Leviticus 14

[ciiAr. XIV. Seven times. In token of a perfect purification. (See iv. 17.) And shall pronounce him clean.] So as to let him come into the camp (from whence he had been excluded), as, in aftertimes, into the city. And shall let the living bird loose into the open field.] The manner of doing it (as the same It. Levi relates) was, the priest, going into the city, threw tho bird over the walls towards tho wilderness; the intention of which’ was, to shew that tho leper was restored to a free conversation with all his neighbours, as the bird was with the rest of its kind. (Seever. 53.) sacrifice would not serve for his cleansing; but, by (lie help of his friends or neighbours, he was to procure all that he had vowed. And a log of oil] Tins is the same quantity, the better sort were to offer; for oil was not dear in this country. clothes.’] It sufficed for the cleansing of him that only entered into such a house, but made no stay there, to be. separated for a short time from society: but he that lay there all night, was to do more for his purification; being in more danger to bring away the infection, if there were any. And he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes.] He that made a meal there was also exposed to danger, and therefore was bound to wash his clothes (which were very apt to catch the infection), though he did not stay so long as to lie there.

Leviticus 14:1

JjLND the Lord spake unto Moses, saying. All that is said before, concerning the rules whereby they were to discern the leprosy from the like diseases, were given unto Aaron as well as unto Moses, (xiii. 1.) Fox Aaron and his posterity were constituted the judges of such matters, in which they had need to be well studied and versed. But the way and manner of cleansing a leper is delivered only to Moses, to be by him given unto Aaron and his sons, who were to depend on him as God’s great minister, and their instructor in “all religious rites.

Leviticus 14:2

Tliis shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing J. The manner and means which God hath ordained of purifying a leper (as Maimonides expounds it), and restoring him to the communion of God’s people. He shall be brought unto thepriest.] Not to the house of the priest; for he was to go out to the gate of the camp (as appears by the next yerse), and thither the leper was to be brought to him. But these words seem to import the leper was first to come towards the camp (unto some place which the priest, it is likely, appointed), and then th,e priest, having notice of it, was to go out and look upon him.

Leviticus 14:3

And the priest shall go forth out of the camp. To the place where the leper was, (xiii. 46.) And the priest shall look.] Diligently examine in what condition the leper is, by the rules mentioned in the foregoing chapter. And, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healedin the leper.] The priest, no doubt, had been informed, before he went to make the inspection, that there were good grounds to believe the man was freed from his leprosy.

Leviticus 14:4

Then shall the priest command to take for him, &c. That some of his friends, or such as he ordered, should provide what follows for his purification. Two birds alive, that are clean.] The margin of our Bibles translates it two sparrows: and they who take the word in this sense havo some pretty conceits about it. Particularly this: that it signifies him who lately sat alone, like* a solitary sparrow on the house-top (as the Psalmist speaks), to be now admitted into the society of others again. But Origen takes these birds to have been hens, (and so Scaliger shews out of Nicander, that the Greek word orpovZoe anciently signified; Exerc, 230.) and the LXX. better translate it, Evo ipvlSta, two little birds, of any sort whatsoever, provided they were clean, i. e. lawful to be eaten, as the Vulgar truly interprets it. For to restrain it to sparrows had been very absurd, whether they had been clean birds or unclean; because it had been in vain to say a clean sparrow, when the whole species were so by the law; and more unaccountable to require a clean sparrow, if all had been unlawful, as Bochart rightly observes, lib. i. Hieroz. cap. 22. par. ii. Grotius takes this to have been the Aw/>ov, or gift, which is mentioned Matt. viii. 4. which was presented by the leper in the day of his cleansing; rather than those mentioned ver. 10. of this chapter. But I can see nothing of the nature of a gift or present in these birds, which were not to be offered at the altar. And cedar-wood, and scarlet, and hyssop.] Why his purification was to be made by these things, Maimonidessaith he could never understand, (More Nevoch. par. iii. cap. 47.) But Abarbinel adventures to guess at the reason, and imagines that these four things, the living birds, the cedar, the scarlet, and the hyssop, signified the leper to be cured of the four evils under which he had laboured;” in his flesh, his humours, his colour, and smell, which were represented by the four things beforementioned; and were now all become sound and good. For the living birds, he thinks, were a sign that his dead flesh was restored to vigour and life again. And the cedar-wood, which is not easily corrupted, denoted the putrefaction was cured which the leprosy had made in the humours of his body. The scarlet thread, or wool, was an indication of his good complexion restored to him: for this is a bright and grateful colour, as the leprosy was livid and loathsome; signifying (saith he) his blood was purified, which made a lively colour return into his countenance. And lastly, the hyssop, which in that country was a very odoriferous plant, signified the nastiness and stench of that disease was gone. Whatsoever any one may judge of this account of these things, I think it is very plain, „ that the Jews being possessed with a great detestation of the filthiness of the leper, it was necessary (as Pellicanus observes) that they should be as strongly persuaded, by a great many prolix, laborious, and public ceremonies used for men’s purification from it, that they were fit for their society again. I omit the moral reasons which are given by R. Levi Barzelonita, (Praecept.‘clxxiii.) for the use of the forementioned things; and the mystical significations of these, and all the following rites of purification: which the most learned and ingenious Bochartus hath drawn out in near twenty particulars, (Hierozoicon. par. ii. lib. i. cap. 22.)

Leviticus 14:5

And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed. Not as a sacrifice; for that could be made no where but at the altar; whereas this was without the camp, at a great distance from the sanctuary; and therefore was used only as a rite of cleansing. (See ver. 49.) In an earthen vessel over running water.] There seems to be a transposition (as is very usual) in these words; the sense being, over an earthen vessel, that hath running, i. e. spring water in it. For so R. Levi Barzelonita, in the place beforenamed, describes this ceremony: " The priest takes a new earthen vessel, and pours into it living water, till it be a quarter full:" which was the measure, according to the tradition of the scribes. Who say, also, that the best and fattest of the two birds was killed over the water, and the blood pressed out so long, that the water was discoloured with it; and then he digged a hole, and buried the dead bird before the leper.

Leviticus 14:6

As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedaf-wood, and the scarlet-wool, &c. He took a stick of cedar-wood (as II. Levi Barzelonita describes this rite, and Maimonides saith the same), which was a cubit long; and tying the bird to it, with its tail uppermost, together with a bunch of hyssop, of a handful long, and as much scarlet-wool as weighed a shekel; he then dipped the bird’s tail and wings, with the hyssop and scarlet-wool, in the water tinctured with the blood of the other bird.

Leviticus 14:7

And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from his leprosy. R. Levi will have it, that he sprinkled the back of his hand, towards the top of it, with this water and blood.

Leviticus 14:8

And he that is to be cleansed, shall wash his clothes. He was to do this, and what follows, before he could be admitted into the camp. And sliave off all his liair, and wash himself in water.] i. e. Wash his whole body. All which contributed to cleanliness.. And after that lie shall come into the camp.] But not enter into his own habitation; as appears by the words following… And tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.] They lived in tents while they remained in the wilderness, which every man had apart, for himself and for his family. Unto which a leper was not restored immediately. after his admission into the camp; for fear there should be any undiscerned remainder of his disease, whereby his wife and children might be endangered. For which reason he might not lay with his wife, till seven days were over.

Leviticus 14:9

But on the seventh day he shall sliave all his hair.off his head, &c. This may be thought to have been the time appointed for the shaving mentioned in the foregoing verse: but It. Levi, and other Hebrew doctors, understand it of a second shaving at the seven days’ end, that they might bo assured nothing of the leprosy remained. Even all his hair he shall shave off] Under his arm-holes, and in other places of the body where it uses.to grow: as well as the hair of his head, and his beard, and his eyebrows. And he shallwash his clothes.] This seems to be a second washing, after the first at the end of the seven days. And the Hebrew doctors note, that the killing of the bird, the shaving and the sprinkling, were all to be done in the daytime; the rest might be done either by day or by night. Also he shall wash his flesh in water.] His whole body. “^For which end such a measure is prescribed by the He-.brcw tradition, as would cover it entirely. And he shall be clean.] So as to be not qnly restored to his tent, but admitted to go to the tabernacle of the congregation, and offer the sacrifices appointed (in the following part of this chapter) for his complete purification. Till which time he was called Mechussar Kapparali, one that needed expiation; and was not permitted to eat of the holy things. "

