Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean.

LEVITICUS 14:44KJV
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Leviticus 14:44 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 14:44 mean?

Leviticus 14:44 describes a situation where a priest inspects a house and finds that a spreading, destructive disease—called "leprosy" in this context—has continued to grow inside the house, making it officially unclean. The verse sets out the priest’s role in declaring the house ritually impure when the problem has not gone away.

In this part of Leviticus, God is giving instructions to Moses and Aaron about how priests should handle cases of disease that affect houses, not just people. The focus is on ritual purity in the community, and the priest acts as an inspector and judge. The verse highlights that some problems, if they keep spreading, require a clear decision that the place is not fit for use.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 14:44

  • "Fretting" (מַרְאֵה, mar'eh): The Hebrew word here, often translated as "fretting," carries the sense of something that is active, eating away, or destructive. It is not just a stain but a sign of ongoing decay or corruption in the house.
  • "Leprosy" (צָרַעַת, tsara‘at): This word does not refer to modern leprosy (Hansen’s disease) but to a range of surface afflictions—mold, mildew, or other spreading conditions—that made a house ritually impure.
  • "Unclean" (טָמֵא, tame’): This term means ritually impure, not dirty in a physical sense. Declaring a house "unclean" meant it could not be used normally and needed special treatment according to the law.

Why Leviticus 14:44 matters

  • Leviticus 14:44 clarifies that ritual impurity could affect buildings, not just people or objects, showing the broad concern for holiness in daily life.
  • The verse emphasizes the priest’s authority and responsibility to make careful inspections and official declarations, not just personal opinions.
  • Understanding the specific terms helps modern readers see that "leprosy" here is about ritual and community health, not just medical disease, and that the process was about protecting the whole community from ongoing harm.

Where else these words appear

“fretting” Hebrew H3992 · used in 4 verses

  • Leviticus 13:51 And he shall look on the plague on the seventh day: if the plague be spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in a skin, or in any work that is made of skin; the plague is a fretting leprosy; it is unclean.
  • Leviticus 13:52 He shall therefore burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woollen or in linen, or any thing of skin, wherein the plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it shall be burnt in the fire.
  • Ezekiel 28:24 And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

“spread” Hebrew H6581 · used in 18 verses

  • Leviticus 13:5 And the priest shall look on him the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague in his sight be at a stay, and the plague spread not in the skin; then the priest shall shut him up seven days more:
  • Leviticus 13:23 But if the bright spot stay in his place, and spread not, it is a burning boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
  • Leviticus 13:36 Then the priest shall look on him: and, behold, if the scall be spread in the skin, the priest shall not seek for yellow hair; he is unclean.

“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 14:32 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.

“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 14:36 Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house: