This chapter treats of the purification of lepers, and the rules to be observed therein; and first what the priest was to do for his cleansing when brought to him, by making use of two birds, with cedar wood, scarlet and hyssop, as directed, Lev.

And the Lord spake unto Moses In order to deliver the same to Aaron, who, and the priests his successors, were chiefly to be concerned in the execution of the law given: saying; as follows.

This shall be the law of the leper, in the day of his cleansing Or the rules, rites, ceremonies, and sacrifices to be observed therein. Jarchi says, from hence we learn that they were not to purify a leper in the night: he shall be brought unto the priest: not into the camp, or city, or house,…

And the priest shall go forth out of the camp A little without the camp, as Ben Gersom notes. There have been several goings forth of Christ our High Priest; first in the council and covenant of grace and peace, when he became the surety of his people; then in time by the assumption of human…

Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed The command is by the priest, the taking is by any man, as Ben Gersom observes; anyone whom he shall command, the leper himself, or his friends.

And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed, &c.] That is, shall command another priest to kill one of them, or an Israelite, as Aben Ezra; and who also observes, that some say the leper, or the butcher, as the Targum of Jonathan; the killing of this bird, not being a sacrifice,…

As for the living bird, he shall take it And dispose of it as after directed; for there was an use for that: and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop; which were all bound up in one bundle, but whether the living bird was joined to them is a question; according to Jarchi they were…

And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times With the hyssop fastened to the cedar stick, with the scarlet wool or thread bound about it, dipped into the blood and water in the earthen vessel; to which the psalmist alludes, ; the Egyptians had a great notion of…

And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes That there may be no remains of the infection in them, and that they might not convey an ill scent to others: so the conversation garments of the saints are to be washed in the blood of the Lamb, ; and shave off all his hair; what is here…

But it shall be on the seventh day After he was first brought to the priest, and cleansed by the two birds, taken and used for him as directed, and he had been shaved and washed: that he shall shave all his hair; a second time, whatsoever was grown in those seven days: all off his head, and his…

And on the eighth day From the leper’s first appearance before the priest, and the day after the above things were done, in : he shall take two he lambs without blemish; the one for a trespass offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and both typical of Christ the Lamb of God, without spot and…

And the priest that maketh him clean By the above rites and ceremonies, and the after sacrifices offered: shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things before the Lord; the two he lambs, and the ewe lamb; and it seems also the meat offerings, and the log of oil; but these Ben…

And the priest shall take one he lamb One of the he lambs brought by the leper for his offering: and offer him for a trespass offering; for though the leprosy itself was a disorder or disease, and not sinful, yet the cause of it was sin, a trespass against God, and therefore a trespass offering…

And he shall slay the lamb The priest, or the butcher, as the Targum of Jonathan, the slaughterer, the priest appointed for that service; at which time both the hands of the leper were laid upon it, as says the Misnah [[14]]; for though the leper might not go into the court as yet, the sacrifice…

And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering According to the Misnah [[16]], two priests received the blood of it, one in a vessel and the other in his hand; he that received it in a vessel went and sprinkled it upon the wall (or top, as Maimonides [[17]]) of the altar; and…

And the priest shall take some of the log of oil With his right hand, as the Targum of Jonathan adds: and pour it into the palm of his own left hand: but in the original text it is, “pour it into the palm of the priest’s left hand”: and it is a question, whether he or another priest is meant;…

And the priest shall dip his right finger The finger of his right hand, the forefinger of it: in the oil that is in his left hand; either that is in his own left hand, or in the left hand of a fellow priest: and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord; that is, over…

And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand That was either in the hand of the priest that was cleansing, or in the hand of his fellow priest; such of it as was left after some of it had been sprinkled seven times before the Lord: shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is…

And the remnant of the oil that is in the priests hand Either in the hand of the priest that makes the leper clean, or in the hand of a fellow priest; what was left of that after some of it had been sprinkled seven times before the Lord, and after other of it had been put upon the several parts of…

And the priest shall offer the sin offering This was the ewe lamb, according to the rite of every sin offering, as Aben Ezra says; and was typical of Christ, as all such offerings were, who was made sin and a sin offering for his people: and make an atonement for him that was to be cleansed from…

And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar The meat offering which belonged to that, and went along with it, even one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil; but no mention being made of any meat offering with the other offerings already offered, the…

And if he be poor, and cannot get so much As three lambs, and three tenth deals of fine flour: then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him; one he lamb, and was excused the other he lamb for a burnt offering, and the ewe lamb for a sin offering; but…

And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get As good as he can get for his money, or his money he is possessed of will purchase; but if he was not able to purchase these of the better sort, the best he could get would be acceptable; so indulgent, kind, and merciful was God…

And he shall bring them on the eighth day, for his cleansing, &c.] Which supposes him to have gone through all the rites and ceremonies of cleansing throughout the seven days, from his first appearance before the priest; such as his being sprinkled with the cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet, dipped…

And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, &c.] (See Gill on Lev. 14:12).

And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering (See Gill on Lev. 14:13). and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering (See Gill on Lev. 14:14).

And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand.] (See Gill on Lev. 14:15).

And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil (See Gill on Lev. 14:16).

And the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand, &c.] (See Gill on Lev. 14:17).

And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand (See Gill on Lev. 14:18).

And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves (See Gill on Lev. 14:22).

Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering (See Gill on Lev. 14:22).

This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, &c.] The former part of the chapter contains an account of the laws, rites, and ceremonies of a leper who was able to bear the expenses them: this latter part respects such laws, rites, and ceremonies, that belonged to him: whose hand is not…

And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron At the same time as the above laws were delivered concerning the leper, and the cleansing of him, or however immediately upon that; the affair of the leprosy of houses being what belonged to the priest to examine into and cleanse from: saying; as follows.

When ye be come into the land of Canaan Which as yet they were not come to, being in the wilderness, and so the following law concerning the leprosy in houses could not yet take place, they now dwelling in tents, and not in houses: which I give to you for a possession; the Lord had given it to…

And he that owneth the house shall come, and tell the priest, &c.] As soon as he observes any sign of leprosy in it, or which gives him a suspicion of it: saying, it seemeth unto me there is as it were a plague in the house; he must not say expressly there is one, how certain soever he may be of…

Then the priest shall command that they empty the house Clear it of all persons and things; everybody was obliged to go out of it; and all the furniture of it, all the household goods in it, were to be removed from it: before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be…

And he shall look on the plague That which is taken or suspected to be one, being pointed unto by the owner of the house: and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house; for there it chiefly was, if not solely; and from hence Gersom infers that it must be a walled house, and that it must…

Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house Thereby signifying that it was not fit to be inhabited, and there standing to see it shut up, as follows: and shut up the house seven days: to observe what alteration would be made in that time, and which would sooner be discovered…

And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look On the seventh day from his shutting of it up, he shall open it again, go into it, and observe in what condition it is: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house: the hollow strakes are become deeper, or the…

Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is In there appeared any cavities, or the above colours, and these spreading: in order to put a stop thereunto, these stones were to be drawn or pulled out, as the word signifies, in such manner as not to endanger the…

And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about All the walls on each side, and at each end, and every stone in them; which, though they had no appearance on them, yet should there be any infection in them, which as yet was not seen, it might be removed, and a spread prevented: and…

And they shall take other stones From elsewhere, such as are sound and whole: and put them in the place of these stones; such as will exactly answer them, as to number and size, and so fill up the space vacant by the removal of the other, and support the building: and he shall take other mortar,…

And if the plague come again, and break out in the house In the above signs of it: after that he hath taken away the stones; which were infected, or ordered them to be taken away: and after he hath scraped the house; so that there seemed to be no remains of the plague: and after it is plastered; to…

Then the priest shall come and look On the seventh day of the second week; though, according to Maimonides [[13]], this was at the end of the third seven day, or on the nineteenth day from his first inspection into it; the seventh day being reckoned for the last of the first week, and the first of…

And he shall break down the house Order it to be pulled down, and demolished entirely, that is, the priest shall give such orders; but Gersom thinks this was to be done by the owner of the house, and that he was to do it himself, and have no associate with him in it: the stones of it, and the…

Moreover, he that goeth into the house all the while it is shut up The utmost of which were three weeks, as Jarchi observes; during the time a house was shut up, no man might enter it: if he did, he shall be unclean until the evening; might not have any conversation with men until the evening was…

And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes Which is more than bare entrance into it, and might be supposed the more to be infected by it, and therefore obliged to the washing of himself, and his garments: and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes; if he stayed no longer than…

And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it That is, on the seventh day of the second week of its being shut up: and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plastered; (See Gill on Lev.

And he shall take to cleanse the house The priest, or by his fellow priest, as Aben Ezra, though some interpret it of the master of the house; in , an account is given of the manner of cleansing a leprous house, which is the same with that of cleansing a leprous man, see notes on Lev.

And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water.] (See Gill on Lev. 14:5).

And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird (See Gill on Lev. 14:6). and sprinkle the house seven times. (See Gill on Lev. 14:7).

And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, &c.] (See Gill on Lev. 14:4).

But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields (See Gill on Lev. 14:7).

This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall. ] The leprosy in general in the bodies of men, and of that in particular which was on the head and beard, and went by the name of the scall, .

And for the leprosy of a garment Of which see ; and of an house; largely treated of in this chapter, .

And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot. ] Which were three sorts of leprosy in the skin of man’s flesh; (See Gill on Lev. 13:2).

To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean A man, his garment, or his house; for it respects them all, as Aben Ezra observes; which was the business of the priests to teach men, and they by the above laws and rules were instructed how to judge of cases, and by which they were capable of…