Tuesday, July 7, 2009

LEVITICUS: Chapter 13

Chapter 13
Summary:God now speaks to Moses and Aaron about the subject of leprosy. If a person notices a swelling in his skin, or a scab, boil, or pimple with transparent skin, leprosy is to be suspected and the person is to be brought to Aaron or one of his sons to be examined. If the hair in this spot turns white, and the spot appears to look more than skin-deep, it is leprosy and the priest must declare him "unclean".

If the white spot in the skin doesn't appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair in the spot hasn't turned white, the priest shall quarantine the person for seven days. On the seventh day the priest will examine the person again, and if the spot has not changed or spread, then the person must be quarantined for seven more days. If the marks of the disease have become fainter and have not spread, then the priest shall declare the person cured; it was only a scab and the person shall wash their clothes and be considered "clean" again. If the spot has spread the person must come back to the priest to be examined again, and if the priest has found that the spot has spread further then the priest must pronounce the person "unclean", as they have leprosy.

When anyone suspected of having leprosy is brought to the priest, the priest is to look to see if there is a white swelling with white hairs and raw flesh in the spot. If he finds these symptoms then the priest must pronounce the person "unclean", as they are a leper. The person is not to be quarantined as they are surely diseased.

However, if the priest sees that leprosy has spread all over from head to toe, then the priest shall pronounce him cured; for if it has all turned white, he is cured - but if there is raw flesh anywhere, the person shall be declared a leper. If the raw flesh later changes to white, the leper will return to the priest to be examined again. If the spot has indeed turned completely white, then the priest will pronounce him cured.

In the case of a person who has a boil in their skin that heals, but leaves a white swelling or bright spot, the person must be examined by a priest. If the priest sees that the problem appears to be underneath the skin, and the hair at the spot has turned white, then the priest shall declare the person "unclean". However, if the priest sees that there are no white hairs in the spot, the spots appears to be not deeper than the skin, and if the color of the spot is gray, then the priest shall quarantine the person for seven days. If during that time the spot spreads, the priest must declare the person a leper. If the bright spot grows no larger and doesn't spread, it is merely a scar from the boil, and the priest shall declare the person "clean".

If there is any flesh where a burning sensation is felt, and it becomes bright white or a reddish-white, then the priest must examine the spot. If the hair in the spot turns white, and the area appears to be affected beneath the skin, the priest must declare the person "unclean". If the spot doesn't move or spread in the skin, and is fading, it is simply a scar from the burn and the priest shall declare the person "clean".

If a person has a sore on their head or chin, it must be examined by a priest. If the infection appears to be below the skin and yellow hair is found in the sore, the priest must declare the person "unclean". However, if the priest finds that the spot seems to be only affecting the skin and that there is black hair in it, then the person will be quarantined for seven days and is to be reexamined on the seventh day. If the spot has not spread, yellow hair has not appeared, and the infection does not appear deeper than the skin, the person shall shave off all the hair surrounding the spot and will be quarantined for another seven days. If the spot has not spread and appears no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce the person "clean", and after washing their clothes they will be clean.

However, if later on the spot begins to spread, then the priest must examine the person again and, without waiting to see if any yellow hair develops, declare the person a leper. If it appears that the spreading has stopped and black hairs are found in the spot, then the person is healed and not a leper, the priest shall declare them "clean".

If a person has in the skin bright spots, even white bright spots, the the priest shall examine if the bright spots are darkish white. If they indeed are, then it is only a freckled spot in the skin (an ordinary skin infection) and the person shall be deemed "clean".

A man whose hair has fallen off his head does not make him a leper - he is simply bald. A man who has had hair fallen out from the part of his head towards his face is also not automatically a leper - only that he has a bald forehead. However, if in his baldness resides a reddish white sore, then leprosy has broken out upon his bald head or forehead. He must then be examined by a priest, and if the priest concludes that the sore is in fact leprosy then the man must be declared a leper.

Anyone who is pronounced a leper must tear their clothes, let their hair grow wild and unkempt, and cover their upper lip. The person must also declare they are a leper in their travels. They, as a leper, are considered "defiled" and must live outside of the camp.

If an article of clothing is suspected of being infected by leprosy, whether it is made of linen, fabric, wool, or leather, if it contains a greenish or reddish spot it must be examined by a priest. The priest will put the garment away for seven days and examine it on the seventh day. If the spot has spread, then the garment is infected with leprosy and must be destroyed by fire.

If upon examination on the seventh day, the priest finds that the spot has not spread, the priest shall order the garment to be washed and isolated for seven more days. If after that time the spot has not changed in color, regardless if it hasn't spread, then the garment shall be considered infected and must be burned. However, if the priest sees that the spot has faded after being washed, then the spot may be cut out from the garment, and the rest of the garment may be used or worn after another washing. If the spot returns to the garment, then the garment must be destroyed by fire.
Thoughts:In this chapter God gives his rather vague instructions to Moses and Aaron about detecting leprosy and how to handle suspected cases of leprosy. What qualifies a priest above others in detecting leprosy is unclear, yet God insists that this job is to be carried out by Aaron and his sons.

Any sores or lesions that match God's description of leprosy must be examined for signs of spreading, and upon the priest's judgment - which could be suspect and fallible compared to perhaps God himself making the final call - will lead the infected to be exiled from the Israeli camp. In a rather humorous aside, God declares that all suspected lepers must wear tattered clothing, leave their hair wild and unkempt, and must cry out "I'm a leper! I'm a leper!" to all those they encounter. I suppose they should be grateful for their exile rather than having God order them to be dragged out to the entrance of town for a stoning.

Also in another bit of troubling humor, God warns his priests not to mistake general male pattern baldness as a symptom of leprosy.

Spots suspected of being leprosy found in clothing must either be washed, quarantined, and re-examined in seven days, or failing that, set on fire. I suppose this is actually an acceptable precaution, but still a bit troublesome that its fate is left to the untrained decision of a priest to detect leprosy.

Above all else, it's peculiar as to why God demands that priests are to be in charge of detecting leprosy as opposed to someone who practices medicine. Despite our story being set roughly in the Bronze Age, it's not unreasonable to believe that at least some people were probably skilled in treating disease and injuries regardless of how primitive their methods may have been. Someone more knowledgeable in human illness would obviously be more skilled in determining if a sore was in fact leprosy or perhaps some other infection they may be familiar with that might exhibit similar symptoms. Even our modern day physicians can misdiagnose symptoms occasionally, but obviously their professional opinions are based on experience, years of study, and knowledge rather than the crash course in medicine God has given to Aaron and his priestly sons.

Furthermore, if God is omnipotent as he is commonly described, couldn't he not make his "chosen people" immune to leprosy, as he made the Israelis immune to the plagues he thrust upon the Egyptian people? However, I suspect that the whole Golden Calf incident that Aaron started probably angered God enough to become apathetic towards the Israelis possibly being misdiagnosed with leprosy, or worse still, suffering from the disease itself. God probably has no empathy for those misdiagnosed from a priest ignorant in medicine seeing as he holds contempt for them over disregarding his rules. I'm sure the apologist standpoint is probably that those who may have been misdiagnosed and "innocently" exiled probably deserved it anyways.

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