Leviticus 14

AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying

This shall be the law of the leper, in the day of his cleansing: he shall be brought unto the priest Not into the Priests house, but to some place without the camp or City, Levit. 13. 46. which the Priest should appoint..

And the priest shall go forth out of the camp, and the priest shall look, and behold, if the plague of leprosie be healed To wit, by God. For God alone did heal or cleanse him really, the Priest only ministerially and declaratively, as Ministers are said to remit sins, though it be granted that none can truly and properly forgive sins but God, Mark 2. 7. in the leper,

Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed, two birds The one to represent Christ as dying for his sins, the other to represent him as rising again for his purification or justification. alive, and clean Allowed for food and for sacrifice., and Cedar-wood A stick of Cedar to which the hyssop and one of the Birds was tied by the scarlet thred. Cedar seems to be chosen to note that the leper was now freed from that putrefaction or corruption, which his leprosie had brought upon him, that kind of wood being in a manner incorruptible., and scarlet A thred of wool of a scarlet colour, Heb. 9. 19. to represent both the lepers sinfulness, Isa. 1. 18. and the blood of Christ, and the happy change of the lepers colour and complexion, which before was wan and loathsome, now sprightly and beautiful., and hyssop Chosen partly for its fragrant smell, which signified the cure of the lepers ill sent, and partly for conveniency in the use of sprinkling. See Exod. 12. 22.,

And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed To wit, by some other man. The Priest did not kill it himself, because it was not properly a sacrifice, as being killed without the camp, and not in that place to which all sacrifices were confined; and if it had been a sacrifice, that might be killed by another, so long as the sprinkling of the blood of it, which was the most proper and essential act in the sacrifice, was done by the Priest. in an earthen vessel, over running water It seems to be a Metathesis or transplacing of words for, over-running water put in an earthen vessel. Thus the blood of the bird and the water were mixed together, partly for the conveniency of sprinkling, and partly to signifie Christ who came by water and blood, 1 Iohn 5. 6. The running water, i. e. spring or river water by its liveliness and motion did fitly signifie the restoring of liveliness to the leper who was in a manner dead with his leprosie, as was noted before..

As for the living bird he shall take it, and the Cedar-wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them, and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water.

And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosie, seven times To signifie his perfect cleansing and restoration to all his former priviledges. Compare Levit. 4. 17. and 7. 15, 16. 10. 14, 19., and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field The place of its former abode, signifying the taking off that restraint which was laid upon the leper and the liberty which the leper now had to return to his former habitation and conversation with other men..

And he that is to be cleansed, shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair Partly to discover his perfect soundness, partly to preserve him from relapse through any seeds or relicks of it which might remain in his hair or in his clothes; and partly to teach him to put off his old lusts and to become a new man., and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: And after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent Out of his former habitation, in some separate place, least some of his leprosie yet lurking in him should break forth to the infection of his family. seven days.

But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair Which began to grow again since it was first shaved, and now for more caution is shaved again. off his head, and his beard, and his eye-brows, even all his hair he shall shave off: And he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.

And on the eighth day, he shall take two helambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deales of fine flour for a meat-offering mingled with oyl Oyl is added here as a fit sign of Gods grace and mercy, and of the lepers healing., and one log A measure for liquid things containing six eggshels full. of oyl.

And the priest that maketh him clean The healing is ascribed to God, ver. 13. but the ceremonial cleansing or making of him clean and fit for society was an act of the Priest using the rites which God had prescribed, whereby the sinner was cleansed., shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:

And the priest shall take one he-lamb, and offer him for a trespass-offering To teach them, that sin was the cause of leprosie and of all diseases, and that these ceremonial observations had a further meaning, even to make them sensible of their spiritual diseases, their sins, and to fly to God in Christ for the cure of them., and the log of oyl, and wave them for a wave-offering, before the LORD.

And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin-offering, and the burntoffering, in the holy place To wit, in the Court of the Tabernacle. See Levit. 1. 11. and 7. 7.: for as the sin-offering is the priests, so is the trespass-offering: it is most holy Both of them are equally holy, and therefore to be offered in the same place..

