translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: LEV

label: NET translator note

text: Heb “and.” Here KJV, ASV use a semicolon; NASB begins a new sentence with “Now.”


text: The alternative rendering, “when it is reported to the priest” may be better in light of the fact that the priest had to go outside the camp. Since he or she had been declared “unclean” by a priest ( Lev 13:3 ) and was, therefore, required to remain outside the camp ( 13:46 ), the formerly diseased person could not reenter the camp until he or she had been declared “clean” by a priest (cf. Lev 13:6 for “declaring clean.”). See especially J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:831, who supports this rendering both here and in Lev 13:2 and 9 . B. A. Levine, however, prefers the rendering in the text ( Leviticus [JPSTC], 76 and 85). It is the most natural meaning of the verb (i.e., “to be brought” from בּוֹא [ bo ’, “to come”] in the Hophal stem, which means “to be brought” in all other occurrences in Leviticus other than 13:2, 9, and 14:2 ; see only 6:30; 10:18; 11:32; and 16:27 ), it suits the context well in 13:2 , and the rendering “to be brought” is supported by 13:7 b, “he shall show himself to the priest a second time.” Although it is true that the priest needed to go outside the camp to examine such a person, the person still needed to “be brought” to the priest there. The translation of vv. 2-3 employed here suggests that v. 2 introduces the proceeding and then v. 3 goes on to describe the specific details of the examination and purification.


text: Heb “and he shall be brought to the priest and the priest shall go out to from outside to the camp and the priest shall see [it].” The understood “it” refers to the skin infection itself (see the note on 13:3 above). The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “And behold, the diseased infection has been healed from the diseased person.” The expression “diseased infection” has been translated as simply “infection” to avoid redundancy here in terms of English style.


text: The term rendered here “crimson fabric” consists of two Hebrew words and means literally, “crimson of worm” (in this order only in Lev 14:4, 6, 49, 51, 52 and Num 19:6 ; for the more common reverse order, “worm of crimson,” see, e.g., the colored fabrics used in making the tabernacle, Exod 25:4 , etc.). This particular “worm” is an insect that lives on the leaves of palm trees, the eggs of which are the source for a “crimson” dye used to color various kinds of cloth (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 86). That a kind of dyed “fabric” is intended, not just the dye substance itself, is made certain by the dipping of it along with the other ritual materials listed here into the blood and water mixture for sprinkling on the person being cleansed ( Lev 14:6 ; cf. also the burning of it in the fire of the red heifer in Num 19:6 ). Both the reddish color of cedar wood and the crimson colored fabric seem to correspond to the color of blood and may, therefore, symbolize either “life,” which is in the blood, or the use of blood to “make atonement” (see, e.g., Gen 9:4 and Lev 17:11 ). See further the note on v. 7 below.


text: The MT reads literally, “And the priest shall command and he shall take.” Clearly, the second verb (“and he shall take”) contains the thrust of the priest’s command, which suggests the translation “that he take” (cf. also v. 5 a). Since the priest issues the command here, he cannot be the subject of the second verb because he cannot be commanding himself to “take” up these ritual materials. Moreover, since the ritual is being performed “for the one being cleansed,” the antecedent of the pronoun “he” cannot refer to him. The LXX, Smr, and Syriac versions have the third person plural here and in v. 5 a, which corresponds to other combinations with the verb וְצִוָּה ( vÿtsivvah ) “and he (the priest) shall command” in this context (see Lev 13:54; 14:36, 40 ). This suggests an impersonal (i.e., “someone shall take” and “someone shall slaughter,” respectively) or perhaps even passive rendering of the verbs in 14:4, 5 (i.e., “there shall be taken” and “there shall be slaughtered,” respectively). The latter option has been chosen here.


text: Heb “the one cleansing himself” (i.e., Hitpael participle of טָהֵר , taher , “to be clean”).


text: Heb “And the priest shall command and he shall slaughter.” See the note on “be taken up” (v. 4 ).


text: Heb “into a vessel of clay over living water.” The expression “living [i.e., ‘fresh’] water” (cf. Lev 14:50; 15:13 ; Num 19:17 ) refers to water that flows. It includes such water sources as artesian wells ( Gen 26:19 ; Song of Songs 4:15 ), springs ( Jer 2:13 , as opposed to cisterns; cf. 17:13 ), and flowing streams ( Zech 14:8 ). In other words, this is water that has not stood stagnant as, for example, in a sealed-off cistern. sn Although there are those who argue that the water and the blood rites are separate (e.g., E. S. Gerstenberger, Leviticus [OTL], 175-76), it is usually agreed that v. 5 b refers to the slaughtering of the bird in such a way that its blood runs into the bowl, which contained fresh water (see, e.g., N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers [NCBC], 74; G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 208; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:836-38; cf. esp. Lev 14:51 b, “and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and in the fresh water”). This mixture of blood and water was then to be sprinkled on the person being cleansed from the disease.