Leviticus 14:10

And on the eighth day. If wo may believe tho llebrew tradition, he washed himself again on this day,: in the court of the women; where there was a room, called the chamber of tfie lepers, provided for that purpose. So Maimonides. Which great caution was imitated by the primitive Christians, who woi^ld not receive great sinners ^ into their communion again, till tyey had made a long trial u of the truth of their repentance. He shall take two he-lambs without blemish, and one ewelamb without blemish.] There w^re three kinds of sacrifices to be offered upon this occasion; viz. a trespass-offering, a sin-offering, and a burnt-offering: for which these three lambs were to be provided. Of the first year.] Such were all the lambs to be, both male and female. And three tenth-deals of fine flour for a meat-offering.] To each of these sacrifices there was a meat-offering appointed, consisting of a tenth part of an ephah of fine flour, i.e. an omer. (SeeExod. xvi. 36.) Which is a thing unusual: for wo read of no meat-offerings ordered (in the Fourth and fifth chapters of this book, which treat of them) to accompany either trespass-offerings or sin-offerings. But there were peculiar rites belonging to the cleansing” of a leper, different from the common usages, to make him sensible how great a mercy he had received from God, who alone could cure this disease which his hand had inflicted. Mingled with oil.] As the manner was in meat-offerings. (See chap. ii. 1.) And one log of oil.] Which served to another purpose, mentioned ver. 15, 16. of this chapter. And oil being of a healing virtue, may be thought to denote the perfect health and soundness to which the leper was now restored; as the fragrancy of it put him in mind of the happiness he now enjoyed. A log was the smallest measure among the Jews, containing about half a pint of our measure, as a very learned prelate of our own (Dr. Cumberland) hath computed in his Scripture Weights and^ Measures, p. 86.

Leviticus 14:11

And the priest that maketh him clean. Who performeth this office of declaring the leper perfectly clean. Shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the Lord, at the door, fee] He set the man in,the first place at the east gate of the court of the Israelites (which in aftertimes was called the gate of Nicanor), with his face towards the sanctuary. For here all those who needed expiation stood \ it being unlawful for them to enter into the court of the Israelites, until the expiation was made. So Maimonides observes in his treatise called Mechussare Kapparah, sect. 4.

Leviticus 14:12

And the priest shall take one he-lamb, and offer him. Next he was to bring one of the lambs to the same place, and present him to the.Lord, as is directed in the end of the verse; for that is meant here by offering him, the slaying of him following in the next verse. For a trespass-offering] After the manner that the trespass-offerings were offered, (of which see chap, vii.) that he might beg pardon of God (as Abarbinel understands it) for such sins as he had ignorantly committed. And the log of oil] Which was presented at the same time with the lamb. And wave them] Both the lamb and the log of oil. For a wave-offering before the Lord] Which was done by waving them to and fro, up and down, and turning towards all the four quarters of the world, as was noted before. But Maimonides saith, this was waved towards the east: and if he waved them both together, or separated one from the other, the lamb first, and afterward the log of oil, it made no difference.

Leviticus 14:13

And he shall slay the lamb. The lamb was brought, saith the same author in the forenamed treatise, to the door of the court where the leprous man stood, who stretched out his hands into the court and laid them upon his sacrifice: after which it was killed, as is here directed.’ In the place where he shall kill the sin-offering, and the burnt-offering.] Seevi. 25. In the holy place.] In the court of the tabernacle, at the north side of the altar of burnt-offering, (chap. i. 11.) which was a place more holy than the entrance, or east end of the court, where the peace-offerings were to be killed, (see iii. 2.) - For as the sin-offering is the priest’s, so is the trespassoffering.] See vii. 7. Both of them were to be eaten by the priests in the court of God’s house; and, therefore, were equally holy. It is most holy.] See ii. 3.

Leviticus 14:14

And the priest sJiall take some of the blood of the trespass-offering. There stood two priests, as Mairaonides represents it, (in his treatise beforemcntioned, sect. 4.) ready to receive the blood of the lamb: one, in a holy vessel, with which he sprinkled the altar; the other, in his right hand, which he poured into his left; and then with the fore-finger of his right hand put it upon the right ear, &c. of him that was to be cleansed. And the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his rigJU hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.] The priest standing within the court at the entrance of it, and the man standing still without, the man thrnst his head within the gate, and the priest put some of the blood which he held in his hand upon the tip of his right ear. After which, the man stretched out his right arm, and the priest put some Of the same blood upon the thumb of bit right hand; and next, his right leg, on the great toe of which he likewise put some more blood. Thus Maimonides in the same place. Where he saith, if the priest had put the blood upon the left ear, thumb, or toe, all had been of no effect. And he adds, (sect. 5.) that the blood was put upon half of the flap of his ear, and upon the whole breadth of the top of his thumb and great toe, for if he put it on the sides or beneath it was ineffectual. Which is Yery reasonable to believe, because there was no natural efficacy in these things to cleanse a leper; but it dopended wholly upon the will and pleasure of. God, which wa,s punctually therefore to be observed; that, by the exact performance of all these ceremonial signs (as Pcllicanus speaks) in the face of the church, all men might be satisfied that he was perfectly purified; and he might be publicly authorized to associate himself with the rest of God’s people, and be no longer abominated by them for his impurity. For the signification of these ceremonies some think to have been, that he was restored to free communion with God, and with man. (See Exod. xxix. 20.) And Abarbinel looks upon them as a signification also, that the leprosy began in those parts of the body (which arc less fleshy and fat), and were now, therefore, particularly declared clean. But whatever the intcntion.of them was, there was a just and wiso reason, no doubt, for them; though at this distance from those ages, countries, and customs, &c. we may not bo able to and pour it into the palm of his own left hand.] Or,, as Maimonides saith, he might pour some of it into the left hand of the other priest, who sprinkled the blood at the altar.

