Charles Ellicott Commentary Leviticus 13:47

"The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment;" — Leviticus 13:47 (ASV)

The garment also that. —Better, And if a garment has. The fact that the same phrase, “plague of leprosy,” is used for both garments and human beings, and that the symptoms and effects of leprous garments and those of leprous people are identical, shows beyond doubt that the same disease is meant.

Therefore, the theory that “plague of leprosy” is used here figuratively for garments damaged by a type of microorganisms or vermin, which feed upon and corrode the finer parts of the fabric in the manner of moths, is contrary to the consistent meaning of this phrase in the discussion of the disorder. It is also against the testimony of the administrators of the law during the Second Temple period, who personally encountered the condition.

They assure us that leprosy of garments and houses was not generally found in the world, but was a sign and miracle in Israel to guard them against evil speech. Equally untenable is the theory that it denotes an infectious condition of clothes caused by contact with the leprous discharge from wounds and boils, which is so strong that it corrodes and injures all kinds of fabric.

Neither the regulations laid down here, nor their further development evident in the canons established during the Second Temple period, consider leprosy contagious.

This is evident from several facts: the priest was in constant and close contact with the leper; the leper who was entirely covered was pronounced clean and could mix with the community ; the priest himself ordered all the items in a leprous house to be taken out before he entered it, so that they might be used again ; and according to the ancient canons, a leprous minor, a leprous Gentile or proselyte, as well as leprous garments in houses of non-Israelites, do not make anyone unclean, nor does a bridegroom who contracts this disease during the wedding week defile anyone.

All this most unquestionably implies that there was no fear of contagion on the part of the authorities who personally dealt with this disease.

Whether it be a woollen garment. —Just as among the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, woollen and linen garments were the only clothing worn by the Israelites (Hosea 2:7; Hosea 2:11; Proverbs 31:13). The administrators of the law during the Second Temple period, however, interpreted this enactment literally as referring strictly to sheep's wool and flax, but not to hemp and other materials.

Therefore, they declared that a material made of camel's hair and sheep's wool is not made unclean by leprosy if the camel's hair predominates, but is unclean when the sheep's wool predominates, or when both are equal. The same rule also applies to mixtures of flax and hemp. Dyed skins and garments are not made unclean by leprosy.

Here we have another proof that these authorities did not consider leprosy contagious.