Leviticus 14:8

And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
cleansed	הַמִּטַּהֵ֨ר ha.mi.ta.Her	H2891	to be pure (physical sound · definite article + verb, hithpael active participle, masculine singular absolute
wash	וְכִבֶּס֩ ve.khi.Bes	H3526	to trample · conjunction + verb, piel sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
clothes	בְּגָדָ֜יו be.ga.Dav	H899	a covering · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
shave	וְגִלַּ֣ח ve.gi.Lach	H1548	properly · conjunction + verb, piel sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
hair	שְׂעָר֗וֹ se.'a.Ro	H8181	hair (as if tossed or bristling) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
wash	וְרָחַ֤ץ ve.ra.Chatz	H7364	to lave (the whole or a part of a thing) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
water	בַּמַּ֙יִם֙ ba.Ma.yim	H4325	water · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
clean	וְטָהֵ֔ר ve.ta.Her	H2891	to be pure (physical sound · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
after	וְאַחַ֖ר ve.'a.Char	H310	properly · conjunction + cardinal number, masculine singular absolute
come	יָב֣וֹא ya.Vo'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
camp	הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה ha.ma.cha.Neh	H4264	an encampment (of travellers or troops) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
tarry	וְיָשַׁ֛ב ve.ya.Shav	H3427	properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
abroad	מִח֥וּץ mi.Chutz	H2351	properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
tent	לְאָהֳל֖וֹ le.'o.ho.Lo	H168	a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
seven	שִׁבְעַ֥ת shiv.'At	H7651	seven (as the sacred full one) · cardinal number, both genders singular construct
days	יָמִֽים ya.Mim	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · noun, common masculine plural absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Leviticus 11:25 And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
Numbers 8:7 And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them w…
1 Peter 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good consc…
Exodus 19:10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
Exodus 19:14 And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.
Leviticus 8:6 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.
Leviticus 8:33-35 And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: f…
Leviticus 13:5-6 And the priest shall look on him the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague in his sight be at a stay, and the plague spread not in the ski…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Leviticus 14:1-9

Here, I. It is supposed that the plague of the leprosy was not an incurable disease. Uzziah's indeed continued to the day of his death, and Gehazi's was entailed upon his seed; but Miriam's lasted only seven days: we may suppose that it often wore off in process of time. Though God contend long, he will not contend for ever. II. The judgment of the cure, as well as that of the disease, was referred to the priest. He must go out of the camp to the leper, to see whether his leprosy was healed, Lev 14:3. And we may suppose the priest did not contract any ceremonial uncleanness by coming near the leper, as another person would. It was in mercy to the poor lepers that the priests particularly had…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Leviticus 14:5

the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed . . . over running water--As the blood of a single bird would not have been sufficient to immerse the body of another bird, it was mingled with spring water to increase the quantity necessary for the appointed sprinklings, which were to be repeated seven times, denoting a complete purification. (See Kg2 5:10; Psa 51:2; Mat 8:4; Luk 5:14). The living bird being then set free, in token of the leper's release from quarantine, the priest pronounced him clean; and this official declaration was made with all solemnity, in order that the mind of the leper might be duly impressed with a sense of the divine goodness, and that others might be sa…

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Adam Clarke on Leviticus 14:8

And shave off all his hair - That the water by which he was to be washed should reach every part of his body, that he might be cleansed from whatever defilement might remain on any part of the surface of his body. The Egyptian priests shaved the whole body every third day, to prevent all manner of defilement.

John Gill on Leviticus 14:8

And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes,.... That there may be no remains of the infection in them, and that they might not convey an ill scent to others: so the conversation garments of the saints are to be washed in the blood of the Lamb, Revelation 7:14, and shave off all his hair; what is here expressed in general is more particularly declared in Leviticus 14:9; the hair of his head, beard, and eyebrows; according to Gersom, this was done by the priest, and so Maimonides says (g), that none but a priest might shave him; and yet the text seems plainly to ascribe this, as well as the washing of his clothes and himself, to the leper that was to be cleansed; and the same writer…

The Church Fathers

A first baptism was that of the flood [of Noah] that cut away of sin. A second was that by the [Red] Sea and the cloud, for the cloud is a symbol of the Spirit, while the sea is a symbol of the water. A third is that of the [Levitical] law, for every unclean person washed himself with water and also washed his garments and thus entered into the camp. A fourth is that of John, which was an introductory baptism leading those thus baptized to penance, so that they might believe in Christ.
— John Damascene, ORTHODOX FAITH 4.9

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Baths — The use of the bath was very frequent among the Hebrews (Lev. 14:8; Num. 19:19, ect.). The high priest at his inauguration (Lev. 8:6), and on the day of atonement, was required to bathe himself…
Leprosy — (Heb. tsara’ath, a “smiting,” a “stroke,” because the disease was regarded as a direct providential infliction). This name is from the Greek lepra, by which the Greek physicians designated the…
Nail — For fastening. (1.) Hebrew yathed, “piercing,” a peg or nail of any material (Ezek. 15:3), more especially a tent-peg (Ex. 27:19; 35:18; 38:20), with one of which Jael (q.v.) pierced the temples of…
Purification — The process by which a person unclean, according to the Levitical law, and thereby cut off from the sanctuary and the festivals, was restored to the enjoyment of all these privileges. The great…
Razor — The Nazarites were forbidden to make use of the razor (Num. 6:5; Judg. 13:5). At their consecration the Levites were shaved all over with a razor (Num. 8:7; comp. Ps. 52:2; Ezek. 5:1).
Swine — (Heb. hazir), regarded as the most unclean and the most abhorred of all animals (Lev. 11:7; Isa. 65:4; 66:3, 17; Luke 15:15, 16). A herd of swine were drowned in the Sea of Galilee (Luke 8:32, 33).…
Ablution · .Of lepers — .Of lepers
Purifications · Of the healed leper — Of the healed leper
Sanitation · CONTAGION — CONTAGION

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Leviticus 14:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Leviticus 14:1-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Leviticus 14:5

Adam Clarke on Leviticus 14:8

John Gill on Leviticus 14:8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Leviticus 14:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Leviticus 14:1-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Leviticus 14:5

Adam Clarke on Leviticus 14:8

John Gill on Leviticus 14:8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Leviticus 14:3-9

Keil & Delitzsch on Leviticus 14:1-32

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Leviticus 14:7

Rashi on Leviticus 14:8