Leviticus 14:15

And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, J mentioned byour Saviour, Matt. viii. 4. DJgmzetf of Microsoft ® [chap. xiv. Vcr. 20. And the priest shall offer the burnt-offering and the meat-offering upon the altar.’] Thcro were so many offerings made, (o shew the greatness of his uncleanness, and now his perfect cure. Wo read of no meat-offering made with the two former sacrifices; but the three tenthdeals of fine flour (mentioned vcr. 10.) seem to signify, every one of these sacrifices, the trespass-offering, the sin-offering, and the burnt-offering, had its proportion of a tenth-deal of flour offered with it. But if we think the whole was appropriated to the burnt-offering, yet it was the same thing to the leper, whose cleansing cost him as dear one way as the other. Only by understanding it thus, thc.pricst, perhaps, had a greater reward for his pains; if wc suppose he only burnt a handful upon the altar (as the manner was in these offerings), and had all the rest to his own use. (See chap, ii.ver.2, 3.) And the priest shall make an atonement, for him, and he shall be. clean,’] By this, his atonement was completed; and he w T as made so perfectly clean, as. to bo admitted to be partaker of the altar, when peace-offerings were sacri-r ficed… By this very long process, through so many different rites, and for so many days, before men could be purified from a legal defilement in their bodies, was a plain instruction to all persons of good sense, how much more difficult it would prove to cleanse their souls from those moral impurities which they contracted, by long habits of sin: and what great pains must be taken both by the sinners themselves, and by God’s ministers, to root them out; and with what repeated prayers the mercy of God towards them was to be implored, of which they ought not hastily to presume.

Leviticus 14:16

And the priest sJiall dip his right finger in the oil, &c. The. fore^finger of his right hand, as the same Hebrew doctor observes. And shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord.] At every sprinkling he dipped his finger in the oil, and directed it towards the most holy place, where God dwelt: though, if it were not exactly directed to it, the same doctor saith, the sprinkling was good.

Leviticus 14:17

And.ofthe rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear, &c. Then the priest returned to the man who was to be cleansed, upon the tip of whose ear, and thumb, and toe, he had put the blood of the trespass-offering, and put some of this oil upon that blood. Which seems to have been a token of forgiveness by the blood, and of healing by the oil.

Leviticus 14:18

And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall pour upon the. head of him that is to be cleansed. Which one thing, if it were omitted, the leper was not cleansed. As for the rest of the log of oil, which* was hot all poured into his hand, but only some of it, (ver. 15.) that was distributed to the priests (as the same Maimonides observes), who alone might eat it in the court of the tabernacle, as they did other holy things. But none might taste of it before the sprinkling, and other things beforementioncd, were performed. If any man did he was beaten; as he was who ate the holy things before the sprinkling of the blood. For that was a great profaneness for any person to take his portion before God had that which belonged unto him. And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord.] This seems to suppose that the leprosy was inflicted as a punishment for some sin, which by this sacrifice was taken away. But the word make atonement doth not always signify the taking away sin; but sometimes merely making a thing fit for holy uses. Thus Moses is said to make an atonement for the altar, Exod. xxix. 36, 37. (See there.) And in the same sense may an atonement be said to be made for the leper by this sacrifice; which restored liim to be made partaker of the holy things offered at the altar. (See below, ver. 58.)

Leviticus 14:19

And the priest shall offer the sin-offering. The other he-lamb, mentioned ver. 10. which was to be offered after the manner of the sin-offering for such offences (as Abarbinel understands it) as he knew he had committed. And make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed.] His atonement was begun by the trespass-offering, (ver. 18.) and was advanced by this; which, Abarbinel thinks, was added, to make men.more cautious how they.contracted any sort of impurity, which would put them to great charges, before they were purged from it. For he could find no other reason, he saith, for the like sacrifices which were offered by him that had an issue, or had meddled with a menstruous woman, or had been defiled by the dead, or tasted swine’s flesh, or any creeping thing. And afterward he shall kill the burnt-offering.] This being a present to God himself, was not accepted, till, by the other offerings for trespass and sin, the, man was purified. And this I take to be properly the Awpov, or gift, discover it,