And the priest shall take some of the blood, of the trespass-offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear To signifie, that he was now free to hear Gods word in the appointed places, from which he was before excluded, and to touch any person or thing without defiling it, and to go whither he pleased. hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot To signifie, that he was now free to hear Gods word in the appointed places, from which he was before excluded, and to touch any person or thing without defiling it, and to go whither he pleased..

And the priest shall take some of the log of oyl As the blood signified Christs blood by which men obtain remission of sins, so the oyl noted the graces of the spirit by which they are regenerated and renewed., and pour it into the palm of his own left hand.

And the priest shall dip his right-finger in the oyl that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oyl with his finger seven times before the LORD (i. e.) Before the second vail which covered the Holy of Holies, where God is oft said to dwell and to be present in a peculiar manner..

And of the rest of the oyl that is in his hand, shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass-offering (i. e.) Upon the place of that blood, as it is expressed, verse 28. or where that blood was put, ver. 14. Or, over and besides the blood, &c. i. e. As the blood was put in those places, so shall the oyl be..

And the remnant of the oyl that is in the priests hand, he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD.

And the priest shall offer the sin-offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness, and afterward he shall kill the burnt-offering.

And the priest shall offer the burnt-offering and the meat-offering, upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

And if he be poor, and cannot get so much, then he shall take one lamb for a trespassoffering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth-deal of fine flour mingled with oyl, for a meat-offering, and a log of oyl,

And two turtle doves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get: and the one shall be a sin-offering, and the other a burnt-offering.

And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.

And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass-offering, and the log of oyl, and the priest shall wave them for a wave-offering before the LORD.

And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass-offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass-offering, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.

And the priest shall pour of the oyl into the palm of his own left hand.

And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oyl that is in his left hand, seven times before the LORD.

And the priest shall put of the oyl that is in his hand, upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass-offering.

And the rest of the oyl that is in the priests hand, he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the LORD.

And he shall offer the one of the turtle doves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get:

Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin-offering and the other for a burnt-offering, with the meat-offering. And the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed, before the LORD.

This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosie, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing.

And the LORD spake unto Moses, and unto Aaron saying,

When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosie in a house of the land of your possession:

And he that oweth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me, there is as it were a plague in the house.

Then the priest shall command that they (i. e.) The possessours of the house. empty the house, before the priest go into it, to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean It is observable here, that neither the people nor the houshold stuffe were polluted till the leprosie was discovered and declared by the Priest, to show what great difference God makes between sins of ignorance and sins against knowledge and conscience.: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house.

And he shall look on the plague: and behold if the plague be in the walls of the house This was an extraordinary judgment of God peculiar to this people, either as a punishment of their sins, which were much more sinful and inexcusable than the sins of other nations, or as a special mean and help to Repentance, which God afforded to them above other people; or as a document of the mischievous nature of sin, typified by leprosie, which did not only destroy persons, but their habitations also: see Zech. 5. 4., with hollow strakes Such as were in the bodies of leprous persons, Levit. 13. 3., greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall:

Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days.

And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house:

Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place Where they used to cast dirt and filthy things. without the city.

And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust The mortar or other rubbish. that they scrape off, without the city into an unclean place.

And they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones, and he shall take other morter, and shall plaister the house.

And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he has taken away the stones, and after he has scraped the house, and after it is plaistered:

Then the priest shall come and look, and behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosie in the house: it is unclean.

And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house: and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.

Moreover, he that goeth into the house, all the while that it is shut up, shall be unclean until the even.

And he that lieth in the house, shall wash his clothes: and he that eateth in the house, shall wash his clothes.

And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and behold, the plague has not spread in the house, after the house was plaistered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.

And he shall take to cleanse the house, two birds, and cedar-wood, and scarlet, and hysop,

And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel, over running water.

And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hysop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times.

And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar-wood, and with the hysop, and with the scarlet.

But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean.

This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosie and scall.

And for the leprosie of a garment, and of an house.

And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot.

To teach To direct the Priest when to pronounce a person or house clean or unclean. So it was not left to the Priests power or will, but they were tied to plain rules, such as the people might discern no less then the Priest. when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosie.