Leviticuschapter 14

A.Two birds — one killed, one let flyvv. 1-9

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “This is the law for the one afflicted with a skin disease on the day of his cleansing, when he is brought to the priest. 3 The priest is to go outside the camp to examine him, and if the skin disease of the afflicted person has healed, 4 the priest shall order that two live clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed. 5 Then the priest shall command that one of the birds be slaughtered over fresh water in a clay pot. 6 And he is to take the live bird together with the cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop, and dip them into the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water. 7 Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the skin disease. Then he shall pronounce him clean and release the live bird into the open field. 8 The one being cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe with water; then he will be ceremonially clean. Afterward, he may enter the camp, but he must remain outside his tent for seven days. 9 On the seventh day he must shave off all his hair—his head, his beard, his eyebrows, and the rest of his hair. He must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and he will be clean.

B.Blood and oil on ear, thumb, and toevv. 10-20

10 On the eighth day he is to bring two unblemished male lambs, an unblemished ewe lamb a year old, a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with olive oil, and one log of olive oil. 11 The priest who performs the cleansing shall present the one to be cleansed, together with these offerings, before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 12 Then the priest is to take one of the male lambs and present it as a guilt offering, along with the log of olive oil; and he must wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. 13 Then he is to slaughter the lamb in the sanctuary area where the sin offering and burnt offering are slaughtered. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest; it is most holy. 14 The priest is to take some of the blood from the guilt offering and put it on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 15 Then the priest shall take some of the log of olive oil, pour it into his left palm, 16 dip his right forefinger into the oil in his left palm, and sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD. 17 And the priest is to put some of the oil remaining in his palm on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. 18 The rest of the oil in his palm, the priest is to put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the LORD. 19 Then the priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. After that, the priest shall slaughter the burnt offering 20 and offer it on the altar, with the grain offering, to make atonement for him, and he will be clean.

C.If he is poor: one lamb and two birdsvv. 21-32

21 If, however, the person is poor and cannot afford these offerings, he is to take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for him, along with a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, a log of olive oil, 22 and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, whichever he can afford, one to be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. 23 On the eighth day he is to bring them for his cleansing to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD. 24 The priest shall take the lamb for the guilt offering, along with the log of olive oil, and wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. 25 And after he slaughters the lamb for the guilt offering, the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 26 Then the priest is to pour some of the oil into his left palm 27 and sprinkle with his right forefinger some of the oil in his left palm seven times before the LORD. 28 The priest shall also put some of the oil in his palm on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot—on the same places as the blood of the guilt offering. 29 The rest of the oil in his palm, the priest is to put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the LORD. 30 Then he must sacrifice the turtledoves or young pigeons, whichever he can afford, 31 one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. In this way the priest will make atonement before the LORD for the one to be cleansed. 32 This is the law for someone who has a skin disease and cannot afford the cost of his cleansing.”

D.Leprosy in the walls of a housevv. 33-53

33 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 34 “When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a contamination of mildew into a house in that land, 35 the owner of the house shall come and tell the priest, ‘Something like mildew has appeared in my house.’ 36 The priest must order that the house be cleared before he enters it to examine the mildew, so that nothing in the house will become unclean. After this, the priest shall go in to inspect the house. 37 He is to examine the house, and if the mildew on the walls consists of green or red depressions that appear to be beneath the surface of the wall, 38 the priest shall go outside the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days. 39 On the seventh day the priest is to return and inspect the house. If the mildew has spread on the walls, 40 he must order that the contaminated stones be pulled out and thrown into an unclean place outside the city. 41 And he shall have the inside of the house scraped completely and the plaster that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the city. 42 So different stones must be obtained to replace the contaminated ones, as well as additional mortar to replaster the house. 43 If the mildew reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house has been scraped and replastered, 44 the priest must come and inspect it. If the mildew has spread in the house, it is a destructive mildew; the house is unclean. 45 It must be torn down with its stones, its timbers, and all its plaster, and taken outside the city to an unclean place. 46 Anyone who enters the house during any of the days that it is closed up will be unclean until evening. 47 And anyone who sleeps in the house or eats in it must wash his clothes. 48 If, however, the priest comes and inspects it, and the mildew has not spread after the house has been replastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the mildew is gone. 49 He is to take two birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop to purify the house; 50 and he shall slaughter one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot. 51 Then he shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn, and the live bird, dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52 And he shall cleanse the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet yarn. 53 Finally, he is to release the live bird into the open fields outside the city. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.

E.The law for every plague and scallvv. 54-57

54 This is the law for any infectious skin disease, for a scaly outbreak, 55 for mildew in clothing or in a house, 56 and for a swelling, rash, or spot, 57 to determine when something is clean or unclean. This is the law regarding skin diseases and mildew.”

