Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 14:4
Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive [and] clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
4 7. The priest was to see that two living clean birds were brought. The Heb. word is ippr, which is used of the birds of Abraham’s sacrifice (Gen 15:10) and of clean birds generally (Deu 14:11). In Psa 84:3 [Hebrews 4 ], Psa 102:7 [Hebrews 8 ] it is translated ‘sparrow,’ and A.V. mg. of Lev 14:4 has ‘sparrows,’ following the traditional interpretation, and Vulg. These birds were employed in a ceremony which was without the camp, and the blood was not brought to the altar.
cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop ] The cedar and hyssop were bound together by a scarlet band of wool. From 1Ki 4:33 it appears that cedar and hyssop were regarded as two extremes in respect of size among trees: the cedar is a symbol of health and vigour (Psa 92:12); it is used figuratively of the great ones of the earth (Jdg 9:15; Isa 14:8; Isa 37:24), not without reference to the haughtiness of those occupying such high positions (Isa 2:13; Eze 31:3; Eze 31:10). Hence some Jewish writers have seen in the cedar a figure of pride punished by a visitation of leprosy, while the hyssop signified that humility which was necessary to obtain forgiveness, and the removal of the stroke.
The cedar is noted for its durability, and the oil of the cedar was employed as a preservative; the Egyptians used it for embalming. This power of arresting decay may be regarded as akin to that shewn in restoring the tainted flesh of the leper. The scarlet colour has been generally taken as representing the blood, or the life which has been bestowed on one who was regarded as dead (Num 12:12). The hyssop seems to have been chosen for the purpose of sprinkling ( Lev 14:7, cp. Exo 12:22). The Mishna orders that the cedar wood should be a cubit in length, and that the hyssop shall not be Greek or Roman hyssop, or desert hyssop, or any hyssop with a distinctive name (Tal. Bab. Neg. xiv. 6).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
These birds were provided by the priest for the man. They were not, like the offerings for the altar, brought by the man himself (compare Lev 14:4 with Lev 14:10), they were not presented nor brought near the sanctuary, nor was any portion of them offered on the altar.
Cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop – These three substances were used as the common materials in rites of purification (compare Exo 12:22; Num 19:8; Psa 51:7; Heb 9:19): the cedar, or juniper, the resin or turpentine of which was a preservative against decay, and employed in medicines for elephantiasis and other skin diseases: the scarlet, a tongue, or band, of twice-dyed scarlet wool, with which the living bird, the hyssop, and the cedar wood were tied together when they were dipped into the blood and water: the color expressing the rosiness associated with health and vital energy: and the hyssop (see Exo 12:22), probably the Caper plant, whose cleansing virtues as a medicine, and use in the treatment of ulcers and diseases of the skin allied to leprosy, were known to the ancients. It has been conjectured that the scarlet band was used to tie the hyssop upon the cedar, so as to make a sort of brush, such as would be convenient for sprinkling.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 4. Two birds alive and clean, c.] Whether these birds were sparrows, or turtledoves, or pigeons, we know not probably any kind of clean bird, or bird proper to be eaten, might be used on this occasion, though it is more likely that turtle-doves or pigeons were employed, because these appear to have been the only birds offered in sacrifice. Of the cedarwood, hyssop, clean bird, and scarlet wool or fillet, were made an aspergillum, or instrument to sprinkle with. The cedar-wood served for the handle, the hyssop and living bird were attached to it by means of the scarlet wool or crimson fillet. The bird was so bound to this handle as that its tail should be downwards, in order to be dipped into the blood of the bird that had been killed. The whole of this made an instrument for the sprinkling of this blood, and when this business was done, the living bird was let loose, and permitted to go whithersoever it would. In this ceremony, according to some rabbins, “the living bird signified that the dead flesh of the leper was restored to soundness; the cedar-wood, which is not easily corrupted, that he was healed of his putrefaction; the scarlet thread, wool, or fillet, that he was restored to his good complexion; and the hyssop, which was purgative and odoriferous, that the disease was completely removed, and the bad scent that accompanied it entirely gone.” Ainsworth, Dodd, and others, have given many of these rabbinical conceits. Of all these purifications, and their accompanying circumstances, we may safely say, because authorized by the New Testament so to do, that they pointed out the purification of the soul through the atonement and Spirit of Christ; but to run analogies between the type and the thing typified is difficult, and precarious. The general meaning and design we sufficiently understand; the particulars are not readily ascertainable, and consequently of little importance; had they been otherwise, they would have been pointed out.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Two birds; the one to represent Christ as dying for his sins, the other to represent him as rising again for his purification or justification.
