Leviticus 14:48

If, however, the priest comes and inspects it, and the mildew has not spread after the house has been replastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the mildew is gone.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The text records God’s directive to Moses and Aaron regarding the ritual inspection of a house suspected of mildew. The priest arrives after the house has been scraped and replastered to verify whether the contamination persists.

The words — The Hebrew פָּשָׂה (pāśâ) literally means "to spread" or "extend," describing the mildew’s progression across the walls. The verb יָבֹא (yāḇōʾ) denotes the priest’s physical arrival to examine the treated structure.

The thread — This inspection procedure mirrors the earlier examination of a healed leper in Leviticus 14:3 and anticipates the New Testament theme of cleansing in 1 Corinthians 6:11. The structural purification also aligns with the divine pattern of wounding and healing in Job 5:18.

Why it lands — The passage requires a reader to recognize that ritual purity depends on observable, verified change rather than mere human effort. It demands acceptance of the priest’s declaration as the definitive boundary between clean and unclean.

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

And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plaistered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.

Cross-references

1 Corinthians 6:11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Leviticus 14:3 The priest is to go outside the camp to examine him, and if the skin disease of the afflicted person has healed,
Job 5:18 For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.
Hosea 6:1 Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us to pieces, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bind up our wounds.
Mark 5:29 Immediately her bleeding stopped, and she sensed in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
Mark 5:34 “Daughter,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be free of your affliction.”
Luke 7:21 At that very hour Jesus healed many people of their diseases, afflictions, and evil spirits, and He gave sight to many who were blind.