Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 13:45
And the leper in whom the plague [is], his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
45. his clothes shall be rent ] not the usual Heb. word, but one used only here and in Lev 10:6, Lev 21:10; Jewish tradition exempted women from rending their clothes. The actions of the leper here prescribed are those of a mourner; rending the garments, and letting the hair go loose (cp. Lev 10:6, Lev 21:10; Eze 24:17), covering the upper lip (cp. Eze 24:17; Eze 24:22; Mic 3:7), crying, Unclean (Lam 4:15). The leper was regarded as one dead; Miriam is so described (Num 12:12) and Josephus refers to lepers as ‘in no way differing from the dead’ ( Ant. iii. 11. 3). Cp. mediaeval rites relating to lepers in HDB. iii. 98 b.
The office from the Sarum Manual used at the seclusion of a leper may be found in R. M. Clay’s Mediaeval Hospitals, pp. 273 ff.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Rules for treatment of leprous persons (45, 46)
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The leper was to carry about with him the usual signs of mourning for the dead. Compare Lev 10:6 and margin reference.
The leper was a living parable in the world of the sin of which death was the wages; not the less so because his suffering might have been in no degree due to his own personal deserts: he bore about with him at once the deadly fruit and the symbol of the sin of his race. Exo 20:5. As his body slowly perished, first the skin, then the flesh, then the bone, fell to pieces while yet the animal life survived; he was a terrible picture of the gradual corruption of the spirit worked by sin.
His head bare – Rather, his head neglected. See Lev 10:6 note.
Unclean, unclean – Compare the margin reference.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 45. His clothes shall be rent, c.] The leprous person is required to be as one that mourned for the dead, or for some great and public calamity. He was to have his clothes rent in token of extreme sorrow his head was to be made bare, the ordinary bonnet or turban being omitted; and he was to have a covering upon his upper lip, his jaws being tied up With a linen cloth, after the same manner in which the Jews bind up the dead, which custom is still observed among the Jews in Barbary on funeral occasions: a custom which, from Eze 24:17, we learn had prevailed very anciently among the Jews in Palestine. He was also to cry, Unclean, unclean, in order to prevent any person from coming near him, lest the contagion might be thus communicated and diffused through society; and hence the Targumist render it, Be not ye made unclean! Be not ye made unclean! A caution to others not to come near him.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
His clothes shall be rent, to wit, in the upper and former parts, which were most visible. This was done, partly, as a token of sorrow, Ezr 9:3,5; Job 2:12, because though this was not a sin, yet it was an effect of sin, and a sore punishment, whereby he was cut off both from converse with men, and from the enjoyment of God in his ordinances; partly, as a warning to others to keep at a due distance from him wheresoever he came; and partly, as some add, that it might conduce to his cure, by giving the freer vent to the ill humours. But the exposing of the affected part to the cold would rather hinder than further evaporation.
His head bare; another sign of mourning, as appears from Lev 10:6. God would have men, though not overwhelmed with, yet deeply sensible of, his judgments.
