And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place:

LEVITICUS 14:41KJV
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Leviticus 14:41 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 14:41 mean?

Leviticus 14:41 describes a step in the ritual for cleansing a house that has been affected by a kind of mold or mildew. The priest orders the inside walls of the house to be scraped all around, and the dust or debris that is scraped off is taken outside the city to a place considered unclean.

In this verse, God is giving instructions to Moses and Aaron for the Israelites about how to handle houses with a serious mold problem. The priest oversees the process, making sure that the contaminated material (the dust) is removed completely and disposed of in a way that keeps the community safe from impurity. This careful removal and disposal show the seriousness with which ritual purity and public health were treated in ancient Israel.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 14:41

  • The word for "scraped" (קָלַף, qaláf) means to peel or scrape off, emphasizing a thorough removal of the affected surface, not just a light cleaning.
  • "Dust" (עָפָר, ʿāfār) here refers to the debris or powder left after scraping, which could carry the impurity and so must be handled carefully.
  • "Without" (חוּץ, ḥūts) and "unclean place" (מָקוֹם טָמֵא, māqōm tāmēʾ) stress that the contaminated material is not just thrown away anywhere, but taken outside the city to a designated area, highlighting the concern for keeping the community ritually clean.

Why Leviticus 14:41 matters

  • This verse clarifies that ritual impurity in ancient Israel was not just a personal issue but could affect homes and, by extension, the whole community, requiring careful and public action.
  • The instructions show a practical concern for health and cleanliness, not just ritual, by removing and isolating potentially harmful substances.
  • Leviticus 14:41 fits into a larger passage about diagnosing and treating "leprosy" (more broadly, surface contamination) in houses, showing the priest's ongoing role in community well-being.

Where else these words appear

“scraped” Hebrew H7106 · used in 2 verses

  • Ezekiel 46:22 In the four corners of the court there were courts joined of forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four corners were of one measure.

“scrape” Hebrew H7096 · used in 5 verses

  • Leviticus 14:43 And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plaistered;
  • 2 Kings 10:32 In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel;
  • Proverbs 26:6 He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage.

“unclean” Hebrew H2931 · used in 78 verses

  • Leviticus 5:2 Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty.
  • Leviticus 14:40 Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city:
  • Deuteronomy 14:8 And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.

“dust” Hebrew H6083 · used in 103 verses

  • Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
  • Job 4:19 How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?
  • Psalms 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.