This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing.

LEVITICUS 14:32KJV
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Leviticus 14:32 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 14:32 mean?

Leviticus 14:32 explains that there is a specific law for someone who has a skin disease called leprosy, especially if that person cannot afford the usual offerings required for their cleansing. The verse makes clear that even those who are poor have a way to complete the ritual and be restored.

In this verse, God is giving instructions to Moses for the Israelites about how to handle cases of leprosy. The focus here is on people whose "hand is not able"—meaning they lack the resources—to bring the standard offerings for purification. This law ensures that everyone, regardless of wealth, can be included in the community after being healed.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 14:32

  • "law" (תּוֹרָה, torah): This word means instruction or teaching, not just legal code. Here, it highlights that God is providing guidance for a specific situation, not just a rule.
  • "hand" (יָד, yad): In Hebrew, "hand" often refers to a person's ability or means. In this verse, it points to someone’s financial capability, not their physical hand.
  • "get" (תָּפַשׂ, tafas): This word is often understood as "to acquire" or "to obtain." The verse uses it to describe someone who cannot obtain what is needed for the cleansing ritual.
  • "cleansing" (טָהֳרָה, tahorah): This word means purification, especially in a ritual sense. The verse is about the process that allows someone to be declared clean and return to the community.

Why Leviticus 14:32 matters

  • Leviticus 14:32 shows that God’s instructions make room for those who are poor, ensuring that ritual purity and community restoration are accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy.
  • This verse connects to the wider passage by wrapping up a section that details both the standard and the alternative (less expensive) offerings for those recovering from leprosy.
  • The verse emphasizes compassion and inclusiveness in the law, reminding readers that spiritual restoration is not limited by social or economic status.

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 14:2 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:
  • 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;

“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;

“get” Hebrew H5381 · used in 47 verses

  • Genesis 31:25 Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead.
  • Leviticus 27:8 But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him.
  • Psalms 7:5 Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the dust. Selah.

“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;