LEVITICUS: Chapter 14

Chapter 14
Summary:	God then instructs Moses as to what to do when a person's leprosy disappears(?) God tells Moses that a priest must examine a person whose leprosy has seemed to have disappeared. If the priest deems that the leprosy is indeed gone, he shall have to bring with him two living birds (ones fit for eating according to God's "standards"), cedar wood, a scarlet string, and hyssop branches. The priest shall then order one of the birds to be killed in an earthenware pot held above running water. The other bird that is still alive (along with the scarlet string, cedar wood, and hyssop branches) shall then be dipped in the blood of the killed bird. The priest shall then sprinkle the blood seven* times upon the person cured of leprosy, and the priest shall pronounce him "clean" while letting the surviving bird fly off into the open field. The person who is cured will now have to wash their clothes, shave off all their hair, bathe themselves, and return to live inside the camp; however, they must stay outside their tent for seven days. On the seventh day, the cured leper shall again shave off all their hair (including all facial hair, eyebrows, and head), wash their clothes again, and bathe to be declared fully cured of leprosy. On the eighth day, the person shall take two male lambs without any physical defects, one yearling ewe lamb without defect, ten quarts* of finely ground flour for a "meat offering", mingled with oil, as well as a pint* of oil. The priest who examined the person must present the person and the items before God at the door of the tabernacle. The priest shall take one male lamb and the ounce of oil and offer it for a "guilt offering" by waving them around in the air before the altar. Then he shall kill the lamb in the place where "sin offerings" and "burnt offerings" are killed, as in the case of "sin offerings", this shall be given to the priest as food - as it is considered "holy". The priest shall then take some of the blood from this "guilt offering" and smear some on the tip of the right ear of the person being cleansed, and upon their right thumb and the big toe of their right foot. The priest shall then take some of the olive oil and pour it into the palm of his left hand, then dip his right finger into it, and sprinkle it seven* times before God. Part of the rest of the oil shall be placed upon the person's right ear, thumb, and big toe - just like what was done the lamb's blood. The rest of the oil shall be poured upon the person's head to anoint them while the priest makes atonement for them before God. Then the priest must make a "sin offering" and make another atonement for the person to be cleaned from their "uncleanliness", and afterward the priest is to kill the animal deemed for a "burnt offering", offering it along with the "grain offering" upon the altar, making atonement for the person, who shall now be finally pronounced "clean". If the person is too poor to afford two lambs, then he may only bring one lamb, a male lamb for the "guilt offering", only three quarts* of fine flour mixed with olive oil, and a pint* of olive oil. The person must also bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons - whichever he can afford - using one of the pair for a "sin offering" and the other for a "burnt offering". He shall bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tabernacle on the eighth day for his ceremonial cleansing before God. The priest shall then take the lamb for the "guilt offering", along with the pint* of oil, and wave them in the air before the altar as a gesture of offering to God. Then he shall kill the lamb for the "guilt offering" and smear some of its blood upon the tip of the person's right ear, right thumb, and big toe of his right foot. The priest is then to pour the olive oil into his left hand, then dip his right finger into it, and sprinkle it seven* times before God. Part of the rest of the oil shall be placed upon the person's right ear, thumb, and big toe - just like what was done the lamb's blood. The rest of the oil shall be poured upon the person's head to anoint them while the priest makes atonement for them before God. Then the priest shall offer the two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, depending on what he can afford. One of the birds is to be a "sin offering" and the other a "burnt offering", to be sacrificed along with the "grain offering", and the priest shall make atonement for the person before God. God declares that these are the laws to be followed cleansing people of leprosy. God then tells Moses and Aaron that when they arrive in Canaan, (which God has promised to the Israelis as a possession) and find that he has placed leprosy in a house within the land, the owner of the house must come to a priest to tell them that there seems to be a plague in their house. The priest shall then order that the house be completely emptied before it is examined, so that every item in the house need not to be declared contaminated if he decides that there is leprosy there. If the priest finds greenish or reddish streaks in the walls which seem to be beneath the surface of the walls in the house, he shall close up the house for seven days. The priest shall return on the seventh day to re-examine the house, and if he finds that the spots have spread in the wall, then the priest shall order the removal of the infected section of the wall, and the building material must be taken out to a "defiled" area outside the city. The priest shall then order the inside walls of the house to be scraped thoroughly, and the scrapings dumped in a "defiled" place outside the city. New stones shall be brought in to replace the ones removed, and with new mortar, the house shall be replastered. If the spots return again in the house, the priest shall order the house to be demolished, as it is "defiled" with leprosy. All of the stones, timber, and mortar of the destroyed house shall be carried out of the city to be dumped in a "defiled" area. Anyone who enters this house while it is closed shall be defiled until evening. Anyone who lies down or eats in the house shall wash their clothing. However, if the priest examines the house and finds that the spots have not reappeared after the fresh plastering, the the priest shall pronounce the house "clean", because the plague has been "healed". He shall also perform a ceremony of cleansing, using two birds, cedar wood, scarlet thread, and hyssop branches. The priest shall kill one bird over running water in an earthenware bowl, and dip the other living bird, cedar wood, scarlet thread, and hyssop branch into the blood of the dead bird and in the running water. The priest shall then sprinkle the house with the dead bird's blood and the water seven* times, thus cleansing the house. He shall then let the living bird free outside of the city to fly away into the open fields, which shall make atonement for the house and cleanse it. These are God's laws for dealing with leprous people, garments, and houses. God claims to Moses and Aaron that with these laws they will now know whether someone or something is infected with leprosy.
Notes:	1.) Another example of the mystical significance of the number 7 in the bible. 2.) Approximated measurement of the bible's unit of measurement. The original KJV text measures this amount as a "three tenth deal" of flour. 3.) Approximated measurement of the bible's unit of measurement. The original KJV text measures this amount as "one log of oil". 4.) Approximated measurement of the bible's unit of measurement. The original KJV text measures this amount as a "one tenth deal" of flour.
Thoughts:	This chapter deals with God's laws about people who've somehow been "cured" of leprosy (probably more aptly, to have been proven wrongly diagnosed), how these "guilty" people need to make amends to God for having contracted leprosy in the first place (which seems quite backwards, seeming that God ultimately would be responsible for the infection in the first place), and what to do if you find signs of leprosy in a house. Of course, God wastes no time in demanding more animal sacrifices (beginning in verse four) and demands that those who were exiled due to a suspicion of having contracted leprosy by the judgment of a priest, and have later been found "clean" must gather up a pair of birds (they must be a pair of birds fit for eating - in accordance to the rules laid out in Leviticus Chapter 11), a scarlet string(?), some cedar wood, olive oil, and some hyssop branches. We are then to kill one of the birds in a pot that's being held over running water(?) and bathe the other objects (including the surviving living bird) in the dead animal's blood. I'm sure there is some superstitious belief attached to the requirement of needing running water to kill a bird in a pot over, but I'm don't see the actual significance of this requirement. Once everything is covered in the dead bird's blood (including its surviving counterpart) it's time to splash some blood around - seven times (again reinforcing the numerological significance of the number seven) - upon the accused, but now apparently healed, leper and letting the surviving bird fly away into an open field. Although the priest now declares the poor former leper "clean", his apology to God for having contracted leprosy is far from over. The "cured" leper is now expected to not only bathe themselves and wash their clothes, but to shave their head and live for a full week outside of their tent. On the seventh day the cured leper has to yet again shave their head, as well as their eyebrows and any facial hair they may have, as well as bathe and wash their clothes again. The following day it's time for more animal sacrifice, this time bringing two male lambs, a yearling ewe, some flour, and some olive oil for the "guilt offering". Why someone would have to "apologize" to God for the "guilt" of having contracted leprosy is beyond me, however, God seems to use any minute reason to demand animal sacrifices. As per usual, the ritual consists of the priest waving these items in the air in a gesture of sacrifice before killing one of the lambs - which conveniently the priest gets to keep as food. The problem here should be obvious - when a priest stands to benefit, chances are that these priests may well take advantage of some unfortunate person with a rash, deeming them a leper, and reaping the benefit of the "guilt offering" meal they get when they find the same person to be cured. One could argue that a "just" god wouldn't stand for his own priests abusing the system, but when God can't even be bothered to verify cases of leprosy himself, entrusting this duty to unqualified priests who most likely have little knowledge in medical conditions, it seems unlikely that God could be bothered to police his priests either. The ritual then takes a turn into superstition reminiscent of the ritual for ordaining Aaron and his sons as priests in Leviticus: Chapter 8, where the priest is now to gather blood from the slaughtered animal and smear it on the right ear, right thumb, and big toe on the right foot of the "cured" leper. The priest then repeats this using some of the olive oil, which he is to pour into his left hand beforehand. The priest then sprinkles olive oil seven times (again with the mystical number seven) before the altar and anoints the ex-leper's head with the remaining oil in "atonement". Again, why someone needs to atone themselves for contracting an infectious disease seems incomprehensible. The second lamb is to be killed as a "sin offering" and to make yet another atonement for our former leper. The animal is then to be offered along with a "grain offering" upon the altar to God, and finally the ex-leper should finally be deemed clean. God also notes that someone who can't afford two lambs for their "sin offering" of contracting and beating leprosy may get by with only one lamb, a third of the "grain offering", along with the full pint of olive oil. However, the person must bring either a pair of turtledoves or young pigeons to use in God's "sin offering" and "burnt offering" demands. God now tells Moses that he might possibly let loose a strain of leprosy in Canaan - a piece of land that he had promised the descendants of Abraham - and instructs them on what to do if one of the town folk suspects that their house might be infected with leprosy. The house will basically be emptied and boarded up for a good seven days before a priest re-examines the place. If he still finds greenish or reddish stains in the walls, he'll have to dig that chunk of the wall out and dump the "unclean" masonry outside of town in a "defiled area". If the priest comes back another week later and still finds greenish and reddish stains on the walls, he'll have to re-plaster all the interior walls. If the stains manage to return again, the house will have to be demolished, and all the rubble hauled out to the "defiled" area on the outskirts of town. However, if the house turns out to be okay after the re-plastering, get some more birds ready as God requires yet more animal sacrifice. Once again, you'll need two birds, a scarlet thread, some cedar wood, and some hyssop branches. Just like the "cleansing" ritual for finding yourself clean from leprosy, you'll need to kill a bird in an earthenware pot held over running water. Smear the blood over everything, bathe it all in the water, sprinkle the blood around seven times, let the surviving bird free outside the city, and your house will be atoned for its sin of being infected with leprosy. Why someone's house needs atonement is beyond me, but apparently God demands the animal sacrifice for letting your house get infected by the plague he sent in the first place.