Imamat 14:1--15:33
Konteks14:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 14:2 “This is the law of the diseased person on the day of his purification, when 1 he is brought to the priest. 2 14:3 The priest is to go outside the camp and examine the infection. 3 If the infection of the diseased person has been healed, 4 14:4 then the priest will command that two live clean birds, a piece of cedar wood, a scrap of crimson fabric, 5 and some twigs of hyssop 6 be taken up 7 for the one being cleansed. 8 14:5 The priest will then command that one bird be slaughtered 9 into a clay vessel over fresh water. 10 14:6 Then 11 he is to take the live bird along with the piece of cedar wood, the scrap of crimson fabric, and the twigs of hyssop, and he is to dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird slaughtered over the fresh water, 14:7 and sprinkle it seven times on the one being cleansed 12 from the disease, pronounce him clean, 13 and send the live bird away over the open countryside. 14
14:8 “The one being cleansed 15 must then wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe in water, and so be clean. 16 Then afterward he may enter the camp, but he must live outside his tent seven days. 14:9 When the seventh day comes 17 he must shave all his hair – his head, his beard, his eyebrows, all his hair – and he must wash his clothes, bathe his body in water, and so be clean. 18
14:10 “On the eighth day he 19 must take two flawless male lambs, one flawless yearling female lamb, three-tenths of an ephah of choice wheat flour as a grain offering mixed with olive oil, 20 and one log of olive oil, 21 14:11 and the priest who pronounces him clean will have the man who is being cleansed stand along with these offerings 22 before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.
14:12 “The priest is to take one male lamb 23 and present it for a guilt offering 24 along with the log of olive oil and present them as a wave offering before the Lord. 25 14:13 He must then slaughter 26 the male lamb in the place where 27 the sin offering 28 and the burnt offering 29 are slaughtered, 30 in the sanctuary, because, like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest; 31 it is most holy. 14:14 Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the right earlobe of the one being cleansed, 32 on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe 33 of his right foot. 14:15 The priest will then take some of the log of olive oil and pour it into his own left hand. 34 14:16 Then the priest is to dip his right forefinger into the olive oil 35 that is in his left hand, and sprinkle some of the olive oil with his finger seven times before the Lord. 14:17 The priest will then put some of the rest of the olive oil that is in his hand 36 on the right earlobe of the one being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the guilt offering, 14:18 and the remainder of the olive oil 37 that is in his hand the priest is to put on the head of the one being cleansed. So the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord.
14:19 “The priest must then perform the sin offering 38 and make atonement for the one being cleansed from his impurity. After that he 39 is to slaughter the burnt offering, 14:20 and the priest is to offer 40 the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. So the priest is to make atonement for him and he will be clean.
14:21 “If the person is poor and does not have sufficient means, 41 he must take one male lamb as a guilt offering for a wave offering to make atonement for himself, one-tenth of an ephah of choice wheat flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, a log of olive oil, 42 14:22 and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, 43 which are within his means. 44 One will be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. 45
14:23 “On the eighth day he must bring them for his purification to the priest at the entrance 46 of the Meeting Tent before the Lord, 14:24 and the priest is to take the male lamb of the guilt offering and the log of olive oil and wave them 47 as a wave offering before the Lord. 14:25 Then he is to slaughter the male lamb of the guilt offering, and the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the right earlobe of the one being cleansed, 48 on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe 49 of his right foot. 14:26 The priest will then pour some of the olive oil into his own left hand, 50 14:27 and sprinkle some of the olive oil that is in his left hand with his right forefinger 51 seven times before the Lord. 14:28 Then the priest is to put some of the olive oil that is in his hand 52 on the right earlobe of the one being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the guilt offering, 14:29 and the remainder of the olive oil that is in the hand 53 of the priest he is to put 54 on the head of the one being cleansed to make atonement for him before the Lord.
14:30 “He will then make one of the turtledoves 55 or young pigeons, which are within his means, 56 14:31 a sin offering and the other a burnt offering along with the grain offering. 57 So the priest is to make atonement for the one being cleansed before the Lord. 14:32 This is the law of the one in whom there is a diseased infection, 58 who does not have sufficient means for his purification.” 59
14:33 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 14:34 “When you enter the land of Canaan which I am about to give 60 to you for a possession, and I put 61 a diseased infection in a house in the land you are to possess, 62 14:35 then whoever owns the house 63 must come and declare to the priest, ‘Something like an infection is visible to me in the house.’ 14:36 Then the priest will command that the house be cleared 64 before the priest enters to examine the infection 65 so that everything in the house 66 does not become unclean, 67 and afterward 68 the priest will enter to examine the house. 14:37 He is to examine the infection, and if 69 the infection in the walls of the house consists of yellowish green or reddish eruptions, 70 and it appears to be deeper than the surface of the wall, 71 14:38 then the priest is to go out of the house to the doorway of the house and quarantine the house for seven days. 72 14:39 The priest must return on the seventh day and examine it, and if 73 the infection has spread in the walls of the house, 14:40 then the priest is to command that the stones that had the infection in them be pulled and thrown 74 outside the city 75 into an unclean place. 14:41 Then he is to have the house scraped 76 all around on the inside, 77 and the plaster 78 which is scraped off 79 must be dumped outside the city 80 into an unclean place. 14:42 They are then to take other stones and replace those stones, 81 and he is to take other plaster and replaster the house.
14:43 “If the infection returns and breaks out in the house after he has pulled out the stones, scraped the house, and it is replastered, 82 14:44 the priest is to come and examine it, and if 83 the infection has spread in the house, it is a malignant disease in the house. It is unclean. 14:45 He must tear down the house, 84 its stones, its wood, and all the plaster of the house, and bring all of it 85 outside the city to an unclean place. 14:46 Anyone who enters 86 the house all the days the priest 87 has quarantined it will be unclean until evening. 14:47 Anyone who lies down in the house must wash his clothes. Anyone who eats in the house must wash his clothes.
14:48 “If, however, the priest enters 88 and examines it, and the 89 infection has not spread in the house after the house has been replastered, then the priest is to pronounce the house clean because the infection has been healed. 14:49 Then he 90 is to take two birds, a piece of cedar wood, a scrap of crimson fabric, and some twigs of hyssop 91 to decontaminate 92 the house, 14:50 and he is to slaughter one bird into a clay vessel over fresh water. 93 14:51 He must then take the piece of cedar wood, the twigs of hyssop, the scrap of crimson fabric, and the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and in the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 14:52 So he is to decontaminate the house with the blood of the bird, the fresh water, the live bird, the piece of cedar wood, the twigs of hyssop, and the scrap of crimson fabric, 14:53 and he is to send the live bird away outside the city 94 into the open countryside. So he is to make atonement for the house and it will be clean.
14:54 “This is the law for all diseased infections, for scall, 95 14:55 for the diseased garment, 96 for the house, 97 14:56 for the swelling, 98 for the scab, 99 and for the bright spot, 100 14:57 to teach when something is unclean and when it is clean. 101 This is the law for dealing with infectious disease.” 102
15:1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 15:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When any man 103 has a discharge 104 from his body, 105 his discharge is unclean. 15:3 Now this is his uncleanness in regard to his discharge 106 – whether his body secretes his discharge or blocks his discharge, he is unclean. All the days that his body has a discharge or his body blocks his discharge, 107 this is his uncleanness. 108
15:4 “‘Any bed the man with a discharge lies on will be unclean, 109 and any furniture he sits on will be unclean. 110 15:5 Anyone who touches his bed 111 must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 112 15:6 The one who sits on the furniture the man with a discharge sits on must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 15:7 The one who touches the body 113 of the man with a discharge must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 15:8 If the man with a discharge spits on a person who is ceremonially clean, 114 that person must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 15:9 Any means of riding 115 the man with a discharge rides on will be unclean. 15:10 Anyone who touches anything that was under him 116 will be unclean until evening, and the one who carries those items 117 must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 15:11 Anyone whom the man with the discharge touches without having rinsed his hands in water 118 must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 15:12 A clay vessel 119 which the man with the discharge touches must be broken, and any wooden utensil must be rinsed in water.
15:13 “‘When the man with the discharge becomes clean from his discharge he is to count off for himself seven days for his purification, and he must wash his clothes, bathe in fresh water, 120 and be clean. 15:14 Then on the eighth day he is to take for himself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, 121 and he is to present himself 122 before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent and give them to the priest, 15:15 and the priest is to make one of them a sin offering 123 and the other a burnt offering. 124 So the priest 125 is to make atonement for him before the Lord for 126 his discharge.
15:16 “‘When a man has a seminal emission, 127 he must bathe his whole body in water 128 and be unclean until evening, 15:17 and he must wash in water any clothing or leather that has semen on it, and it will be unclean until evening. 15:18 When a man has sexual intercourse with a woman and there is a seminal emission, 129 they must bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
15:19 “‘When a woman has a discharge 130 and her discharge is blood from her body, 131 she is to be in her menstruation 132 seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening. 15:20 Anything she lies on during her menstruation will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean. 15:21 Anyone who touches her bed must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 15:22 Anyone who touches any furniture she sits on must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 15:23 If there is something on the bed or on the furniture she sits on, 133 when he touches it 134 he will be unclean until evening, 15:24 and if a man actually has sexual intercourse with her so that her menstrual impurity touches him, 135 then he will be unclean seven days and any bed he lies on will be unclean.
15:25 “‘When a woman’s discharge of blood flows 136 many days not at the time of her menstruation, or if it flows beyond the time of her menstruation, 137 all the days of her discharge of impurity will be like the days of her menstruation – she is unclean. 15:26 Any bed she lies on all the days of her discharge will be to her like the bed of her menstruation, any furniture she sits on will be unclean like the impurity of her menstruation, 15:27 and anyone who touches them will be unclean, and he must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 138
15:28 “‘If 139 she becomes clean from her discharge, then she is to count off for herself seven days, and afterward she will be clean. 15:29 Then on the eighth day she must take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons 140 and she must bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, 15:30 and the priest is to make one a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. 141 So the priest 142 is to make atonement for her before the Lord from her discharge of impurity.
