Bible Strands
Leviticus 13:43
The priest is to examine him, and if the swelling of the infection on his bald head or forehead is reddish-white like a skin disease,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The text addresses the priest, instructing him to examine a man with a suspected infection on his bald head or forehead. This occurs within the Levitical ritual code that governs the inspection of physical conditions and the declaration of ritual purity.
The words — The Hebrew verb וְרָאָה (ve-ra'ah) and the noun שְׂאֵת (se'et) denote the priest's required visual inspection and the physical "swelling" of the lesion. These terms anchor the diagnostic process in observable external signs rather than internal speculation.
The thread — The procedure of visual examination and the priest's authority to declare ritual status run throughout Leviticus 13–14 and reappear in the New Testament as the prescribed framework for restoring cleansed individuals to the community (Matthew 8:4; Luke 17:14).
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to recognize that ritual status in this text depends on documented physical evidence and authorized declaration, not on personal judgment or emotional assessment. It establishes a boundary where observable reality and institutional procedure intersect to determine communal inclusion.
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.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if the rising of the sore be white reddish in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, as the leprosy appeareth in the skin of the flesh;