What Does Leviticus 13:56 Mean in the King James?
And if the priest look, and, behold, the plague be somewhat dark after the washing of it; then he shall rend it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof:
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
The mark fades after washing, but fading does not make it disappear: the affected part is torn from the material.
THE MEANING
The verse holds your attention on what remains after washing: the mark is fainter, yet still present. The priest tears the affected part from the garment, hide, warp, or woof. The remaining condition determines what happens next.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A faded mark is not necessarily a vanished mark; washing alone does not settle the question.
THE ROOT
כֵּהָה
kēhāh
GROWS FROM
כהה
k-h-h
To grow dim, weak, or faint.
The KJV’s “somewhat dark” carries the sense of something dimmed or weakened. This same root describes eyes losing clarity and a wick burning faintly; here, the mark’s reduced visibility is still something the priest can see.
ALSO GROWS
vatikhheina: Eyes losing their clarity of sight.
וַתִּכְהֶיןָ
The same root describes diminished sight, not sight that has vanished.
pishtah kēhāh: A wick burning faintly.
פִּשְׁתָּה כֵהָה
The shared root names reduced intensity while the thing itself remains present.
וְקָרַע
wəqāraʿ
GROWS FROM
קרע
q-r-ʿ
To tear or rend apart.
“rend it out” in this verse is wəqāraʿ. The verb names separation: the marked portion is torn away from the material. Elsewhere the same root describes tearing garments and tearing the heart, but here its object is concrete, the affected part of the garment, hide, or weave.
ALSO GROWS
vayyiqraʿ: He tore his clothing.
וַיִּקְרַע
The same root explicitly names tearing cloth, as it does here.
ve-qirʿu levavkhem: Tear open your heart.
וְקִרְעוּ לְבַבְכֶם
The root can name an inward rupture too; in this verse, it describes physical removal from the material.
THE PATTERN
A first washing or treatment is followed by attention to what remains, and that remaining condition governs the next response.
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.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
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.The Hebrew calls the flax כֵּהָה (kēhāh), “dim,” using the same root as the mark after washing here. Isaiah’s faint wick is not quenched, while Leviticus’s affected section is torn away; the shared word names the dimness, while each verse’s object and action shape what follows.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us