What Does Leviticus 13:34 Mean in the King James?

And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the scall: and, behold, if the scall be not spread in the skin, nor be in sight deeper than the skin; then the priest shall pronounce him clean: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

Leviticus 13:34 · 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

Cleanness hinges on the mark’s reach, whether it spreads or goes beneath the skin.

THE MEANING

The scalp mark is assessed by its reach: whether it spreads through the skin or lies deeper than the skin’s surface. When it remains localized and shallow, the priest pronounces the person clean, and the clothes are washed. The verse keeps a bodily sign distinct from the status assigned to the whole person.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

A visible scalp mark automatically makes the person unclean.

THE ROOT

רָאָה

ra’ah

GROWS FROM

ראה

To see or perceive; appearance, what is seen.

“look / appearance” in this verse is ra’ah. The verb “look” and the noun “appearance” are both formed from ⁨ראה⁩ (ra’ah, see). The priest’s act of seeing and the scall’s outward appearance share one root, tying the examination to what is actually visible: spread and depth.

ALSO GROWS

ra’ah: To see, look, or perceive.

רָאָה

This is the priest’s act of looking at the scall before naming its condition.

mar’eh: Appearance; what is seen.

מַרְאֶה

This names the scall’s appearance, which is assessed for depth.

נֶתֶק

neteq

GROWS FROM

נתק

To detach, tear away, or sever.

⁨נֶתֶק⁩ (neteq, the scalp condition called a scall) is linked to ⁨נתק⁩, “detach” or “tear away.” The root brings the image of hair coming away into the condition’s name; the priest then checks whether the affected area stays local or extends through the skin.

ALSO GROWS

nataq: To detach, tear off, or sever.

נָתַק

The root’s image of separation helps illuminate the localized scalp condition named neteq.

vayenatteqem: He tore them away.

וַיְנַתְּקֵם

This form shows the root’s force of breaking something loose, echoing the detachment carried in the name scall.

THE PATTERN

A bodily condition is named through attentive examination of its spread, depth, and change.

And the priest shall look on him the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague in his sight be at a stay, and the plague spread not in the skin; then the priest shall shut him up seven days more:

Leviticus 13:5 · KJVThe priest observes the condition over time and checks whether it has spread before making a judgment.

Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

2 Kings 5:14 · KJVNaaman’s changed skin is the visible sign accompanying the text’s declaration that he is clean.

And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

Mark 1:42 · KJVAs the condition departs, the text names the resulting change as cleansing.

THE THREAD

And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper;

Leviticus 14:3 · KJV

The priest’s “look” here shares the ⁨ראה⁩ (ra’ah, see) root with the examination in Leviticus 13:34. In this verse, that same attentive seeing recognizes whether the affliction has healed before the person is pronounced clean.

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