And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.

LEVITICUS 14:45KJV
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Leviticus 14:45 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 14:45 mean?

Leviticus 14:45 says that if a house is found to be contaminated beyond repair, it must be completely torn down—its stones, wood, and mortar—and all the materials must be taken outside the city to a place considered unclean. This command is part of the laws given to Israel about dealing with serious cases of mold or mildew in houses.

In this verse, God is instructing Moses to tell the priests and the people what to do if a house cannot be cleansed from a spreading infection. The situation is about ritual purity in ancient Israel, where certain types of mold were seen as making a place unfit for worship and daily life. The verse shows the seriousness with which the community was to treat anything that could threaten the health or holiness of the people.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 14:45

  • The word for "break down" is פָּרַץ (parats), which means to demolish or tear down completely. This shows that the action is total, not just a partial repair.
  • "House" is בַּיִת (bayit), meaning a dwelling or home, emphasizing that these laws applied to ordinary living spaces, not just special buildings.
  • "Unclean place" uses the word טָמֵא (tame), meaning ritually impure, and מָקוֹם (maqom), meaning place. The materials are not just thrown away but are taken to a location set apart because of their impurity.

Why Leviticus 14:45 matters

  • Leviticus 14:45 clarifies that ritual purity in ancient Israel extended even to buildings, not just people or objects, showing the thoroughness of these laws.
  • The verse highlights the community's responsibility to protect itself from sources of impurity or potential harm, even when the solution is costly or difficult.
  • This instruction connects to the larger passage about cleansing, showing that sometimes, complete removal is necessary when something cannot be purified, reinforcing the seriousness of maintaining holiness in daily life.

Where else these words appear

“down” Hebrew H5422 · used in 41 verses

  • Exodus 34:13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:
  • 2 Kings 11:18 And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD.
  • Psalms 52:5 God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.

“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.

“morter” 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.