And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:

LEVITICUS 14:5KJV
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Leviticus 14:5 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 14:5 mean?

Leviticus 14:5 gives an instruction for the ceremony used when a person had recovered from a serious skin condition. The priest directs that one of the two birds be killed over fresh water in a clay container, preparing for the actions that follow.

God is giving these instructions to Moses, who is to pass them on to the people. The priest has already examined the person outside the camp, and two live birds have been brought for the ceremony. The bird’s blood and the water will be used together in the following verses.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 14:5

  • “running” — חַי (ḥay): This word can mean “living.” With “water,” it refers to fresh water, such as water from a spring or stream, rather than water standing in a pool.
  • “killed” — שָׁחַט (shaḥat): This word means to slaughter. Its use describes the killing of an animal, including in instructions for ceremonies.

Why Leviticus 14:5 matters

  • The priest directs the action, but the verse does not say that he personally kills the bird. The KJV says he “shall command” that the bird be killed.
  • The two birds have different parts in the ceremony. One is killed here; in verses 6–7, the other is dipped with other materials and then released.
  • The container holds more than water for washing. Verse 6 speaks of the live bird and other materials being dipped in the blood of the bird killed over the water.

Where else these words appear

“earthen” Hebrew H2789 · used in 16 verses

  • Leviticus 6:28 But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken: and if it be sodden in a brasen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water.
  • Job 2:8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
  • Isaiah 45:9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?

“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.

“killed” Hebrew H7819 · used in 70 verses

  • Genesis 22:10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
  • Leviticus 9:8 Aaron therefore went unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.
  • 2 Kings 10:14 And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them.