What Does Leviticus 13:8 Mean in the King James?

And if the priest see that, behold, the scab spreadeth in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a leprosy.

Leviticus 13:8 · 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 Hebrew word for “scab” carries the idea of attachment, and its spread, not its mere presence, determines the declaration.

THE MEANING

Here the spread across the skin is decisive: once the priest sees it, he pronounces the person unclean. The verse treats this bodily change as consequential and gives the resulting status a name.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It undoes the assumption that the mark’s first appearance settles the matter; its spread changes the judgment.

THE ROOT

מִסְפַּחַת

mispáḥat

GROWS FROM

ספח

s-p-ḥ

to attach, join, or add

The word for the scab grows from a root meaning to attach or join, picturing something affixed to the skin. The verse adds a second movement: it spreads, and only then does the priest pronounce the person unclean.

ALSO GROWS

sāphaḥ: attach, join

סָפַח

This verb shares the root behind the word for the skin mark.

wə-nispəḥû: and they shall be joined (Isaiah 14:1)

וְנִסְפְּחוּ

The same root describes people joining a household, showing its broader sense of attachment.

פָשְׂתָה

pāśĕtâ

GROWS FROM

פשה

p-ś-h

to spread or extend

“spreadeth” in this verse is pāśĕtâ. The verdict responds to movement, not simply to the mark’s presence. The root can be intensified by repeating the verb, making the act of spreading unmistakable.

ALSO GROWS

pāśĕtâ: it has spread

פָשְׂתָה

This is the form describing the scab’s visible extension in this verse.

pāśōh tipśeh: it spreads much abroad (Leviticus 13:22)

פָּשֹׂה תִפְשֶׂה

The repeated root emphasizes ongoing spread, which likewise changes the priest’s judgment.

וְטִמְּאוֹ

wə-ṭimməʾô

GROWS FROM

טמא

ṭ-m-ʾ

to be or declare unclean

“pronounce him unclean” in this verse is wə-ṭimməʾô. The Hebrew verb marks a status pronounced after inspection; it does not describe the person’s moral character. The observed condition and the declaration are distinct steps in the verse.

ALSO GROWS

ṭāmēʾ: unclean

טָמֵא

This adjective names the status the priest pronounces.

ṭumʾāh: uncleanness

טֻמְאָה

This noun names the condition or status from the same root.

THE PATTERN

A condition becomes decisive through visible change, and its status is named in response.

And if it spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague.

Leviticus 13:22 · KJVAs in the selected verse, visible spread is the sign that changes the priest’s declaration.

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 · KJVA visible change in the body accompanies the declaration that Naaman is clean.

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

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

THE THREAD

For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.

Isaiah 14:1 · KJV

The Hebrew word translated “scab” shares its root with the word rendered “joined” here. The shared seed is attachment: in Leviticus it names a skin growth, while Isaiah uses it for people joining a household.

Read the SDV Bible.

Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.

Get Selah Verse

The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.

Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us