(38) Shut up the house seven days.—On finding these symptoms, the priest is to put the house in quarantine for seven days, in order to see what alteration will take place during this interval, adopting the same treatment as in the case of leprous garments. (See Leviticus 13:50.) read more
OF LEPROSY IN A GARMENT OR HOUSELeviticus 13:47-59; Leviticus 14:33-53"The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment; whether it be in warp, or woof; of linen, or of woollen; whether in a skin, or in any thing made of skin; if the plague be greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is the plague of leprosy, and shall be shewed unto the priest: and the priest shall look... read more
4. The Cleansing of the Leper CHAPTER 14 1. The cleansing of the leper (Leviticus 14:1-32 ) 2. Leprosy in the house and its purification (Leviticus 14:33-54 ) The cleansing and restoration of the leper is full of significance, foreshadowing once more the blessed work of our Saviour. Two parts in this ceremonial are to be noticed first of all. The first thing done was to restore the leper among the people from whom he had been put away. The second part of the ceremony restored him fully to... read more
14:34 When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I {l} put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;(l) This declares that no plague nor punishment comes to man without God’s providence and his sending. read more
RESTORING OF A LEPER (vv. 1-20) Even a case of leprosy may be healed, though this is not frequently seen in the Old Testament. Miriam's leprosy was healed very soon after her infliction (Numbers 12:9-16) because of the intercession of Moses. She was shut out of the camp only seven days. Naaman was healed of his leprosy, but he was a Gentile (2 Kings 5:1; 2 Kings 5:14), and therefore the Jewish ritual would not apply to him. Many lepers were in Israel at the time, but none of them were healed... read more
THE TYPICAL DISEASE Here we have what appears like a treatise on leprosy, but it is not introduced simply for medical purposes. There were other diseases more serious, but this is singled out and made the subject of special regulations because of its typical character. It is a parable of sin, drawn by the divine hand of the workings, developments and effects of inborn depravity. The disease is diagnosed under four heads: (1) leprosy rising spontaneously (Leviticus 1:17 ); (2) rising out of a... read more
The Law of Leprosy Leviticus 13:0 , Leviticus 14:0 The thirteenth and fourteenth chapters are occupied with the question of leprosy. With that disease we have now, happily, nothing to do in this country; yet those who care to peruse the note at the end of this discourse will find that England was once ravaged by that terrible disease. It would be pleasant to turn over the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters, and to escape to subjects less revolting; but pleasure is not the law of life. It is... read more
"Handfuls of Purpose" For All Gleaners "When ye be come into the land of Canaan." Lev 14:34 The people were far enough from Canaan at this moment, yet a law of regulation was laid down for their conduct when they came into possession of the land. This is another revelation of the method of divine government. Laws are made in advance. The law is not always given merely from day to day; the details of that law may be, so to say, announced morning by morning; but the great law itself is laid... read more
The law concerning the leprosy of an house is the same as that respecting an individual; and the same cleansing must be adopted. Nations and families in this respect, come under the same character. For all have sinned, and come short of GOD'S glory. There is no remedy for either, but in the blood of CHRIST. Hence the same ceremony in cleansing the house, as in the cleansing an Israelite, is appointed. Some have thought that the house of Israel was particularly alluded to, in this precept of... read more
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Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Leviticus 14:37
(37) With hollow strakes, greenish or reddish.—If the house is really leprous, the priest on inspecting it will find in the walls the same three symptoms which are visible in the skin of leprous human beings: (1) hollow strakes, or, rather, deep cavities or depressions, which the ancient canons define as a depression deeper than the rest of the wall, being the same symptom as in man (see Leviticus 13:3); (2) a greenish or (3) a reddish spot, which were the second and third symptoms of leprosy... read more