And the man whose hair is fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean.

LEVITICUS 13:40KJV
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Leviticus 13:40 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 13:40 mean?

Leviticus 13:40 says that if a man loses the hair on his head and becomes bald, he is still considered clean according to the law. Baldness by itself is not a sign of disease or impurity in this context.

This verse is part of a larger section where God, through Moses, gives instructions to the priests of Israel about how to identify various skin diseases. The focus here is on distinguishing normal baldness from symptoms of infectious skin conditions, which were a concern for ritual purity in ancient Israel.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 13:40

  • בָּלָד (qareach, H7142) — "bald": This word specifically refers to someone who has lost hair on the top of the head. Its use here clarifies that ordinary baldness is not viewed as a disease.
  • טָהוֹר (tahor, H2889) — "clean": This term means ritually pure or acceptable. The verse emphasizes that baldness alone does not make a person unclean or exclude them from community worship.

Why Leviticus 13:40 matters

  • Leviticus 13:40 clears up any confusion that might have existed about baldness being a sign of disease or impurity, which was important in a culture where visible skin conditions could lead to social exclusion.
  • The verse highlights the careful distinctions the law makes between different physical conditions, showing that not every visible change in appearance was cause for concern.
  • This instruction helps the priests avoid unnecessary isolation of people who were simply bald, focusing their attention on actual cases of disease described elsewhere in the chapter.

Where else these words appear

“bald” Hebrew H7142 · used in 2 verses

  • 2 Kings 2:23 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.

“fallen” Hebrew H4803 · used in 9 verses

  • Leviticus 13:41 And he that hath his hair fallen off from the part of his head toward his face, he is forehead bald: yet is he clean.
  • Nehemiah 13:25 And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves.
  • Ezekiel 21:11 And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.

“man” Hebrew H3588 · used in 43 verses

  • Genesis 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
  • Exodus 13:17 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:
  • Joshua 2:24 And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.

“clean” Hebrew H2889 · used in 87 verses

  • Genesis 7:2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
  • Exodus 39:25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates;
  • Deuteronomy 12:15 Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart.