Leviticus 14:41

And he shall have the inside of the house scraped completely and the plaster that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the city.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The text addresses a priest or house owner undergoing the purification ritual for a suspected leprous house. It occurs mid-ritual, immediately after contaminated stones have been removed and before new stones are installed.

The words — The Hebrew verb יַקְצִיעַ (yakTzi'a') means "he will scrape," describing the complete removal of the interior walls. The noun עָפָר ('aFar) translates literally to "dust" or "plaster debris," which is then poured out outside the city.

The thread — This procedure for removing defiled material outside the settlement parallels the disposal of contaminated stones in Leviticus 14:40 and echoes the broader biblical pattern of casting unclean matter beyond the camp or city. Similar disposal commands appear in contexts of ritual purity and separation from defilement.

Why it lands — The verse demands the complete removal of compromised building material to a designated unclean location. It requires the reader to follow a precise physical separation process before any reconstruction or restoration can occur.

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

וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>הַבַּ֛יִתha./Ba.yitthe/ house יַקְצִ֥עַyak.Tzi.a'he will scrape מִבַּ֖יִתmi./Ba.yitfrom/ inside סָבִ֑יבsa.Vivall around וְשָׁפְכ֗וּve./sha.fe.Khuand/ they will pour out אֶת־'et-<obj.>הֶֽעָפָר֙he./'a.Farthe/ dust אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.Sherwhich הִקְצ֔וּhik.Tzuthey have scraped off אֶל־'el-to מִח֣וּץmi./Chutzfrom/ [the] outside לָעִ֔ירla./'Irof the/ city אֶל־'el-to מָק֖וֹםma.Koma place טָמֵֽא׃ta.Me'unclean

King James Version

And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place:

Cross-references

Job 36:13 The godless in heart harbor resentment; even when He binds them, they do not cry for help.
Isaiah 65:4 sitting among the graves, spending nights in secret places, eating the meat of pigs and polluted broth from their bowls.
Matthew 8:28 When Jesus arrived on the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, He was met by two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs. They were so violent that no one could pass that way.
Matthew 24:51 Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
1 Timothy 1:20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
Revelation 22:15 But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.