Leviticus 14:21

And if he be poor, and cannot get so much. The Divine Goodness always made a merciful provision that his service should not be burdensome to men; and therefore took care the poor should not be charged with too costly sacrifices, and yet partake of the benefit of them as much as the rich. (See i. 14. 17. v. 11, &c.) He shall takeJ] After he had undergone etfl the purgations beforcmentioned, from the fourth verse of this chapter to the tenth, which continued for seven days together: for though his poverty excused him from such chargeable sacrifices, as others of greater ability were to offer, y£t he was to be at all the trouble and pains that others took for their purification; there being not one of the rites before prescribed which is omitted in the following verses, only they were less expensive. One lamb for a trespassoffering.] It is not determined whether it should be a he-lamb or a ewe-lamb; and, therefore, it was left indifferent, for the greater case of his poverty; only it was to be of theirs* year, and without blemish, as is prescribed ver. 10. To be waved.\ According to the directions given ver. 12. To make an atonement for him.] Which was effected by this, as >ycll as by a more valuable sacrifice; when it was the best he had to offer. And one tenth-t[eal of fine flour, mingled with oil.] Instead of three tenth-deals, w r hich the richer sort w f ere to offer, (ver. 10.) IJut if q. poor man had vowed he would offer all that is. prescribed in that verse, in case God would l^c pleased to cure him, he %ya§ bound thereby (as Maiinonides says in thp forcnamccl treatise), and this smaller

Leviticus 14:22

And two turtle-doves, or tiuo young pigeons. Instead of the other two lambs, required of those who could provide them, (vcr. 10.) Such as he is able to get.] The best he -could procure; but the meanest would be accepted, if he could get no better. And the one shall be a sin-offering, and the other a burntoffering.] Neither of which was to be omitted, though the things offered were but mean: (see i. 14. v. 11.) it being necessary he should perform all religious services^ according to his ability. And I think the observation of Conr. Pellicanus is not absurd, that, though there was an exchange made of two lambs for two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, in consideration of a man’s poverty; yet no person whatsoever,.whether rich jor poor, could be cleansed without the sacrifice of one lamb: which may well be looked upon as the figure of the Lamb of God, who alone taketh away the sins of the whole w r orld..

Leviticus 14:23

And he shall bring them on the eighth day. This plainly suggests, that this poor man had done all that was prescribed on the seven days foregoing, as well as the rich. For his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, &c] See ver. 10, 11, &e. where all that follows here, unto ver. 33. is explained: there being the same rites prescribed, and in the same words, about a poor man, which were used for the cleansing of the rich.

Leviticus 14:24

And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass-offering. See ver. 12.

Leviticus 14:25

And he shall kill the lamb. See ver. 13. And shall take some of the blood of the trespass-offering, and put it upon the tip, &c] See this explained, vcr, 14.

Leviticus 14:26

And thepriest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand. See ver. 15. It is not said either there’ or here how much, but only some of the oil (as it is there translated), that is, as much as the priest thought would be sufficient.

Leviticus 14:27

And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger, &c. According to the directions given before, ver. 16.

Leviticus 14:28

And thepriest shall put of the oil that is in his hand upon the tip of the right ear, &c. Sec vcr. 17. Upon the place of the blood of the trespass-offering.] It being not said here, upon the blood of the trespass-offering, (as the words are ver. 17.) but upon the place of the blood; the Jews infer from thence, that if the blood laid upon the tip of the ear, thumb, or toe, were by any means wiped off, it was sufficient to lay the oil in the very place where the blood had been. So Maimonidcs, in the forenamed treatise, concerning those that wanted expiation, sect. 5. But that w T hich he there adds is very unreasonable; that if a man wanted the thumb of his right hand, or the great toe of his right foot, or the lap of his right ear, he could never be purified from his uncleanness.’ For it is not to be thought, that God would make his cleansing impossible, Tvho was maimed or defective in any of these parts: which had been to add one misery to another. Therefore, in this case, the blood and the oil might be put upon the parts next to these. Vcr. 39, And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand, CHAP. XIV.] UPON LEVITICUS. he shall put upon the head of him that is to becleansed, &c] Sec ver. 18.

Leviticus 14:30

And he shall offer the one of the turtle-doves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get. i. e. The best that he is able to procure.

Leviticus 14:31

Even such as he is able to get. He repeats.it again, that the man might not be troubled if he was not able to procure the very best, provided he did his endeavour to bring the hest that his estate could reach. The one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering, &c] See ver. 19, 20..

