Leviticus 13:21

Study note

Setting — Moses records priestly instructions for evaluating skin lesions, directing the officiant to inspect a specific case where white hair is absent and the lesion has not sunk beneath the skin. The priest makes this determination at the moment of visual examination to decide the next procedural step.

The words — The phrase אֵין־ שָׂעָר לָבָן ('ein- se'ar lavan) translates literally to "there is no white hair," indicating the absence of a definitive purity marker. The verb יִרְאֶֽנּוּ (yir'ennu) means "he will see it," establishing the priest's direct visual assessment as the basis for the ruling.

The thread — This inspection rule functions as the middle case between Leviticus 13:20, where white hair and depth mandate uncleanness, and Leviticus 13:22, where spreading mandates uncleanness. The mandated isolation period structurally parallels the temporary exclusion prescribed in 1 Corinthians 5:5.

Why it lands — The text commands a seven-day isolation when diagnostic signs are incomplete, requiring the priest to delay judgment until further observation clarifies the condition. A reader must apply this standard by waiting for complete evidence before declaring a matter resolved.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.