What Does Leviticus 13:26 Mean in the King James?

But if the priest look on it, and, behold, there be no white hair in the bright spot, and it be no lower than the other skin, but be somewhat dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days:

Leviticus 13:26 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

The mark is still uncertain, but the response is not neutral: the person is confined for seven days while it is watched.

THE MEANING

The verse meets you where the evidence is incomplete: a mark is visible, but there is no white hair or sinking below the surrounding skin, only dimness. Still, the person carrying it is shut away for seven days. The interval leaves judgment open while making confinement real.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The lie this undoes is that an uncertain sign has no consequence: here the determination remains pending, yet confinement begins immediately.

THE ROOT

וְהִסְגִּירוֹ

wəhisgîrô

GROWS FROM

סגר

To close, shut, or enclose; in this form, to confine.

The verb translated “shut him up” makes the waiting physical: the person is enclosed while the priest watches. A related Hebrew noun means “prison,” so the root keeps the cost of this interval in view.

ALSO GROWS

sāgar: to shut or close

סָגַר

This base form reveals the closing action inside the priest’s confinement of the person.

masgēr: an enclosure or prison

מַסְגֵּר

This related word appears as “prison” in Isaiah 24:22, showing how the root’s act of closing becomes a place of confinement.

כֵּהָה

kēhāh

GROWS FROM

כהה

To grow dim, faint, or weak.

“somewhat dark” in this verse is kēhāh. The Hebrew does more than name a color: ⁨כהה⁩ carries the sense of becoming dim or faint. The same root appears where Isaiah says the servant “shall not fail,” letting the mark’s dimness echo the language of fading without making its meaning certain.

ALSO GROWS

kēhāh: dim or muted

כֵּהָה

This is the word describing the mark, whose dimness remains one part of an unsettled assessment.

yikhheh: grow dim; translated “fail” in Isaiah 42:4

יִכְהֶה

This form carries the same root into a statement about not fading, joining visible dimness with the language of weakening.

THE PATTERN

When the evidence is incomplete, judgment is held open through a defined interval of listening or watching.

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.

Proverbs 18:13 · KJVAnswering before hearing is called folly, matching the need to leave a determination open while the signs are still being assessed.

And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:

Luke 13:8 · KJVThe tree is given another year before the decision to cut it down, postponing a final judgment through a defined interval.

Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

1 Corinthians 4:5 · KJVJudgment waits until what is hidden is brought to light, echoing the priest’s interval before another determination.

THE THREAD

He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

Isaiah 42:4 · KJV

Isaiah’s “He shall not fail” translates a form of ⁨כהה⁩, the same root behind “somewhat dark” here. English separates the two shades, but Hebrew lets a dim mark and the language of not fading share one seed.

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