What Does Leviticus 13:2 Mean?
When a man has in the skin of his flesh a lifting, a scab, or a shining spot, and it is in the skin of his flesh like the stroke of the striking; then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons the priests;
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests:THE KEY
A visible mark becomes a question to be examined, not a verdict already contained in the skin.
THE MEANING
A rising, scab, or bright spot makes a change visible, and the person is brought before a priest for examination. The sign matters, but its appearance does not finish the naming; it is examined before its status is declared.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The skin’s appearance alone tells the whole story of the condition.
THE ROOT
שְׂאֵת
se'et
GROWS FROM
נשא
nasa
to lift, carry, or bear
English “rising” sounds like a simple description of shape, but se’et belongs to the root nasa, whose range includes lifting and bearing. The raised mark is thus named through a word-family that also carries the sense of lifting and carrying.
ALSO GROWS
nasa: to lift, carry, or bear
נָשָׂא
This verb shares the seed of se’et and reveals the wider sense behind the visible rising.
nasi: a chief or prince; one elevated to prominence
נָשִׂיא
This related form carries the sense of being lifted up, extending the root’s language of elevation beyond the skin.
נֶגַע
nega
GROWS FROM
נגע
nagaʿ
to touch, reach, or strike
“stroke of the striking” in this verse is nega. The phrase “plague of leprosy” includes nega, from a root whose range includes touching and striking. The wording names an affliction for examination, while the verse itself keeps the question open until the priest looks.
ALSO GROWS
nagaʿ: to touch, reach, or strike
נָגַע
The verb shows the root’s sense of contact that reaches or strikes.
nega: a blow, mark, or affliction
נֶגַע
This noun names the affliction presented for examination in the verse.
THE PATTERN
A visible sign is brought into examination before its status is declared.
And the priest shall look upon the stroke in the skin of the flesh; and when the hair in the stroke has turned white, and the stroke in its sight is deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a stroke of the striking; and the priest shall look upon him, and declare him soiled.And he said to him, "Look, say nothing to anyone. But go your way, show yourself to the priest, and bring near for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a witness to them."Test everything, and hold fast to what is good.THE THREAD
Surely he has borne our sicknesses, and carried our wounds. Yet we reckoned him struck, beaten by God, and bowed low.Isaiah uses nasa, “to bear,” for carrying griefs; Leviticus uses its related noun se’et for a rising. The shared root places the visible elevation within Hebrew’s wider language of lifting and bearing.
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