Leviticus 14 Summary: A Short Breakdown in 5 Minutes
Leviticus 14 Summary - A Quick Overview
WHEN:
Leviticus picks up where Exodus left off. The children of Israel are on their way through the wilderness to the Canaan land.
According to Leviticus 8, the Tabernacle had already been erected, which would place the year at approximately 1490 B.C. (one year after the Israelites left Egypt).
DEFINITIONS:
Leprosy – Also known as Hansen’s Disease. Leprosy is a slow growing bacterial disease that attacks a person’s nerves and causes them to swell under the skin.
Hyssop – A flowering plant with a purple bloom. Historically, it was commonly used for medicinal purposes.
Log of Oil – A log was a liquid unit of measure, the exact volume is unknown, but it is estimated at approximately 0.3 liters.
Ephah – A unit of measure used for grain, approximately 22 liters.
TABERNACLE DIAGRAM
OUTLINE:
THE PROCEDURE WHEN A PERSON WAS HEALED OF LEPROSY (14:1-32):
If there was a report of a person being healed of leprosy, the priest was to go out of the camp and inspect the individual.
If the person was indeed free of the disease, two clean birds, cedarwood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop were to be brought for him.
One of the birds was to be killed in a earthenware vessel over fresh water.
Next, the live bird, cedarwood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop were to be dipped in the blood of the dead bird.
The blood was to be sprinkled 7 times on the person who previously had leprosy and they were to be pronounced clean.
The living bird was to be set free into the open field.
The healed man was to wash his clothes, shave his head, and bathe himself before returning to the camp, but he was to live outside his tent for 7 days upon his return.
On the 7th day, he was to shave off all his hair and bathe again.
On the 8th day, he was to take two male lambs and one ewe lamb, 3 tenths of an ephah of fine flour, and one log of oil to the Tabernacle.
One of the male lambs was to be offered as a guilt offering and its blood placed on the healed person’s right ear lobe, his right thumb, and the big toe of his right foot.
Some of the oil was to be sprinkled 7 times before the Lord.
Some was to be placed on the man’s right ear lobe, right thumb, and big toe on the right foot.
The remainder of the oil was to be poured out on the man’s head.
Next, the priest was to use other animals and flour to offer a sin offering, a burnt offering, and a grain offering for the man’s cleansing.
In verses 21-32, God described an alternative sacrifice that could be offered if the healed person couldn’t afford two male lambs and a ewe lamb for the offering.
CLEANSING A HOUSE WHERE LEPROSY WAS FOUND (14:33-57):
The second half of this chapter discusses what was to be done if a case of “leprous disease” was found in a house when the Israelites took up residence in Canaan.
If a person suspected disease in their house, they were to tell the priest and empty the house before the priest arrived to inspect it.
If the priest determined the house to be diseased, he was to shut it up for 7 days.
After the 7 days, he was to return and determine whether the disease had spread.
The stones effected by the disease were to be removed and the house was to be scraped and replastered.
If the disease reappeared, the house was to be torn down and carried outside the city.
Anyone who entered the house was unclean until the evening.
If the disease didn’t reappear, the house was to be pronounced clean again.
The house was to be cleansed with two birds, cedarwood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop.
One bird was to be killed, and the other articles dipped in its blood.
The house was to be sprinkled 7 times and the living bird released into the open field.
APPLICATION:
Chapters 13 and 14 speak to the Bible’s scientific accuracy and foreknowledge.
Long before humans discovered how bacteria spread and disease was transmitted, God was recommending quarantine for the sick.
While the Scriptures were never intended to be a science textbook or a book full of medical remedies, you will find the scientific facts in the Bible to be accurate.
This is to be expected if the Creator of the universe had a hand in writing the book.
Compare the scientific accuracy of the Bible to other ancient texts which contain scientific errors and out of date theories.
The Bible’s scientific trustworthiness is one line of evidence proving the Bible’s inspiration.