A covering upon his upper lip; partly as another badge of his sorrow and shame, as Eze 24:17,22; Mic 3:7; and partly for the preservation of others from his infectious breath or touch. Unclean, unclean; as begging the pity and prayers of others, and confessing his own infirmity, and cautioning those who came near him to keep at a distance from him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
45. the leper in whom the plague is,his clothes shall be rent, &c.The person who was declaredaffected with the leprosy forthwith exhibited all the tokens ofsuffering from a heavy calamity. Rending garments and uncovering thehead were common signs of mourning. As to “the putting acovering upon the upper lip,” that means either wearing amoustache, as the Hebrews used to shave the upper lip [CALMET],or simply keeping a hand over it. All these external marks of griefwere intended to proclaim, in addition to his own exclamation”Unclean!” that the person was a leper, whose company everyone must shun.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the leper in whom the plague [is],…. Meaning not he only that has the plague of leprosy in his head, but every sort of leper before mentioned in this chapter:
his clothes shall be rent; not that he might the more easily put on his clothes without hurting him, as some have thought; or that the corrupt humours might evaporate more freely, for evaporation would rather be hindered than promoted by being exposed to cold; nor that he might be known and better avoided, for his cry after mentioned was sufficient for that; but as a token of mourning: and so Aben Ezra having mentioned the former reason, that he might be known by going in a different habit, adds, or the sense is, as a token of mourning; for he was to mourn for the wickedness of his actions; for, for his works came this plague of leprosy upon him; and so the Jews in common understand it, not as a disease arising from natural causes, but as a punishment inflicted by God for sin; wherefore this rite of rending the garments was an emblem of contrition of heart, and of sorrow and humiliation for sin, see Joe 1:13:
and his head bare; or “free” from cutting or shaving, but shall let his hair grow; and so the Targum of Jonathan and Jarchi interpret it; or free from any covering upon it, hat, or cap, or turban: Ben Gersom observes, that the making bare the head, or freeing it, is taken different ways; sometimes it is used of not shaving the head for thirty days, and sometimes for the removal of the vail, or covering of the head it has been used to; but in this place it cannot signify the nourishing of the hair, but that his head ought to be covered: and so Maimonides a observes, that a leper should cover his head all the days he is excluded, and this was a token of mourning also; see
2Sa 15:30:
and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip; as a mourner, see
Eze 24:17. Jarchi interprets it of both lips, upper and under, which were covered with a linen cloth or vail thrown over the shoulder, and with which the mouth was covered; and this was done, as Aben Ezra says, that the leper might not hurt any with the breath of his mouth;
and shall cry, Unclean, unclean; as he passed along in any public place, that everyone might avoid him, and not be polluted by him: the Targum of Jonathan is,
“a herald shall proclaim and say, Depart, depart from the unclean.”
So every sinner sensible of the leprosy of sin in his nature, and which appears in his actions, should freely confess and acknowledge his uncleanness, original and actual, the impurity of his heart and life, and even of his own righteousness in the sight of God, and have recourse to Christ, and to his blood, for the cleansing him from it.
a Hilchot Tumaat Tzarat, c. 10. sect. 6.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
With regard to the treatment of lepers, the lawgiver prescribed that they should wear mourning costume, rend their clothes, leave the hair of their head in disorder (see at Lev 10:6), keep the beard covered (Eze 24:17, Eze 24:22), and cry “Unclean, unclean,” that every one might avoid them for fear of being defiled (Lam 4:15); and as long as the disease lasted they were to dwell apart outside the camp (Num 5:2., Num 12:10., cf. 2Ki 15:5; 2Ki 7:3),
(Note: At the present day there are pest-houses specially set apart for lepers outside the towns. In Jerusalem they are situated against the Zion-gate (see Robinson, Pal. i.p. 364).)
a rule which implies that the leper rendered others unclean by contact. From this the Rabbins taught, that by merely entering a house, a leper polluted everything within it ( Mishnah, Kelim i. 4; Negaim xiii. 11).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Verses 45, 46:
This text prescribes the treatment of the one found to have leprosy and to be unclean by reason there, as follows:
1. His garments were to be rent (torn).
2. His head was made bare, and disheveled.
3. He must place a covering on his upper lip.
4. He must be isolated from all who were not afflicted with the disease. This does not mean that the leper must dwell alone. He could associate with others who had the disease, see 2 Kings 7:3; Lu 17:12.
5. When approached by anyone, he must cry out, “Unclean, unclean,” as a warning of his quarantine.
The first three provisions were signs of mourning for the dead, Le 10:6; Eze 24:17. The covered lip was also a mark of shame, Mic 3:7.