label: NET textual note

text: Heb “the live bird he [i.e., the priest] shall take it.” Although the MT has no ו ( vav , “and”) at the beginning of this clause, a few medieval Hebrew mss and Smr have one and the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate translate as if it is there. The “but” in the present translation reflects this text critical background, the object-first word order in the clause with the resumptive pronoun at the end, and the obvious contrast between the slaughtered bird in v. 5 and the live bird in v. 6 .


text: Heb “the one cleansing himself” (i.e., Hitpael participle of טָהֵר [ taher , “to be clean”]).


text: Heb “and he shall make him clean.” The verb is the Piel of טָהֵר ( taher , “to be clean”), here used as a so-called “declarative” Piel (i.e., “to declare clean”; cf. 13:6 , etc.).


text: Heb “and he shall be clean” (so ASV). The end result of the ritual procedures in vv. 4-7 and the washing and shaving in v. 8 a is that the formerly diseased person has now officially become clean in the sense that he can reenter the community (see v. 8 b; contrast living outside the community as an unclean diseased person, Lev 13:46 ). There are, however, further cleansing rituals and pronouncements for him to undergo in the tabernacle as outlined in vv. 10-20 (see Qal “be[come] clean” in vv. 9 and 20 , Piel “pronounce clean” in v. 11 , and Hitpael “the one being cleansed” in vv. 11, 14, 17, 18, and 19 ). Obviously, in order to enter the tabernacle he must already “be clean” in the sense of having access to the community.


text: Heb “And it shall be on the seventh day.”


text: Heb “and he shall be clean” (see the note on v. 8 ).


text: The subject “he” probably refers to the formerly diseased person in this case (see the notes on Lev 1:5 a, 6a, and 9a).


text: This term is often rendered “fine flour,” but it refers specifically to wheat as opposed to barley (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 10) and, although the translation “flour” is used here, it may indicate “grits” rather than finely ground flour (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:179; see the note on Lev 2:1 ). The unit of measure is most certainly an “ephah” even though it is not stated explicitly (see, e.g., Num 28:5 ; cf. 15:4, 6, 8 ), and three-tenths of an ephah would amount to about a gallon, or perhaps one-third of a bushel (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 196; Milgrom, 845). Since the normal amount of flour for a lamb is one-tenth of an ephah ( Num 28:4-5 ; cf. 15:4 ), three-tenths is about right for the three lambs offered in Lev 14:10-20 .


text: A “log” ( לֹג , log ) of oil is about one-sixth of a liter, or one-third of a pint, or two-thirds of a cup.


text: The MT here is awkward to translate into English. It reads literally, “and the priest who pronounces clean (Piel participle of טָהֵר , taher ) shall cause to stand (Hiphil of עָמַד , ’ amad ) the man who is cleansing himself (Hitpael participle of טָהֵר ) and them” (i.e., the offerings listed in v. 10 ; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity). Alternatively, the Piel of טָהֵר could be rendered “who performs the cleansing/purification” (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:827), perhaps even as a technical term for one who holds the office of “purification priest” (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 87). It is probably better, however, to retain the same meaning here as in v. 7 above (see the note there regarding the declarative Piel use of this verb).


text: Heb “And the priest shall take the one lamb.”


text: See the note on Lev 5:15 above. The primary purpose of the “guilt offering” ( אָשָׁם , ’ asham ) was to “atone” ( כִּפֶּר , kipper , “to make atonement,” see v. 18 below and the note on Lev 1:4 ) for “trespassing” on the Lord ’s “holy things,” whether sacred objects or sacred people. It is, therefore, closely associated with the reconsecration of the Lord ’s holy people as, for example, here and in the case of the corpse contaminated Nazirite ( Num 6:11 b-12). Since the nation of Israel was “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” to the Lord ( Exod 19:6 ; cf. the blood splashed on all the people in Exod 24:8 ), the skin diseased person was essentially a member of the “holy nation” who had been expelled from the community. Therefore, he or she had been desecrated and the guilt offering was essential to restoring him or her to the community. In fact, the manipulation of blood and oil in the guilt offering ritual procedure for the healed person (see vv. 14-18 below) is reminiscent of that employed for the ordination offering in the consecration of the holy Aaronic priests of the nation ( Exod 29:19-21 ; Lev 8:22-30 ).