Clean; allowed for food and for sacrifice.
Cedar wood; a stick of cedar, to which the hyssop and one of the birds was tied by the scarlet thread. Cedar seems to be chosen, to note that the leper was now freed from that putrefaction or corruption which his leprosy had brought upon him, that kind of wood being in a manner incorruptible.
Scarlet; a thread of wool of a scarlet colour, Heb 9:19, to represent both the lepers sinfulness, Isa 1:18, and the blood of Christ, and the happy change of the lepers colour and complexion, which before was wan and loathsome, now sprightly and beautiful.
Hyssop, chosen partly for its fragrant smell, which signified the cure of the lepers ill scent, and partly for conveniency in the use of sprinkling. See Exo 12:22.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. two birdsliterally,”sparrows.” The Septuagint, however, renders theexpression “little birds”; and it is evident that it is tobe taken in this generic sense from their being specified as”clean”a condition which would have been altogethersuperfluous to mention in reference to sparrows. In all the offeringsprescribed in the law, Moses ordered only common and accessiblebirds; and hence we may presume that he points here to such birds assparrows or pigeons, as in the desert it might have been verydifficult to procure wild birds alive.
cedar-wood, and scarlet, andhyssopThe cedar here meant was certainly not the famous treeof Lebanon, and it is generally supposed to have been the juniper, asseveral varieties of that shrub are found growing abundantly in theclefts and crevices of the Sinaitic mountains. A stick of this shrubwas bound to a bunch of hyssop by a scarlet ribbon, and the livingbird was to be so attached to it, that when they dipped the branchesin the water, the tail of the bird might also be moistened, but notthe head nor the wings, that it might not be impeded in its flightwhen let loose.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed,…. The command is by the priest, the taking is by any man, as Ben Gersom observes; anyone whom he shall command, the leper himself, or his friends. Aben Ezra interprets it, the priest shall take of his own; but he adds, there are some that explain it, the leper shall give them to him, namely, what follows:
two birds alive, [and] clean; any sort of birds, to whom this description agrees; for not any particular sort are pointed out, as “sparrows” w, as some render the word, or any other; because either they must be clean or unclean; if unclean, then not to be used; if clean, then this descriptive character is used in vain. These were to be alive, taken alive with the hand, and not shot dead; and this also excepts such as were torn, as Jarchi, or any ways maimed and unsound, and not likely to live; and they were to be “clean”, such as were so according to a law given in a preceding chapter; they were to be none of those unclean birds there mentioned; and, according to the Misnah x, they were to be alike in sight and height, and in price and value, and to be taken together; and, by the same tradition, they were to be two birds of liberty, that is, not such as were kept tame in cages, but such as fly abroad in the fields, These birds may be considered as a type of Christ, who compares himself to a hen, Mt 23:37; and “birds” may denote his swiftness and readiness to help his people, his tenderness and compassion towards them in distress, and his weakness and frailty in human nature, and his meanness and despicableness in the eyes of men; and these being “alive”, the character well agrees with him, who is the living God, the living. Redeemer, the Mediator that has life in himself, and for his people; and as man, now lives, and will live for evermore, and is the author and giver of life, natural, spiritual, and eternal. And the birds being clean, may denote the purity and holiness of Christ, and so his fitness to be a sacrifice, and his suitableness as food for his people: and the number two may signify either his two natures, divine and human, in both which he lives, and is pure and holy; or his two estates of humiliation and exaltation; or his death by the slain bird, and his resurrection by the living bard, of which more hereafter:
and the cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop; a stick of cedar, as Jarchi; it was proper it should be of such a size, as to be known to be cedar wood, but was not to be too heavy for the priest to sprinkle with it, as Ben Gersom; and the same writer observes, it ought to have a leaf on the top of it, that it might appear to be cedar: according to the Misnah y, it was to be a cubit long, and the fourth part of a bed’s foot thick: “scarlet” was either wool dyed of that colour, or crimson, so Jarchi; or a scarlet thread or line with which the hyssop was bound and fastened to the cedar wood; and, according to the above tradition z, the “hyssop” was to be neither counterfeit nor wild, nor Greek, nor Roman, nor any that had any epithet to it, but common simple hyssop; and, as Gersom says, there was not to be less than an handful of it. The signification of these is variously conjectured; according to Abarbinel, they have respect to the nature of the leprosy, and as opposite to it; that as the two live birds signified restoration to his former state, when he had been like one dead, so the cedar wood, being incorruptible and durable, showed that the putrefaction of humours was cured; the scarlet, that the blood was purged, and hence the true colour of the face returned again, and a ruddy and florid countenance as before; and the hyssop being of a savoury smell, that the disagreeable scent and stench were gone: but others think there is a moral meaning in them, that the cedar being the highest of trees, and the scarlet colour coming from a worm, and the hyssop the lowest of plants, see 1Ki 4:33; the “cedar wood” may denote the pride and haughtiness of spirit the leprosy is the punishment of, as in Miriam, Gehazi, Uzziah, and the family of Joab: and the worm that gives the scarlet colour, and the hyssop, may signify that humility that becomes a leper that is cleansed, so Jarchi: but they will bear a more evangelical sense, and may have respect either to Christ; the cedar wood may be an emblem of the incorruption of Christ, and of the durable efficacy of his death; the scarlet, of his bloody sufferings, his flaming love to his people, expressed thereby, and the nature of those sins and sinners being of a scarlet die, for whom he suffered; and the hyssop, of the purgative nature of his blood, which cleanses from all sin: or else to the graces of his Spirit; faith may be signified by the cedar wood, which is in some strong, and in all precious and durable; love by scarlet, of a flaming colour, as strong love is like coals of fire, that give a most vehement flame; and hope by hyssop, which is but a lowly, yet lively grace; or faith may be set forth by them all, by the cedar wood for its continuance, by scarlet for its working by love, and by hyssop for its purifying use, as it deals with the blood of Christ.
w “duos passeres”, V. L. x Negaim, c. 14. sect. 5. y Negaim, c. 14. sect. 6. z Ibid.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(4) Then shall the priest command to take.Literally, And the priest shall command, and he shall take, that is, the leper shall take. To avoid the ambiguity as to the person, the translators of the Authorised Version adopted the rendering in the text. As the relatives of the cured leper procured the things prescribed for the purification, some of the ancient versions render it, And they shall take.
Two birds alive and clean.These were either sparrows, doves, turtledoves, or any other birds, provided they belonged to the clean species described in Leviticus 11. According to the canons which obtained during the second Temple, the birds had to be sparrows, and the reason assigned for it was that as leprosy was regarded as a Divine punishment for calumny, such birds were selected as were proverbial for their constant twitter. Hence the rendering of sparrow in the Latin Vulgate, and in the Margin of the Authorised Version.
And cedar wood.This had to be a foot and a half long, and a quarter of the foot of the bed in thickness. Though this wood was primarily chosen for its antiseptic properties, which made it peculiarly suitable for the occasion, still, belonging to the loftiest of trees (Pss. 2:13, Pss. 27:24; Amo. 2:9), it also was designed to symbolise the haughtiness of mind which called down the affliction of leprosy.
And scarlet.This was probably a band of scarlet wool with which the cedar and the hyssop were tied together. In later times the woollen band had to be the weight of a shekel, or weighing thirty-two grains of barley. It was taken to symbolise the purified and now healthy blood.