“A Rabbinical saying ranks lepers with those who may be regarded as ‘dead’. . Lepers were not allowed to go beyond their proper bounds, on pain of forty stripes. For every place which a leper entered was supposed to be defiled. They were, however, admitted to the synagogues, where a place was railed off for them, ten handbreadths high and four cubits wide, on condition of their entering the house of worship before the rest of the congregation, and leaving it after them. It was but natural that they should consort together.” (“The Temple, Its Ministry and Services,” Alfred Edersheim)
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(45) His clothes shall be rent.As leprosy was regarded as a visitation from God for sin committed by the person thus afflicted, the patient is to rend his garments like one mourning for the dead. (See Lev. 21:10.) During the second Temple the administrators of the law exempted leprous women from rending their clothes, which was evidently owing to a feeling of decorum.
And his head bare.Better, and his hair be dishevelled. This was another sign of mourning. (See Lev. 10:6.) The legislators during the second Temple also exempted leprous women from letting their hair fall in the disorderly and wild manner over their heads and faces which was the custom for mourners to do.
And he shall put a covering upon his upper lip.To veil the beard, which was the pride of the Oriental, was also a sign of mourning. (Comp. Eze. 24:17; Eze. 24:22; Mic. 3:7.) This was generally done by throwing the skirt of the garment over the lower part of the chin.
And shall cry, Unclean.As leprosy was most defiling, and as the very entrance of a leper into a house rendered everything in it unclean, the person thus afflicted had to warn off the passers by, lest they should approach him, and by contact with him become defiled. In some instances this was done by a herald, who preceded the leper. Hence the rendering of the ancient Chaldee paraphrase of Jonathan by a herald shall proclaim, and say, Depart, depart from the unclean !
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
RULES TO BE OBSERVED BY PRONOUNCED LEPERS, Lev 13:45-46.
Moses having minutely discussed the various phases of the leprosy, and the methods of diagnosis, now prescribes a course of conduct for the lepers while in exile from society. Simple separation from the healthy was not a sufficient security against the loathed contamination. Additional prophylactics are required for the protection of persons without the camp or walls of the city.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
45. His clothes shall be rent This is the first visible sign which the leper was required to hang out as a warning to all not to approach too near to him. The outer garment was usually rent from the neck to the girdle. While it was a warning to others, it was to the leper the symbol of deep self-abhorrence.
His head bare The uncovered head and unkempt hair were an ancient and expressive token of sorrow. See chap. Lev 10:6, note. Rabbinical law exempts women from this and the preceding requirement.
A covering upon his upper lip “ He shall cover the beard.” By this act he expressed his unwillingness to speak, on account of shame and vexation.
As the beard was a symbol of dignity, to cover it with the hands indicated self-abasement. Yet he was required to herald his own defilement. Unclean! Unclean! The paraphrase of the Palestine Targum is very expressive, “Keep off, keep off from the unclean!” This humiliating and doleful cry, uttered as a warning to any one seen approaching, was requisite to an unmistakable announcement of his leprosy, since the three visible signs were also ordinary badges of mourning. The ground of this requirement is the fact that the touch of the leper ceremonially defiled every thing. According to the Jewish canons his very entrance into a house renders every thing in it unclean. If he stand under a tree and a clean man passes by he renders him unclean. In the synagogue there must be a separate compartment for him, ten handbreadths high and four cubits square. He must be the first to enter and the last to leave the synagogue. If the pronounced leper overstepped the prescribed boundaries he received forty stripes. We no longer wonder that the Jews abhorred this disease as worse than death, the scourge of Jehovah, ( 2Ki 5:7 ; 2Ch 26:20,) and the most awful imprecation upon their foes. 2Sa 3:29; 2Ki 5:27.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Sad Consequences For The Permanently Unclean ( Lev 13:45-46 ).
Lev 13:45-46
“And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and the hair of his head shall go loose, and he shall cover his upper lip, and he shall cry, Unclean, unclean. All the days during which the plague is in him he shall be unclean. He is unclean. He shall dwell alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.”
And what is to happen to those who turn out to have a serious and genuine suspicious skin disease? They must go into mourning, they must tear their clothes, they must let their hair hang loose, they must cover their upper lips, and they must cry, ‘unclean, unclean’ (compare Lev 10:6; Lev 21:10; Eze 24:17; Eze 24:22; Gen 37:34; Num 14:6; 2Sa 1:11; 2Ki 11:14 ; 2Ki 19:1; 2Ki 22:11; 2Ki 22:19; Ezr 9:5; Mic 3:7). As long as the plague is on them they shall be unclean. They must dwell outside the camp. They must dwell alone (or presumably with others in the same condition).
Theirs was a terrible fate, a terrible predicament. They could no longer enjoy the normal society of men, they could not enter the camp, and of course they had no opportunity to approach the tabernacle. Theirs was a living death.
And the fact that they were to go into permanent mourning brings out how their diseases were seen. They had to mourn because in a sense they were bearing their own sins and the sins of Israel. They had been smitten as a warning to others.
But one day One was to come Who would also be smitten. He too would be like one plagued. But He would be being plagued because He was bearing the sin of many. His face would be marred by suffering more than is usual for the sons of men. As One from Whom men hide their faces He would be despised and we would not esteem Him. He would have no beautiful form nor comeliness, and when men saw Him He would have no splendour that they should desire Him. He would be a man of sorrows, humiliated by grief. But He would be wounded for our transgressions, He would be bruised for our iniquities, the chastising of our peace would be on Him, and with His stripes would we be healed (Isa 51:13 to Isa 53:12).
And we too were once spiritually in the same condition as those poor diseased men and women. We too were like that. And one day, if we are Christ’s, God awoke us and enabled us to see that we were unclean, unworthy, hopeless, bowed down with the disease of sin. All we could do was mourn and cry ‘unclean’ unclean’ as Isaiah did of old (Isa 6:5). Are we sufficiently aware of how grateful we should be that the Master came our way, and suffered so, and seeing us in our uncleanness stretched out His hand and touched us and said, ‘Be made whole’? And thus were we able to arise and enter not only the camp, not only the tabernacle, but Heaven itself with Him. And our filthy garments were taken off us, and replaced with His garments of righteousness of glistening white. And we no longer had to cry, ‘unclean, unclean’, but ‘holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts Who has delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver, and will yet deliver us’. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Lev 13:45. The leper in whom the plague is, his clothes, &c. When the priest discovered the symptoms of leprosy in a man, and declared him unclean, he was not only to be separated from the people, but in all respects to appear and behave as a mourner; rending his clothes, (Gen 37:34. Job 2:12.) uncovering his head, (ch. Lev 10:6.) and putting a covering upon his upper lip, that is, concealing the lower part of his face with the skirt of his garment, which was with the Jews a sign of mourning and of shame, (Eze 17:22. Mic 3:7.) and, consequently, very proper for the leper, who was to proclaim himself unclean, that all might avoid him, as well on account of the infection, as of legal pollution; see Lam 4:15.
REFLECTIONS.1. A bald head, or freckled face, must not be mistaken for leprosy. Not every failing is the proof of a bad heart. 2. But if in the bald head the plague is found, he is utterly unclean. A conscience defiled with sin makes a man unclean; but a head filled with infidelity, and enmity against the Gospel, for the most part renders the state utterly desperate. 3. The leper convicted must cry out, Unclean, unclean; and, no doubt, it was an exceeding bitter cry, when from that hour he was in a manner buried alive, by his exclusion from human society and removal from the congregation of God’s people. Every soul convinced of sin will adopt the leper’s cry, and own itself through original sin, and still more through actual transgression, unclean, unclean, justly deserving to be cast out from God to all eternity! 4. He must dwell alone, or only with lepers like himself, without the camp; and none must approach him for fear of defilement. Note; (1.) It is dangerous to come into the company of open sinners, lest, by seeing and partaking of their sins, we partake of their plagues. (2.) The soul that dies in an unconverted state, with the leprosy of sin not cured by the blood of the Lord Jesus, and by the spirit of the living God, will be for ever banished from the presence of God and his people, and shut up with sinners like himself in the belly of hell.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 129
THE LAWS RELATING TO LEPROSY
Lev 13:45-46. And the leper, in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, Unclean. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.
