and if the plague has turned white, he is clean.

The law also covers a boil that heals. If a white rising or a reddish-white bright spot appears in the place of the healed boil, the priest examines it. If it is lower than the skin and the hair has turned white, it is leprosy. If not, the priest shuts the man up seven days. If it spreads, it is unclean. If it stays in place and does not spread, it is only the scar of the boil, and the priest pronounces him clean.

Similarly, a burn on the skin that becomes a reddish-white or white bright spot is examined. If the hair in the spot has turned white and the spot is deeper than the skin, it is leprosy. If not, the priest shuts the man up seven days. If it spreads, it is leprosy. If it stays and is dim, it is only the scar of the burn, and the man is clean.

The law extends to the head and the beard. If a plague appears there, the priest looks. If it is deeper than the skin and has thin yellow hair, it is a scall—leprosy of the head or beard. If it is not deeper and has no black hair, the priest shuts the man up seven days. On the seventh day, if the scall has not spread, no yellow hair, and not deeper, the man is shaved except for the scall itself, and he is shut up another seven days. On the seventh day of that second period, if the scall has not spread and is not deeper, the priest pronounces him clean. He washes his clothes and is clean. But if the scall spreads after that, the priest does not even look for yellow hair. The man is unclean. If the scall stays and black hair grows in it, the scall is healed, and the priest pronounces him clean.

Bright spots that are dull white are not leprosy. They are a tetter, and the person is clean. Baldness on the head or forehead is not leprosy unless a reddish-white plague appears in the bald area. Then it is leprosy, and the priest pronounces him unclean.

The man who is declared unclean must tear his clothes, let his hair go loose, cover his upper lip, and cry out, “Unclean, unclean.” He is unclean all the days the plague is in him. He dwells alone. His dwelling is outside the camp.

The law does not stop with the skin. It goes into the garment—wool or linen, warp or woof, leather or anything made of skin. If a greenish or reddish plague appears in the fabric, it is shown to the priest. He shuts it up seven days. On the seventh day, he looks. If the plague has spread, it is a fretting leprosy, and the garment is burned. If it has not spread, the priest commands that it be washed and shut up another seven days. After washing, if the plague has not changed color and has not spread, it is unclean and must be burned. If the plague is dim after washing, the priest tears it out of the garment. If it appears again, it is breaking out, and the whole thing is burned. If the plague departs after washing, the garment is washed a second time and is clean.

This is the law of the plague of leprosy in a garment—to pronounce it clean or to pronounce it unclean. The priest’s work is not glamorous. It is the work of looking, waiting, and drawing lines that keep the camp whole.