And hyssop.This, according to the canons which obtained in the time of Christ, had at least to be a handbreadth in size. It could not be the so-called Greek, or the ornamental, or Roman, or wild hyssop, or any other hyssop which was distinguished by the name of the place where it grew, but had to be the common hyssop which grew in gardens. Though, like the cedar wood, it was primarily used on these occasions for its aromatic properties, yet this diminutive shrub was also most probably designed to symbolise the humility of the cured leper. Hence ancient tradition tells us, Cedar wood and hyssop, the highest and the lowest, give the leper purity. Why these? Because pride was the cause of the distemper, which cannot be cured till man becomes humble, and keeps himself as low as hyssop. Cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet were also burnt with the red heifer (Num. 19:6), and were generally employed in purifications (Heb. 9:19). Hence the Psalmist prays, Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean (Psa. 51:17).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Command to take for him Literally, the priest shall command, and he (the leper) shall take for him, cleansing himself. The leper was not to be perfectly passive in his being cleansed, but he was enjoined to co-operate with the priest. Thus the sinner is to present by faith the blood of Christ with which he is to be purified.
Two birds Of any kind, provided they be clean, that is, fit for food. Lev 11:13-28. The Vulgate says passeres, sparrows. If limited to these the word “clean” would be out of place, since individuals would be clean if their species were so. The Seventy use a diminutive form, “little birds.” Tradition adds that they must not be reared in a cage, but wild birds.
Cedar wood The piece, according to Jewish law, was to be long enough to constitute a handle. The oxyderus, or Phenician juniper, which abounds in the Sinaitic Peninsula, is doubtless intended. Vitruvius speaks of the antiseptic properties of the oil of juniper. It may well typify the keeping power of divine grace. 1Pe 1:5.
Scarlet Here is an attribute without a substance, which must be supplied wool, the Seventy, “spun wool.” The colour is properly crimson obtained from the coccus insect found on the boughs of the ilex. Furst suggests that the proper translation in this place is, a crimson piece of cloth, in which to enfold the hyssop and cedar wood.
This colour sometimes symbolizes mortal sins. Isa 1:18. It may here typify the blood of the Lamb, faith in which makes sinners whiter than snow. Rev 7:14.
Hyssop Hebrew ezob. See Exo 12:22, note. Later researches identify it with the origanum maru, a plant of a highly aromatic odour, many stalks growing from one root so that the hand could easily gather in a single grasp a bunch all ready for use. It grows on the walls of all the terraces in Syria and Palestine. But Stanley and Tristram argue for the caper, or asaf, as the same as the ezob.
Lev 14:4. Two birds alive and clean The Vulgate renders this, two sparrows; and so it is rendered in the margin of our English Bibles: but the original is general, and expresses two small birds of any kind; as, indeed, the designation of clean evidently shews, since, if sparrows had been meant, it would have been superfluous to have added clean, supposing the whole species to have been so; and it would have been very absurd to have required a clean sparrow if the whole species had been esteemed unclean. As the leper was to be sprinkled, an aspergillum, or instrument for sprinkling, is ordered to be made of a stick of cedar-wood, upon which a bunch of hyssop was to be bound with a scarlet thread; many reasons for which have been assigned, some natural, some moral. Naturalists assert, that the juice or resin of cedar, together with hyssop, were esteemed good for cutaneous disorders; that the former, in particular, was of service to cure the elephantiasis; and that hyssop was of virtue to dissolve spots, and recover the colour of the skin: and though it is not conceivable, that the bare sprinkling at the time of purification could be of any consequence in respect to the cure; yet, possibly, these things might have been previously made use of in the cure, and be now used, with propriety, as remembrancers of it. Hyssop is spoken of as a purifier, both in a natural and moral sense: purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Psa 51:7. Accordingly Abarbanel says, that the living bird denoted that the dead flesh of the leper was restored to life: the cedar-wood, which is not easily corrupted, that he was cured of his putrefaction; the scarlet wool, that he was restored to his good complexion; and the hyssop, which is purgative and odoriferous, that his disease, and every thing disagreeable to the smell, was purged off. Others, however, and with more reason, apply these things to the purification of the soul by the sacrifice of the blood of Christ. See the note on Exo 12:22.