AMONG the various disorders with which the Jews were afflicted, the leprosy was marked as the most odious and disgraceful; and the rules for distinguishing it from all similar disorders were laid down by God himself with very extraordinary accuracy and precision. As existing in garments and in houses, it seems to have been peculiar to the Jews; and to have entirely vanished with their dispensation. But there doubtless was some important end for which God visited them with this disorder: and what that was, may be gathered from the various ordinances relating to it. In all the differences which God commanded to be put between things clean and unclean, he designed to teach us the evil and bitterness of sin: but from the leprosy more particularly may these things be learned. We may learn, I say,
I.
The evil of sin
Whatever resemblance the leprosy might bear to some other disorders, it differed materially from all others. It was,
1.
Universally judicial
[This disorder was not, as some have thought, acquired by contagion; for it was not at all infectious: but it proceeded immediately from the hand of God; and was always considered as a punishment for sin. Miriam was smitten with it for her rebellion against Moses [Note: Num 12:10-15.]: and Gehazi, for his covetous and dishonest conduct towards Naaman the Syrian [Note: 2Ki 5:27.].
In this light also should sin be viewed. True, it first entered through the device of Satan: but from that time has it been, more or less, judicially inflicted by God, on those who have disregarded the divine commands. Frequently is God said to blind the eyes, and harden the hearts of men. We must not indeed suppose, that he ever does this by a positive infusion of sin into the soul: this would not consist with his own glorious perfections: but he abandons men to the evil of their own hearts, and withholds from them that grace whereby alone they can overcome their corruptions. Multitudes are given up by him to a reprobate mind, because they like not to retain him in their knowledge [Note: Rom 1:28.]. And he tells us plainly, that this punishment shall be inflicted on us, if we do not guard against sin in its first beginnings: The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways; he shall eat of the fruit of his own ways, and be filled with his own devices [Note: Pro 1:30-31; Pro 14:14]. Who indeed has not found the truth of these declarations? Who does not see, that, if we harbour pride, covetousness, impurity, sloth, or any other evil principle in our hearts, it will gain such an ascendant over us, as at once to chastise us for our folly, and to augment our guilt? The truth is, that the very heaviest judgment which God can inflict upon us in this world, is, to give us over to the evil of our own hearts, and to say, He is joined to idols; let him alone [Note: Hos 4:17.].]
2.
Pre-eminently hateful
[If there were but the smallest appearance of the leprosy on any one, he must instantly have it examined with all possible care. He must not trust to his own judgment, but must apply to those whom God had authorized to determine the point, according to the rules prescribed for them. If the disorder existed, though in ever so low a degree, the person was instantly visited with all its painful consequences: and if only a doubt of its existence was entertained, he must be shut up, and re-examined, week after week, till the point could be determined. Surely nothing could more strongly declare its odiousness in the sight of God.
In this respect it most emphatically marks the hatefulness of sin. Sin is that abominable thing which God hateth [Note: Jer 44:4.]. He charges us to abhor it [Note: Rom 12:9.], and to abstain from all appearance of it [Note: 1 These. 5:22.]. He solemnly assures us, that, if we harbour it in our hearts, it shall not go unpunished [Note: Exo 34:7 and Pro 11:21.]. He requires us to search and try our ways; and to bring every thing to the touchstone of his word [Note: Isa 8:20.]: nor would he have us satisfied with our own judgment, lest our self-love should deceive us: we must come to our great High-Priest, whose eyes are a flame of fire; and beg of him to search and try us, and to see if there be any wicked way in us [Note: Psa 139:23-24.]. However clear we may be in our own eyes, we must say with St. Paul, I judge not mine own self: for I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified; but he that judgeth me is the Lord [Note: 1Co 4:3-4.].]
3.
Absolutely incurable
[There was nothing prescribed, nor indeed any thing to be attempted, for the cure of this disorder. Nothing but the hand that inflicted it, could remove it. Hence the removal of it is most generally expressed by the term cleansing; and those who were relieved from it are said to have been cleansed [Note: Luk 17:14; Luk 17:17.].