15:31 “‘Thus you 143 are to set the Israelites apart from their impurity so that they 144 do not die in their impurity by defiling my tabernacle which is in their midst. 15:32 This is the law of the one with a discharge: the one who has a seminal emission 145 and becomes unclean by it, 146 15:33 the one who is sick in her menstruation, the one with a discharge, whether male or female, 147 and a man 148 who has sexual intercourse with an unclean woman.’”
[14:2] 1 tn Heb “and.” Here KJV, ASV use a semicolon; NASB begins a new sentence with “Now.”
[14:2] 2 tn The alternative rendering, “when it is reported to the priest” may be better in light of the fact that the priest had to go outside the camp. Since he or she had been declared “unclean” by a priest (Lev 13:3) and was, therefore, required to remain outside the camp (13:46), the formerly diseased person could not reenter the camp until he or she had been declared “clean” by a priest (cf. Lev 13:6 for “declaring clean.”). See especially J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:831, who supports this rendering both here and in Lev 13:2 and 9. B. A. Levine, however, prefers the rendering in the text (Leviticus [JPSTC], 76 and 85). It is the most natural meaning of the verb (i.e., “to be brought” from בּוֹא [bo’, “to come”] in the Hophal stem, which means “to be brought” in all other occurrences in Leviticus other than 13:2, 9, and 14:2; see only 6:30; 10:18; 11:32; and 16:27), it suits the context well in 13:2, and the rendering “to be brought” is supported by 13:7b, “he shall show himself to the priest a second time.” Although it is true that the priest needed to go outside the camp to examine such a person, the person still needed to “be brought” to the priest there. The translation of vv. 2-3 employed here suggests that v. 2 introduces the proceeding and then v. 3 goes on to describe the specific details of the examination and purification.
[14:3] 3 tn Heb “and he shall be brought to the priest and the priest shall go out to from outside to the camp and the priest shall see [it].” The understood “it” refers to the skin infection itself (see the note on 13:3 above). The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:3] 4 tn Heb “And behold, the diseased infection has been healed from the diseased person.” The expression “diseased infection” has been translated as simply “infection” to avoid redundancy here in terms of English style.
[14:4] 5 tn The term rendered here “crimson fabric” consists of two Hebrew words and means literally, “crimson of worm” (in this order only in Lev 14:4, 6, 49, 51, 52 and Num 19:6; for the more common reverse order, “worm of crimson,” see, e.g., the colored fabrics used in making the tabernacle, Exod 25:4, etc.). This particular “worm” is an insect that lives on the leaves of palm trees, the eggs of which are the source for a “crimson” dye used to color various kinds of cloth (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 86). That a kind of dyed “fabric” is intended, not just the dye substance itself, is made certain by the dipping of it along with the other ritual materials listed here into the blood and water mixture for sprinkling on the person being cleansed (Lev 14:6; cf. also the burning of it in the fire of the red heifer in Num 19:6). Both the reddish color of cedar wood and the crimson colored fabric seem to correspond to the color of blood and may, therefore, symbolize either “life,” which is in the blood, or the use of blood to “make atonement” (see, e.g., Gen 9:4 and Lev 17:11). See further the note on v. 7 below.
[14:4] 6 sn Twigs of hyssop (probably one or several species of marjoram thymus), a spice and herb plant that grows out of walls in Palestine (see 1 Kgs 4:33 [5:13 HT], HALOT 27 s.v. אֵזוֹב, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 195), were particularly leafy and therefore especially useful for sprinkling the purifying liquid (cf. vv. 5-7). Many of the details of the ritual procedure are obscure. It has been proposed, for example, that the “cedar wood” was a stick to which the hyssop was bound with the crimson material to make a sort of sprinkling instrument (Hartley, 195). In light of the burning of these three materials as part of the preparation of the ashes of the red heifer in Num 19:5-6, however, this seems unlikely.
[14:4] 7 tn The MT reads literally, “And the priest shall command and he shall take.” Clearly, the second verb (“and he shall take”) contains the thrust of the priest’s command, which suggests the translation “that he take” (cf. also v. 5a). Since the priest issues the command here, he cannot be the subject of the second verb because he cannot be commanding himself to “take” up these ritual materials. Moreover, since the ritual is being performed “for the one being cleansed,” the antecedent of the pronoun “he” cannot refer to him. The LXX, Smr, and Syriac versions have the third person plural here and in v. 5a, which corresponds to other combinations with the verb וְצִוָּה (vÿtsivvah) “and he (the priest) shall command” in this context (see Lev 13:54; 14:36, 40). This suggests an impersonal (i.e., “someone shall take” and “someone shall slaughter,” respectively) or perhaps even passive rendering of the verbs in 14:4, 5 (i.e., “there shall be taken” and “there shall be slaughtered,” respectively). The latter option has been chosen here.
[14:4] 8 tn Heb “the one cleansing himself” (i.e., Hitpael participle of טָהֵר, taher, “to be clean”).
[14:5] 9 tn Heb “And the priest shall command and he shall slaughter.” See the note on “be taken up” (v. 4).
[14:5] 10 tn Heb “into a vessel of clay over living water.” The expression “living [i.e., ‘fresh’] water” (cf. Lev 14:50; 15:13; Num 19:17) refers to water that flows. It includes such water sources as artesian wells (Gen 26:19; Song of Songs 4:15), springs (Jer 2:13, as opposed to cisterns; cf. 17:13), and flowing streams (Zech 14:8). In other words, this is water that has not stood stagnant as, for example, in a sealed-off cistern.
[14:5] sn Although there are those who argue that the water and the blood rites are separate (e.g., E. S. Gerstenberger, Leviticus [OTL], 175-76), it is usually agreed that v. 5b refers to the slaughtering of the bird in such a way that its blood runs into the bowl, which contained fresh water (see, e.g., N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers [NCBC], 74; G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 208; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:836-38; cf. esp. Lev 14:51b, “and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and in the fresh water”). This mixture of blood and water was then to be sprinkled on the person being cleansed from the disease.
[14:6] 11 tc Heb “the live bird he [i.e., the priest] shall take it.” Although the MT has no ו (vav, “and”) at the beginning of this clause, a few medieval Hebrew
[14:7] 12 tn Heb “the one cleansing himself” (i.e., Hitpael participle of טָהֵר [taher, “to be clean”]).
[14:7] 13 tn Heb “and he shall make him clean.” The verb is the Piel of טָהֵר (taher, “to be clean”), here used as a so-called “declarative” Piel (i.e., “to declare clean”; cf. 13:6, etc.).
[14:7] 14 sn The reddish color of cedar wood and the crimson colored fabric called for in v. 4 (see the note there, esp. the association with the color of blood) as well as the priestly commands to bring “two live” birds (v. 4a), to slaughter one of them “over fresh water” (literally “living water,” v. 5b), and the subsequent ritual with the (second) “live” bird (vv. 6-7) combine to communicate the concept of “life” and “being alive” in this passage. This contrasts with the fear of death associated with the serious skin diseases in view here (see, e.g., Aaron’s description of Miriam’s skin disease in Num 12:12, “Do not let her be like the dead one when it goes out from its mother’s womb and its flesh half eaten away”). Since the slaughtered bird here is not sacrificed at the altar and is not designated as an expiatory “sin offering,” this ritual procedure probably symbolizes the renewed life of the diseased person and displays it publicly for all to see. It is preparatory to the expiatory rituals that will follow (vv. 10-20, esp. vv. 18-20), but is not itself expiatory. Thus, although there are important similarities between the bird ritual here, the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:20-22), and the red heifer for cleansing from corpse contamination (Num 19), this bird ritual is different in that the latter two constitute “sin offerings” (Lev 16:5, 8-10; Num 19:9, 17). Neither of the birds in Lev 14:4-7 is designated or treated as a “sin offering.” Nevertheless, the very nature of the live bird ritual itself and its obvious similarity to the scapegoat ritual suggests that the patient’s disease has been removed far away so that he or she is free from its effects both personally and communally.
[14:8] 15 tn Heb “the one cleansing himself” (i.e., Hitpael participle of טָהֵר [taher, “to be clean”]).
[14:8] 16 tn Heb “and he shall be clean” (so ASV). The end result of the ritual procedures in vv. 4-7 and the washing and shaving in v. 8a is that the formerly diseased person has now officially become clean in the sense that he can reenter the community (see v. 8b; contrast living outside the community as an unclean diseased person, Lev 13:46). There are, however, further cleansing rituals and pronouncements for him to undergo in the tabernacle as outlined in vv. 10-20 (see Qal “be[come] clean” in vv. 9 and 20, Piel “pronounce clean” in v. 11, and Hitpael “the one being cleansed” in vv. 11, 14, 17, 18, and 19). Obviously, in order to enter the tabernacle he must already “be clean” in the sense of having access to the community.
[14:9] 17 tn Heb “And it shall be on the seventh day.”
[14:9] 18 tn Heb “and he shall be clean” (see the note on v. 8).
[14:10] 19 tn The subject “he” probably refers to the formerly diseased person in this case (see the notes on Lev 1:5a, 6a, and 9a).
[14:10] 20 tn This term is often rendered “fine flour,” but it refers specifically to wheat as opposed to barley (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 10) and, although the translation “flour” is used here, it may indicate “grits” rather than finely ground flour (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:179; see the note on Lev 2:1). The unit of measure is most certainly an “ephah” even though it is not stated explicitly (see, e.g., Num 28:5; cf. 15:4, 6, 8), and three-tenths of an ephah would amount to about a gallon, or perhaps one-third of a bushel (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 196; Milgrom, 845). Since the normal amount of flour for a lamb is one-tenth of an ephah (Num 28:4-5; cf. 15:4), three-tenths is about right for the three lambs offered in Lev 14:10-20.
[14:10] 21 tn A “log” (לֹג, log) of oil is about one-sixth of a liter, or one-third of a pint, or two-thirds of a cup.
[14:11] 22 tn The MT here is awkward to translate into English. It reads literally, “and the priest who pronounces clean (Piel participle of טָהֵר, taher) shall cause to stand (Hiphil of עָמַד, ’amad) the man who is cleansing himself (Hitpael participle of טָהֵר) and them” (i.e., the offerings listed in v. 10; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity). Alternatively, the Piel of טָהֵר could be rendered “who performs the cleansing/purification” (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:827), perhaps even as a technical term for one who holds the office of “purification priest” (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 87). It is probably better, however, to retain the same meaning here as in v. 7 above (see the note there regarding the declarative Piel use of this verb).
[14:12] 23 tn Heb “And the priest shall take the one lamb.”
[14:12] 24 tn See the note on Lev 5:15 above. The primary purpose of the “guilt offering” (אָשָׁם, ’asham) was to “atone” (כִּפֶּר, kipper, “to make atonement,” see v. 18 below and the note on Lev 1:4) for “trespassing” on the
[14:12] 25 tn Heb “wave them [as] a wave offering before the
[14:13] 26 tn Heb “And he shall slaughter.”
[14:13] 27 tn Heb “in the place which.”
[14:13] 28 sn See the note on Lev 4:3 regarding the term “sin offering.”
[14:13] 29 sn See the note on Lev 1:3 regarding the “burnt offering.”
[14:13] 30 tn Since the priest himself presents this offering as a wave offering (v. 12), it would seem that the offering is already in his hands and he would, therefore, be the one who slaughtered the male lamb in this instance rather than the offerer. Smr and LXX make the second verb “to slaughter” plural rather than singular, which suggests that it is to be taken as an impersonal passive (see J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:852).
[14:13] 31 tn Heb “the guilt offering, it [is] to the
[14:14] 32 tn Heb “and the priest shall put [literally ‘give’] on the lobe of the ear of the one being cleansed, the right one.”
[14:14] 33 tn The term for “big toe” (בֹּהֶן, bohen) is the same as that for “thumb.” It refers to the larger appendage on either the hand or the foot.
[14:15] 34 tn Heb “And the priest…shall pour on the left hand of the priest.” As the Rabbis observe, the repetition of “priest” as the expressed subject of both verbs in this verse may suggest that two priests were involved in this ritual (see m. Nega’im 14:8, referred to by J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:852), but the seemingly unnecessary repetition of “priest” in several verses throughout the chapter argues against this (see esp. vv. 3, 14, 18, 20, 24, and 26). Moreover, in this case, “priest” may be repeated to avoid confusing the priest’s hand with that of the one being cleansed (cf. v. 14).
[14:16] 35 tn Heb “his right finger from the oil.”
[14:17] 36 tn Heb “on his hand.”
[14:18] 37 tn Heb “and the remainder in the oil.”
[14:19] 38 tn Heb “do [or “make”] the sin offering.”
[14:19] 39 tn Heb “And after[ward] he [i.e., the offerer] shall slaughter.” The LXX adds “the priest” as the subject of the verb (as do several English versions, e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT), but the offerer is normally the one who does the actually slaughtering of the sacrificial animal (cf. the notes on Lev 1:5a, 6a, and 9a).
[14:20] 40 tn Heb “cause to go up.”
[14:21] 41 tn Heb “and his hand does not reach”; NAB, NRSV “and cannot afford so much (afford these NIV).”
[14:21] 42 tn See the notes on v. 10 above.
[14:22] 43 tn Heb “from the sons of the pigeon,” referring either to “young pigeons” or “various species of pigeon” (contrast J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:168 with J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 14; cf. Lev 1:14 and esp. 5:7-10).
[14:22] 44 tn Heb “which his hand reaches”; NRSV “such as (which NIV) he can afford.”
[14:22] 45 tn Heb “and one shall be a sin offering and the one a burnt offering.” The versions struggle with whether or not “one” should or should not have the definite article in its two occurrences in this verse (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB all have the English definite article with both). The MT has the first without and the second with the article.
[14:23] 46 tn Heb “to the doorway of”; KJV, ASV “unto the door of.”
[14:24] 47 tn Heb “and the priest shall wave them.” In the present translation “priest” is not repeated a second time in the verse for stylistic reasons. With regard to the “waving” of the “wave offering,” see the note on v. 12 above.
[14:25] 48 tn Heb “and the priest shall put [literally ‘give’] on the lobe of the ear of the one being cleansed, the right one.”
[14:25] 49 tn The term for “big toe” (בֹּהֶן, bohen) is the same as that for “thumb.” It refers to the larger appendage on either the hand or the foot.
[14:26] 50 tn Heb “And from the oil the priest shall pour out on the left hand of the priest.” Regarding the repetition of “priest” in this verse see the note on v. 15 above.
[14:27] 51 tn Heb “and the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger from the oil which is on his left hand.”
[14:28] 52 tn Heb “on his hand.”
[14:29] 53 tn Heb “on the hand.”
[14:30] 55 tn Heb “the one from the turtledoves.”
[14:30] 56 tc Heb “from which his hand reaches.” The repetition of virtually the same expression at the beginning of v. 31 in the MT is probably due to dittography (cf. the LXX and Syriac). However, the MT may be retained if it is understood as “one of the turtledoves or young pigeons that are within his means – whichever he can afford” (see J. Milgrom’s translation in Leviticus [AB], 1:828, contra his commentary, 862; cf. REB).
