The
Lord
spoke
to Moses and Aaron, saying: “When you come into the land of
Canaan,1
which I give you for a possession, and I put a leprous disease in a
house2
in the land of your possession, the owner of the house shall come and
tell the priest, saying, “There seems to me to be some sort of
disease3
in my house.”
The priest shall command that they empty the house before the priest goes to examine the disease, or all that is in the house will become unclean;4 and afterward the priest shall go in to inspect the house. He shall examine the disease; if the disease is in the walls of the house with greenish or reddish spots,5 and if it appears to be deeper than the surface, the priest shall go outside to the door of the house and shut up the house seven days.6 The priest shall come again on the seventh day and make an inspection; if the disease has spread in the walls of the house, the priest shall command that the stones in which the disease appears be taken out and thrown into an unclean place outside the city.7 He shall have the inside of the house scraped thoroughly, and the plaster that is scraped off shall be dumped in an unclean place outside the city.8 They shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and take other plaster and plaster the house.
If the disease breaks out again in the house, after he has taken out the stones and scraped the house and plastered it, the priest shall go and make inspection; if the disease has spread in the house, it is a spreading leprous disease in the house; it is unclean. He shall have the house torn down, its stones and timber and all the plaster of the house, and taken outside the city to an unclean place.9 All who enter the house while it is shut up shall be unclean until the evening;10 and all who sleep in the house shall wash their clothes; and all who eat in the house shall wash their clothes.11
If the priest comes and makes an inspection, and the disease has not spread in the house after the house was plastered, the priest shall pronounce the house clean; the disease is healed. For the cleansing of the house he shall take two birds, with cedarwood and crimson yarn and hyssop, and shall slaughter one of the birds over fresh water in an earthen vessel, and shall take the cedarwood and the hyssop and the crimson yarn, along with the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. Thus he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the fresh water, and with the living bird, and with the cedarwood and hyssop and crimson yarn; and he shall let the living bird go out of the city into the open field; so he shall make atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.12
This is the ritual for any leprous disease: for an itch, for leprous diseases in clothing and houses, and for a swelling or an eruption or a spot, to determine when it is unclean and when it is clean. This is the ritual for leprous diseases.13
1 This is the first reminder in a long time that this book was written as if they had not yet even entered the promised land.
The priest shall command that they empty the house before the priest goes to examine the disease, or all that is in the house will become unclean;4 and afterward the priest shall go in to inspect the house. He shall examine the disease; if the disease is in the walls of the house with greenish or reddish spots,5 and if it appears to be deeper than the surface, the priest shall go outside to the door of the house and shut up the house seven days.6 The priest shall come again on the seventh day and make an inspection; if the disease has spread in the walls of the house, the priest shall command that the stones in which the disease appears be taken out and thrown into an unclean place outside the city.7 He shall have the inside of the house scraped thoroughly, and the plaster that is scraped off shall be dumped in an unclean place outside the city.8 They shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and take other plaster and plaster the house.
If the disease breaks out again in the house, after he has taken out the stones and scraped the house and plastered it, the priest shall go and make inspection; if the disease has spread in the house, it is a spreading leprous disease in the house; it is unclean. He shall have the house torn down, its stones and timber and all the plaster of the house, and taken outside the city to an unclean place.9 All who enter the house while it is shut up shall be unclean until the evening;10 and all who sleep in the house shall wash their clothes; and all who eat in the house shall wash their clothes.11
If the priest comes and makes an inspection, and the disease has not spread in the house after the house was plastered, the priest shall pronounce the house clean; the disease is healed. For the cleansing of the house he shall take two birds, with cedarwood and crimson yarn and hyssop, and shall slaughter one of the birds over fresh water in an earthen vessel, and shall take the cedarwood and the hyssop and the crimson yarn, along with the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. Thus he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the fresh water, and with the living bird, and with the cedarwood and hyssop and crimson yarn; and he shall let the living bird go out of the city into the open field; so he shall make atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.12
This is the ritual for any leprous disease: for an itch, for leprous diseases in clothing and houses, and for a swelling or an eruption or a spot, to determine when it is unclean and when it is clean. This is the ritual for leprous diseases.13
1 This is the first reminder in a long time that this book was written as if they had not yet even entered the promised land.
2
The leprous disease is attributed to God.
3
Interesting that the instructions include the homeowner being
unclear as to what kind of disease it is. This allows anyone who
was in the house (or any objects taken out of the home) before the
priest declares it “unclean” to still remain “clean”
themselves.
4
It is not made clear whether the disease can spread from the house
to a person, but at the very least the spiritual “uncleanliness”
of the house can spread.
5
Certainly sounds like mildew. What kind of mildew could also infect
a person?
6
As with a person, quarantine is the first step.
7
If the disease spreads, it is active, and the infected materials
need to be removed.
8
Besides removable of infected stones, all surfaces would be scraped.
This could be at least a decent procedure for removing
contaminants.
9
Extreme measures for having such a disease in the home! It makes me
curious as to whether this was some far more threatening thing that
we are today unaware of. If not, then perhaps there was an extreme
spiritual stigma involved. Tearing down a home due to some mildew
spreading seems quite a huge step.
10
I wonder if that includes the priest?
11
The people must be disinfected too.
12
The ritual for declaring a home clean is about the same as for the
first step declaring a person clean. Once again, there is a
spiritual declaration that must be made in addition to the physical
steps. However, the major sacrifices that must be made for a
person's cleanliness are not included for the house.
13
A summary of all the types of leprous disease.
Take-home: A leprous disease is seen as having been placed there by God. Having such a disease in your home has both physical and spiritual repercussions, and must be taken extremely seriously.
Take-home: A leprous disease is seen as having been placed there by God. Having such a disease in your home has both physical and spiritual repercussions, and must be taken extremely seriously.
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