And certain it is that none but God can deliver us from sin. No superstitious devices have ever been able to root it out, no human efforts to subdue it. The blood of Christ alone can wash away its guilt; and the grace of Christ alone can suppress its operation.]
Clearly as the evil of sin is seen in this disorder, we behold yet more strongly marked,
II.
The bitterness of it
The person afflicted with the leprosy was put out of the camp or city in which he had dwelt, and was forced to live alone, being cut off from all intercourse with his dearest relatives [Note: 2Ki 7:3; 2Ki 15:5.]. How inexpressibly painful must this have been!
Here then we see shadowed forth the miserable state of men by reason of sin. When it shews itself only in unallowed infirmities, it will consist with the divine favour; just as the leprosy, when it was turned to a kind of scurf that covered the whole body from head to foot, was considered as no longer rendering the person ceremonially unclean [Note: 2, 13.]: but, as long as it continues deeper than the skin, with quick raw flesh rising, and white or yellow hair; in other words, while it reigns within, and produces its accustomed fruits, it incapacitates us for,
1.
Fellowship with Gods Church on earth
[Social intercourse indeed with the Lords people is not prohibited: but that fellowship which the saints enjoy with each other in spiritual exercises is altogether beyond the reach of those who live in wilful sin. The Apostle justly asks, What communion hath light with darkness, or righteousness with unrighteousness, or he that believeth with an unbeliever [Note: 2Co 6:14-15.] ? The views, desires, and pursuits of the ungodly are altogether different from those which characterize the children of God; and they make for themselves that separation, which under the law was the subject of an express command. Strictly speaking perhaps, the separation begins on the side of the Lords people, because they are commanded to come out from the world, and be separate, and not to touch the unclean thing [Note: 2Co 6:17.]: but the effect is the same: in the one case, the unclean were but few, and therefore were separated from the mass: but in the other case, the mass are the unclean; and the clean are separated from them.]
2.
Admission into his Church in heaven
[St. Paul appeals to us respecting this as a thing plain, obvious, and undeniable [Note: 1Co 6:9.]: and our blessed Lord repeatedly affirms it with the strongest asseverations that it was possible for him to utter [Note: Joh 3:3; Joh 3:5.]. When king Uzziah was smitten with the leprosy in the temple, all the priests with one accord rose upon him, and thrust him out of the temple; yea, and he himself also hasted to go out [Note: 2Ch 26:20.]. And thus it would be in heaven, if by any means an unrenewed sinner were admitted there: he would be thrust out [Note: Luk 13:28.], as unworthy of a place among that blessed society; and he would haste to flee out, from a consciousness that nothing but redoubled misery could await him there [Note: Psa 1:5.] ]
Address
1.
Let us entertain a godly jealousy over ourselves
[Men are very apt to think themselves something, when they are nothing. But we should diligently prove our own work, that we may have rejoicing in ourselves alone, and not in another [Note: Gal 6:3-5.]. As in the leprosy, so in the dispositions of the heart, it is often difficult to distinguish with certainty: the lines of distinction between unbelief and fear, presumption and faith, worldliness and prudence, and between a variety of other principles existing in the mind, are more easily defined on paper, than discerned in the heart: truth and error often so nearly resemble each other, that none but our great High-Priest can enable us to discern them apart. Yet if an evil principle be admitted into the mind, it will produce a thousand evils in the life. Hence a peculiar stigma was put upon the leprosy, when detected in the head: then the person was declared utterly unclean [Note: 4. This expression does not occur anywhere else.]. Be on your guard therefore, beloved Brethren; and beg of God, that you may never be permitted to deceive your own souls. When doubts arose about the leprosy, the person was shut up for seven days; and this was repeated, till the point could be ascertained. And if you would occasionally retire from the world, and spend a day in fasting and self-examination, you would detect many evils of which at present you have very little conception, and acquire a perfection of character not to be attained in any other way.]
