What Does Leviticus 13:6 Mean in the King James?
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.
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 priest reads the mark by its direction: it is dim, it has not spread, and that trajectory shapes the verdict.
THE MEANING
Your visible condition receives a second look: the priest weighs the mark’s dimness and whether it has spread. The clean verdict is followed by washing the clothes, and the person is clean.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
One appearance fixes the whole judgment; here, a second look and the condition’s course matter to the verdict.
THE ROOT
פָשָׂה
pāśāh
GROWS FROM
פשה
To spread or extend outward.
The verse says the mark has not פָשָׂה (pāśāh, spread). The next verse repeats this root for a mark that spreads abroad, making outward movement the dividing clue between the two verdicts.
ALSO GROWS
pāśōh: Spreading greatly; an infinitive form in Leviticus 13:7.
פָּשֹׂה
Its pairing with the next form intensifies the contrast with the absence of spreading here.
tiphśeh: It spreads; the verb form in Leviticus 13:7.
תִּפְשֶׂה
The same root describes the mark’s movement outward, which prompts another priestly examination.
כֵּהָה
kēhāh
GROWS FROM
כהה
To grow dim, faint, or weak.
The word rendered “somewhat dark” also carries the sense of dimness or weakness. The same root describes Eli’s eyes growing dim in 1 Samuel 3:2, so here the mark’s subdued intensity is part of what the priest observes.
ALSO GROWS
kēhāh: Dim or faint; the form used in Leviticus 13:6.
כֵּהָה
It describes the mark’s subdued appearance alongside the fact that it has not spread.
kēhōt: Growing dim; used of Eli’s eyes in 1 Samuel 3:2.
כֵּהוֹת
The shared root links the mark’s dimness with a loss of intensity in sight.
וְטִהֲרוֹ
vetiharo
GROWS FROM
טהר
To be clean or pure; to cleanse.
The priest’s declaration and the final “be clean” use forms of טהר (tāhēr, be clean or purify). The shared root holds the verdict and the resulting state together, with washing immediately following.
ALSO GROWS
tāhôr: Clean or pure; for example, Leviticus 11:47.
טָהוֹר
This form names the state the priest declares.
tohorah: Purification or cleansing; for example, Leviticus 12:4.
טָהֳרָה
This related form names a cleansing process, echoing the washing that follows the verdict.
THE PATTERN
A sound judgment waits for a condition’s course, weighing what changes and what remains unchanged.
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:He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.THE THREAD
But if the scab spread much abroad in the skin, after that he hath been seen of the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen of the priest again:Verse 6 says the mark has not פָשָׂה (pāśāh, spread); the next verse repeats that root in “spread much abroad.” The changed direction of the mark reverses the outcome and brings another examination.
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