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Leviticus 13

God establishes careful priestly examination to distinguish clean from unclean, with consequences for a person’s place in Israel’s camp.

YHWH speaks to Moses and Aaron about skin conditions that require examination by a priest. The instructions distinguish signs of uncleanness from harmless rashes, scars, and baldness. Some cases require seven days of isolation followed by another examination. Those pronounced unclean must identify their condition and live outside the camp while it remains. The final section applies related procedures to affected cloth and leather, including washing, removing damaged portions, or burning contaminated items.

illness or diagnosissermon or Bible study notes
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2“When a man shall have a swelling in his body’s skin, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes in the skin of his body the plague of leprosy, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons, the priests.
3The priest shall examine the plague in the skin of the body. If the hair in the plague has turned white, and the appearance of the plague is deeper than the body’s skin, it is the plague of leprosy; so the priest shall examine him and pronounce him unclean.
4If the bright spot is white in the skin of his body, and its appearance isn’t deeper than the skin, and its hair hasn’t turned white, then the priest shall isolate the infected person for seven days.
6The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day. Behold, if the plague has faded and the plague hasn’t spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. It is a scab. He shall wash his clothes, and be clean.
7But if the scab spreads on the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall show himself to the priest again.
8The priest shall examine him; and behold, if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is leprosy.
10and the priest shall examine him. Behold, if there is a white swelling in the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the swelling,
12“If the leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the infected person from his head even to his feet, as far as it appears to the priest,
13then the priest shall examine him. Behold, if the leprosy has covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean of the plague. It has all turned white: he is clean.
16Or if the raw flesh turns again, and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest.
18“When the body has a boil on its skin, and it has healed,
20The priest shall examine it. Behold, if its appearance is deeper than the skin, and its hair has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is the plague of leprosy. It has broken out in the boil.
23But if the bright spot stays in its place, and hasn’t spread, it is the scar from the boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
24“Or when the body has a burn from fire on its skin, and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish-white, or white,
27The priest shall examine him on the seventh day. If it has spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is the plague of leprosy.
29“When a man or woman has a plague on the head or on the beard,
30then the priest shall examine the plague; and behold, if its appearance is deeper than the skin, and the hair in it is yellow and thin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is an itch. It is leprosy of the head or of the beard.
32On the seventh day the priest shall examine the plague; and behold, if the itch hasn’t spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and the appearance of the itch isn’t deeper than the skin,
34On the seventh day, the priest shall examine the itch; and behold, if the itch hasn’t spread in the skin, and its appearance isn’t deeper than the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash his clothes and be clean.
35But if the itch spreads in the skin after his cleansing,
39then the priest shall examine them. Behold, if the bright spots on the skin of their body are a dull white, it is a harmless rash. It has broken out in the skin. He is clean.
40“If a man’s hair has fallen from his head, he is bald. He is clean.
44he is a leprous man. He is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean. His plague is on his head.
45“The leper in whom the plague is shall wear torn clothes, and the hair of his head shall hang loose. He shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’
46All the days in which the plague is in him he shall be unclean. He is unclean. He shall dwell alone. His dwelling shall be outside of the camp.
47“The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it is a woolen garment, or a linen garment;
48whether it is in warp or woof; of linen or of wool; whether in leather, or in anything made of leather;
51He shall examine the plague on the seventh day. If the plague has spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in the skin, whatever use the skin is used for, the plague is a destructive mildew. It is unclean.
52He shall burn the garment, whether the warp or the woof, in wool or in linen, or anything of leather, in which the plague is, for it is a destructive mildew. It shall be burned in the fire.
55Then the priest shall examine it, after the plague is washed; and behold, if the plague hasn’t changed its color, and the plague hasn’t spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in the fire. It is a mildewed spot, whether the bareness is inside or outside.
57and if it appears again in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything of skin, it is spreading. You shall burn what the plague is in with fire.
58The garment, either the warp, or the woof, or whatever thing of skin it is, which you shall wash, if the plague has departed from them, then it shall be washed the second time, and it will be clean.”
59This is the law of the plague of mildew in a garment of wool or linen, either in the warp, or the woof, or in anything of skin, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.
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Key verses
Leviticus 13:2This verse places suspected skin conditions under priestly examination and introduces the distinctions that govern the chapter.
Leviticus 13:45The required clothing and public cry make uncleanness visible and audible, showing its cost within the community.
Leviticus 13:46Residence outside the camp makes the verdict of uncleanness a separation that lasts as long as the condition remains.
Where this chapter reaches

Numbers shares the requirement that people with leprosy remain outside the camp, linking these examination rules with Israel’s communal boundaries. Matthew and Luke describe Jesus cleansing people with leprosy and directing them to priests, connecting those accounts with the priest’s role in determining cleanness.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What do the repeated examinations show you about how a verdict of uncleanness was reached?

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Which detail in the rules for life outside the camp most shapes your response to this chapter?

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Questions people ask about Leviticus 13

Is leprosy in Leviticus 13 the same as modern leprosy?

The term translated as leprosy covers a broader range of conditions than the modern diagnosis of Hansen’s disease. This chapter uses it for varied skin symptoms and for affected cloth or leather, where it also speaks of mildew. The descriptions do not establish a precise modern diagnosis for each case.

Does being unclean in Leviticus 13 mean someone has sinned?

Being pronounced unclean here identifies a person’s status under Israel’s purity laws. The priest examines visible features such as hair color and spreading patches. The chapter does not accuse each affected person of a particular sin or require a confession before examination. Physical symptoms alone do not establish personal guilt.

Why did people with leprosy have to live outside the camp?

Verse 46 requires separation for as long as the condition remains, linking residence outside the camp to uncleanness. The chapter does not explain every reason for this boundary. Its stated concern is distinguishing clean from unclean; describing it as a modern public-health policy goes beyond what the text says.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).