2.
Let us humble ourselves for our remaining imperfections
[However we may have been cleansed from our leprosy, there is, as was before observed, the leprous scurf still over us from head to foot [Note: 2, 13.]. We still therefore have occasion to cry with the prophet, Woe is me! for I am a man of unclean lips [Note: Isa 6:5.]. Our very righteousnesses are, in fact, but filthy rags [Note: Isa 64:6.]: so that we still have reason, like holy Job, to lothe and abhor ourselves in dust and ashes [Note: Job 42:6.]. The external signs of sorrow which were prescribed to the leper, we should commute for those which indicate true contrition: Rend your heart, says the prophet, and not your garments [Note: Joe 2:13.]. We should walk humbly with God, and so much the more when we find that he is pacified towards us [Note: Eze 16:63.]. And, as they who had only been suspected of the leprosy were required to wash their garments [Note: 4.], so let us, who yet retain such awful memorials of it, wash ourselves from day to day in the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness ]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Lev 13:45 And the leper in whom the plague [is], his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
Ver. 45. His clothes shall be rent. ] To show his sorrow for sin, the cause of his calamity.
And his head bare.
A covering upon his upper lip.
Unclean, unclean.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
rent. See note on Lev 10:6.
covering = muffler.
‘Unclean, unclean. ‘
Figure of speech Epizeuxis, App-6, to emphasize the condition. Leprosy is the great type of sin: and teaches that the sinner is not only lost and ruined on account of what he has done, but on account of what he is. The former needed atonement to procure judicial righteousness, but the latter requires a Divine act and cleansing to give him an imputed righteousness. The former we have through Christ’s atonement, the latter we have from God in Christ. It is not enough to confess what we “have done “or “left undone”; there must be also the confession “there is no health in us”. Compare Isa 6:5. Job 40:4; Job 42:6. Psa 51:6. Luk 5:8, &c.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
his clothes: Gen 37:29, 2Sa 13:19, Job 1:20, Jer 3:25, Jer 36:24, Joe 2:13
and his head: Lev 10:6, Lev 21:10
put: Eze 24:17, Eze 24:22, Mic 3:7
Unclean: Job 42:6, Psa 51:3, Psa 51:5, Isa 6:5, Isa 52:11, Isa 64:6, Lam 4:15, Luk 5:8, Luk 7:6, Luk 7:7, Luk 17:12
Reciprocal: Num 5:18 – uncover Num 12:14 – let her be Num 19:3 – without the camp
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lev 13:45. His clothes shall be rent Whatever Israelite was found and declared by the priest to be a leper, was to be in the condition of a mourner, and in all respects to behave as such, that he might sensibly declare his afflicted state. 1st, His clothes were to be rent in the upper and fore parts, which were most visible, and this partly as a token of his sorrow, because, though his disorder was not a sin, yet it was an effect of sin, and a sore punishment whereby he was cut off, both from converse with men, and from the enjoyment of God in his ordinances; and partly as a warning to others to keep at a due distance from him wheresoever he came. 2d, His head was to be bare, which was another sign of mourning. God would have men, although not overwhelmed with, yet deeply sensible of his judgments. 3d, He was to cover his upper lip, either, perhaps, with his hand, or with the skirt of his garment, partly as a badge of his sorrow, and shame, (see Eze 24:17-22; Mic 3:7,) and partly for the preservation of others from his breath or touch. According to the Hebrew doctors, by covering the lip was implied, that the leper was not to salute any man all the days of his uncleanness. 4th, He was to cry, unclean, unclean. As begging the pity and prayers of others, and confessing his own infirmity, and cautioning those that came near him to keep at a distance from him. To this Jeremiah alludes, (Lam 4:15,) They cried unto them, Depart ye: it is unclean: depart, depart, touch not.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
13:45 And the leper in whom the plague [is], his clothes shall be {m} rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper {n} lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
(m) In sign of sorrow and lamentation.