[14:31] 57 tn Heb “and the one a burnt offering on the grain offering.”
[14:32] 58 tn Heb “This is the law of who in him [is] a diseased infection.”
[14:32] 59 tn Heb “who his hand does not reach in his purification”; NASB “whose means are limited for his cleansing”; NIV “who cannot afford the regular offerings for his cleansing.”
[14:34] 60 tn Heb “which I am giving” (so NAB, NIV).
[14:34] 62 tn Heb “in the house of the land of your possession” (KJV and ASV both similar).
[14:35] 63 tn Heb “who to him the house.”
[14:36] 64 tn Heb “And the priest shall command and they shall clear the house.” The second verb (“and they shall clear”) states the thrust of the priest’s command, which suggests the translation “that they clear” (cf. also vv. 4a and 5a above), and for the impersonal passive rendering of the active verb (“that the house be cleared”) see the note on v. 4 above.
[14:36] 65 tn Heb “to see the infection”; KJV “to see the plague”; NASB “to look at the mark (mildew NCV).”
[14:36] 66 tn Heb “all which [is] in the house.”
[14:36] 67 sn Once the priest pronounced the house “unclean” everything in it was also officially unclean. Therefore, if they emptied the house of its furniture, etc. before the official pronouncement by the priest those possessions would thereby remain officially “clean” and avoid destruction or purification procedures.
[14:36] 68 tn Heb “and after thus.”
[14:37] 69 tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV).
[14:37] 70 tn For “yellowish green and reddish” see Lev 13:49. The Hebrew term translated “eruptions” occurs only here and its meaning is uncertain. For a detailed summary of the issues and views see J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:870. The suggestions include, among others: (1) “depressions” from Hebrew שׁקע (“sink”) or קער as the root of the Hebrew term for “bowl” (LXX, Targums, NAB, NASB, NIV; see also B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 90), (2) “streaks” (ASV, NJPS), (3) and “eruptions” as a loan-word from Egyptian sqr r rwtj (“eruption; rash”); cf. Milgrom, 870; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 198-99. The latter view is taken here.
[14:37] 71 tn The Hebrew term קִיר (qir,“wall”) refers to the surface of the wall in this case, which normally consisted of a coating of plaster made of limestone and sand (see HALOT 1099 s.v. קִיר 1.a; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:871; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 199).
[14:38] 72 tn Heb “and he shall shut up the house seven days.”
[14:39] 73 tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “If the mark has indeed spread.”
[14:40] 74 tn Heb “and the priest shall command and they shall pull out the stones which in them is the infection, and they shall cast them.” The second and third verbs (“they shall pull out” and “they shall throw”) state the thrust of the priest’s command, which suggests the translation “that they pull out…and throw” (cf. also vv. 4a, 5a, and 36a above), and for the impersonal passive rendering of the active verb (“be pulled and thrown”) see the note on v. 4 above.
[14:40] 75 tn Heb “into from outside to the city.”
[14:41] 76 tn Or, according to the plurality of the verb in Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Targums, “Then the house shall be scraped” (cf. NAB, NLT, and the note on v. 40).
[14:41] 77 tn Heb “from house all around.”
[14:41] 78 tn Heb “dust” (so KJV) or “rubble”; NIV “the material”; NLT “the scrapings.”
[14:41] 79 tn Heb “which they have scraped off.” The MT term קִיר (qir, “wall” from קָצָה, qatsah, “to cut off”; BDB 892), the original Greek does not have this clause, Smr has הקיצו (with uncertain meaning), and the BHS editors and HALOT 1123-24 s.v. I קצע hif.a suggest emending the verb to הִקְצִעוּ (hiqtsi’u, see the same verb at the beginning of this verse; cf. some Greek
[14:41] 80 tn Heb “into from outside to the city.”
[14:42] 81 tn Heb “and bring into under the stones.”
[14:43] 82 tn Heb “after he has pulled out the stones, and after scraping (variant form of the Hiphil infinitive construct, GKC 531) the house, and after being replastered (Niphal infinitive construct).”
[14:44] 83 tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “If he sees that the mark has indeed spread.”
[14:45] 84 tn Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Tg. Ps.-J. have the plural verb, perhaps suggesting a passive translation, “The house…shall be torn down” (cf. NAB, NIV, TEV, NLT, and see the note on v. 4b above).
[14:45] 85 tn Once again, Smr, LXX, and Syriac have the plural verb, perhaps to be rendered passive, “shall be brought.”
[14:46] 86 tn Heb “the one who comes into.”
[14:46] 87 tn Heb “he,” referring to the priest (see v. 38). The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:48] 88 tn Heb “And if the priest entering [infinitive absolute] enters [finite verb]” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.
[14:48] 89 tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “and the mark has not indeed spread.”
[14:49] 90 tn The pronoun “he” refers to the priest mentioned in the previous verse.
[14:49] 91 tn Regarding these ritual materials, see the note on v. 4 above.
[14:49] 92 tn Regarding the Piel of חָטָא (khata’, cf. v. 52) meaning to “decontaminate” or “perform a decontamination,” see the notes on Lev 8:15 and 9:15.
[14:49] sn In Lev 8:15, for example, the “sin offering” is used to “decontaminate” the burnt offering altar. As argued above (see the note on v. 7 above), these ritual materials and the procedures performed with them do not constitute a “sin offering” (contrast vv. 19 and 31 above). In fact, no sin offering was required for the purification of a house.
[14:50] 93 tn See the note on v. 5 above.
[14:53] 94 tn Heb “to from outside to the city.”
[14:54] 95 tn Heb “and for the scall”; NASB “a scale”; NIV “any infectious skin disease.” Cf. Lev 13:29-37.
[14:55] 96 sn Cf. Lev 13:47-59.
[14:55] 97 sn Cf. Lev 14:33-53.
[14:56] 98 sn Cf. Lev 13:9-28, 43.
[14:56] 100 sn Cf. Lev 13:4, 18-28, 38-39. For explanations of all these terms for disease in Lev 14:56 see 13:2.
[14:57] 101 tn Heb “to teach in the day of the unclean and in the day of the clean.”
[14:57] 102 tn Heb “This is the law of the disease.” Some English versions specify this as “skin disease” (e.g., NIV, NLT), but then have to add “and (+ infectious NLT) mildew” (so NIV) because a house would not be infected with a skin disease.
[14:57] sn For an explanation of the term “disease” see Lev 13:2.
[15:2] 103 tn Heb “Man man.” The reduplication is a way of saying “any man” (cf. Lev 17:3; 22:18, etc.; see the distributive repetition of the noun in GKC 395-96 §123.c).
[15:2] 104 tn The term “discharge” actually means “to flow,” whether referring to a full flow as at a spring of water (Ps 78:20 and parallels) or in reference to the promised land as “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exod 3:8 and parallels).
[15:2] 105 tn Heb “man, man when there is a discharge from his flesh.” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any [or “every”] man” (GKC 395-96 §123.c). It is well-recognized that the term “flesh” (i.e., “body”) in this chapter refers regularly and euphemistically to the male and female genital members or areas of the body (HALOT 164 s.v. בָּשָׂר 5.b; see also, e.g., B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 93). The euphemism has been retained in this translation since it is, in fact, intended in the Hebrew text. Some English versions partially remove the euphemism (e.g., NAB “from his private parts”; NRSV “from his member”) while some remove it completely (e.g., NLT “a genital discharge”; TEV “from his penis”; CEV “with an infected penis”).
[15:3] 106 tn The LXX has “this the law of his uncleanness…” (cf. v. 32 and compare, e.g., 13:59; 14:2, 56).
[15:3] 107 tc Smr, LXX, and the Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll from Qumran (11QpaleoLev; Fragment G contains Lev 14:52-15:5 and 16:2-4, and agrees with the LXX of Lev 15:3b) are in essential (although not complete) agreement against the MT in Lev 15:3b and are to be preferred in this case. The shorter MT text has probably arisen due to a lengthy haplography. See K. A. Mathews, “The Leviticus Scroll (11QpaleoLev) and the Text of the Hebrew Bible,” CBQ 48 (1986): 177-78, 198; D. N. Freedman, “Variant Readings in the Leviticus Scroll from Qumran Cave 11,” CBQ 36 (1974): 528-29; D. N. Freedman and K. A. Mathews, The Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll, 32. The MT of Lev 15:3 reads: “Now this is his uncleanness in [regard to] his discharge – whether his body secretes his discharge or blocks his discharge, this is his uncleanness.” Smr adds after MT’s “blocks his discharge” the following: “he is unclean; all the days that his body has a discharge or his body blocks his discharge, this is his uncleanness.” Thus, the MT appears to skip from Smr טמא הוא “he is unclean” in the middle of the verse to יא/טמאתו הו “this is his uncleanness” at the end of the verse, leaving out “he is unclean; all the days that his body has a discharge or his body blocks his discharge” (cf. the BHS footnote). 11Q1 (paleoLeva frag. G) is indeed fragmentary, but it does have ימי ז בו כל “…in him, all the days of the fl[ow],” supporting Smr and LXX tradition. The LXX adds after MT “blocks his discharge” the following: “all the days of the flow of his body, by which his body is affected by the flow,” followed by “it is his uncleanness” (i.e., the last two words of the MT).
[15:3] sn The contrast between the dripping or flowing from the male sexual member as opposed to there being a blockage is important. One might not understand that even though a blockage actually causes a lack of discharge, it is still unclean.
[15:3] 108 tn Heb “it is his uncleanness,” but the last clause recapitulates the effect of the first clause in this verse, both of which introduce the regulations for such uncleanness in the following verses. In other words, whether his discharge flows from his penis or is blocked in it, he is still unclean and must proceed according to the following regulations (vv. 4ff).
[15:4] 109 tn Heb “All the bed which the man with a discharge sits on it shall be unclean”; cf. NLT “Any bedding.”
[15:4] 110 tn Heb “and all the vessel which he sits on it shall be unclean”; NASB “everything on which he sits.”
[15:5] 111 tn Heb “And a man who touches in his bed”; NLT “touch the man’s bedding.”
[15:5] 112 tn Heb “he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening” (cf. also vv. 6-8, 10-11, etc.).
[15:7] 113 tn Heb “And the one who touches in the flesh.” In this instance, “flesh” (or “body”) probably refers literally to any part of the body, not the genitals specifically (see the discussion in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:914).
[15:8] 114 tn Heb “And if the man with a discharge spits in the clean one.”
[15:9] 115 tn The Hebrew term for “means of riding” is a cognate noun from the verb “ride” later in this verse. It refers to anything on which one may ride without the feet touching the ground including, for example, a saddle, a (saddle) blanket, or a seat on a chariot (see, e.g., J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:916).
[15:10] 116 tn Heb “which shall be under him.” The verb is perhaps a future perfect, “which shall have been.”
[15:10] 117 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the previously mentioned items which were under the unclean person) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:11] 118 tn Heb “And all who the man with the discharge touches in him and his hands he has not rinsed in water.”
[15:12] 119 tn The Hebrew term כְּלִי (kÿli) can mean “vessel” (v. 12a) or “utensil, implement, article” (v. 12b). An article of clay would refer to a vessel or container of some sort, while one made of wood would refer to some kind of tool or instrument.
[15:13] 120 tn For the expression “fresh water” see the note on Lev 14:5 above.
[15:14] 121 tn Heb “from the sons of the pigeon,” referring either to “young pigeons” or “various species of pigeon” (contrast J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:168 with J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 14; cf. Lev 1:14 and esp. 5:7-10).
[15:14] 122 tc The MT has the Qal form of the verb בּוֹא (bo’) “to come” here, but the LXX (followed generally by the Syriac and Tg. Ps.-J.) reflects the Hiphil form of the same verb, “to bring” as in v. 29 below. In v. 29, however, there is no additional clause “and give them to the priest,” so the Hiphil is necessary in that context while it is not necessary here in v. 14.
[15:15] 123 sn See the note on Lev 4:3 regarding the term “sin offering.”
[15:15] 124 tn Heb “and the priest shall make them one a sin offering and the one a burnt offering.” See the note on Lev 1:3 regarding the “burnt offering.”
[15:15] 125 tn Heb “And the priest.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
[15:15] 126 tn Heb “from”; see the note on 4:26.
[15:16] 127 tn Heb “And a man when a lying of seed goes out from him”; KJV, ASV “any man’s seed of copulation”; NIV, NRSV, TEV, NLT “an emission of semen.”
[15:16] 128 tn Heb “and he shall bathe all his flesh in water.”
[15:18] 129 tn Heb “And a woman who a man lies with her a lying of seed.”
[15:19] 130 tn See the note on Lev 15:2 above.
[15:19] 131 tn Heb “blood shall be her discharge in her flesh.” The term “flesh” here refers euphemistically to the female sexual area (cf. the note on v. 2 above).
[15:19] 132 tn See the note on Lev 12:2 and R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 1:925-27.
[15:23] 133 tn Heb “and if on the bed it (הוּא, hu’) is or on the vessel which she sits on it, when he touches it….” The translation and meaning of this verse is a subject of much debate in the commentaries (see the summary in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:938-40). It is difficult to determine what הוּא refers to, whether it means “he” referring to the one who does the touching, “it” for the furniture or the seat in v. 22, “she” referring to the woman herself (see Smr היא rather than הוא), or perhaps anything that was lying on the furniture or the bed of vv. 21-22. The latter view is taken here (cf. J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 202).
[15:23] 134 tn The MT accent suggest that “when he touches it” goes with the preceding line, but it seems to be better to take it as an introduction to what follows (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 202).
[15:24] 135 tn Heb “and if a man indeed lies with her and her menstrual impurity is on him.”
[15:25] 136 tn Heb “And a woman when the flow of her blood flows.”
[15:25] 137 tn Heb “in not the time of her menstruation or when it flows on her menstruation.”
[15:27] 138 tn See the note on v. 5 above.
[15:28] 139 tn Heb “And if…” Although this clause is parallel to v. 13 above, it begins with וְאִם (vÿ’im, “and if”) here rather than וְכִי (vÿkhi, “and when/if”) there.
[15:29] 140 tn Heb “from the sons of the pigeon,” referring either to “young pigeons” or “various species of pigeon” (contrast J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:168 with J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 14; cf. Lev 1:14 and esp. 5:7-10).
[15:30] 141 tn Heb “And the priest shall make the one a sin offering and the one a burnt offering.”
[15:30] 142 tn Heb “And the priest.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
[15:31] 143 tn Heb “And you shall.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV).
[15:31] 144 tn Heb “and they.” Here the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) indicates a negative purpose (“lest,” so NAB, NASB).
[15:32] 145 tn Heb “and who a lying of seed goes out from him.”
[15:32] 146 tn Heb “to become unclean in it.”
[15:33] 147 tn Heb “and the one with a discharge, his discharge to the male and the female.”
