What Does Leviticus 13:5 Mean in the King James?
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:
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
In Hebrew, the mark “stands” in view: no spread means it is stable, but not yet gone.
THE MEANING
A visible affliction can remain present without advancing: the priest sees that it has not spread, yet it still stands in view. The person remains enclosed for seven more days, and judgment waits through another interval.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Stability does not prove that an affliction is over; the mark can stop spreading and still remain.
THE ROOT
עָמַד
ʿāmad
GROWS FROM
ע־מ־ד
ʿ-m-d
To stand, remain, or take one’s stand.
“at a stay” in this verse is ʿāmad. The Hebrew says the mark “stood” in the priest’s sight: it remains present even though it does not spread. This distinguishes stability from disappearance; the visible condition remains, so the person stays enclosed for further observation.
ALSO GROWS
ʿāmad: To stand; remain in place.
עָמַד
This is the verb used of the mark remaining before the priest.
ʿammūd: A pillar or standing column.
עַמּוּד
A pillar holds its place, making the root’s sense of remaining visible and concrete.
הִסְגִּירוֹ
hisgīrō
GROWS FROM
ס־ג־ר
s-g-r
To shut, close, or enclose.
“shut him up” in this verse is hisgīrō. The priest’s response is an act of enclosure: a boundary remains around the person while the condition is unresolved. The root also appears where Noah is shut inside the ark, linking the word to the physical act of closing someone within a boundary.
ALSO GROWS
sāgar: To shut; close.
סָגַר
This is the base verb behind the priest’s act of enclosing the person.
hisgīr: To shut in; confine.
הִסְגִּיר
This form describes placing someone within a boundary, as the priest does here.
נֶגַע
negaʿ
GROWS FROM
נ־ג־ע
n-g-ʿ
The root carries the sense of touching, reaching, or striking; its noun form means an affliction or lesion.
The word translated “plague” shares its root with words for touching or striking, giving the visible affliction a more concrete texture than a disease label alone. Here the priest watches the mark’s course: whether it extends, holds its place, or clears.
ALSO GROWS
nāgaʿ: To touch, reach, or strike.
נָגַע
The verb keeps the affliction linked to contact or impact.
negaʿ: A blow, affliction, lesion, or plague.
נֶגַע
This is the word for the mark the priest watches for change.
THE PATTERN
A visible condition is judged by what it does over time, not by a single moment’s appearance.
And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague be somewhat dark, and the plague spread not in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean: it is but a scab: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.THE THREAD
And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.The Genesis phrase וַיִּסְגֹּר (wayyisgor, “and he shut”) shares root סגר (sāgar, “to shut or enclose”) with the priest’s הִסְגִּירוֹ (hisgīrō, “shut him in”). Both verses use enclosure to mark a boundary: one around a person under observation, the other around the ark.
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