DISCOURSE: 130 Lev 14:4-9. Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed, two birds alive and clean, and cedarwood, and scarlet, and hyssop. And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel, over running water. As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar-wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water: and he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. 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. But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head, and his beard, and his eye-brows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes; also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.
THERE is an indissoluble connexion between duty and privilege, though that connexion is, for the most part, but little understood. Our privileges are in general supposed to arise out of the performance of our duties; whereas the reverse of this is more generally true: privileges are freely bestowed upon us by God according to his own sovereign will and pleasure; and these operate as incentives to love and serve him. The blessings of election and vocation are not vouchsafed to us on account of our antecedent merit, but in order that we may shew forth the praises of Him that hath called us. I.
Incipient
[Two birds were to be taken; one of which was to be killed over a vessel of spring-water; and the other, dipped in the bloody water, was to be let loose. Some interpret this as signifying, that Christ should die for us, and that the sinner, dipped as it were in his blood, should be liberated from sin and death, and be enabled to soar above this lower world, both in heart and life. But we apprehend that both the birds equally designate Christ. And, inasmuch as the living bird was dipped in the blood of that which was killed, this intimated, that all that Christ should do for us after his resurrection, was founded upon the atonement which he had offered; by which he obtained a right to justify us, and to send us his Holy Spirit, and to save us with an everlasting salvation [Note: Heb 9:12; Rom 5:10.]. As for the cedar-wood, the scarlet wool, and the hyssop, which were also dipped in the bloody water, and used in sprinkling the leper, we forbear to specify the spiritual import of each, because it must rest on mere conjecture, and will not prove satisfactory after all. But the circumstance of the blood being mixed with living water, most assuredly was designed to teach us, that Christ saves us no less by his Spirit than by his blood; by his Spirit, from the power of sin; and by his blood, from its guilt. Moreover, these are never separated. When his side was pierced, there came out (as John, who was an eye-witness, testifies) both blood and water [Note: Joh 19:34-35.]. On which circumstance he lays great stress; assuring us, that Christ came not by water only, but by water and blood [Note: 1Jn 5:6.]. These two then being sprinkled upon the sinner, the priest of God is fully authorized to pronounce him clean
In confirmation of this statement we need only to refer to the two goats offered on the great day of annual expiation: that which was slain, and that which carried the sins of the people into the wilderness, equally prefigured Christ [Note: Lev 16:21-22.] ; the one, as dying for our sins; and the other, as rising again for our justification [Note: Rom 4:25.]. The two birds presented by the leper were in this respect precisely similar: and equally point us to that blessed Jesus, who says, I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold I am alive for evermore [Note: Rev 1:18.]
We only add further on this point, that it was the sprinkling of this blood and water upon the leper, that rendered the ceremony effectual for his good. In vain would the one bird shed his blood, or the other be dipped in it and let loose, unless there were an application of that blood and water to the leper himself. But being sprinkled seven times, he was perfectly clean; so far at least as to be brought into the camp, and put into a train for that sanctification which was,]
II.
Progressive
[The leper was to wash both himself and his clothes, and to shave off all his hair, and then to come into the camp. But he was not fully restored to his place in society at once: he was not admitted into his tent, but was to live in some place alone for seven days more; and then, after again washing his body and his clothes, and shaving off all his hair, even to his eyebrows, he was reinstated in all his former privileges and comforts. Amongst Israel of old, the great mass of the population had never been infected with the leprosy at all: but that is not the case with us: the leprosy of sin has infected every human being: and there are now but two classes, under the one or the other of which we must all be arranged.
We will therefore address ourselves, To those who are yet infected with the leprosy
[What was done at the time of pronouncing the lepers clean, is the very thing which must be done to make you clean. You must be sprinkled with the blood and Spirit of Christ, even of Him who died for you and rose again. This is necessary; nor can any human being be saved without it: and it shall be effectual; so that no human being shall ever perish, provided he apply to his soul this divinely appointed remedy: The blood of Jesus Christ shall cleanse him from all sin [Note: Joh 1:7.] ; and the Spirit of Christ shall cleanse him from all his filthiness and uncleanness [Note: Eze 36:25.]. The priests of old could not heal the leper, but only declare him healed: but our High-Priest can heal us. Only cry to him, as the lepers did in the days of his flesh, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us! and God himself shall acknowledge and pronounce you clean. The hyssop is even now at hand, wherewith you may sprinkle your own souls. Use it now by faith, and you shall experience with David both its incipient and progressive efficacy: Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow [Note: Psa 51:7.]. But sprinkle not yourselves once or twice only, but seven times; then shall you be washed thoroughly from your iniquity, and be cleansed from your sin [Note: Psa 51:2.].]
2.
To those who have been cleansed from it
[Your state is beautifully represented by that of the healed leper. You are not yet admitted to your home, where your more perfect brethren enjoy without any intermission their Fathers smiles: but you are brought into the camp; you are acknowledged as clean, notwithstanding your remaining imperfections: and there is yet only a single week before you will be brought into the full liberty of the children of God. True, the intervening time must be spent in humiliating and painful exercises: but those exercises are all preparing you for the richer enjoyment of the promised bliss: they are rendering you meet for the inheritance of the saints in light [Note: Col 1:12.]. Look forward then to the happiness that awaits you: and carefully attend to every thing that God has enjoined; lest, when the appointed time shall arrive, you shall be found to hare neglected the duties of the present moment. Labour then to the uttermost to get rid of sin: Wash ye, make you clean [Note: Isa 1:16.]. As for the deep-rooted evils that spring up within you from time to time, if they cannot be eradicated, let them be shaved off the very moment that they appear. And let the time now appropriated to mortification and self-denial, be sweetened by the anticipation of that blessed hour, when you shall enter into the joy of your Lord, and rest for ever in the bosom of your God.]
As the mercy of redemption by the blood and righteousness of the LORD JESUS, extends to all the necessities of our souls, so is it worth our closest observation, that in the old church, in the wilderness state where these blessings were preached, and set forth under type and figure; all those great leading doctrines were under one form, or other, most strikingly represented. As for example, our deliverance from the wrath to come by the blood and righteousness of the LORD JESUS, was shadowed forth under the figure of the Jewish passover. Paul explained this where he said, CHRIST our passover was sacrificed for us. 1Co 5:7 . But a deliverance from evil, even from the wrath to come is not enough to constitute happiness. For a man may be delivered from positive evil, and yet enjoy no positive good. And this is precisely the case with our nature, until the sin of that nature is done away by a sovereign atonement. And hence under the figure of atonement, as set forth in the fourth chapter of Leviticus at large (see the commentary upon it) the expiation of the sins of our nature, by the sacrifice of the LORD JESUS, is most strikingly explained. But even here again, this would not complete the sinner’s mercy, if the divine goodness had stopped here. For a man may be mercifully delivered from the wrath to come, and the sins of his nature atoned for by the blood and sacrifice of JESUS; but still he himself remain incapable of enjoying true happiness, unless qualified by divine grace, and made meet by the renewal of his mind from the leprosy of sin he had lain under. Hence, therefore, in the sweet scripture now brought before us, we are taught by GOD the HOLY GHOST, under the emblem of these two birds, how the blood of JESUS, when applied to the guilty soul, cleanseth; and how the water of regeneration maketh the renewed soul meet to be a partaker of an inheritance with the saints in light. JESUS came not by water only, but by water and blood. 1Jn 5:6 . As everything here represented in the ceremony of the church of old, is highly significant and instructive; I earnestly beg the reader to be very particular in his attention to it. Even the lesser circumstances of the cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop, no doubt had their signification.
Lev 14:4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive [and] clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
Ver. 4. Command to take. ] That the leper might show his thankfulness to Jehovah his physician, as he is called. Exo 15:26 See Mat 8:4 . Men pray and pay physicians of their bodies, who yet do but officiose occidere many times. And shall God have nothing? Must he ask as once, Where are the other nine? Shall we not turn again with Naaman now cleansed, and offer our service, renounce our idols, dedicate all we are and have to the God of Israel?
