Leviticus 13:40

Translations

Modern

Now if a man loses his hair and is bald, he is still clean.

Traditional

And the man whose hair is fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean.

Literal

And when a man’s head is made bare, he is bald; he is clean.

Latin

Vir, de cujus capite capilli fluunt, calvus et mundus est:

Original

Hebrew

English

Now if a man loses his hair and is bald, he is still clean.

Notes

Leviticus 13:1–46

a skin disease: The Hebrew word tsaraʿat refers to more than Hansen’s disease (leprosy), which is rare and severely disfiguring. In Leviticus, the word describes many different conditions. These include:

an open sore (13:10),
a boil (13:18),
a burn (13:24),
a sore on the head or chin (13:29),
shiny white patches (13:38), or
unusual baldness (13:40).

A key test was whether the condition spread to other parts of the body (13:5–8). If it did, they quarantined the person while the disorder lasted (13:46). Not only people, but also clothing and even buildings could become infected (13:47–59; 14:33–53).

Leviticus 13:1–14:57

Regarding regulations for infections, the idea of "normal" and "abnormal" is important (see “Clean, Unclean, and Holy” Theme Note). Infections in people, clothing, or buildings are not normal. They indicate disease and death. This is the opposite of wholeness. So, infections make a person ceremonially unclean.

Theme notes and profiles

Ancient Law Codes Clean, Unclean, and Holy

Related verses

Galatians 4:13
You know that it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you.
Romans 6:19
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
Leviticus 13:41
Or if his hairline recedes and he is bald on his forehead, he is still clean.
2 Kings 2:23
From there, Elisha went up to Bethel, and as he was walking up the road, a group of boys came out of the city and jeered at him, chanting, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”
Amos 8:10
I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and its outcome like a bitter day.
Song of Solomon 5:11
His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy and black as a raven.
Isaiah 15:2
Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.
Romans 8:10
But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
Romans 6:12
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires.

Leviticus 13:40

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