Did you know that leprosy has been one of the most important diseases in the history of mankind and that today there are countries that are still dealing with it? The Bible also speaks of it in this chapter of Leviticus 13.
Leviticus 13 of the Catholic Bible
Leprosy is one of the world’s best known infectious diseases and, although today it has been almost eradicated in the most developed countries, in ancient times it was a serious problem for many people. serious problem problem because there was no cure at that time.
The religious authorities of the time created a protocol for lepers that is reflected in some chapters of the Holy Scriptures to prevent contagions from becoming a public health problem. public health problem.
Want to know more about the problem of leprosy in Old Testament times and what the Bible says about it? In this article of Tu Biblia Online we will analyze Leviticus 13a long chapter that discusses the subject in depth.
Leviticus 13 spoken
We begin this article with Leviticus 13 in video to enter fully into the content of this extensive chapter. We invite you to take advantage of this Bible reading to pray for those you love the most and feel the warmth of God by your side.
As you will see, this chapter is like an instruction manual for the priests of the time, so that they could identify lepers and act accordingly. act accordingly. Realize how times have changed and what other lessons you can draw from the text.
Leviticus 13 in English and large print
If you need to, you can now read Leviticus 13 in its entirety in English to retain the most important details of the text. This is the version extracted from the Reina Valera 1960 Bible which you can easily purchase on the Internet.
Laws about leprosy
1 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:
2 If a man have in the skin of his body a swelling, or a rash, or a white spot, and there be in the skin of his body as it were a plague of leprosy, then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests.
3 And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the body: if the hair in the plague be turned white, and the plague seem to be deeper than the skin of the flesh, it is the plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.
4 And if there be in the skin of his flesh a white spot, but it be not deeper than the skin, and the hair be not turned white, then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague seven days.
5 And on the seventh day the priest shall look on him; and if the sore be still in the same appearance, not having spread in the skin, then the priest shall shut him up again for another seven days.
6 And on the seventh day the priest shall look on him again: and if the sore appear to be darkened, and it be not spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean: it was a rash; and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.
7 But if the rash spreads on the skin after he has shown himself to the priest to be cleansed, he shall show himself again to the priest.
8 And if the priest sees that the rash has spread on the skin, he shall pronounce him unclean: it is leprosy.
9 When a man has a sore of leprosy, he shall be brought to the priest.
10 And he shall look at it, and if a white tumor appears on the skin, which has changed the color of the hair, and the living flesh is also discovered,
11 is chronic leprosy in the skin of his body; and the priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall not shut him up, because he is unclean.
12 But if the leprosy break out and spread through the skin, so that it covers all the skin of the sore from his head to his feet, as far as the priest can see,
13 then he will recognize him; and if the leprosy has covered his whole body, he will pronounce him clean who has the sore; all of it has become white, and he is clean.
14 But in the day that living flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean.
15 And the priest shall look on the living flesh, and pronounce it unclean. Living flesh is unclean; it is leprosy.
16 But when the living flesh changes and becomes white, then he shall come to the priest,
17 And the priest shall look: and, behold, if the plague be turned white, the priest shall pronounce him that had the plague clean, and he shall be clean.
18 And when the skin of the flesh is broken and healed,
19 and there is a swelling or a reddish-white spot in the place of the boil, it shall be shown to the priest.
20 And the priest shall look, and, behold, if it appear to be deeper than the skin, and his hair be turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague of leprosy, which is in the boil.
21 And if the priest shall look upon it, and, behold, there be no white hair in it, and it be not deeper than the skin, but dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days;
22 And if it be spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce it unclean: it is a sore.
23 But if the white spot remains in its place, and has not spread, it is the scar of the boil, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
24 Also when there is on the skin of the body burned by fire, and there is on the healed part of the fire a whitish, reddish or white stain,
25 The priest shall look upon it: and if the hair in the spot be turned white, and the spot be deeper than the skin, it is leprosy, which is gone out of the burning: and the priest shall pronounce him unclean, because it is a plague of leprosy.
26 But if the priest look upon it, and, behold, there be no white hair in the spot, neither be deeper than the skin, but it be dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days.
27 And on the seventh day the priest shall know it: and if it be spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.
28 But if the spot remain in its place, and be not spread in the skin, but be dark, it is the scar of the burning: the priest shall pronounce him clean: for it is the sign of the burning.
29 And the man or woman who has a sore on his or her head or beard,
30 The priest shall look on the plague; and if it be deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be yellowish and thin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is ringworm, it is leprosy of the head or of the beard.
31 And when the priest shall look on the plague of the scall, and, behold, it be not deeper than the skin, and there be no black hair therein; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague of the scall seven days;
32 And on the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the scall be not spread, and there be no yellow hair therein, and the scall be not deeper than the skin,
33 Then shall he cause him to shave himself, but he shall not shave the spot; and the priest shall shut up him that hath the scall seven days more.
34 And the priest shall look on the scall on the seventh day, and, behold, if the scall be not spread in the skin, and the scall be not deeper than the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.
35 But if the ringworm has been spreading on the skin after its purification,
36 Then the priest shall look upon it: and if the scall be spread in the skin, let not the priest look for the yellowish hair; it is unclean.
37 But if it seems to him that the scall is stopped, and that the black hair is gone out of it, the scall is healed; he is clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
38 Also when the man or woman has on the skin of his or her body spots, white spots,
39 the priest shall look, and if on the skin of his body there appear white spots somewhat darkened, it is the instep that sprouted on the skin; the person is clean.
40 And when a man’s hair falls out, he is bald, but clean.
41 And if his hair fall toward his forehead, he is bald in front, but clean.
42 But when there is a reddish-white sore on the bald head or on the forehead, it is leprosy that sprouts on his bald head or on his forehead.
43 Then the priest shall look at him, and if it shall appear the swelling of the reddish white sore on his bald head or on his forehead, as the appearance of leprosy of the skin of the body,
44 He is a leper, he is unclean, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean: the sore is on his head.
45 And the leper in whom there is a sore shall wear torn clothes, and his head shall be uncovered, and he shall proclaim with a cloak on his head: Unclean! Unclean!
46 As long as the sore is in him, he shall be unclean; he shall be unclean, and shall dwell alone; outside the camp shall be his habitation.
47 When there is a plague of leprosy in a garment, whether it is a woolen or linen garment,
48 or in warp or weft of linen or wool, or in leather, or in any leather work;
49 And if the plague be greenish, or reddish, in the garment, or in the skin, in the warp, or in the woof, or in any work of skin; it is the plague of leprosy, and it shall be shewed unto the priest.
50 And the priest shall look on the plague, and shut up the plagued thing for seven days.
51 And on the seventh day he shall look on the plague: and if the plague be spread in the garment, in the warp, or in the woof, or in the skin, or in any work that is made of skin, the plague is an evil leprosy; it shall be unclean.
52 The garment, the warp or woof of wool or linen, or any work of leather in which there is such a plague, shall be burned, for it is an evil leprosy; it shall be burned with fire.
53 And if the priest shall look, and, behold, the plague be not spread in the garment, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in any work of leather,
54 then the priest shall command that they wash where the plague is, and shall shut it up again for seven days.
55 And the priest shall look after the plague is washed away: and if the plague seemeth not to have changed its appearance, though the plague be not spread, it is unclean: thou shalt burn it with fire: it is a piercing corrosion, whether the plague be on the right side or on the reverse side of the thing.
56 But if the priest sees it, and the plague seems to have darkened after it has been washed, he shall cut it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof.
57 And if it appear again in the garment, the warp or woof, or in any thing of leather, spreading therein, thou shalt burn with fire that wherein the plague is.
58 But the garment, or the warp, or the woof, or any thing of skin, which thou shalt wash, and the plague be taken out of it, it shall be washed the second time, and then it shall be clean.
59 This is the law for the plague of leprosy of the garment of wool or linen, or of warp or woof, or of any thing of leather, to be pronounced clean or unclean.
What is the book of Leviticus?
In general, we are aware that in Christianity Leviticus is a little known book due to its minor liturgical importance. This is not so for the Jews, who base many of their their customs in this book.
Want to learn more about Leviticus? Are you thinking about how today’s chapter might relate to the rest of the book? In the following video you will learn all this and you will know what is the role of Leviticus in our religion.
Meaning and explanation of Leviticus 13
Do you have it all a little clearer? After gathering all the context and knowledge of the text, we can start with the Bible commentary on Leviticus 13.
In it, we will focus on analyzing the most spiritual part of the text and that you can get the most out of it, since in general the text is quite literal as far as leprosy is concerned.
As you have already seen, the text is quite clear as to its subject matter: it is necessary to diagnose and isolate leprosy patients must be diagnosed and isolated so that leprosy is not transmitted and becomes a global and uncontrollable problem.
Surprisingly, this text demonstrates a great great capacity of the sages of those times in identifying the solutions to this type of contagious diseases, something never seen before in any human civilization.
The key verses to understand this chapter are Leviticus 13:4-6where the process that a person with mild symptoms of leprosy had to go through is explained, corresponding to an obligatory quarantine of one week that was extended according to the duration and severity of those symptoms.
This block of verses can be taken to a more a more spiritual plane. The Lord is attentive to our actions and, when temptation leads us astray, he waits a certain time before taking exceptional measures.
The most important thing is to remember the path of truth and to find the Word of God again with humility and more faith than ever. more faith than ever. If this happens, the Lord will act with mercy and we will obtain forgiveness.
If, on the other hand, temptation and sin succeed in leading us so far from God’s path that we lose the will to return, more severe measures will be applied and it will be difficult for us to find true happiness in a world without the Lord.
In this way it is possible to liken sin to leprosy, a spiritual disease that is contagious and, if measures are not taken in time, is very difficult to cure. Therefore, faith and the Holy Scriptures act as our cure and surrounding ourselves with good people prevents us from becoming infected.
Context of Leviticus 13
Leviticus 13 belongs to a book of the Old Testament of the Bible called Leviticus, which is placed between Exodus and Numbers and forms the Pentateuch together with Genesis and Deuteronomy.
Throughout history, it has been said that these five books were written in their entirety by Moses during his lifetime, some of them during his youth and others during his old age.
More recent studies show that other authors were involved in the works, although this does not detract from the fact that they are the oldest sacred texts in the world. sacred texts referring to our religion sacred texts referring to our religion that are known to date.
Nowadays, we are very clear about which are the main biblical texts and what each one of them expresses, but at that time everything was yet to be learned and that is why texts such as Leviticus were necessary, which were intended to to educate and train priests to spread the Word of God.
In summary, Leviticus is a book full of laws and rules. laws and rules for the inhabitants of Israel and are still of great importance to Jews today. In Christianity this book is not so important, although it is difficult to understand the history of our religion without it.
Chapters 13 and 14 of the book are a training for priests to identify persons with leprosy. sick with leprosyThis was a very dangerous disease at a time when there were no doctors or advanced medicines to stop the spread of the disease.
This concludes this article on Leviticus 13 of the Bible. We hope that you have learned many things and that this time of reflection will help you to come a little closer to the Lord.
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