Two birds. is to be cleansed = him that is cleansing himself.
birds, or sparrows.
cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop. Hence the ancient tradition that the highest tree and the lowest herb give the leper purity, because pride was the cause of the plague, and humility is the necessary condition of its cure. These three were used also with the red heifer (Num 19:6). Compare Heb 9:19. Psa 51:7.
birds
The bird slain, and the live bird, dipped in blood and released, present the two aspects of salvation in Rom 4:25 “delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification.”
two birds: or, sparrows, The word tzippor, from the Arabic zaphara, to fly, is used in the Scriptures to denote birds of every species, particularly small birds. But it is often used in a more restricted sense, as the Hebrew writers assert, to signify the sparrow. Aquinas says the same; and Jerome renders it here the sparrow. So the Greek , in Matthew and Luke, which signifies a sparrow, is rendered by the Syriac translator tzipparin, the same as the Hebrew tzipporim. Nor is it peculiar to the Hebrews to give the same name to the sparrow and to fowls of the largest size; for Nicander calls the hen , the domestic sparrow, and both Plautus and Ausonius call the ostrich, passer marinus, “the marine sparrow.” It is evident, however, that the word in this passage signifies birds in general; for if the sparrow was a clean bird, there was no necessity for commanding a clean one to be taken, since every one of the species was ceremonially clean; but if it was unclean, then it could not be called clean. Lev 1:14, Lev 5:7, Lev 12:8
cedar: Lev 14:6, Lev 14:49-52, Num 19:6
scarlet: Heb 9:19
hyssop: Exo 12:22, Num 19:18, Psa 51:7
Reciprocal: Jos 2:18 – scarlet thread Son 4:3 – scarlet Luk 5:14 – and offer
Lev 14:4. Two birds The one to represent Christ as dying for his sins, the other to represent him as rising again for his purification or justification. Alive and clean Allowed for food and for sacrifice. Cedar-wood A stick of cedar, to which the hyssop and one of the birds were tied by the scarlet thread. Cedar seems to be chosen, to denote that the leper was now freed from that corruption which his leprosy had brought upon him, that kind of wood being in a manner incorruptible. Scarlet A thread of wool of a scarlet colour, to represent both the lepers sinfulness, and the blood of Christ, and the happy change of the lepers colour and complexion, which before was wan and loathsome, now sprightly and beautiful. Hyssop The fragrant smell of which signified the cure of the lepers ill scent.
14:4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive [and] {b} clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
(b) Of birds which were permitted to be eaten.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
PURIFICATION OF THE LEPER
We see this exemplified in the laws relating to the leprosy. Nothing was prescribed whereby people should first of all heal themselves: but, when God of his infinite mercy had first healed them, then were they to come and offer their acknowledgments in the way appointed.
The ordinances to be observed by them are here laid down: and from them we see, that the purification of the leper was two-fold;
This was designed to shew, that the defiling effects of sin yet remain, even after that we are cleansed in the blood of Christ, and renewed by the Spirit. We need still to be renewed, both in our outward and inward man, day by day. Sin cleaves to us, yea, it spontaneously rises up in us: so that though we be washed ever so clean, we shall need to be washed again: and though we be shaved ever so close, we shall not be many days without manifesting that the work of sanctification is not yet perfect. Besides, there are higher degrees of holiness to which the regenerate are to be constantly aspiring. They are not to account themselves to have yet attained; but, forgetting the things which are behind, they are to press forward for that which is before [Note: Php 3:12-14.]. They are to be continually putting off the old man, and putting on the new, even till they be renewed after the very image of their God in righteousness and true holiness [Note: Eph 4:22-24.]. Instead of regarding their restoration to the divine favour as a reason for resting satisfied with their attainments, they are to make their interest in the promises an occasion, and a stimulus, to cleanse themselves from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit, and to perfect holiness in the fear of God [Note: 2Co 7:1]. Having this hope in them, they are to stop short of nothing that can be attained in this life, but to purify themselves even as God is pure [Note: 1Jn 3:3.].]
1.
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes