To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.

LEVITICUS 14:57KJV
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Leviticus 14:57 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 14:57 mean?

Leviticus 14:57 explains that the purpose of the instructions given is to teach the Israelites how to distinguish between what is unclean and what is clean, specifically regarding cases of leprosy. The verse sums up the laws about diagnosing and handling skin diseases, making clear when someone or something is considered ritually pure or impure.

In context, Moses is relaying God’s laws to the people of Israel, focusing here on skin diseases often called "leprosy" in older translations. This verse closes a detailed section about how priests should examine people and objects for signs of disease, and it highlights the importance of clear guidelines for community health and ritual purity.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 14:57

  • "teach" (יָרָה, yarah): This word means to instruct or point out, emphasizing that these laws are meant to guide the priests and people in making careful distinctions.
  • "unclean" (טָמֵא, tame): This term refers to ritual impurity, not just physical dirtiness, and signals when someone or something is not fit for worship or community life.
  • "clean" (טָהוֹר, tahor): This word means ritually pure, indicating when a person or object is acceptable for normal participation in religious and social activities.
  • "law" (תּוֹרָה, torah): This word means instruction or teaching, and here it refers to the specific set of rules about leprosy.
  • "leprosy" (צָרַעַת, tsara‘at): This term covers a range of skin conditions, not just what is known today as leprosy (Hansen’s disease).

Why Leviticus 14:57 matters

  • Leviticus 14:57 clarifies that the detailed instructions are not just rituals but practical teaching for the community, helping priests make fair and informed decisions.
  • The verse shows that "unclean" and "clean" are about ritual status, not moral worth or personal sin, which helps prevent misunderstanding about the nature of these laws.
  • By summarizing the laws on leprosy, this verse connects the whole section and underlines the importance of order, health, and holiness in Israel’s daily life.

Where else these words appear

“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.

“teach” Hebrew H3384 · used in 75 verses

  • Genesis 31:51 And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee;
  • 1 Kings 8:36 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.
  • Psalms 45:4 And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.

“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.

“clean” Hebrew H2889 · used in 87 verses

  • Genesis 7:2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
  • Exodus 39:25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates;
  • Deuteronomy 12:15 Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart.