Charles Ellicott Commentary Leviticus 14

And the Lord spake unto Moses. —The regulations for the purification of the leper are delivered to Moses alone, who is to communicate them to Aaron and his sons, while the rules by which the disease is to be discerned were given both to Moses and Aaron. (See Leviticus 13:1.) The reason for this is probably that Moses was designed by God as the great lawgiver and teacher of the priesthood as well as of the laity.

This shall be the law of the leper. —That is, the manner in which an Israelite cured of his leprosy is to be purified and restored to the communion of the sanctuary on the day when he is pronounced clean.

He shall be brought to the priest. —He is to be conducted from his place of seclusion to an appointed place on the borders of the camp. It was this coming to the priest to which Christ referred when He said to the leper whom He had healed, “Go, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded” (Matthew 8:4).

And the priest shall go forth. — To this appointed place the priest had to go to meet and examine the restored leper, and to satisfy himself that he was thoroughly cured.

“Then the priest is to command to take”: Literally, And the priest shall command, and he shall take, meaning the leper is to do the taking. To avoid ambiguity about who this refers to, the translators of the Authorized Version adopted the rendering in the text. As the relatives of the cured leper procured the items prescribed for the purification, some ancient versions render it, And they shall take.

Two birds alive and clean. These were either sparrows, doves, turtledoves, or any other birds, provided they belonged to the clean species described in Leviticus 11. According to the canons that prevailed during the Second Temple period, the birds had to be sparrows. The reason given for this was that since leprosy was regarded as a divine punishment for slander, birds known for their constant twittering were selected. This explains the rendering of “sparrow” in the Latin Vulgate and in the margin of the Authorized Version.

And cedar wood. This had to be a foot and a half long, and its thickness a quarter of that of a bed’s foot-post. Although this wood was primarily chosen for its antiseptic properties, which made it especially suitable for the occasion, it also—belonging to the loftiest of trees (Psalms 2:13,Psalms 27:24; Amos 2:9)—was intended to symbolize the haughtiness of mind that called down the affliction of leprosy.

And scarlet. This was probably a band of scarlet wool with which the cedar and the hyssop were tied together. In later times, the woolen band had to be the weight of a shekel, or weigh thirty-two grains of barley. It was understood to symbolize the purified and now healthy blood.

And hyssop. This, according to the canons that prevailed in the time of Christ, had to be at least a handbreadth in size. It could not be the so-called Greek, ornamental, Roman, or wild hyssop, or any other hyssop distinguished by the name of the place where it grew. Instead, it had to be the common hyssop that grew in gardens. Though, like the cedar wood, it was primarily used on these occasions for its aromatic properties, this diminutive shrub was also most likely intended to symbolize the humility of the cured leper.

Hence, ancient tradition tells us, “Cedar wood and hyssop, the highest and the lowest, give the leper purity. Why these? Because pride was the cause of the disease, which cannot be cured until man becomes humble, and keeps himself as low as hyssop.” Cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet were also burned with the red heifer (Numbers 19:6) and were generally used in purifications (Hebrews 9:19). Thus, the Psalmist prays, Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean (Psalms 51:17).

And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed. —Rather, And the priest shall command, and he shall kill the one bird. This means that, upon the priest ordering it, the cured leper is to kill the one bird that is the fairer and better of the two, as was the rule during the Second Temple. Not being a sacrifice, the victim was killed outside the camp.

In an earthen vessel over running water. —Better, over an earthen vessel upon (or into) living water, meaning the bird was killed over the dish, so as to let the blood flow into the water.

The vessel had to be a new one; into it was poured a fourth part of a log, or as much as an egg and a-half, of “living water.” The term “living water” signifies water taken from a running stream or a perennial spring, where its continual motion resembles life, in contradistinction to stale or stagnant water.

Water that had already been used for other purposes, salt water, rainwater, or water that had been melted or warmed, was illegal. When the blood had thus been wrung into it, a hole was dug, and the bird was buried in the presence of the priest and the patient.