(n) Either in token of mourning, or for fear of infecting others.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Tearing the clothes, messing the hair, and covering the upper lip were all signs of mourning (cf. Lev 10:6; Lev 21:10; Gen 37:34; Num 14:6; 2Sa 1:11; 2Ki 11:14; 2Ki 19:1; 2Ki 22:11; 2Ki 22:19; Ezr 9:5; Eze 24:17; Eze 24:22; Mic 3:7). Not every place outside the camp was unclean; there were clean places outside the camp (e.g., Lev 4:12). However the unclean person was to live in an unclean area outside the camp. The idea was that he or she could not come close to God who resided in the tabernacle at the center of the camp.
"The holiest area, where one was closest to God, was the tabernacle. It was here that the holy men, the priests, worked. The tabernacle was surrounded by the camp where Israel the holy people of God lived. This in turn was encircled by the area outside the camp. which was populated by non-Jews, sinners, and the unclean. To live outside the camp was to be cut off from the blessings of the covenant. It is little wonder that when a man was diagnosed as unclean he had to go into mourning. He experienced a living death; his life as a member of God’s people experiencing God’s blessing came to an end. Genesis 3 presents a similar picture. . . . As Adam and Eve experienced a living death when they were expelled from Eden, so every man who was diagnosed as unclean suffered a similar fate." [Note: Wenham, The Book . . ., p. 201.]
". . . as human skin was the focus of guilt and shame in the beginning, so now diseases of the skin provide an occasion to demonstrate the need for human cleansing. In other words, just as the effects of the first sin were immediately displayed in human skin (’And their eyes were opened and they knew that they were naked,’ Gen 3:7), so the writer uses the graphic horror of skin diseases found in these texts to depict the human state of uncleanness before a holy God.
"According to the regulations in Leviticus, if one were found to be unclean, ’As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp’ (Lev 13:46). In the same way, the Genesis narratives show that when Adam (and Eve) sinned, ’the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. And he drove Adam out’ (Gen 3:23-24). Like the unclean person in Leviticus, they had to live ’outside the camp.’" [Note: Sailhamer, p. 337.]
"Holiness in Leviticus is symbolized by wholeness. Animals must be perfect to be used in sacrifice. Priests must be without physical deformity. Mixtures are an abomination. Men must behave in a way that expresses wholeness and integrity in their actions. When a man shows visible signs of lack of wholeness in a persistent patchy skin condition, he has to be excluded from the covenant community. Temporary deviations from the norm do not attract such treatment, but if the symptoms last for more than two weeks, he must go to live outside the true Israel. . . . Anyone might fall victim to these complaints and face the prospect of being cut off from his family and friends for the rest of his days. Yet it was considered so important to preserve the purity of the tabernacle and the holiness of the nation that individuals and families might be forced to suffer a good deal. Individual discomfort was not allowed to jeopardize the spiritual welfare of the nation, for God’s abiding presence with his people depended on uncleanness being excluded from their midst (cf. Isa 6:3-5)." [Note: Wenham, The Book . . ., p. 203.]
The Israelites evidently regarded "leprosy" as representing sin. It resulted in the leper’s separation from God and from other people. In many respects leprosy and sin were similar in both their character and consequences.
"Before the people of God can enter the presence of the holy God they must be free of all disease. . . . Bodily diseases are incompatible with the holy presence of the LORD." [Note: Ross, p. 282.]
The sacrifice of Jesus Christ has made it possible for us to enter God’s presence (cf. Isa 53:5: "By His scourging we are healed [spiritually now but also physically in the future, at our resurrection]").
"In the church today no rule prevents people with skin diseases from entering the place of worship, because it is simply an assembly of believers and not the sanctuary with the holy of holies and the actual dwelling of the glory of the LORD. Yet common sense should tell someone with a contagious illness to remain at home or in the hospital. That is the practical side of Leviticus. Nevertheless, the theological understanding behind any illness is that it is part and parcel of the fallen condition of human life in this world." [Note: Ibid., p. 283.]