Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 13:33
He shall be shaven, but the scurf shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up [him that hath] the scurf seven days more:
33. It is enjoined in the Mishna (Tal. Bab. Neg. x. 5) that two hairs on each side of the scall should be left so that the priest might judge whether the disease had spread.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 33. The scall shall he not shave] Lest the place should be irritated and inflamed, and assume in consequence other appearances besides those of a leprous infection; in which case the priest might not be able to form an accurate judgment.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He shall be shaven, for the more certain discovery of the growth or stay of the plague.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
He shall be shaven,…. His head or beard, where the scall was, as Aben Ezra; and so Ben Gersom, who adds, the law is not solicitous whether this shaving is by a priest or not; so it seems any one might shave him:
but the scall shall he not shave; that is, the hair that is in it, but that was to continue and grow, that the colour of it might be easily discerned at the end of seven other days; according to the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, he was to shave round about it, but not that itself; Jarchi says, he was to leave two hairs near it u, that he might know whether it spread; for if it spread it would go over the hairs, and into the part that was shaven; when it would be a clear case it was a spreading leprosy: now, that there might be an opportunity of observing this, whether it would or not, the following method was to be taken:
and the priest shall shut up [him that hath] the scall seven days more; by which time it would be seen whether there was any increase or decrease, or whether at a stand, and of what colour the hair was, by which judgment might be made of the case.
u Misn. Negaim, c. 10. sect. 5.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(33) He shall be shaven.The priest, for the sake of making sure, and to be able to examine the patient more thoroughly, is to have his head and beard shaved. This operation was performed by professional barbers, who were always on the spot.
But the scall shall he not shave.The place, however, where the scall appeared was not to be shaved, so that the priest might be able to see the colour of the hair. The manner in which the shaving was performed during the second Temple was as follows: The hair round the scall was all shaved off, except two hairs on each side, which were close to the affected spot, to enable the priest to see whether the spot is spreading or not.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
33. He shall be shaven This would afford a better opportunity to determine the question of the spread of the disease. The scall was exempted from being shaven, probably out of mercy to the patient, and as a safeguard against spreading it all over the head and of infecting others by the use of the same razor.