Commentary on this chapter: read the Exposition

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Chapter summary

The law of cleansing a leper.

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The law of cleansing a leper. The priest goes outside the camp; two living clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet, hyssop. One bird killed over running water; the living bird dipped in its blood with the cedar and scarlet and hyssop, then set free. The cleansed man washes his clothes, shaves off all his hair, bathes, and is re-admitted to the camp (but not yet to his tent). On the eighth day, sin, trespass, and burnt offerings; blood and oil on right ear, thumb, and great toe. The priestly pattern applied to the restored. The same law for mildew in a house. Jesus' healings of lepers (Mark 1:44) send them to this chapter's priest.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.

Context

Law · Moses — Leviticus overview

A. 1–9 Two birds — one killed, one let fly
B. 10–20 Blood and oil on ear, thumb, and toe
C. 21–32 If he is poor: one lamb and two birds
D. 33–53 Leprosy in the walls of a house
E. 54–57 The law for every plague and scall

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Leviticus 1414 verses
- Leviticus 14:4the priest shall order that two live clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed.
- Leviticus 14:6And he is to take the live bird together with the cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop, and dip them into the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water.
- Leviticus 14:7Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the skin disease. Then he shall pronounce him clean and release the live bird into the open field.
- Leviticus 14:8The one being cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe with water; then he will be ceremonially clean. Afterward, he may enter the camp, but he must remain outside his tent for seven days.
- Leviticus 14:10On the eighth day he is to bring two unblemished male lambs, an unblemished ewe lamb a year old, a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with olive oil, and one log of olive oil.
- Leviticus 14:12Then the priest is to take one of the male lambs and present it as a guilt offering, along with the log of olive oil; and he must wave them as a wave offering before the LORD.
- Read Leviticus 14: 8 more there →
Leviticus 1310 verses
- Leviticus 13:2“When someone has a swelling or rash or bright spot on his skin that could become an infectious skin disease, he must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest.
- Leviticus 13:3The priest is to examine the infection on his skin, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a skin disease. After the priest examines him, he must pronounce him unclean.
- Leviticus 13:7But if the rash spreads further on his skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he must present himself again to the priest.
- Leviticus 13:36the priest is to examine him, and if the scaly outbreak has spread on the skin, the priest need not look for yellow hair; the person is unclean.
- Leviticus 13:42But if there is a reddish-white sore on the bald head or forehead, it is an infectious disease breaking out on it.
- Leviticus 13:46As long as he has the infection, he remains unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp.
- Read Leviticus 13: 4 more there →
Exodus 294 verses
- Exodus 29:1“Now this is what you are to do to consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve Me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams without blemish,
- Exodus 29:11And you shall slaughter the bull before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
- Exodus 29:20Slaughter the ram, take some of its blood, and put it on the right earlobes of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Sprinkle the remaining blood on all sides of the altar.
- Exodus 29:24Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and wave them before the LORD as a wave offering.
- Read Exodus 29 →
Leviticus 83 verses
- Leviticus 8:3and assemble the whole congregation at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.”
- Leviticus 8:12He also poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him.
- Leviticus 8:23Moses slaughtered the ram and took some of its blood and put it on Aaron’s right earlobe, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
- Read Leviticus 8 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

Leviticus 43 verses
- Leviticus 4:17and he is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD in front of the veil.
- Leviticus 4:24He is to lay his hand on the head of the goat and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the LORD. It is a sin offering.
- Leviticus 4:26He must burn all its fat on the altar, like the fat of the peace offerings; thus the priest will make atonement for that man’s sin, and he will be forgiven.
- Read Leviticus 4 →
Leviticus 153 verses
- Leviticus 15:10Whoever touches anything that was under him will be unclean until evening, and whoever carries such things must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
- Leviticus 15:14On the eighth day he is to take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, come before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the priest.
- Leviticus 15:32This is the law of him who has a discharge, of the man who has an emission of semen whereby he is unclean,
- Read Leviticus 15 →
Leviticus 52 verses
- Leviticus 5:6and he must bring his guilt offering to the LORD for the sin he has committed: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering. And the priest will make atonement for him concerning his sin.
- Leviticus 5:7If, however, he cannot afford a lamb, he may bring to the LORD as restitution for his sin two turtledoves or two young pigeons—one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.
- Read Leviticus 5 →
Leviticus 112 verses
- Leviticus 11:25and whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening.
- Leviticus 11:28and anyone who picks up a carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening. They are unclean for you.
- Read Leviticus 11 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.