text: Heb “wave them [as] a wave offering before the Lord ” (NAB similar). See the note on Lev 7:30 and the literature cited there. Other possible translations include “elevate them [as] an elevation offering before the Lord ” (cf. NRSV) or “present them [as] a presentation offering before the Lord .” To be sure, the actual physical “waving” of a male lamb seems unlikely, but some waving gesture may have been performed in the presentation of the offering (cf. also the “waving” of the Levites as a “wave offering” in Num 8:11 , etc.).


text: Heb “And he shall slaughter.”


text: Heb “in the place which.”


text: Since the priest himself presents this offering as a wave offering (v. 12 ), it would seem that the offering is already in his hands and he would, therefore, be the one who slaughtered the male lamb in this instance rather than the offerer. Smr and LXX make the second verb “to slaughter” plural rather than singular, which suggests that it is to be taken as an impersonal passive (see J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:852).


text: Heb “the guilt offering, it [is] to the Lord .” Regarding the “guilt offering,” see the note on Lev 5:15 .


text: Heb “and the priest shall put [literally ‘give’] on the lobe of the ear of the one being cleansed, the right one.”


text: The term for “big toe” ( בֹּהֶן , bohen ) is the same as that for “thumb.” It refers to the larger appendage on either the hand or the foot.


text: Heb “And the priest…shall pour on the left hand of the priest.” As the Rabbis observe, the repetition of “priest” as the expressed subject of both verbs in this verse may suggest that two priests were involved in this ritual (see m. Nega’im 14:8, referred to by J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:852), but the seemingly unnecessary repetition of “priest” in several verses throughout the chapter argues against this (see esp. vv. 3, 14, 18, 20, 24, and 26 ). Moreover, in this case, “priest” may be repeated to avoid confusing the priest’s hand with that of the one being cleansed (cf. v. 14 ).


text: Heb “his right finger from the oil.”


text: Heb “on his hand.”


text: Heb “and the remainder in the oil.”


text: Heb “do [or “make”] the sin offering.”


text: Heb “And after[ward] he [i.e., the offerer] shall slaughter.” The LXX adds “the priest” as the subject of the verb (as do several English versions, e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT), but the offerer is normally the one who does the actually slaughtering of the sacrificial animal (cf. the notes on Lev 1:5 a, 6a, and 9a).


text: Heb “cause to go up.”


text: Heb “and his hand does not reach”; NAB, NRSV “and cannot afford so much (afford these NIV).”


text: See the notes on v. 10 above.


text: Heb “from the sons of the pigeon,” referring either to “young pigeons” or “various species of pigeon” (contrast J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:168 with J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 14; cf. Lev 1:14 and esp. 5:7-10 ).


text: Heb “which his hand reaches”; NRSV “such as (which NIV) he can afford.”


text: Heb “and one shall be a sin offering and the one a burnt offering.” The versions struggle with whether or not “one” should or should not have the definite article in its two occurrences in this verse (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB all have the English definite article with both). The MT has the first without and the second with the article.


text: Heb “to the doorway of”; KJV, ASV “unto the door of.”


text: Heb “and the priest shall wave them.” In the present translation “priest” is not repeated a second time in the verse for stylistic reasons. With regard to the “waving” of the “wave offering,” see the note on v. 12 above.


text: Heb “And from the oil the priest shall pour out on the left hand of the priest.” Regarding the repetition of “priest” in this verse see the note on v. 15 above.


text: Heb “and the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger from the oil which is on his left hand.”


text: Heb “on the hand.”


text: Heb “give.”


text: Heb “the one from the turtledoves.”


text: Heb “from which his hand reaches.” The repetition of virtually the same expression at the beginning of v. 31 in the MT is probably due to dittography (cf. the LXX and Syriac). However, the MT may be retained if it is understood as “one of the turtledoves or young pigeons that are within his means – whichever he can afford” (see J. Milgrom’s translation in Leviticus [AB], 1:828, contra his commentary, 862; cf. REB).


text: Heb “and the one a burnt offering on the grain offering.”


text: Heb “This is the law of who in him [is] a diseased infection.”


text: Heb “who his hand does not reach in his purification”; NASB “whose means are limited for his cleansing”; NIV “who cannot afford the regular offerings for his cleansing.”


text: Heb “which I am giving” (so NAB, NIV).


text: Heb “in the house of the land of your possession” (KJV and ASV both similar).


text: Heb “who to him the house.”


text: Heb “And the priest shall command and they shall clear the house.” The second verb (“and they shall clear”) states the thrust of the priest’s command, which suggests the translation “ that they clear” (cf. also vv. 4 a and 5a above), and for the impersonal passive rendering of the active verb (“that the house be cleared”) see the note on v. 4 above.


text: Heb “to see the infection”; KJV “to see the plague”; NASB “to look at the mark (mildew NCV).”


text: Heb “all which [is] in the house.”


text: Heb “and after thus.”


text: Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV).


text: For “yellowish green and reddish” see Lev 13:49 . The Hebrew term translated “eruptions” occurs only here and its meaning is uncertain. For a detailed summary of the issues and views see J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:870. The suggestions include, among others: (1) “depressions” from Hebrew שׁקע (“sink”) or קער as the root of the Hebrew term for “bowl” (LXX, Targums, NAB, NASB, NIV; see also B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 90), (2) “streaks” (ASV, NJPS), (3) and “eruptions” as a loan-word from Egyptian sqr r rwtj (“eruption; rash”); cf. Milgrom, 870; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 198-99. The latter view is taken here.


text: The Hebrew term קִיר ( qir ,“wall”) refers to the surface of the wall in this case, which normally consisted of a coating of plaster made of limestone and sand (see HALOT 1099 s.v. קִיר 1.a; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:871; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 199).


text: Heb “and he shall shut up the house seven days.”


text: Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “If the mark has indeed spread.”


text: Heb “and the priest shall command and they shall pull out the stones which in them is the infection, and they shall cast them.” The second and third verbs (“they shall pull out” and “they shall throw”) state the thrust of the priest’s command, which suggests the translation “ that they pull out…and throw” (cf. also vv. 4 a, 5a, and 36a above), and for the impersonal passive rendering of the active verb (“be pulled and thrown”) see the note on v. 4 above.


text: Or, according to the plurality of the verb in Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Targums, “Then the house shall be scraped” (cf. NAB, NLT, and the note on v. 40 ).


text: Heb “from house all around.”


text: Heb “dust” (so KJV) or “rubble”; NIV “the material”; NLT “the scrapings.”


text: Heb “which they have scraped off.” The MT term קִיר ( qir , “wall” from קָצָה , qatsah , “to cut off”; BDB 892), the original Greek does not have this clause, Smr has הקיצו (with uncertain meaning), and the BHS editors and HALOT 1123-24 s.v. I קצע hif.a suggest emending the verb to הִקְצִעוּ ( hiqtsi ’ u , see the same verb at the beginning of this verse; cf. some Greek mss , Syriac, and the Targums). The emendation seems reasonable and is accepted by many commentators, but the root קָצָה ( qatsah , “to cut off”) does occur in the Bible ( 2 Kgs 10:32 ; Hab 2:10 ) and in postbiblical Hebrew (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 179, notes 41c and 43d; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:873; cf. also קָצַץ , qatsats , “to cut off”).


text: Heb “and bring into under the stones.”


text: Heb “after he has pulled out the stones, and after scraping (variant form of the Hiphil infinitive construct, GKC 531) the house, and after being replastered (Niphal infinitive construct).”


text: Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “If he sees that the mark has indeed spread.”


text: Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Tg. Ps.-J. have the plural verb, perhaps suggesting a passive translation, “The house…shall be torn down” (cf. NAB, NIV, TEV, NLT, and see the note on v. 4 b above).


text: Once again, Smr, LXX, and Syriac have the plural verb, perhaps to be rendered passive, “shall be brought.”


text: Heb “the one who comes into.”


text: Heb “he,” referring to the priest (see v. 38 ). The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “And if the priest entering [infinitive absolute] enters [finite verb]” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113. p .


text: Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “and the mark has not indeed spread.”


text: The pronoun “he” refers to the priest mentioned in the previous verse.


text: Regarding these ritual materials, see the note on v. 4 above.


text: Regarding the Piel of חָטָא ( khata ’, cf. v. 52 ) meaning to “decontaminate” or “perform a decontamination,” see the notes on Lev 8:15 and 9:15 . sn In Lev 8:15 , for example, the “sin offering” is used to “decontaminate” the burnt offering altar. As argued above (see the note on v. 7 above), these ritual materials and the procedures performed with them do not constitute a “sin offering” (contrast vv. 19 and 31 above). In fact, no sin offering was required for the purification of a house.


text: See the note on v. 5 above.


text: Heb “to from outside to the city.”


text: Heb “and for the scall”; NASB “a scale”; NIV “any infectious skin disease.” Cf. Lev 13:29-37 .


text: Heb “to teach in the day of the unclean and in the day of the clean.”


text: Heb “This is the law of the disease.” Some English versions specify this as “skin disease” (e.g., NIV, NLT), but then have to add “and (+ infectious NLT) mildew” (so NIV) because a house would not be infected with a skin disease. sn For an explanation of the term “disease” see Lev 13:2 .