Leviticus 13:45
in Leviticus 13A diseased person must wear torn clothes and let his hair hang loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and the hair of his head shall go loose, and he shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
KJV
And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
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This verse in Leviticus 13
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The leper was to carry about with him the usual signs of mourning for the dead. Compare Lev 10:6 and margin reference. The leper was a living parable in the world of the sin of which death was the wages; not the less so because his suffering might have been in no degree due to his own personal deserts: he bore about with him at once the deadly fruit and the symbol of the sin of his race. Exo 20:
This site's exposition
the leper in whom the plague is
on Leviticus 13:45-46
These two verses are the only place in the chapter that says how the man then lives. Rent clothes, a bare head, a covering upon the upper lip, his own voice calling Unclean, unclean, and a dwelling alone outside the camp. Luke 17:12 has ten lepers standing afar off in obedience to this verse, and Mark 1:41 has Jesus putting out his hand and touching one.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And this was all that the law could do, in that it was weak through the flesh; it taught the leper to cry, Unclean, unclean, but the gospel has put another cry into the lepers' mouths, Luke xvii. 12, 13 , where we find ten lepers crying with a loud voice, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. The law only shows us our disease; the gospel shows us our help in Christ.
This was done partly as a token of sorrow, because though this was not a sin, yet it was an effect of sin, and a sore punishment, whereby he was cut off both from converse with men, and from the enjoyment of God in his ordinances; partly as a warning to others to keep at a due distance from him wheresoever he came.
And the leper in whom the plague is,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
As to "the putting a covering upon the upper lip," that means either wearing a moustache, as the Hebrews used to shave the upper lip [CALMET], or simply keeping a hand over it. All these external marks of grief were intended to proclaim, in addition to his own exclamation "Unclean!" that the person was a leper, whose company every one must shun.
His clothes shall be rent, etc. - The leprous person is required to be as one that mourned for the dead, or for some great and public calamity. He was to have his clothes rent in token of extreme sorrow; his head was to be made bare, the ordinary bonnet or turban being omitted; and he was to have a covering upon his upper lip, his jaws being tied up With a linen cloth, after the same manner in which the Jews bind up the dead, which custom is still observed among the Jews in Barbary on funeral occasions: a custom which, from Eze 24:17, we learn had prevailed very anciently among the Jews in Palestine. He was also to cry, Unclean, unclean, in order to prevent any person from coming near him, lest the contagion might be thus communicated and diffused through society; and hence the Targumist render it, Be not ye made unclean! Be not ye made unclean! A caution to others not to come near him.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַצָּר֜וּעַ | vehatzarua' | <and> the [one who] has a serious skin disease | H6879 → | 20 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בּ֣וֹ | bo | [is] on <the> him | ||
| הַנֶּ֗גַע | hanega' | the plague | H5061 → | 78 times |
| בְּגָדָ֞יו | begadav | garments his | H899 → | 217 times |
| יִהְי֤וּ | yihyu | they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| פְרֻמִים֙ | ferumim | torn | H6533 → | 3 times |
| וְרֹאשׁוֹ֙ | verosho | and head his | H7218 → | 599 times |
| יִהְיֶ֣ה | yihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| פָר֔וּעַ | farua' | let loose | H6544 → | 16 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שָׂפָ֖ם | safam | a moustache | H8222 → | |
| יַעְטֶ֑ה | ya'teh | he will cover | H5844 → | |
| וְטָמֵ֥א׀ | vetame' | and unclean! | H2931 → | 88 times |
| טָמֵ֖א | tame' | unclean! | H2931 → | 88 times |
| יִקְרָֽא׃ | yikra' | he will call out | H7121 → | 733 times |
וְהַצָּר֜וּעַ<and> the [one who] has a serious skin disease
vehatzarua'H6879 →20 times
אֲשֶׁר־whom
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
בּ֣וֹ[is] on <the> him
bo
הַנֶּ֗גַעthe plague
hanega'H5061 →78 times
בְּגָדָ֞יוgarments his
begadavH899 →217 times
יִהְי֤וּthey will be
yihyuH1961 →3559 times
פְרֻמִים֙torn
ferumimH6533 →3 times
וְרֹאשׁוֹ֙and head his
veroshoH7218 →599 times
יִהְיֶ֣הit will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
פָר֔וּעַlet loose
farua'H6544 →16 times
וְעַל־and over
veal-H5921 →5755 times
שָׂפָ֖םa moustache
safamH8222 →
יַעְטֶ֑הhe will cover
ya'tehH5844 →
וְטָמֵ֥א׀and unclean!
vetame'H2931 →88 times
טָמֵ֖אunclean!
tame'H2931 →88 times
יִקְרָֽא׃he will call out
yikra'H7121 →733 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Luke 17:12As He entered one of the villages, He was met by ten lepers. They stood at a distance
it leads to
- Leviticus 13:45–46
A diseased person must wear torn clothes and let his hair hang loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 5:12
While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell facedown and begged Him, “Lord, if You are willing, You can…
- 2 Kings 7:3
Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate, and they said to one another, “Why just sit here until we die?
- Luke 18:13
But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’
- Leviticus 13:45–46
Through
Micah 3:7Then the seers will be ashamed and the diviners will be disgraced. They will all cover their mouths because there is no answer from God.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 44:25
who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense,
- Zechariah 13:4
And on that day every prophet who prophesies will be ashamed of his vision, and he will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive.
- Isaiah 44:25
Through
Ezekiel 24:17Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners.”
it leads to
- Hosea 9:4
They will not pour out wine offerings to the LORD, and their sacrifices will not please Him, but will be to them like the bread of mourners; all who eat will be defiled. For…
- 2 Samuel 15:30
But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up,…
- Hosea 9:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.