This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:

LEVITICUS 14:2KJV
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Leviticus 14:2 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 14:2 mean?

Leviticus 14:2 gives the rule for what happens when someone with a skin disease, called a "leper," is ready to be declared clean: the person must be brought to the priest for examination. This verse marks the starting point for a careful process of checking and restoring someone who had been separated because of their illness.

In this part of Leviticus, God is giving Moses instructions for the Israelites about how to handle cases of skin disease. The priest acts as the official who decides if a person is truly healed and can return to normal life. This verse sets up the detailed steps that follow in the chapter, showing that being declared clean was a careful, public process.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 14:2

  • "law" (תּוֹרָה, torah): This word means instruction, rule, or teaching. Here, it signals that what follows is an official, God-given procedure, not just advice.
  • "leper" (צָרַע, tsara‘): This term refers to a person with a serious skin disease, not just what we call leprosy today. It covers a range of visible conditions that made someone ritually unclean.
  • "cleansing" (טָהֳרָה, tahorah): This word means purification or being made clean. It highlights that the process is about more than just physical healing—it’s about being restored to the community and religious life.
  • "priest" (כֹּהֵן, kohen): The priest is the one who examines and declares the person clean. This shows the priest’s role as both a religious and community leader in matters of health and ritual status.

Why Leviticus 14:2 matters

  • Leviticus 14:2 clears up that being healed from a skin disease was not enough on its own; a person needed to be officially examined and declared clean by a priest before rejoining the community.
  • The verse shows that the process was public and structured, emphasizing the seriousness of both health and ritual purity in Israelite society.
  • This verse connects to the wider passage by introducing a detailed ritual that follows, showing how restoration was carefully managed and not left to personal judgment.

Where else these words appear

“cleansing” Hebrew H2893 · used in 13 verses

  • Leviticus 12:4 And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.
  • Leviticus 14:23 And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the LORD.
  • 1 Chronicles 23:28 Because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God;

“leper” Hebrew H6879 · used in 18 verses

  • Exodus 4:6 And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.
  • Numbers 5:2 Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead:
  • 2 Kings 7:3 And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?