Leviticus 14:32

TJiis n> the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy. Who was shut out of the camp, because of the leprosy, which formerly appeared in him. Whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing.] Who is so poor that he cannot procure what is prescribed to those that are able to make such offerings as are beforementioncd, (ver. 10, &c.) for their reception into the congregation again, when they are found to be free from their leprosy. But here Maimonides puts this case: suppose a man, having brought the offering of the poor, suddenly becomes rich; or, on the contrary, having brought a rich man’s offering, immediately becomes poor, what is to be done? He answers; if this happen before the sacrifice be finished, he is to proceed according to the state in which he was when his sin-offering was offered: that is, offer the sacrifice of a rich man, viz. another lamb, if he was then rich; or the sacrifice of a poor man, if he was then poor. -

Leviticus 14:33

And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying. Now he again speaks to them both conjunctly, (which he did not ver. 1.) as he had done xiii. 1. because Aaron and his sons were peculiarly concerned to judge concerning the leprosy in houses as well as in their inhabitants.

Leviticus 14:34

When ye come into the land of Canaan. This seems to import that the leprosy did not infect their habitations, tiir they came into the land of Canaan. When some of the rabbins say, (as R. Levi Barzelonita observes, Praecept. clxxvii.) that God sent this plague for the good of the Israelites, into certain houses, that they being pulled down, the treasure which the Amorites had hidden there might be discovered. But this looks like one of their dreams, who are not willing to think themselves at any time out of the favour of God.. Which I give you for your possession.] From these words (and those in the conclusion of this verse, where Canaan is called the land of their possession), Moses bar Nachman draws a better conclusion; that the leprosy was a Divine stroke in this country, and no where else; because it was a holy land, bestowed upon the Israelites by God, who dwelt here himself, and punished great offences against his Divine majesty with this sore disease; whereby he banished them from his presence, till they amended. And I put the plague of leprosy upon a house,&c] These words seem to be a good ground to think, that this plague was a supernatural stroke: not like the contagion which now adheres to the house and clothes of those who have the pestilence. Thus Abarbinel understands it when he saith, I put the plague, it shews tho thing was “not natural, but proceeded from the special providence and pleasure of the blessed God.” And so the author of Sepher vol. t. Cosri: (par. ii. sect. 58.) " God inflicted this plague of leprosy upon houses and garments, as a punishment for lesser sins; and ^yhen men continued still to multiply transgressions, then it invaded their bodies." So that it began in the houses, which were not infected by the inha- * bitants, but the inhabitants by the houses. And Maimonides will have this to have been the punishment of an evil tongue, i. e. of detraction and calumny; which began in the walls of his house, and went no further, but vanished, if he repented of his sin. But if he persisted in his rebellious courses, it proceeded to his household-stuff: and if he still went on, it invaded his garments, and at last his body, (More Nevoch. par. iii. cap. 47.) The very same is quoted by Muscatus, out of Midrash Ruth, to this sense: " That God is so very merciful, as not at first to inflict punishment on men’s bodies, as appears in the case of Job; whose goods were first destroyed, and then his children, before his body was touched: and in the plagues of Egypt itself, whose vines and fig-trees**God smote, and then their cattle, before he killed their first-born. In the same manner, the plague of leprosy first invaded a man’s habitation; though not the whole house, but some stones only, in tho beginning of it. Then it spread all over, till the house was pulled down. From thence it went to men’s garments; and, if they did not amend, to their bodies; till in the issue they were shut out of the camp, from the company of their brethren." R. Levi Barzelonita explains it after the same, manner, in the place beforementioned. And Abarbinel thinks the end and intention of this miracle (as he calls it) “to be a caution and admonition from God, that the man might be converted from his sins: as if the stone in the wall had cried out, and the beam out of the timber answered it, (as Habakkuk speaks, ii. 11.) to the master of the house, saying,‘Turn unto the Lord thy God, O Israel: behold, the plague is come into thy house; arid if thou wilt not be converted, it shall abide upon thee and on thy children/ " And this he saith is the opinion of their rabbins. In a house;] They had no houses till they came into Canaan; but dwelt in tents. Of the land of your possession.] The Jews were so fond of Jerusalem, that they have excepted it from this plague; because, saith the forenamed R. Levi, Jerusalem was not divided among the tribes; and, therefore, cannot be comprehended under the name of their possession. This he had out of the Gemara of Bava kama, where this is reckoned among the ten privileges of the holy city; that it was not defiled with the plague of leprosy. (See Con. L’Empereur’s annotations on Bava kama, cap. 7. sect. 7.) Ver.. 35. And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, &c] As soon as any inhabitant (for he is meant by him that owneth the house) hat) a suspicion that this plague was in his dwelling, he was bound to give notice of it to the priest; or else was jn danger to incur a further punishment. Ver. 3G. Then the priest shall command that they etipty the house.] Of all the household-stuff: and that the inhabitants also should go out of it. Before the priest go into it to see the plague.] To see whether that which the man suspected was the plague or not. - That all that is in the house be not made unclean.] Till the priest had given his judgment, all things in the house were accounted clean: as till a man was pronounced by 3 F microsoft ® [chap. XIV, him to have a leprosy, nobody was bound to avoid his company. And afterward the priest shall go in to see the house.”] When it was cleared of every thing that might hinder his exact inspection. Vcr. 37. And, behold, if the plague be in the toalls of the house.’] They were principally to be searched, together with the pavement, and the roof; where this plague appeared. With hollow strakes.] There was the same kind of mark of a leprosy in a house, that there was of it in the body of a man: for if a spot was deeper than the skin of the flesh, (xiii. 3.) it was a bad token: in like manner, when there were hollow or depressed strakes in the wall of a house, (or, as it is in the latter end of this verso, in sight lower than the wall), it was a sign of the leprosy, which began to corrode and cat into it. This seems to be the import of the Hebrew word schickharuroth, which signifies something that lies deep, and is sunk into the place where it is. For that is a more probable derivation of the word, from schakah, than that of Forsterus, who derives it from schakar, which signifies false. And so the LXX. translate it by the Greek word KoiXaSac, signifying the leprosy had so eaten into the stones, as to have pitted them (as we speak in our language),?. e. made a cavity in them. Which the Jews justly looked upon as a thing very extraordinary; a miraculous effect (as Maimonides calls it) of the Divine hand. Greenish or reddish.] Which was the mark of a leprosy in a garment, (xiii. 49.) ■Ver. 38. Then the priest sliall go out of the house, to the door of the house.] Where he was to stay till he had seen the house shut up, that none might go into it, and thereby be endangered to be defiled. And shut it up seven days.] In which’ time -he might be able to make a certain judgment, whether it was the leprosy or not. (See xiii. 4.) For the plague would sooner appear when the house was not inhabited. Ver. 31). And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look.] Make a new inspection, as he did when a man or a garment were suspected to have the leprosy, (xiii. 6. 51.) And, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house.] This was a bad sign in a man’s body or garment, (xiii. 5. 51.) Vcr. 40. Then the priest shall command that they take dway the stones in which the plague is.] As far as it was spread in the walls of the house; which it seems were generally made of stone, when they came to Canaan. Meaner houses, the Jews say, were not infected with the leprosy: nor a habitation called a house (as their doctors affirm) unless it had four walls of four cubits high, built of stones and timber, (ver. 45.) And they shall cast them into, an unclean place, without the city.] Where they threw their dung and all manner of filth/.* For such places there were without their cities; as there were others where no manner of filth might be thrown; which were called clean places. (See iv. 12.)

Leviticus 14:41

And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, &c. All the rest of the walls, where no spots afe yet appeared, were to be scraped; that if any of the contagion stuck to them, it might be taken away, and the spreading of it prevented. For which end these scrapings were also thrown out into tho «ftme unclean place where the stones were laid. Vei*. 42. A7id they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones.] Put fresh untainted stones in the room of the other which were taken out of the walls. And he shall take other mortar, and plaster the house.] Command them to lay fresh plaster all over the walls, where they were scraped.

Leviticus 14:43

And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, &c. after he had taken away the stones, &c. If after all the forcmentioned care (of putting in new stones, scraping, and new plastering the walls) the same marks appeared again, which are mentioned ver. 37. the house was to be pulled down, as it is directed in the next verse but one.

Leviticus 14:44

Then the priest sliall come and look. Upon notice given him; or, perhaps, he was bound to come after a certain time, and examine the state of it. And, behold, if the plague be spread hi the house, it is a spreading leprosy.] Of the same nature with that in a gar-. ment, which could not be stopped. (See xiii. 51.) It is unclean.] Incapable to be cleansed from the leprosy, and therefore (as it follows) to be demolished. *

Leviticus 14:45

And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the mortar of the house. % This was a damage to the owner, but it was to prevent a greater unto him, and unto others: and was not done till there was no remedy. For if he had hearkened to the stones that cried out of the wall (as Abarbincl speaks), saying, Repent, and amend, &c. (which was the meaning of the plague) the infection would have spread no further. (See ver. 34.) The same author fancies, that this plague in their houses was an emblem of the idolatry they would exercise there, when they came into Canaan: and that the pulling down of their houses, was a sign of the destruction of the sanctuary itself, because of their iniquities. This seems to be something forced: but wc may not unfitly look, upon this manner of proceeding with their houses, when they were infected (some of thd stones whereof were taken out, &c. before all was pulled down), as a representation of God’s proceedings with -them, when they rebelled against him: for, first, some of them were removed; and then the whole nation, by degrees, very much impaired, before they were all carried captive out of their own land. And he shall carry them forth out of the city,.into an unclean place.] Order them to be carried to the place, where the stones and the scrapings of ther house, mentioned ver. 40, 41. were thrown. Which may well be looked upon as a figure of their being carried away for their wickedness into heathen countries, which in Scripture are called unclean lands. Such the land of Canaan was before they came into it, (Ezra ix. 11.) and such were all people uncircumcised, (Isa. lii. 1.)

Leviticus 14:46

Moreover, he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up, &c. If he did but enter within the door of the house, while it remained under a suspicion of being defiled, he contracted a defilement himself, under which he lay till night. Which strict care to keep the Israelites free from all such pollutions, is an admonishment to us (as Conradus Pellicanus well notes) to avoid all suspected places and company: according to the exhortation of the apostle,.’ “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”

Leviticus 14:47

And he that lieth in the house sliall wash his

Leviticus 14:48

If the plague had not spread in the house, after it was plastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean. Just as it was in the leprosy in men’s bodies, or garments, (xiii. 6. 53.) Because the plague is healed.] A stop being put to its progress, it was a sign the house was free from the plague, of which it was suspected.

Leviticus 14:49

And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar-wood^ and scarlet, and hyssop. The very same rites are used for the cleansing of a house, which were appointed for the cleansing of man, (ver. 4.) And the reason of it was, as Abarbinel well conjectures, to denote that the house was smitten for the man’s sake; who was to loot upon himself as saved and preserved by the Divine mercy. It is not said here, indeed, that these two birds should be alive and clean, (as is directed ver. 4. x but that is necessarily understood; for he is ordered immediately to kill one of the birds, and let the other fly away (as in the former case), and nothing unclean could be of effect to cleanse a man from uncleanncss.

Leviticus 14:51

And he shall take the cedar-wood, and the hyssop, &c. This whole verse is explained before, ver. 6. which differs not from this in any thing; but only that the living bird is there mentioned in the first place, and here in the last: and in this verse is more distinctly declared, that all these things should be dipped wt the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water.

Leviticus 14:52

And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, &c. There is nothing to be observed here, more than before, but only this, that the house is said to be cleansed by the living bird, as well as by the blood of that which was slain: its flying away being a declaration the house was free for any man’s habitation. Thus the scapegoat, which was let run into the wilderness, took away the sins of the people, as well as the goat offered at the altar. (See xvi. 5.)

Leviticus 14:53

And he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open field. This justifies what the Jewish doctors say upon ver. 7. (See there.) And make an atonement for the house.] An atonement was made for the house, no otherway than for the altar, (sec upon ver. 18.) by cleansing it so as to make it fit for any man to dwell in it.’ And it shall be clean.] The owner (who was commanded to forsake the house, ver. 3G.)- or any one else, might return to it, and inhabit it, as before it was suspected to have the plague in it.

Leviticus 14:54

TJiis is the law for all manner of plagues, and leprosy, and scall. The rule whereby to judge and to cleanse all leprosies in the bodies of men; and that leprosy in the head or the beard, called a scall, (xiii. 30—38.)

Leviticus 14:55

And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a’ Digitized by, Microsoft ® house, and for a raising, &c. The foregoing verse and these two, are a recapitulation of the laws delivered in the thirteenth chapter and in this.

Leviticus 14:57

To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean. To guide the priest in judgment when to pronounce a man, a garment, or a house, infected with the leprosy; or when to declare them free from it. This is the law of leprosy.] Here is a conclusion of what belongs to this matter.. Which profane minds, who love to disparage the Holy Scripture, and admire no ancient authors but such as Homer, Virgil, and Plautus, (to use the words of Pellicanus upon ver. 39.) may deride as unworthy to be made a part of a Divine law. But men better disposed may discern herein the great goodness of God to the Israelites, whom he had adopted for his peculiar people, in taking care to give them precepts about all manner of things, which were many ways profitable both for theregulating their manners and preserving their health; and accustoming them to an exact obedience to him in every thing. And who doth not see that by these external rites and ceremonies he admonishes us to keep pure consciences/ void of offence both towards God and men, in a strict observance of all the rules of our most holy religion?