The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment;

LEVITICUS 13:47KJV
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Leviticus 13:47 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 13:47 mean?

Leviticus 13:47 states that if a garment—whether made of wool or linen—shows signs of a “plague of leprosy,” it is to be considered affected and subject to special examination. This verse introduces the idea that not only people, but also clothing, could be contaminated in a way that required attention under Israel’s laws.

In this part of Leviticus, God is giving instructions to Moses and Aaron for the Israelites about how to handle cases of ritual impurity. The “plague of leprosy” here refers not just to human skin disease, but to a kind of spreading mold or mildew in clothing. The verse sets up the following instructions about how priests should inspect and deal with such garments.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 13:47

  • “Garment” (בֶּגֶד, beged): This word refers to any kind of clothing or fabric item, not just outerwear, making the law broadly applicable to anything people wore or used as textile.
  • “Plague” (נֶגַע, nega‘): This term means an affliction or mark, and in this context, it signals something visibly wrong or diseased about the garment.
  • “Leprosy” (צָרַעַת, tsara‘at): In Leviticus, this word often describes a range of skin diseases or surface contaminations, not just what modern medicine calls leprosy. Here, it points to a spreading mold or mildew.
  • “Woollen” (צֶמֶר, tsemer) and “linen” (פִּשְׁתִּים, pishtim): These specify the main types of fabric used in ancient Israel, showing that the law covered all common garments.

Why Leviticus 13:47 matters

  • Leviticus 13:47 shows that ritual impurity in ancient Israel was not limited to people but could also affect objects, especially clothing, which could spread contamination.
  • The verse sets the stage for detailed instructions about how to identify and handle contaminated garments, emphasizing the seriousness with which the community treated purity and health.
  • Understanding the original words clarifies that “leprosy” here is broader than a single disease; it includes any visible, spreading corruption in fabric, which helps avoid confusion with modern definitions of leprosy.

Where else these words appear

“linen” Hebrew H6593 · used in 15 verses

  • Leviticus 13:48 Whether it be in the warp, or woof; of linen, or of woollen; whether in a skin, or in any thing made of skin;
  • Joshua 2:6 But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.
  • Ezekiel 40:3 And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.

“woollen” Hebrew H6785 · used in 16 verses

  • Leviticus 13:48 Whether it be in the warp, or woof; of linen, or of woollen; whether in a skin, or in any thing made of skin;
  • 2 Kings 3:4 And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool.
  • Ezekiel 27:18 Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool.

“leprosy” Hebrew H6883 · used in 33 verses

  • Leviticus 13:2 When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests:
  • Leviticus 13:27 And the priest shall look upon him the seventh day: and if it be spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.
  • Leviticus 14:34 When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;

“plague” Hebrew H5061 · used in 62 verses

  • Genesis 12:17 And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.
  • Leviticus 13:43 Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if the rising of the sore be white reddish in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, as the leprosy appeareth in the skin of the flesh;
  • Leviticus 14:37 And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall;