But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.

LEVITICUS 14:9KJV
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Leviticus 14:9 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 14:9 mean?

Leviticus 14:9 describes the final steps for a person being cleansed from a skin disease, requiring them to shave off all their hair—including their head, beard, and eyebrows—wash their clothes, and bathe in water to be declared clean. This verse outlines a thorough physical process meant to mark the person’s complete transition back into the community.

Moses is relaying God’s instructions to the Israelites about how someone who had a skin disease (often called “leprosy” in older translations) could be officially restored after healing. The detailed actions—shaving all hair, washing clothes (Hebrew בֶּגֶד, beged), and bathing—emphasize a total break from impurity and a fresh start, both physically and symbolically, before the person could rejoin normal life.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 14:9

  • שָׁעַף (galach, H1548) — “shave”: This word is used twice in the verse, stressing the complete removal of all hair. The repetition highlights the thoroughness required for ritual purity.
  • בֶּגֶד (beged, H899) — “clothes”: The instruction to wash clothes is a separate act from bathing, showing that both the person and their garments needed cleansing.
  • בָּשָׂר (basar, H1320) — “flesh”: The command to wash the “flesh” points to a full-body washing, not just hands or face, underlining the seriousness of the ritual.
  • טָהֵר (taher, H2891) — “clean”: This word means to be ritually pure, not just physically clean, marking the person as fit to rejoin worship and community life.

Why Leviticus 14:9 matters

  • This verse clears up that ritual purity involved more than just physical healing; it required visible, public actions that everyone could see, making the restoration process clear to the whole community.
  • The focus on shaving every part of the head, including eyebrows, shows the seriousness of the separation from impurity and the importance of starting over completely.
  • Leviticus 14:9 connects to the wider passage by showing that restoration was a process, not an instant event, involving careful steps that highlighted God’s concern for both health and holiness among the Israelites.

Where else these words appear

“eyebrows” Hebrew H1354 · used in 11 verses

  • 1 Kings 7:33 And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes, were all molten.
  • Psalms 129:3 The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.
  • Ezekiel 16:24 That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.

“shave” Hebrew H1548 · used in 18 verses

  • Genesis 41:14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.
  • Numbers 6:18 And the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings.
  • 2 Samuel 10:4 Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.

“beard” Hebrew H2206 · used in 18 verses

  • Leviticus 13:29 If a man or woman have a plague upon the head or the beard;
  • 1 Samuel 21:13 And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.
  • Psalms 133:2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;

“hair” Hebrew H8181 · used in 27 verses

  • Genesis 25:25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
  • Leviticus 13:30 Then the priest shall see the plague: and, behold, if it be in sight deeper than the skin; and there be in it a yellow thin hair; then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a dry scall, even a leprosy upon the head or beard.
  • 2 Samuel 14:26 And when he polled his head,(for it was at every year's end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight.