Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:

LEVITICUS 14:4KJV
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Leviticus 14:4 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 14:4 mean?

Leviticus 14:4 describes the priest’s instructions for the ritual cleansing of someone healed from a skin disease: the priest tells others to bring two live, clean birds, a piece of cedar wood, scarlet material, and hyssop. These specific items are gathered to begin a detailed purification ceremony.

In the context of Leviticus, God is giving Moses laws for the Israelites about how priests should handle cases of skin disease (often called "leprosy" in older translations). The priest acts as the community’s health and spiritual official, and this verse marks the first step in restoring someone to full participation in Israelite society after illness. Each item mentioned has a symbolic or practical role in the ceremony that follows.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 14:4

  • כֹּהֵן (kohen, "priest"): This word refers to the official religious leader responsible for carrying out the ritual. The priest’s authority is central; the process cannot begin without his command.
  • צִוָּה (tzivvah, "command"): This verb shows that the priest is not just suggesting but giving an official order, emphasizing the seriousness and structure of the ritual.
  • צִפֳּרִים (tzipporim, "birds"): The word is general for small birds, not specifying a particular species, but the requirement that they be "clean" (טָהוֹר, tahor) means they must fit the dietary laws of Israel.
  • אֶזֹב (ezov, "hyssop"): Hyssop is a plant often used in purification rites. Its mention here points to its role in symbolic cleansing, as it is used to apply or sprinkle ritual substances.

Why Leviticus 14:4 matters

  • Leviticus 14:4 clarifies that ritual cleansing after disease is not just a personal matter but a structured, priest-led process with specific requirements.
  • The verse highlights the importance of both physical and symbolic elements—birds, wood, scarlet, and hyssop—in Israelite rituals, showing that restoration involved the whole community and tangible actions.
  • Understanding this verse helps make sense of the larger passage, which details a multi-step process for rejoining the community after illness, emphasizing both health and holiness in Israelite life.

Where else these words appear

“hyssop” Hebrew H231 · used in 10 verses

  • Exodus 12:22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
  • Leviticus 14:51 And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times:
  • Numbers 19:18 And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:

“birds” Hebrew H6833 · used in 36 verses

  • Genesis 7:14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
  • Deuteronomy 14:11 Of all clean birds ye shall eat.
  • Proverbs 7:23 Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.

“scarlet” Hebrew H8144 · used in 42 verses

  • Genesis 38:28 And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first.
  • Exodus 35:23 And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' skins, brought them.
  • Exodus 39:29 And a girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needlework; as the LORD commanded Moses.

“scarlet” Hebrew H8438 · used in 43 verses

  • Exodus 16:20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
  • Exodus 35:35 Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.
  • Leviticus 14:49 And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: