Leviticus 14:2 - Exposition

This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing. The ceremonies in the first stage of cleansing , which restored the outcast to the common life of his fellows, were the following:

1 . The priest formally examined the leper outside the camp, and made up his mind that he was clean.

2 . An earthen vessel was brought with fresh water, and one of two birds was killed, and its blood was allowed to run into this water.

3 . The other bird was taken and dipped in the vessel, with a piece of cedar wood and hyssop, which had first been tied together by a band of scarlet wool; and the leper was sprinkled seven times with the blood and water dripping from the feathers of the living bird.

4 . The priest pronounced the man clean.

5 . The bird was let fly into the open field.

6 . The man washed his clothes, shaved his whole body, and bathed.

7 . He returned within the camp, but not yet to his tent.